A forum dedicated to Hydrofoil riders
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TARTAX
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Postby TARTAX » Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:10 pm
can you please post your experience with strutless inflatable kites?
especially in light wind and relaunch
(please specify the brand of kite your talking about)
Last edited by
TARTAX on Sat Oct 13, 2018 8:04 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Peter_Frank
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Postby Peter_Frank » Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:16 pm
TARTAX wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:10 pm
can you please post your experience with strutless inflatable kites?
especially in light wind and relaunch
They are lighter, hang better, relaunch better, turns faster, pack down smaller - only win win wins
When you are really powered they tend to flap/flutter more than normal strutted LEIs at least when turned, so for other than foiling they might be a PITA when in the upper end
Still, you can survive and ride just fine if the wind picks up so a lot of flapping when fully depowered and turned, but apart from that they work just as well as strutted kites
PF
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TARTAX
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Postby TARTAX » Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:32 pm
Peter_Frank wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:16 pm
TARTAX wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:10 pm
can you please post your experience with strutless inflatable kites?
especially in light wind and relaunch
They are lighter, hang better, relaunch better, turns faster, pack down smaller - only win win wins
When you are really powered they tend to flap/flutter more than normal strutted LEIs at least when turned, so for other than foiling they might be a PITA when in the upper end
Still, you can survive and ride just fine if the wind picks up so a lot of flapping when fully depowered and turned, but apart from that they work just as well as strutted kites
PF
wich kites are you talking about ?
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kiterocky
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Postby kiterocky » Sat Oct 13, 2018 7:53 pm
Strutless top with hydrofoil and in super marginal wind and safer than foil kite....not much fun with twintip..
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Peter_Frank
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Postby Peter_Frank » Sat Oct 13, 2018 8:01 pm
I am pretty sure above characteristics goes for most strutless kites.
Clouds being the most extreme as more lightweight of course.
Around here we are riding Storm Voyagers in 12 and 15 m2, 2017-2018.
And also got the 11 and 13 m2 V 2019 with one strut, of course the strut heavier, but really amazing kites in general.
Some of my friends got the 9 m2 V 2019, it is a 3 strut so a compromise, which they love for both hydrofoil and waveboards
PF
Last edited by
Peter_Frank on Sat Oct 13, 2018 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Greenturtle
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Postby Greenturtle » Sat Oct 13, 2018 8:34 pm
RRD emotion 17m strutless : Pretty much as Peter said.
Pros- awesome drift, responsive to steering, overall great feel and handling in the low to medium windrange.
Pumping/ packing convenience at this size is A+
Cons-
The high end is not so good. Flutters when depowered a lot in stronger wind and that much flutter makes it drag back deep in the window which is the opposite of what you were hoping for when getting overpowered. This is only when you are lit, as generally speaking the depower ability is way above average.
Relaunch is pretty great overall super fast and easy. One thing however if the canopy goes completely limp with zero line tension it can get water on top of canopy and relaunch will be delayed until a puff of wind can fill it out again... can take a while. In general relaunch is a little different as, at least for me, sheeting in helps keep canopy full and responsive thus giving a little hot relaunch. But it dumps the power fast for you as soon as sheeted out.
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Dwight
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Postby Dwight » Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:48 pm
My experience....gong strutless, no batten model. Great for awhile, then grew tired of some of the fickle and very difficult relaunch positions with wet canopy stuck to water and water trapped by leading edge.
Today I Foil one strut kites. Much happier. Not only better relaunch, but more wind range.
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tomtom
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Postby tomtom » Sun Oct 14, 2018 6:11 pm
Hi Peter - just one question, do storms reverse launch? Actualy one more
- how much 9 weight - Im thinking about something lighter than NEOs which are build like tank and dont reverse.
Many thanks
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tomas
BTW North MONO turn slower than NEO - is heavier on bar than NEO have less smooth power development and wont relaunch better than NEO. So no all strut monos are equal.
Also I wonder when somebody came with obvious idea that normal cloth will be enough for struts - no need for heavy dacron - because there is less tension in struts than LE /especially with thinner struts/ and struts arent crashing like LE. Im mean for light HF kites of course. Maybe little heavier normal cloth like heavier one which North Duotone use.
Peter_Frank wrote: ↑Sat Oct 13, 2018 8:01 pm
I am pretty sure above characteristics goes for most strutless kites.
Clouds being the most extreme as more lightweight of course.
Around here we are riding Storm Voyagers in 12 and 15 m2, 2017-2018.
And also got the 11 and 13 m2 V 2019 with one strut, of course the strut heavier, but really amazing kites in general.
Some of my friends got the 9 m2 V 2019, it is a 3 strut so a compromise, which they love for both hydrofoil and waveboards
PF
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max
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Postby max » Sun Oct 14, 2018 9:40 pm
Dwight wrote: ↑Sun Oct 14, 2018 1:48 pm
Today I Foil one strut kites. Much happier. Not only better relaunch, but more wind range.
can I ask which 1 strut kites you are using?
saw a clip of what looked like a new model gong and it had one strut.
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Peter_Frank
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Postby Peter_Frank » Mon Oct 15, 2018 10:07 am
Hi tomtom, yes Storm Voyagers reverse launch on the water.
I think all kites for all brands can do this on land at least - this is how I always start when 10 m2 and above, because there is too little wind to launch any other way...
On the water they can also do this, but NOT always easy as the waves catch the LE so one can not be sure it will work - and in the winds I ride, no way to water relaunch anything
Havent got the 9 m2 myself, so dont know the weight.
It is a 3 strut, a bit lighter than the "tank" ones some of the other ones are - but it is not a superlight "foil only" kite either, that much I know.
PF
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