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8m, then 6? or 5?

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Kamikuza
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8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby Kamikuza » Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:53 am

Last three sessions, I've been unpleasantly overpowered on my 8m Drifter. Even changed to my smaller wing. Weather data reckons they were about 20 knots...

Want another Drifter, so I'm thinking to compliment the 8m with ... a 5m? Or is that just too small?

Got to play with a 6.2 Cloud mid-session last week, but it was still a tad big. Must have been leaking cos after an hour, I couldn't water start with it because the LE would buckle, so didn't get to try and work myself up onto the board...

I have a 10m Drifter but since I got the 760 wing, it's pointless now as it gets over-powered when the wind picks up at all. The 8m has it covered until maybe 15knots ... but I feel like I need something else. The waves/swell start getting good but it's getting spoiled by the kite...

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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby lederhosen » Sat Oct 23, 2021 12:14 pm

8m and 5m LEI for foiling was perfect for me at 80kg. The 5m Cabrinha Radar had a giant windrange.

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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby PurdyKiter » Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:21 pm

Yep. I'm perfectly set up with an 8m Roam and 5m Roam as my tiny kite and there's nothing missing out. My logic is that when I get blown off the water foiling & 5m, I just keep my directional 5'8" Celero parked and ready.
I also have the 10m Roam for the lighter winds.
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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby plummet » Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:44 pm

I go 8, 6, 4.

Buy the sound of it you will need to stick to 3 strut kites due to superior mass.

At 80 kg with gear on. Here's my wind ranges on the foil
8m - 10-20 knots - nice Wave riding max - 16
6m - 18-25 knots - nice Wave riding max - 22
4m - 20- stupid - nice Wave riding max - 30
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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby Flyboy » Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:50 pm

Kamikuza wrote:
Sat Oct 23, 2021 11:53 am
Last three sessions, I've been unpleasantly overpowered on my 8m Drifter. Even changed to my smaller wing. Weather data reckons they were about 20 knots...

Want another Drifter, so I'm thinking to compliment the 8m with ... a 5m? Or is that just too small?

Got to play with a 6.2 Cloud mid-session last week, but it was still a tad big. Must have been leaking cos after an hour, I couldn't water start with it because the LE would buckle, so didn't get to try and work myself up onto the board...

I have a 10m Drifter but since I got the 760 wing, it's pointless now as it gets over-powered when the wind picks up at all. The 8m has it covered until maybe 15knots ... but I feel like I need something else. The waves/swell start getting good but it's getting spoiled by the kite...
There's no "right" answer to this. Depends how much wind you want to foil in. 5m is definitely not "too small". In my experience, a 5m LEI starts to be too big around 20 knots. I've been using a 3.5m in 20 knots - 25 knots. You could also consider a 6m ... & a 4m. You might find (like other foilers) that you get the urge to foil in stronger & stronger winds.
Last edited by Flyboy on Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby sonny2727 » Sat Oct 23, 2021 8:33 pm

Anything with Aluula is too expensive for this wind range and the cheapest is of course Peak4

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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby Kamikuza » Sun Oct 24, 2021 5:59 am

PurdyKiter wrote:
Sat Oct 23, 2021 4:21 pm
Yep. I'm perfectly set up with an 8m Roam and 5m Roam as my tiny kite and there's nothing missing out. My logic is that when I get blown off the water foiling & 5m, I just keep my directional 5'8" Celero parked and ready.
I also have the 10m Roam for the lighter winds.
Aluula
That was my plan with foiling too. I've settled on about 20 knots as my lower limit for the TT, but we hardly ever get that here steady enough or for long enough to make it worth the effort.

So I'd rather foil closer to 20 knots too.

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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby Kamikuza » Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:04 am

plummet wrote:
Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:44 pm
I go 8, 6, 4.

Buy the sound of it you will need to stick to 3 strut kites due to superior mass.

At 80 kg with gear on. Here's my wind ranges on the foil
8m - 10-20 knots - nice Wave riding max - 16
6m - 18-25 knots - nice Wave riding max - 22
4m - 20- stupid - nice Wave riding max - 30
Aren't you polite, Uncle Plums :lol:

You got much better waves than me, and were running a much smaller foil weren't you?

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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby Kamikuza » Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:20 am

Flyboy wrote:
Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:50 pm
There's no "right" answer to this. Depends how much wind you want to foil in. 5m is definitely not "too small". I my experience, a 5m LEI starts to be too big around 20 knots. I've been using a 3.5m in 20 knots - 25 knots. You could also consider a 6m ... & a 4m. You might find (like other foilers) that you get the urge to foil in stronger & stronger winds.
I'd rather foil in gusty 20 knots these days too. Trying to minimize the gear that'll just end up in the shed, out of date and unused. I've

Guess what I want to know is, is 3m too big a gap to be effective? Or is a 5m going to strand me in the lulls when a 6m wouldn't...?

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Re: 8m, then 6? or 5?

Postby Flyboy » Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:45 am

Kamikuza wrote:
Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:20 am
Flyboy wrote:
Sat Oct 23, 2021 6:50 pm
There's no "right" answer to this. Depends how much wind you want to foil in. 5m is definitely not "too small". I my experience, a 5m LEI starts to be too big around 20 knots. I've been using a 3.5m in 20 knots - 25 knots. You could also consider a 6m ... & a 4m. You might find (like other foilers) that you get the urge to foil in stronger & stronger winds.
I'd rather foil in gusty 20 knots these days too. Trying to minimize the gear that'll just end up in the shed, out of date and unused. I've

Guess what I want to know is, is 3m too big a gap to be effective? Or is a 5m going to strand me in the lulls when a 6m wouldn't...?
All my foiling these days is done on Peaks ... except the 3.5 Boxer, as I described above. Prior to getting the Peaks, I was using 8m, 6m & 5m 3 struts. The 8m in 10 - 14 knots, the 6m in 14 - 17 & the 5m in 17 + (more or less). These are numbers for "free-ride foiling" on a 1000cm surf foil, not racing or jumping. As my ability with the foil increased, I lost interest in using the SB in under 15 knots ... then under 20 knots ... & now it's up to 25 knots. Sounds like you may end up in the same place (like a lot of other foilers). Foiling mediocre waves is way, way more fun than surfing them with a TT or SB. The Peaks are truly on a superior level for foiling in waves or swell ... but they do have their downsides. Light LEI's still work quite nicely. I don't think a 5m would "strand you in the lulls" ... but there would be a point where the 8m is going to feel too big & the 5m too small. IMO, if you're going to add kites, I would future proof your choices & go 8m, 6m, 4m.


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