UFO V2 - which size will work for me?

[KVL]

I'm 78kg, I often foil on lakes where the wind is unstable and gusty.
For now my setup is 633/483, but I'll soon switch to 699/430.
I use North Reach 7/11/13m for foiling. I can go with the 13 from about 9-10 knots.
Foiling is a low-wind activity for me. I usually only kite

I am 87 kg. I ride the 633 with an Ufo v2 7m2 at 12 knots.

I don't think you need bigger than 7 m2.

[drsurf]

Try a Flysurfer Hybrid for foiling. Light and manoeuvrable as a Peak but easy relaunch and handles gusty conditions well. A 7.5m would get you foiling more comfortably in light winds which would trouble a UFO.

And don't worry about bridles and setup. The bridles are simple and easy to manage and the setup and takedown is faster than any LEI kite. They hang in the air like a helium balloon which makes gybing in light winds much easier

[Jyoder]

HI!
But I don't like foil kites.

Everyone:

Buy a foil kite!

[Alysum]

Forget the UFO and no strut kites bigger than 7m.

I have the UFO 5m and 7m. I actually never use the 7m these days. If it's light I use a foil kite, the hyperlink 9m. That's all I need for my 78kg.
Foil kites will stay in the sky forever whilst you are busy trying to keep an LEI kite moving.
Relaunching an UFO 9m would be a nightmare.
Try a foil kite, you'll love it.

I've been using Flysurfer Soul 12m and 15m for the last year and I don't like them after all. Waaaaaay to slow :/ Maybe a smaller one would be fun, but these two I did not fall in love with. Especially for foil, they pull way too much. The one thing I liked about them with the foil was the lift provided during maneuvers.

And all those small things about foil kites - getting them wet, bridle hassle, significant possibility of getting them tangled after hitting water and having to swim back... I just find all of that too annoying personally, and love the simplicity of an LEI kite. I'm absolutely not saying they are bad, they are amazing indeed. It's just maybe that I'm not ready yet

The flysurfer soul is well known for pulling like a truck. The ozone hyperlink isn't like that at all.
And my biggest size is a 9m which turns ok. They are lower aspect ratio than the soul.
When it comes to light wind you have compromise somewhere. I rarely drop my foil kite in the water because it never falls out of the sky. And bridles are actually super easy to keep them tidy.
Since then I've sold all my 12m LEI kites including an alpha 12m.
It relaunches ok if you're quick.
The flysurfer hybrid is also worth checking out.

[Bartek_]

Thanks everybody for input!

I'm actually quite torn between 8m and 9m right now. Some of you have also mentioned that 7m gets you up really quickly (12 knots). I'd like to buy the UFO in the coming weeks, but still not sure about the size :/

Initial logic tells me 9m, but some gut feeling tries to convince me that 8 will be more fun, but will still have plenty of power in 10-15 knots.

[airsail]

Thanks everybody for input!

I'm actually quite torn between 8m and 9m right now. Some of you have also mentioned that 7m gets you up really quickly (12 knots). I'd like to buy the UFO in the coming weeks, but still not sure about the size :/

Initial logic tells me 9m, but some gut feeling tries to convince me that 8 will be more fun, but will still have plenty of power in 10-15 knots.

Just get the 8 and have some line extensions for light wind.

[Bartek_]

My local distributor has just promised to send me 8/9 for tests in the coming weeks, so It should be easier after that

[Oldman_Dave]

HI!
2. Would an 11m UFO V2 expand my wind range towards the low end?

I recently bought a 2nd hand 11m UFO V2 in my endless quest for the best light wind foiling kite. Bit of an experiment until I get a 12m Ultra Team which I think will be better.
After a couple of sessions for me:

Pros:
Stays up well in lulls
responsive and fast turning in light wind
Makes decent power when going

Cons:
Lacks explosive pop to get going
pivot turns and loses power looping
Sits deep in window so upwind isn't great but goes ok with kite high

If anyone knows a good way to get the absolute most out of the initial start, please let me know.

On my first session I struggled to get going as I'm used to multiple loops on a light wind day, and this kite seems to lose power with every subsequent loop. It seems like apparent wind ie airspeed is everything for a UFO to make power??

The best I could figure on my 2nd session was to take the kite right up to absolute 12 with bar out, about to drop over your head, then turn 180 and hard vertical down thru middle of window with bar in, then turn in direction of travel at bottom of stroke and maintain that turn for one big loop over the top and back down in direction of travel. And hope that it was enough to get you up and going.

Any tips would be appreciated...

[Peter_Frank]

A kite sitting deeper will not go well upwind, and will lack looping/starting peak power indeed, so not good for light wind foiling in bigger sizes.

Good thing is they drift much better, are easy.

But this feature really only makes sense in smaller sizes, IMO.

So above post seems to be spot on

Peter

[leeuwen]

On my first session I struggled to get going as I'm used to multiple loops on a light wind day, and this kite seems to lose power with every subsequent loop. It seems like apparent wind ie airspeed is everything for a UFO to make power??

Apparent wind == power. This is true for any kite.
If your loops are too pivotal/tight and without power decrease steering input to increase the loop radius.
Rather than looping as quick as the kite can think more about making a circle with the kite.