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Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15 knots

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espana23
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Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15 knots

Postby espana23 » Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:05 pm

Hi all,

Which size of Contra 1S would you recommend for 10-15 knots? I am 75kg, beginner kitefoiler (have been using TT and surfboard for 5 years) and want to increase my days on the water. Contra 1S comes in 9m and 11m and based on the information I gathered so far (wind range graphs, other posts on one strut kites and hydrofoil) it seems that the 9m might be the right size.

Can someone that uses Contra 1S share their experience? What is the true range (min, sweet spot, max) for a beginner kitefoiler for a 9m and for a 11m?

Thanks a lot.

-Mike
Last edited by espana23 on Sat Feb 04, 2023 9:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby Peter_Frank » Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:10 pm

I don't know the contra by experience myself, but not in doubt you should pick the 9 m2, the 11 won't work in that wind and weight. .

8) Peter

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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby 1234567Simon » Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:39 pm

10-15.... Definetly 9m

Be aware, that a beginner foiler still wants a bigger Kite.

So depending on how good you are, the 9m might not Work, with 10kn and 11kn in the beginning..... But 12-15 knots should Work perfectly.

10kn might be hard to get Up, but after 5-6 Sessions you will Love the 9m....

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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby espana23 » Sat Feb 04, 2023 6:49 pm

1234567Simon wrote:
Sat Feb 04, 2023 5:39 pm
10-15.... Definetly 9m

Be aware, that a beginner foiler still wants a bigger Kite.

So depending on how good you are, the 9m might not Work, with 10kn and 11kn in the beginning..... But 12-15 knots should Work perfectly.

10kn might be hard to get Up, but after 5-6 Sessions you will Love the 9m....
I am actually learning to foil on my Switchblades (I know they are far for ideal for the purpose but that’s all I have for now) but once I become decent I want to get the right size of Contra S1 that will allow me to get on the water on those 10-15 knots days.

Do you have experience with Contra S1? If so, what would you say are the min, sweet spot and max of the 9m for a beginner?

-Mike

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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby FLandOBX » Sun Feb 05, 2023 1:52 am

I have the Contra 1S 9m and 7m. I am 83 kg and ride Moses 633 and 679 wings. The 9m works well for me from 10-14 knots. I use the 7m from 14-20 knots. Below 10 knots, I use a Flysurfer Soul 10m, and, over 20 knots, I usually ride my TT.

I recommend the 9m Contra 1S for 10-15 knots, but a beginner will feel better with the 9m at the upper end of that range. Once you're more experienced, you'll be able to enjoy the 9m at the lower end of the range. It's a great kite for hydrofoil - lightweight, fast, simple bridle, direct steering. You'll like it.
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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby Windigo1 » Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:06 am

I haven't tried the contra but with the Naish Boxer and Airush Ultra 1 strut 8 to 15 knots is great on the 9m you can easily go past 20 knots if you don't mind being very powered above 15 I would switch to 7m. This is with foils around 1000 cm I have several from 950 to 1250 not.much difference in terms of kite power required for that size of foils.

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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby rnelias » Sun Feb 05, 2023 5:44 pm

Windigo1 wrote:
Sun Feb 05, 2023 2:06 am
I haven't tried the contra but with the Naish Boxer and Airush Ultra 1 strut 8 to 15 knots is great on the 9m you can easily go past 20 knots if you don't mind being very powered above 15 I would switch to 7m. This is with foils around 1000 cm I have several from 950 to 1250 not.much difference in terms of kite power required for that size of foils.
I second Windigo on this!

I'm 75kg and ride in the 8-14k range regurlarly with a Boxer 9m and 850cm^2 front wing.

In my case, after learning HF with a Rebel 12m, I've switched to an Alpha 8m and decided that a tad bigger kite would be better for my local spot, therefore, sold the Alpha 8m and got the Boxer 9m. I'm now have about 1.000km logged sessions on this kite :thumb: . My upper limit on this Boxer was about 18k with a long depower bar and kite almost at 12 :lol:

1-struct 9m will work in this range for you and it'll help you to progress for sure. :thumb:

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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby espana23 » Tue Feb 07, 2023 6:26 pm

Thank you all for the replies. This is very useful to me.

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Re: Advice on sizing Contra 1S for 10-15knots

Postby PugetSoundKiter » Tue Feb 07, 2023 9:02 pm

Good feedback, would like to ask a related but broader quiver question.

Seems like the consensus is 9m is about as big as recommended for 1 strut kites, average weight and intermediate skills.

From threads on no strut kites it seems like the consensus is 7m is about as big as recommended for the characteristics of the design, assuming, average weight and intermediate skills.

From threads on single skin (Peak) kites it seems like the consensus is 6m is about as big as recommended for the characteristics of the design, assuming, average weight and intermediate skills. And 7.5 for the new hybrid kite.

For extreme low winds large lightweight foils or single skins seem to be preferred.

But as winds pick up, seems like there are few recommendations on switching to a different type of kite.

Around here and inland/lakes higher winds are gusty. I prefer 7m and smaller wave kites to foil with. But agree that for lower or clean winds the above kite types are preferred. A 7m wave kite and a 7m no strut kite wind ranges almost don’t overlap. Sometimes it looks strange when I pack kites in the car and have a 7m to switch up to a 7m if conditions change.

A mixed quiver is often recommended like, foil or single skin kite for low end, then 0 or 1 strut for light winds. Wonder if others have options like mine that a preferred quiver even mixes in small 3 strut kites for higher winds?


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