Flysurfer Peak 4

[Peter_Frank]

Flyboy, take the 6+4, a perfect combo for you.

If you want to start with one, go 6 - but as it seems you want to travel, and medium winds sometimes, 6+4 is spot on

Whether you like the way they behave or not, noone can tell, but they are magic for most of us

Peter

[geron]

if you want to go sub 10 - 1500 cm2 wing instead longer lines give you much more fun.
1500 wings are also really pump-able which add another level of fun - powerless wave to wave.

I now tend riding 1500 wing all the time /moses 790 instead 633/ - Its Peak kite size difference between them in power terms

I think tomtom is right. I have just tried the 790 for the second day (with the 483 stab), 4m peak (I don't have the 3m) in large wind ocean waves and +-25 knots wind parallel along the shore. I went 5km upwind and then about 15Km downwind and returned to original point in the shore upwind.

The straight downwind along the shore was so grate I couldn't stop and return after sundown upwind. The upwind with strong wind and waves was more fun than I would have thought.
Soooo, a big 1500 cm2 wing and a small peak is THE BEST.

Tomtom, what stab are you using? 483 seems grate

[Flyboy]

Flyboy, take the 6+4, a perfect combo for you.

If you want to start with one, go 6 - but as it seems you want to travel, and medium winds sometimes, 6+4 is spot on

Whether you like the way they behave or not, noone can tell, but they are magic for most of us

Peter

The implication of what people are saying is that Peak4s have a pretty limited wind range. That is to say they may work in a wider wind range, but the area in which they really shine is a relatively small one. Foiling with a 3 strut wave kite you have a pretty wide wind range: you can start as soon as there is enough wind to fly the kite & get up on the board - say 10 knots with an 8m - & continue to foil up to maybe 17 - 18 knots. However, the ideal range is around 12 - 15 knots. Below that you are a bit underpowered & above that too powered to be really comfortable. Possibly the same thing with the Peak4.

As people don't have much experience with the 6m yet, it's entirely possible that 6m/4m is a perfect combo for 10 - 20 knots. I guess a bit more time will tell.

I'm leaning towards getting a 5m for my trip as it's reason to suppose that I won't have much cause to foil in less than 12 knots, but for local foiling a 6m/4m may provide that extra bit of low end, so may swap at that point.

[drsurf]

Flyboy, take the 6+4, a perfect combo for you.

If you want to start with one, go 6 - but as it seems you want to travel, and medium winds sometimes, 6+4 is spot on

Whether you like the way they behave or not, noone can tell, but they are magic for most of us

Peter

The implication of what people are saying is that Peak4s have a pretty limited wind range. That is to say they may work in a wider wind range, but the area in which they really shine is a relatively small one. Foiling with a 3 strut wave kite you have a pretty wide wind range: you can start as soon as there is enough wind to fly the kite & get up on the board - say 10 knots with an 8m - & continue to foil up to maybe 17 - 18 knots. However, the ideal range is around 12 - 15 knots. Below that you are a bit underpowered & above that too powered to be really comfortable. Possibly the same thing with the Peak4.

As people don't have much experience with the 6m yet, it's entirely possible that 6m/4m is a perfect combo for 10 - 20 knots. I guess a bit more time will tell.

I'm leaning towards getting a 5m for my trip as it's reason to suppose that I won't have much cause to foil in less than 12 knots, but for local foiling a 6m/4m may provide that extra bit of low end, so may swap at that point.

This seems to be the perennial problem in discussing the experience of a Peak4 between experienced users and those yet to try a Peak4.
It's probably true to say that foiling with a Peak4 warps ones mind somewhat as you can experience capabilities no other kite that I'm aware of can emulate. Like a drug, this leaves the user wanting more of that special experience the Peak4 can give which leads to buying all the smaller kites in the Peak4 range to get the buzz perfectly whatever the wind.

I would definitely disagree that the Peak4 kites have a limited wind range. For all their lightweight seemingly delicate structure, the Peak4 was originally designed for hauling skiers/snowboarders up mountains in strong and gusty winds. If you check Youtube you can see Peak4 kites hauling people up the mountain at speed in very high winds. A kite has to be tough to do this.

If you want to mow the lawn with a Peak4 using a foil or other board it will handle a wide wind range comparable to many LEI kites. However just reaching backwards and forwards across the wind doesn't exploit the fantastic drift, lightness, instant depower, manoeuvrability and responsiveness that the Peak4 has compared to other kites. When I use an LEI kite with a TT board I want power which can lift me to the moon, when I'm on a surf foil with a Peak4 I want just enough power to get me out of the water and on the foil. Then I want the kite to get out of the way while I surf every bump I can find downwind and then head back upwind, (easy on a foil), and repeat.

To make a long story short, you have to try a Peak4 to know what you need. It's fortunate that they are cheaper than comparable kites, last well and have excellent resale. If you trawl back through this and other threads, you will find posts by Peter Frank before Peak4 and after Peak4. Reading these it does seem like a case of religious conversion And he's not the only one either.

[jumptheshark]

The implication of what people are saying is that Peak4s have a pretty limited wind range. That is to say they may work in a wider wind range, but the area in which they really shine is a relatively small one.

Nah I don't think you're reading what people are saying. Their range per kite is pretty comparable to most LEI kites. Most small kites have a pretty massive absolute range when foiling.

Spend some time on one before you pronounce to us what they are like.

After that, go back to foiling on a three strut kite for full effect.

Clouds are great, but Peaks are another level of depower, drift, and sheeted out control. Ride them above their sweet spot and they work fine, but they lose what makes them so unique and start to suffer the same limitations as other kites. You'll see what I mean. Is hard to esplain

No matter, they are spaced properly, so their sweet spots overlap.

[Flyboy]

That is to say they may work in a wider wind range, but the area in which they really shine is a relatively small one.

Ride them above their sweet spot and they work fine, but they lose what makes them so unique and start to suffer the same limitations as other kites.

That's pretty much exactly the same as what I wrote.

[borist]

I spent only short time on Peaks and for me 5m Peak4 (22m lines) replaced my beloved 8m Naish Trip strutless which was good from ~10 knots in steady ocean breeze (Pacific), 4m replaced 6m LF wave kite (I buy cheap and usually each LEI size ends up a different brand ). Those two cover typical wind ranges at my home spots (10-17 kts). I carry both in a small bag with attached bars to the beach so I can quickly change them. 5m is money size and if I only bought one this would be it as it could cover most of the range although having 4m is fun

[geron]

4m(22mline)+1500cm2(790)=hotspot10—30kn (80kg)
+~ (+6m>World)

[tomtom]

if you want to go sub 10 - 1500 cm2 wing instead longer lines give you much more fun.
1500 wings are also really pump-able which add another level of fun - powerless wave to wave.

I now tend riding 1500 wing all the time /moses 790 instead 633/ - Its Peak kite size difference between them in power terms

I think tomtom is right. I have just tried the 790 for the second day (with the 483 stab), 4m peak (I don't have the 3m) in large wind ocean waves and +-25 knots wind parallel along the shore. I went 5km upwind and then about 15Km downwind and returned to original point in the shore upwind.

The straight downwind along the shore was so grate I couldn't stop and return after sundown upwind. The upwind with strong wind and waves was more fun than I would have thought.
Soooo, a big 1500 cm2 wing and a small peak is THE BEST.

Tomtom, what stab are you using? 483 seems grate

483 too and also 450 - 450 feels slower - but have more YAW stability. I have too much fun so not much time for stab experimenting

[a99]

4m(22mline)+1500cm2(790)=hotspot10—30kn (80kg)
+~ (+6m>World)

Hm, its hard to believe in such wide range, even as from lowend 10knots? What it means +6m>world?