If you are average weight or above, definitely a 5 m2 for 15 knots.
If lighter, a 4.
Peter
i purchased a 5m 1st..and then an 8..and then a 3.GTC wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 1:35 pmHi all,
I am considering adding a Peak to my quiver for those 15 kt days.
I have a Naish Pivot 10, which I can't barely use it on hydrofoil because it pulls like a truck. I also have a Wainman 7.5 but in those low winds it feels a little heavy and slow.
Should I consider a 4, 5 or 6m Peak? I weight 72 kg.
Thanks in advance
15 knots? definitely not the 6m. Choice between the 5m or 4m (assuming a "surf wing") . The 5m will work down to about 12 knots & will be fully powered at around 15 knots. The 4m will work down to about 14 knots & will be fully powered at around 17 knots.GTC wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 1:35 pmHi all,
I am considering adding a Peak to my quiver for those 15 kt days.
I have a Naish Pivot 10, which I can't barely use it on hydrofoil because it pulls like a truck. I also have a Wainman 7.5 but in those low winds it feels a little heavy and slow.
Should I consider a 4, 5 or 6m Peak? I weight 72 kg.
Thanks in advance
Thanks for comments.Flyboy wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 1:54 amYou're doing the right thing learning to foil! It will come to you with some patience & the right conditions. My recommendation is to start by using the 9m Solo in 12 - 15 mph. Enough wind that you don't have to worry about keeping it flying when you fall awkwardly (which you will).oldkiter wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 12:41 amFinally decided to learn kite foiling. Have tried maybe 5 -6 times over past 2-3 years with 2 diff setups in low wind ( with 3 and 5 strut kites) with little to show for it except porpoising.
Now have Moses Onda 633 gear and SS 5'6" foil board. Also ordered an 8m Peak 4 because of this thread. Have Solo 9, 12, and 15.5m. Wind will generally be from 8/9 mph to 16/18 mph.
I weight 155 lbs (70KG) plus gear BUT very old. I have kited for 17/18 years, and windsurfed for prior apx 25 years. I will dedicate the necessary sessions.
I will start learning in mid teens using 12 or 9 Solo (minor wave action), and learn the Peak 8m on land or shallow water.
I am getting from this thread that the Peak 8 should have an apx range of 8-16 mph. Is that about right?
Also that you mostly have to send it into the water otherwise it should fly, and it should fly down to 4-6 mph for self-rescue. Is that about right?
Planning to use either of 2 current bars with 15m or 22m lines. Is either one better than the other?
Thanks for any responses and/or comments!!
The 8m Peak would more or less duplicate the wind range of the 12m Solo - which is to say around 8 mph - 12/13 mph. I am 80 kg & use the 6m Peak in 10 knots up to 14 knots. More than that & I use the 4m Peak. Below 10 knots becomes tricky with a tube kite because in lulls & while gybing your kite may have a tendency to Hindenburg. On the other hand the 8m Peak should hang in the air better in sub-10 knot conditions. So ... the 8m Peak may serve OK for those sub 10 knot days, but will have a relatively small range before it starts to feel big. But you shouldn't be learning to foil in anything under 12/13 mph anyway ... so the 9m Solo would be the place to start & then figure it out from there.
My advice stands: don't try & learn in 8 - 12 mph winds! It may be an exercise in frustration. I spent a year trying (occasionally) to foil when the wind was too light to kitesurf. A waste of time as I ended up dropping the kite & spent all the time struggling to maneuver the board/foil while keeping the kite in the air. When I seriously set my mind to it, I started trying to foil in 15 mph winds & immediately (well more or less immediately) was up on the foil for the first (short) runs. I did not find that I dropped the kite much, even when I was learning, as long as the wind was strong enough. Once you are reasonably competent at foiling you could start trying to go out in 8 - 12 mph, in which case the 8m Peak would be your best bet.oldkiter wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 5:58 pm
Thanks for comments.
I should have stated my wind situations. Have long drive (80 miles RT) to get 12-18 mph. But live few minutes from beach with consistent 8-12 mph.
Seems like the Peak 8m will be awesome after learning to foil!!
Also thank you irwe. I have a bar with 27m lines that I could dedicate to the Peak 8m when ready to use it!
Had the same feelings the first time I flew a Peak. I was reassured that the freakout about the bridles would diminish ... & it did. You'll learn how to handle the setup & take down like you did with a LEI.junebug wrote: ↑Thu Apr 08, 2021 2:59 amI tried out the Peak 4 5m today in 11-14kn. My first time on a foil kite. My initial thoughts:
I get it. The drift is amazing. We had ankle high waves today, so I didn't really get the full experience, but riding in unbroken swell I could stay on the same wave all the way down the line until it petered out. With my LEI, I would either have to hop from one wave to the one behind it after a bottom turn or two to keep line tension or have to continually loop the kite and get pulled downwind too fast. With the Peak 4, I just flicked my wrist and the kite was right there pulling me into the next turn. I can't wait to try it out in proper waves. I had been thinking that maybe my foil (Lift 150) was just too fast for waves, but I'm thinking now that my LEI (Boxer) was just too heavy.
It flies a little different from an LEI, but not much. I practiced on the beach for about 2 minutes before getting in the water. It's like a small LEI in that it does not like to be choked, unless you want to pinwheel it. The timing on maneuvers, however, is totally different. I tried a few 360s, heel side / toeside 180s, and tacks, and they didn't go very well. That's not a big deal to me--I bought these kites for wave riding, not messing around in the flats.
Coming from 15 years on LEIs, the spaghetti is daunting. Everything looked right before launch (took me about 10 minutes to look at everything over and over and over because it all just looked like an undifferentiated pile), and the kite seemed to fly fine, but I'm still not confident I didn't have something screwed up. I kept waiting for a line to break, but, fortunately, it didn't happen (today).
It fluttered a little more than I expected, particularly at the high end of the range. I like flying small kites, and at 14kn, I was thinking I might want to try sizing down.
Self launching was a piece of cake. 15 degrees off downwind, pull the leeward line, and up you go. Self landing straight downwind was a little frightening. LEIs backstall a lot slower. With the Peak 4, it's either on or off. It went okay, but I'm going to need more practice with it before I feel confident with it.
I kept the bar attached and wound it up to the kite, but still, it felt like everything went to hell as I was putting the kite back in the bag. I hope keeping the bar attached will make sorting everything easier the next trip, but I'm nervous I'm going to open the bag to a rat's nest.
I didn't crash. Phew. My opinion of the kite is very high right now, but I'm sure when I crash, reality will sink in (as it were). I just hope we get some waves soon so I can really test it out.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 138 guests