Flysurfer Peak4 in 5 m2, truly stoked

[tomtom]

So many pages in the Peak threads but I don’t remember seeing this question being asked
or being mentioned. Please correct me if it has!
“LIFT” on the Peaks. NOT jumping but lift during a transistion and foot change. I fly Speeds and they obviously have a nice lift when you’re doing a flying foot change transistion. I fly older Peaks in the winter on snow but unless I really send it they are pretty sedate when it comes to lift. (still love them though!!)
How are the new Peaks on water for lift during transistions?
Thanks guys!

Its not kite for "kite supported" foot change. If you want it you end up with wrong size /too big/ And you loose it completely. Get real balance - not kite supported. Its good for you.

[jumptheshark]

Peaks have some lift for foot switches and tacks etc. Not quite as much as the equivalent LEI, but close. I quite like the feel of softening little landings with the 5m Peak. It's just a 5m so you can't expect 8m levels of lift. 5m peak is plenty fast so the moments of lift are similar to what you get from a 5m LEI in more wind. Not a boosting kite, but definitely helpful when you pop it skyward for transitions.

It cranked today. 25knots with nice big rollers. After 5 days in a row on the Peak I was back to a 5m single strut. Bit overdone in that much wind, but it picked up after I went out and I couldn't be bothered to rig down. In that much wind, single strut LEI kites drift really well. Certainly didn't feel disappointed stepping back to that kite. Quite the opposite. Really appreciated the smooth top end of the Solo. Was a fantastic session.

Starting into the mechanics of little back roll airs. Dropped the kite a couple times. Simple relaunch was MUCH appreciated!

Not saying I won't want the smaller Peaks, but I'm certainly a long way from unhappy with small single strut LEIs in high winds.


The point: The 5m Peak drifts and turns in 12 knots like a 5m LEI in 20. What's not to like about that? Rigging down from the 5m Peak to a 5m solo is a really nice fit.

[Peter_Frank]

Agree with jumptheshark.

No problems for me in surf jibes when switching feet, not even with the 3 m2, as you can instantly deliver a little powerspike when needed.

You dont need much lift though.

Peter

[Peter_Frank]

To Regis, @78 kg and my KOOL1200 wing, I use the 3 and 5 at their sweetspots where not flapping nor having to work, in wind around:

5 m2: 14 to 17 knots
3 m2: 20 to 23 knots

Using my WaveXL (790 cm2) windranges are not that much different, because of more apparent wind power as one rides faster, also in jibes.
Low end, below above sweetspots, are higher with the smaller wing though..

My 4 m2 on the way, believe it would be around 17 to 20 knots then, but dont know yet

Windrange are somewhat higher than these mentioned, have been riding the 5 m2 in more than 20 knots easily, and lulls at 11-12 knots same session, so when wind is very changing it can still be used.

If you rarely have waves Regis, I assume they are wind waves, thus a 4 m2 might be a good size?

Dont know if this helps, as I dont have as much experience as tomtom and drsurf, but might give an idea

Peter

[Regis-de-giens]

yes very very helpful, thanks ; thank you to all of you .

Yes, wind waves about 3 or 4 times per year , and (even more rare but like it) some waves 2 or 3 hours after wind dropped down, so I guess 4m should be the "sweet-size", but (maybe a psychological mistake), I feel that it is with 5m that I will benefit the most the specificity of the peak (hard downwind, agility), in the 11-15 knot range (compared to other kites in 11-15 knots that becomes ridable) ...

yes very helpful

[jumptheshark]

In the afterglow of yesterdays 25 knots, I've come to a better appreciation for my stoke around the Peak4 5m.

I've already gushed about how this kite opens up loads of new launches and just in general a broadened view of what comprises a launch and landing spot for kiting.

What I want to point out in this post is what might make this kite a bit more attractive to other LEI foilers like me.

For the past decade I've never really considered getting a foil kite. I've flown a few. Not expert, but enough to understand the differences in turning, stall, power production, etc. The whole package together just didn't excite me. I've always felt the hassle of a pump was simply worth it for the type of experience on the water I'm after. Always interested when reviews of various foils emerge that talk about them flying like an inflatable i.e. the hyperlink. Still, only takes about 20 sec of video to see, it wasn't really what I'm after. What I now understand a little more clearly is that it's not really the foil kite flying character that I dislike, its the fact that I don't really like big kites, and the only foils I would consider were for lighter wind foiling, and hence, relatively big and slow. Even a 8-10m foil kite flies and turns more like a 12m tube. At this stage, I don't really care much bigger than 9m in a tube kite either!

The Peak, brings fast responsive flying to light wind foiling. Flying the peak in 12-18 knots is very much like flying a 5m tube in 17-20 knots.

Those of you interested in 8m, 11, and 13m peaks are after something completely different. I don't really want to ride in slow motion. I want to bring aspects of higher wind riding, down to as low a wind as possible. The Peak4 5m is a major step in the right direction. Fast flying fun down to as low a wind speed as I care to kite.

Still stoked.

[Flyboy]

To Regis, @78 kg and my KOOL1200 wing, I use the 3 and 5 at their sweetspots where not flapping nor having to work, in wind around:

5 m2: 14 to 17 knots
3 m2: 20 to 23 knots

Using my WaveXL (790 cm2) windranges are not that much different, because of more apparent wind power as one rides faster, also in jibes.
Low end, below above sweetspots, are higher with the smaller wing though..

My 4 m2 on the way, believe it would be around 17 to 20 knots then, but dont know yet

Windrange are somewhat higher than these mentioned, have been riding the 5 m2 in more than 20 knots easily, and lulls at 11-12 knots same session, so when wind is very changing it can still be used.

If you rarely have waves Regis, I assume they are wind waves, thus a 4 m2 might be a good size?

Dont know if this helps, as I dont have as much experience as tomtom and drsurf, but might give an idea

Peter

14 - 17 knots seems a bit high for the 5m with a big surf wing? I was thinking 12 - 17 was what we were aiming for?

[Regis-de-giens]

Very nice analysis and original point of view ... thanks (and pushes me to buy a 5m first and not 4m )

[joriws]

Jumptheshark, what backline trim you are using, standard equal front-back lenght?

Foil can be trimmed to backstall enabling pivot or even center turn. Or by one hand sheeting make kite 'reverse' for next spot to release bar and unleash power spike.

Just shorten steering lines with the amount you like. Too much can cause collapse.

Here is Gunnar's video with hyperlink(?) to display what I mean. Looks like 540deg/s as turning rate. As Peak does not have inertia it could be very quick, however no cells could require some tuning not to collapse with too much tension.

[Peter_Frank]

14 - 17 knots seems a bit high for the 5m with a big surf wing? I was thinking 12 - 17 was what we were aiming for?

You can ride in 12 knots when average weight, but IMO not the sweetspot for a 1200 surf wing (when no waves)

If waves, of course above sweetspot is lower, no doubt

But in general conditions, no issue feeling "sweetspot" in 14 to 17 knots in my experience - you can ride it in a lot more wind without feeling powered, yes, but we were talking about the sweetspot range where you dont have to sheet out to flapping state really.

17 knots in 10 m height is not that much wind actually....

But of course, if you got waves it will be.

Maybe 14-15 knots is the perfect sweetspot for an average weight.

Peter