I have now tried to buy a Pelican and an Empulse - but both are out of stock locally. I have been told that even the Little Cloud company doesn't have big Pelicans in stock and there are no imminent plans to manufacture more of them.
While the Soul, Pelican, and Empulse appear similar on paper, they are very different kites. I recently did a write-up comparing the Gin Spirit to the Pelican - I think it would be worth reading to understand the differences in design intent (the Gin Spirit is going to be very similar to a Soul):The specifications of the Soul, Pelican, Empulse and Kitech FRS are quite close to each other (ar ~5). So, I'm trying to find out what are the practical differences between them. The Pelican and Empulse (maybe Kitech too) have adaptive valves, which I think, make them more suitable than e.g. the Soul for land/snow. So, I thought that maybe the both objectives (snow/water) could be accommodated with just one kite. I also thought about buying a secondhand LEI to specifically practice hydrofoiling but the wind is here very light and gusty in most days. The last time I saw a lot of LEIs on the ice while the foils just kept going. So, I probably would need to complement the LEI with another kite for light wind days. Also, I will have boat rescue option available at all times, which should help with a foil the times it won't relaunch.
So my preferences for a second (and first foil) kite in order of importance:
1. Light gusty wind kite for snowkiting (very important)
2. Good / excellent upwind
3. Easy to self-launch / self-land / fast setup
4. Easy to learn hydrofoiling / maybe kitesurfing / easy waterstart / relaunch
5. Progressing but at least somewhat beginner friendly
6. Stable
7. Durable
8. Affordable
9. Touring kite, pack small
10. Moderate lift to progress with safe baby jumps (less important)
This is an excellent idea. Silly me, I initially thought my kids could do that for fun. Even this will be probably first a lot of swimming and short visits on the board.drsurf wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 3:25 pmIf you're learning to hydrofoil, the best way to short circuit some of the learning process is to learn to foil behind a boat or jetski. That way you can focus on learning foiling skills and not worry about the kite.
The same applies to learning to foil on a SUP or prone surf foil. With a good boat/ski driver you can be pulled at just the right speed to learn the balance skills and control of a foil without the variables of the kite, wind and waves.
I would actually recommend learning on a dedicated SUP foil board of approx 120 litres so you can be kneeling on the board when you start and then it's easy to stand up and start to feel the foil. This will speed up the learning process of any foiling discipline.
Just to be clear, you already have a foil kite, the Peak 4 8m, it's a single skin foil.
Thank you for taking the other side and trusting my skills It's always good to have both sides covered. I will certainly try to use the Peak and it's definitely my end goal to be able to foil with drifty kites like Peaks. But I'm expecting to swim a lot first and with my current flying skill I most like will drop the kite more often than not. Even with a boat the process of collecting the kite from the water and untangling the lines after every failure doesn't sound my type of fun. So, I think I might need something more relaunchable first. I hope I'm wrong and I'm able to sell my tube "crutch" after the first session. I will buy it secondhand so it should be a cheap insurance.Slappysan wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 10:24 pmUse your peak 4 8m to learn to hydrofoil, at your weight you'll want about 9-18 knots of wind for that kite. Don't take it in more than that though. I'm 170 lbs and hydrofoil my peak 4 5m in 8-15 knots, I can hold it down in more but it's not fun above 15.
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