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What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

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Carlos_C
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Re: What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

Postby Carlos_C » Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:00 am

ensure the downwind tip is well sanded/weighted as this will flap and knot your bridles in about three seconds

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Re: What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

Postby nothing2seehere » Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:12 am

elguapo wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 1:28 am
not sure if i understand...


you're saying you can self land a tube kite exactly the same from 12-35 knots?

back in the old days.. i had a heck of a time trying to self a tiny cloud in 30 knots winds.. it never wanted to stay on the ground.


i always needed a helper.. just like i would use if using a foil kite in 35 knots winds.
Yes. Its more difficult with an overpowered kite but the two options for self landing (anchor tether and walking the centre lines) both work the same from 12-35 knots. As with everything, local conditions may change how safe any technique is and having an assistant simplifies things so why wouldn't you have someone else land you (unless you are the first back onto the beach again)

I saw some photos on facebook of some guys who park their kites onto a tree to land between sessions(backstall at the edge and walk downwind so the kite wraps onto a tree with no low branches). I suspect this would work from 12-35 knots if you have the appropriate geographical features as all the line tension can be released and the kite its pinned in a stationary position. I wouldn't fancy relaunching from that position in strong wind though.

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Re: What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

Postby nothing2seehere » Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:27 am

Carlos_C wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:00 am
ensure the downwind tip is well sanded/weighted as this will flap and knot your bridles in about three seconds
Yeah. This is what puts me off a bit with the small foil kites. No sandy beach launch (grass football field launch spot) so I'd be carrying about a million sandbags to use instead. I did wonder if pre-inflating with a pump would make it flap less but I figure its difficult to pin to the floor then.

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Re: What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

Postby evan » Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:52 am

Inflated foil kites flap even more, pulling the kite to 45deg while burying the trailing edge is the only option to prevent tangles. Landing in storm will always be messy, even with an experienced lander.

But I did have good fun on the 6m Soul2 last storm, although it did became overpowerd when the gusts picked up to 50kn. Was flying it on 19/21m lines depending how you measure line length, did remove the 1m leaders on the the kite and swapped them for 12cm pigtails. The rings of the backlines wrapping around the power lines were annoying me too much.

Big difference in high end between my 7m v1 and this 6m v2, see if I dare to loop this 6m in less overpowerd conditions as the 7m was a bit too slow though the loo. so I kept it at double heliloops on those 22m jumps extending the hang time to 12s :)
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Re: What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

Postby cor » Thu Jun 03, 2021 2:58 pm

As much as I love foilkites and my 10m Soul, I would not recommend a foil kite anywhere above 30 knots. And yes, I´ve tried a 6m Soul, but LEIs are literally handling everything better in gusty, high wind conditions. Go with a (big air) 5 strut, high aspect LEI. It will be fast, floaty just like a foilkite, but it will be way more stable and - even more important - much easier to jump in these conditions.

To be frank, I have never seen anyone jumping higher/better on foil kites in conditions above 35 knots except maybe pros like Olly Bridge, and even he is training any new tricks on LEIs btw! If you want to go big and you are a semi experienced rider, go for a proper LEI.

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Re: What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

Postby Adventure Logs » Thu Jun 03, 2021 6:34 pm

evan wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 10:52 am
Big difference in high end between my 7m v1 and this 6m v2, see if I dare to loop this 6m in less overpowerd conditions as the 7m was a bit too slow though the loo. so I kept it at double heliloops on those 22m jumps extending the hang time to 12s :)
Loop it! I've looped my Soul2 8m a little already and it's possible. To help with the surge, shorten the rear lines a little more. Feels like the V2 has a slightly more powerful loop but that could just be new kite syndrome. Interesting about the top end differences between the 7m and 6m, I REALLY wanted a Soul2 7m.

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Re: What foil kite for stormy weather on twintip

Postby knyfe » Sun Jun 06, 2021 9:28 pm

elguapo wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 1:28 am
back in the old days.. i had a heck of a time trying to self a tiny cloud in 30 knots winds.. it never wanted to stay on the ground.
Yes, clouds don’t stay on the ground at all but that’s clouds - I have 2. Normal tubes dont have that issue but I also don’t prefer to self land a tube above 25. But with a helper it’s no difference launching and landing a tube at 10 or at 35. With a foil there is a huge difference - especially launching at 35. Even landings at 35 are a mess - mostly to be sorted out later on. G


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