I purchased a Chrono V1 (9m) as a higher wind kite and having launched it a couple of times in the 20mph wind range it’s not for the faint hearted and needs careful planning.
It fly’s very fast across the wind window and in hindsight I would suggest this kite would suit a lighter rider in less wind.
For me if I arrived at the beach to find the wind speed around 15mph I could either the use my 12m or the 9m Chrono. The 9m may need a bit of working at first but once you are up and running is a great kite.
For the 20mph plus winds I opted for a Mid AR kite to use, having said that I recently launched my new Peter Lynn Nova 10m in 20mph plus winds and had to place more sand than usual on the up wind wing tip, put sand on the speed system to hold it place to avoid any tangles when launching. You have to be totally committed as you lift the downwind wing tip to start the launch process, it launched very well with no issues. I walked to the water only to find the wind was even stronger! and felt very over powered and came in.
I checked wind speed again to find it 25mph and hitting almost 30!
Interesting to read that in the 2024 Olympics that kite racing will be introduced, using kites from 7 to 21m in winds from five to 40 knots! (40 knots = 46mph) I would suggest that launching a race kite successfully in a 40 knot wind is a competition in it self.
https://www.kiteworldmag.com/news/clear ... ic-future/