edt wrote:
dude i only wanted comments from people that LOVE the kite.
LOL I wonder what PMU has to say.
IMO its the best kite for down-wind swell riding on the foil in 3-4-5m conditions as long as you are comfortable with the possibility of a swim. But that's it.
Unhooked the peak is an interesting proposition. To tune the kite for unhooked you lose the ability to fly it backwards and the ability to hover the kite leading edge pointing down.
I've launched some pretty sketchy places with my tubes. One time I swam out with my pump pumped up the kite in the water and then drift launched.
I think the thing about the peak isn't that you can launch in tighter places but if you fail the kite doesn't get ripped to shreds it just folds up and stays put so there's more margin for error.
every single peak thread eventually turns into "water launching the peak" thread. I'm awful glad we got some really great comments in before that happened thanks everyone.
Here’s my experience water relaunching a Peak 4 4m in about 20 knots of wind
This video is worth thousands of words. Mostly curse words I’d say
Alright, I’ll bite.
That was a comedy of errors. Pretty much every mistake possible and in the end he still gets it flying! Took him 9 min. I can do it smoothly in under 4.
If you don’t like em, you never have to learn it, but the process has been figured out and that was not it. It’s pretty easy and drama free regardless of wind strength. A downed peak doesn’t pull.
That was a deliberate ditch. Pretty stupid if you don’t have a clue what to do next. In those conditions even a new peak rider will not just let it hit the water on slack lines like that. Most ditched peaks in those winds keep shape because they were crashed accidentally. Pretty instant relaunch when the kite keeps line tension. This guy was in for a reset (which he managed to pull off despite himself) about a second after he purposefully let it touch the water hands free and it flopped.
Totally illustrates the confidence inspiring properties of this kite. The fact that, when flown in its adequate wind range, you can instantly dump all power, and regain some juice almost as instantly, anywhere in the window, is a good incentive to explore different lines, different bits of terrain, even if that involves getting pretty close to obstacles, knowing that the kite is not going to suddenly drag you into them or pull you off the slope. Of course there are probably limits in that, and the more you play with fire the more risk there is to eventually get burned, but from Bruno's video, those limits seem to be way beyond what a reasonable person would even think of.
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Here’s my experience water relaunching a Peak 4 4m in about 20 knots of wind
This video is worth thousands of words. Mostly curse words I’d say
Alright, I’ll bite.
That was a comedy of errors. Pretty much every mistake possible and in the end he still gets it flying! Took him 9 min. I can do it smoothly in under 4.
If you don’t like em, you never have to learn it, but the process has been figured out and that was not it. It’s pretty easy and drama free regardless of wind strength. A downed peak doesn’t pull.
That was a deliberate ditch. Pretty stupid if you don’t have a clue what to do next. In those conditions even a new peak rider will not just let it hit the water on slack lines like that. Most ditched peaks in those winds keep shape because they were crashed accidentally. Pretty instant relaunch when the kite keeps line tension. This guy was in for a reset (which he managed to pull off despite himself) about a second after he purposefully let it touch the water hands free and it flopped.
Tyler is a master of flying ram airs but that deliberate and eventually successful experience alone was plenty enough to sell the kite. And for me to stop considering getting one. “Peaks are awesome as long as you’re ok swimming in occasionally” I was advised by another rider
Suit yourself but using a clip of user error to make your point is disingenuous. Might be a genius at flying kites but he simply didn’t know what to do yet still fluked a relaunch! With a bit more understanding he could do it reliably in half the time with a quarter the effort, and so could you. Maybe if Slingshot make one someday you will change your perspective.