why exactly is the flysurfer peak the best kite ever made?

[edt]

I guess I understand that it's no good for boosting, it's no good for doing twintip tricks, it's no good for going upwind.

So it's good for surfing because it has the best drift? And packs down tiny no pump, even smaller than my soul. What else am I missing? I just read about 100 responses of that peak 4 thread and nearly all of the thread is devoted to how to water relaunch the kite. I don't care about that, just tell me why I need one. I do like boosting on my hydrofoil with my soul it's one of my favorite things. And in the great lakes, hmm let's just say the swell isn't so swell. I understand this thread might get folded into that colossus thread, but I got tired of reading post after post about water relaunching and bridle tangles.

Tell me why it's the best kite ever made for the water. I want to learn. Thanks. There are some peaks local so I know I'll eventually get to demo one then maybe I will love it or maybe not I don't know.

[FLandOBX]

I haven't flown the Peak yet either, edt, but your description of its strengths and weaknesses matches my impressions based on a lot of research into single skin foils. So far, I've opted to stick with a FS Soul 10 for light wind foiling and possibly move to single strut LEIs for higher wind foiling.

I think the Peak excels for some, but not all purposes. Like you, I like to boost with my hydrofoil, and I like lift from the kite through transitions. I just don't think the Peak checks those boxes. For wave and free ride foilers who don't care about lift/boosting, but want a highly responsive, affordable, quick turning kite, the Peak seems to satisfy. But I don't think it's "the best kite ever made" for everyone or for all purposes. It's a specialized tool for some, but not all.

[jumptheshark]

It’s not the best kite, but so far it’s definitely my favourite, a pretty personal preference for sure. What it does do must be enough that it would seem at least a few are willing to go through the effort of dealing with no relaunch, boost or upwind. If your into your kites, great. I think the first thousand posts more than covers their strengths. Maybe read the earlier posts. It’s only natural the conversation eventually settles around dealing effectively with the weaknesses. Sorry to dissuade you but clearly Peaks are not for everyone. There are plenty who have tried them and left disappointed, still…. Bit strange to complain about a degree of interest in something you have not tried and appear disinterested in.

I guess, I once started a few threads wondering what the deal is with board offs. Got banned for it! I must have evolved since then cause they don’t really bother me anymore. Still don’t see the attraction but I do understand someone else might choose a completely different type of kiteboarding.

You may feel riding lake swell is somehow less than what you do. I simply disagree.

[bigtone667]

Simple and easy to use if you do not make mistakes. Packs down well, simple to launch ...... Flaps and is noisy if slightly over-powered and doesn't go that well upwind. Amazing drift.
Helps if you weigh less than 100kg and are not launching in on-shore conditions.

Basically you own one for foiling.

[br44]

Self launching and self landing are second to none. I’ve done that among trees, in places where I’d never take another kite. When some folks say they have to wingfoil because there are no good places to launch, that basically means they haven’t tried a Peak.

It’s the safest kite design. No pull after QR and no death loops, among others. If I am ever to be surprised by a squall (unlikely), or if the forecast says the wind may increase a lot, I want to be on a Peak.

It’s magic how you can ride towards the kite and do a lot of turns, even in lower winds. And you don’t need big waves to have fun. Footers will do.

It’s very good in gusty, dirty, crappy winds where other kites would have big problems.

It never falls out of the sky, which is a major advantage in shitty winds. My 8m fell in the water only once - because the wind stopped completely (zero breeze).

It’s pretty easy to pack down in deep water and swim with it, once you learn how.

It’s small enough to ride with another size in your backpack.

It’s also very easy to hate the Peak (have done that myself plenty). If you fly it above its wind range then it will flap like crazy and it will suck to no end. But the magic is still there, no doubt about that whatsoever.

[bragnouff]

I'd add that it's a kite that feels pretty normal to people only used to flying LEIs. It is very easy to fly, feedback on the bar is very direct and conventional, apart from the pinwheeling when choked.
It probably has some of the best power to weight ratio around, which makes it brilliant for backcountry snowkiting, its original design target. The fact that it has some major overlapping usage with hydrofoiling is great.

If you define "best" with the criteria of speed, upwind ability, L/D, boostability then the Peak4 kind of sucks. But for freeride/wave foiling where the criteria of drift, reactivity and resilience to falling take higher priority, it is a top performer indeed.

[tmcfarla]

The main thing I like so much about the peaks is that they are incredibly fun to fly. They zip around the wind window like a stunt kite, and they spill almost all power when sheeting out. Even with fast inflatables, there is an aspect of steering a kite that is like driving a boat- you have to anticipate where the kite will be when turning it. With peaks, they are just immediately wherever you tell them to go, and also facing the direction of your choosing, and with as much or as little pull as you desire- other kites just simply don’t fly like that. It is almost like the kite has an additional dimension of movement, and this opens up so much freedom when foiling.

Drift is really nice, though I’m usually on flat water, so less important for me.

Huge wind range is kind of nice, but they have a quite small comfortable wind range, even if absolute wind range is very wide. Fast setup/launch is kind of nice, though I can pack up an inflatable faster. Less weight to carry around is nice, but not a big deal.

The biggest downer is that upwind is bad. I can still point upwind as well as I can on a surfboard/inflatable, but I definitely miss doing a few short tacks too get a couple miles upwind. Safety is definitely a real concern, and I’ve started wearing a life jacket kiting for the first time. Relaunch is not nearly as good as people make it out to be, they will sometimes just bounce out of the water, but if they are hit by the tiniest of wave, they are staying down.

They aren’t perfect, and they aren’t for everyone, but my other kites just seem so slow and cumbersome in comparison.

[Peter_Frank]

Because the main Peak4 thread has over 75 posts per month, even the "Most sexy kite picture" thread is only at 35

Just kidding, but as there are very few in the main thread who dont love it, it might be an indication of how loveable the 6-5-4-3 m2 Peak4's are for strapless riders in particular


For me:

They can zip around in every way and corner you like, super playful.
Gigantic drift capabilities, also nice on flat water when needed.
Flat water is amazing fun with a Peak4 also.
Even ankle snapper waves are fun to play on.
They dont drop if wind drops.
Turns amazing, and hold their shape perfectly even in turns.
Superfast to setup and pack down.
Packs small and light.
Can be launched and landed in the most crazy places - suddenly you have a lot more options than before.

It is low cost, high quality.

Blasts upwind a lot more than needed on a hydrofoil - it is not a competition so not about getting first to the mark.

- and if it was a competition, it would win every single "having fun" competition

Peter

[tomi3000]

It is the easiest kite to fly and to keep in the air
Very reactive, fast and fun to fly when powered
Direct feeling on bar
I use it one handed 90% of time
It can drift like no other kite, and even when it folds it takes forever before it hits water
Can recover on its own if it loses traction/folds, it just unfolds when lines regain tension, amazing
It has almost no inertia meaning when depowered it just stops and can be redirected
Very safe, no risk of being lifted, dragged etc. when hit by a gust
Salf landing friendly
Quick setup, packdown
No maintance
Cheap

[Jyoder]

Another Peak thread?! Come on….

Be careful about drinking the coolaide. Foilers on kiteforum are vastly biased towards slow surf foil style riding with minimal kite power, for which the peak excels.

But, if you like riding with power, riding a smaller faster foil, and trying new crazy tricks where you end up crashing head over heels and drop the kite, then the Peak maybe isn’t for you.

I sold my 3m and 4m long ago and never looked back, except to periodically peek into the Peak thread to see if there really is anything new…