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First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

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FLandOBX
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Re: First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

Postby FLandOBX » Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:32 am

Definitely go with the 15 m at your size and with the light wind goals that you're hoping to achieve.

I've never been a fan big door TTs, but you can have a lot of fun in light wind on a directional (surfboard). You can pick up a used directional cheap, and it'll improve your riding skills a lot.

I have a quiver of LEIs plus a Soul 10 m (and a FS Speed 4 15m). As others have said, foil kites turn slowly compared to LEIs. If you like to loop your kite for transitions and jumps, you'll sense the slow speed of a foil kite even more. For that reason, I don't use my Soul for TT any more, but it's a great kite for foilboarding. If you don't loop your kite often, you'll thoroughly enjoy the floaty hangtime and lift of a Soul, even on a TT.

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Re: First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

Postby Janus » Thu Nov 18, 2021 9:27 am

Wel.. 10kts.. and almost 90kg naked I asume..

I would suggest a 18m.. not my cup of tea but I've had a session with a 18m Sonic and a slightly bigger TT in 10kts (70kg).. what a blast it was, thought the wind picked up..nope.. almost every one standing still and tubes comming down..
A 15m will be to small imo, thats more 10kts area for a 65/70kg person.

If you can try a 15m and 18m, and getting the most of low wind from a foil kite is a skill, so don't expect performeance out the box..

Also I suggest to give a skimboard a try, a lot off fun in low wind with your tubes.(but why not go the hydrofoling route?)

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Re: First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

Postby downunder » Thu Nov 18, 2021 3:18 pm

AL is funny, anything contra his experience is a BS for him...

Get 18m. Im riding 17m R1 in that wind and only 59kg.

If I can handle 17m u can handle 18m too. Its a blast on low wind. Yes, its a swim in but hey, dont put it in a drink.

Because it is so slow, you wont.

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Re: First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

Postby HALF » Thu Nov 18, 2021 4:02 pm

At around 85kg i never needed more than the 15m soul I had, with a surfboard you could ride it until the kite starts falling from the sky around 6kn.

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Re: First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

Postby edt » Thu Nov 18, 2021 5:12 pm

Adventure Logs wrote:
Wed Nov 17, 2021 5:35 pm

If you can afford foil kite I would say it's interesting experience worth trying but be prepare for love-hate relationship, when foil kite work and you can ride and jump in
I would disagree with a lot of these statements and will blame many of this guys problems with inexperience
agree just keep flying the foil these problems will of course not go away entirely but lesson to the degree that it's not a big deal. You should be prepared to spend as much time on a foil set up and take down total as a tube kite. For a tube kite this means a long time pumping up, then deflating, but for a foil kite, the long setup time is looking at your bridles, making sure they are right and then at packdown, carefully placing them inside the kite when you pack down or leaving the bar attached. The soul is an incredible relaunch machine. Remember you never tug one line to relaunch always tug both lines and do a reverse launch. The soul never takes on water in the first one or two years you own it, it stays filled up with air and unless it gets rolled by a wave you can spend 10 minutes trying to relaunch it, and it won't take on water. The swim is real though. The dreaded bow tie is what does it for me. Sometimes an overhead wave eats it, and then doesn't matter tube kite or foil kite you have to full release. To be sure there is more swimming involved in a foil kite, if like me you like to push yourself and crash a lot.

The soul is my favorite kite I have never flown a kite so nice over the last 10 years. Now as for size. A soul will pull about 2 meters higher than a tube kite of the same size, so if get a 12m soul it will pull about the same as a 14m pivot. I'll be contrary here and suggest a 12m soul not the 15m. The soul is so much more fun than the 12pivot in the same wind, you'll want more overlap. Huuuuge board offs, incredible float.

The problem with a 15m is that if the wind picks up you'll have to immediately switch to the pivot and there are two problems with this. 1) you don't get to develop your skills with a foil kite when it gets windy and 2) the soul will be saved for "garbage wind" only, and it deserves more than this.

what a great kite!

If you want a 19m kite for super light wind, just get a pansh, then you can fly them during garbage wind time. Oh and the pansh? that gulps water like a goldfish. So don't crash it.

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Re: First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

Postby Adventure Logs » Thu Nov 18, 2021 7:25 pm

SolarSet wrote:
Wed Nov 17, 2021 6:16 pm
Adventure Logs wrote:
Wed Nov 17, 2021 5:35 pm

I would disagree with a lot of these statements and will blame many of this guys problems with inexperience.
OP never ridden foil kite hence I wrote my experiences when I started to use foil kite, if you think that any if these are not correct for beginner foil kite user please enlighten us
Why I stated in my first sentence that it was due to inexperience. I'm just stating that those problems solve themselves when you get experience under your belt. With experience you can easily setup and pack away a foil kite kite easier and faster as well.

With his weight I still recommend the 15m. It's one of those special sizes like the 10m. No reason for him to go bigger unless here's really thinking of a light wind only dedicated kite. The 15m can still take pretty strong winds and still be manageable.

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Re: First Foil Kite - What size Flysurfer Soul?

Postby JakeFarley » Thu Nov 18, 2021 10:23 pm

I got my first foil kite (21m Speed 5) in 2017. I read up here on this forum about launching and landing, etc. I've had only a couple of bridle tangles as I always leave the bar attached to the kite and I am meticulous about wrapping and unwrapping the lines on the bar. The key with bridle tangles is that you do not pull on the bridle, always keep the bridle loose and shake out any tangles. At the most I've taken maybe 1 minute to untangle. Also, you have to make sure you do not get a line going around the bar and the resulting lines being crossed. Double and triple check your lines before launch.

With my 21m I can ride in 10 knots when the only other kiters are on hydrofoils. And I can hold it up to around 18-20 knots. With my 12m Soul I need 12 knots minimum and when the wind gets to 25 knots it is definitely scary for me. I weigh 92 kg.

I second what was said earlier that a 12m Soul is equivalent to a 14m LEI. The only problem I've had with my 12m Soul is mixer twist. It seems that the rings where the flying lines attach to the mixer/bridle get snagged/twisted even if everything is in order. The key is to lay out the mixer with the rings separated before launching. If you launch with them twisted, you can run downwind and shake the lines to untangle. If that does not work you have to land as flying with the mixer twisted will wear the lines.


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