Flysurfer Peak Size

[joe f]

I am a HUGE fan of the peaks and have the 3m,4m and 5m of the Peak 4, along with a 9m Soul for light winds. I really don't enjoy the Soul as much as the Peaks on the foil, but have always suspected that it is the wind (super light) rather than the kite as I did have an 8m Peak for a bit but it was not as good as the Soul and definitely didn't have the Peak magic.

I find it hard to resist new toys and have been eying up the new Peak 5s. Has anyone used both the 6m and 4m? If so, is that a workable gap (along with the 2.5m probably). I have always thought it sounds like madness to have a 3m, 4m and 5m but they work very well together. Some overlap, of course, but it feels like a very natural step up and down in sizing. Will I be able to eek out a bit more low end with the 6m but then step straight down to the 4m on the new generation, or is that a bit ambitious?

Thanks,
Joe

[Peter_Frank]

Joe, no problem IMO.

I love small steps in size in most wind sports (just me), but could definitely go with a 6 and 4 only, which friends also do.

I have the 6 m2 as Peak5 now, and 4 m2 as Peak4, but when both the 4 and 6 were Peak4 they could also overlap just fine without having a 5 m2.

And the Peak5 has a bit more range it seems, so should be no problem going 2½ - 4 - 6 I would say.

Yes I have the 5 m2 also, luxury.

Peter

[jkrug]

i have the 6m and 8m peaks. if i were to get rid of one of them, it would be the 6m in favor of an LEI. for me, the only reason to use these kites is their pull in lighter winds, and their drift. i find if i use the 6m in lighter winds then i should, it likes to stall a lot. but i never have that problem with the 8m. so, for me, the 8m is my ultimate light wind kite, and thereafter as the wind gets stronger, i'd just assume use a more reliable re-launcher, i.e., an LEI. when my 6m is spent, i won't replace it with another peak. not so for my 8m.

[Adventure Logs]

The Peak5s in my opinion have a little larger range than the previous generation. I have the P5 6m and 2.5m. Sadly the weather hasn't cooperated so haven't gotten to fly the 2.5m yet but when I do I'll report how much of a gap there is between the two sizes.

[joe f]

Yes I have the 5 m2 also, luxury.

Luxuries are nice....

Thanks for thoughts. Good to know.

[Peter_Frank]

i have the 6m and 8m peaks. if i were to get rid of one of them, it would be the 6m in favor of an LEI. for me, the only reason to use these kites is their pull in lighter winds, and their drift. i find if i use the 6m in lighter winds then i should, it likes to stall a lot. but i never have that problem with the 8m. so, for me, the 8m is my ultimate light wind kite, and thereafter as the wind gets stronger, i'd just assume use a more reliable re-launcher, i.e., an LEI. when my 6m is spent, i won't replace it with another peak. not so for my 8m.

This is totally opposite everyones experiences

I think, if you will allow me to deduce:

You have heard about the Peak hype, and got one or two big ones yourself, aiming for light wind - as you got LEI's for higher wind, where weight is not essential.

And trying a REAL Peak (smaller than 6 m2), you found it odd, or havent tried one, yet.

This is a classic case unfortunately, and not good.

Those starting with small Peaks, getting used to these, and then all love these, go up in size to get the "Magic" on the whole range, and find they dont work the same in any way.

The thing is, the small Peak almost have to stall, it is why they are so magical.

They can be sheeted fully out/in on a few inches, so extremely sensitive at first, impossible to ride if you start with a 3 or 4 m2.
But this will come naturally quite fast, just like learning to foil - muscle memory kicks in, but at first you are hopeless

They turn on a dime, drift like nothing else - but most importantly, they generate power like NOTHING ELSE, as they accelerate like a bat out of hell, and no power loss when looped.
AND, you can stall the kite, if you want to dump power fully - all in a small tweak with your hand
You can ride with shorter lines than LEI's and obtain the same qualities - another plus.

Whereas the bigger sizes has longer sheeting, turns lousy, no acceleration thus no peak power.
So they are all very lame and saggy so to speak...
Worse than a double skin big foilkite
But big Peaks has amazing qualities in terms of not bow tying and able to hang in less wind than you can ride, easily - so many love these for that, understandably.

They ride a lot like lower aspect foil kites like the Soul or similar, just less upper windrange of course.

So if used to kites like that, I get why you like the big Peaks.

But I have never met anyone NOT liking the small Peaks - but you can probably not just borrow one, as you have to use some time to get used to the delicate touch.

And no, smaller LEI's are nowhere near the qualities of the small Peak kites - not by a long shot.
We all, me included, thought it was perfect with LEI's as most have the small (and sometimes light) LEI kites for waveboards, so in more wind, they were perfect (we thought, wrongly !!!)

I can not emphasize sufficiently, how amazing this discovery about small Peaks is, a quantum leap

And the opposite - many who try a Peak bigger than 5 or 6, dont get the Hype - and this is true, as there ARE no hype about these, many kites do the same or a lot better.

Everyone using small Peaks knows exactly what I point out here - but very few knows.

Sorry if I am all wrong, and you might simply have different likings - but it is my impression based on everything you write jkrug.

Peter

[tmcfarla]

I only have a 5m and 3m, so can’t speak for the 6/8. I will say that the 5m gets me out in the lightest wind I’ve ever kited in. Significantly better low end than 10m single strut, and slightly better than my 12m cloud. I will also say that while both 5 and 3 are awesome kites, I love the 3m more. So my recommendation would echo most others- start with smaller sizes and then larger sizes if desired later.

[Trent hink]

I understand your point, Peter, but I am not sure if this is exactly the same thing.

The 8 turns more or less fast enough, the main problem is that for lightweight riders it works in winds that are light enough to pretty easily overtake the kite just on wave power.

The reason I suggested it as maybe possible, is that my friend who is about 17 kg heavier than me is riding the peak5 6 meter and does not appear to be overpowered when I am well-powered on the peak4 4 meter. He also told me he thought that the 8 meter drifted pretty well, but he is using that kite in way more wind than I ever would.

Of course he likes the 6 much more than the 8, and I don't know for sure. So I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time!

It is quite interesting though - the thought of an 8 m2 for a big bloke working like the smaller kites for lighter riders?

I dont think so though.

Based on LEI kites, where a 17 m2 for a 125 kg rider does not work or loop as good and fun and lively as a 10 m2 for a 75 kg rider.

Something magical disappears around a certain size, so it is not scalable

Peter

[drsurf]

The new 5m Peak5 is the light wind kite for my 65kg. Can foil with it in such light wind that the gybes become technical as you have to fly the kite well ahead of your turn to keep line tension. In these winds LEI kite users don't even bother to rig up while I'm having fun. And even when I and another kiter have dropped the 5m Peak5 we've both been able to relaunch it in wind that would be too light to relaunch an LEI kite.
My 95kg friend also has a 5m Peak4 as his light wind kite and surprisingly only needs a knot or two more wind than me to get up on his foil.

3m and 4m Peak4's get the most use and are the most fun as Peter has described. It may seem ridiculous but I'm using my 3m Peak4 when TT riders are needing 12m LEI kites. I'm keenly waiting for my 2.5m and 4m Peak5 kites as if they replicate the 5m Peak5 performance, they'll increase my range and fun even more

The worst part of using Peak kites for foiling is that all other inflatable and twin skin foil kites feel heavy and sluggish by comparison. I do use my TT and surfboard in good winds with late model LEI and twin skin kites but I can foil up to 30 knots with short lines on a 3m Peak4 so foiling generally wins.

As Peter has described, the Peak kites are magic on a foil and the customers I have sold Peak kites too have quickly become converts to the cult

[bigtone667]

My thoughts:

I am 110kg and use the 8m (10+ knts) and 13m (7 to 10 knots) sizes the most ...... they are not powerful kites, so you need the bigger size to get started and it helps having a larger foil.

You also need to be super careful not to choke the kite when you are trying to get up onto the board as well.