Flysurfer Peak Size

[Peter_Frank]

I am using 19 m lines, and used 21 m before that.

Have tried 16 m lines a handful of times, till I found out it was pretty useless for me with the 3 m2...

So around 20 m is my "sweetspot".

Yes the kite is tiny up there, but you lose all the dynamics with too short lines, in particular because a 3 m2 Peak has such immense range, but one can not use it if too short lines, as this is where you lack the lines to smooth out the power so you dont lose the foil in maneuvers.

As I might have said before, the smallest kites works better at a tad longer lines, as it smoothens out the power and you dont get the bad on/off feeling.

Whereas the medium sizes can be used with shorter lines if you prefer (I dont, but we are all different), and the big sizes of course longer lines.

Peter

[jumptheshark]

To each their own.

I use 11m lines on the 3m and 14m on the 4m and love it for the absolute immediacy in response and placement. Everything along the lines of tacking transitions or soft landings is much harder, but to truly tap into the Peaks super power everyone with a sense of curiosity should try line length out for themselves. Like everything there are trade offs.

NO disrespect to Peter. I put loads of stock in his opinions, but this is one variable I differ on.

All my skills have been figured out and practiced on 5 and 6m Peaks on 19 and 21m lines. The attenuation of lift and power is super helpful and only once a skill is truly learned can I do it with a tiny kite. But ALL the riding of my daydreams is small peak/short lines.

[Flyboy]

To each their own.

I use 11m lines on the 3m and 14m on the 4m and love it for the absolute immediacy in response and placement. Everything along the lines of tacking transitions or soft landings is much harder, but to truly tap into the Peaks super power everyone with a sense of curiosity should try line length out for themselves. Like everything there are trade offs.

NO disrespect to Peter. I put loads of stock in his opinions, but this is one variable I differ on.

All my skills have been figured out and practiced on 5 and 6m Peaks on 19 and 21m lines. The attenuation of lift and power is super helpful and only once a skill is truly learned can I do it with a tiny kite. But ALL the riding of my daydreams is small peak/short lines.

Longer lines make it easier to smooth out gusts and lulls, but once you get into the smaller Peaks the kite speed does the same thing and the shorter lines make you feel much more connected to the kite during transitions. I've always loved using the 4m Peak and the 3m Peak is more of the same.

I will say, that based on my experience, the 3m Peak is definitely not equivalent to a 3.5m LEI ... more like a 4m. Of course, I've only ever used one 3.5m LEI, so it may vary with other kites. I'm psyched to now have a complete quiver of Peaks - no more packing a "bulky" 3.5m LEI and pump to the beach!

[Peter_Frank]

To each their own.

I use 11m lines on the 3m and 14m on the 4m and love it for the absolute immediacy in response and placement. Everything along the lines of tacking transitions or soft landings is much harder, but to truly tap into the Peaks super power everyone with a sense of curiosity should try line length out for themselves. Like everything there are trade offs.

NO disrespect to Peter. I put loads of stock in his opinions, but this is one variable I differ on.

All my skills have been figured out and practiced on 5 and 6m Peaks on 19 and 21m lines. The attenuation of lift and power is super helpful and only once a skill is truly learned can I do it with a tiny kite. But ALL the riding of my daydreams is small peak/short lines.

Thanks, and true, we ride very differently I assume, so personal taste simply.

I use a 3 m2 from 17-18 knots, and the 4 m2 from 14-15 knots, being 78 kg.

Assume you ride in more wind with these sizes, as otherwise not possible to carve around easy if using 11 and 14 m lines, well at least not possible with 15-16 m lines in above winds, is my experience.

Lulls and gusts are no problem, it is the carving experience and on a wave when turning around, I either need more wind or "std" linelengths.
And I dont ride in more wind

Peter

[Trent hink]

For me, and I understand it's personal preference, 20 meters is short lines.

The three meter Peak 4 is simply amazing within the range where it works on 20 meter lines.

[jumptheshark]

20m is not so short when there is 5m of bridle.

25m from kite to bar is what I used to run while going for big air on a TT back in the day.

Most current Wave LEIs are run on 20-21m lines and that equates to right about where I run my 4m Peak.

[PugetSoundKiter]

20m is not so short when there is 5m of bridle…

Why is it that Peak kites have 1m long pigtails?

I’ve replaced them with 5cm pigtails to reduce tangles and simply my disconnect & pack down (I use a larksheads in the center L&R Z bridles at the trailing edge around the L&R pigtail pairs knots, then roll & fold away).

[Adventure Logs]

Personally when it comes to line lengths and Peaks I think it depends a lot on how you fly these kites(do you actively fly your kite or park it), your weight/board size(to get up on foil), size of Peak(I think the smaller the Peak, the more critical line length is), and what you are use to.

On my new Peak5 6m, I'm usually running 15m lines. That kite has a larger power spike for me so line length isn't as important for the initial surge to get up on foil. The only reason I would go longer lines is if I'm pushing the ultimate low end. In higher winds I've seen no real advantage going shorter to 12m. I don't think how you fly this size will matter as much with line length as it's not that fast and you'll have more time to react even with short lines. Shorter than 15m lines I sometimes see a little deforming in the wing on hard turns and she'll snap into a spiral a little easier but with the crap relaunch of these, I don't like having the kite that close to the water. Not enough gain to risk a crash and swim in going shorter. So 15m is a good compromise for power spike, reactiveness, and "room to play".

On the 3m and now 2.5, the shorter the lines the harder it is to fly the kite. First off it really kills the range because you really need a nice wide loop to get up at the lower end of the wind range and shorter lines means shorter loop and less "Ummph". Also shorter lines for me takes away from the session because I have to watch the kite significantly more. I like to actively fly with loops/spirals/backstalling and with short lines it's so much easier to put the kite in the water because it's just that fast. I really have to watch how the kite exits loops, especially in high winds, and it just takes away from the "experience". On longer lines I can have more fun with the kite with less worry because I can do longer spirals, throw the kite around more eyes off, and backstall it deeper because there's more time/room before the kite hits the water. You'll get flapping sooner with longer lines but with the change in the Peak5, that's even less of a concern.

[Flyboy]

The way I see it, the point about foiling is the efficiency and lack of drag minimizes the brute power you need to apply, the possible exception being during water starts (and of course if you want to go really fast or jump big).

20m lines are the equivalent of 23m lines on a LEI, which to me is a normal/long length. If I can't water start with 20m lines I'm nor really interested in creating more of a low end spike by adding longer lines because at that point the riding experience starts to become too marginal.

17m lines are the equivalent of 20m lines on a LEI, which to me is a normal/short length. You lose something at the low end and gain a more responsive, connected feel to the kite. With the 4m and 3m I choose this length. If the wind is in the higher end of the 5m range, I will use 17m lines also. If you're turning on a wave you don't want, or need, the extra boost from the kite -the idea is to use the power of the wave. The few times I've used 14m lines it has noticeably reduced the efficiency of the kite. I can see it (and shorter) for "real wave" foiling though - closer, I guess, to winging.

Having said all that, I was psyched to use the 3m yesterday with forecasts of wind in the mid-20's. As it turned out, it was a rare occasion when the forecast was way under what happened. When I rigged up the wind was around 27 knots gusting into the low 30's. So I went with 14m lines. This was not much of a help as the wind was gusty & the water was very rough inside the "reef" and jacking up to double overhead swells on the outside. It was quite manageable, but not really what I look for in a Peak foiling experience. I came in after an hour as the wind increased hoping that if I sat it out for a while the wind might drop a bit. Instead, it continued to build. By late in the afternoon it was 35 gusting to 42 knots. The guys on SB's and 5m & 6m kites had already packed it in. Couple of guys windsurfing with 3.7m sails.

So ... my ideal Peak wind ranges (around 82 kg):

6m 10 - 14 knots
5m 13 - 17 knots
4m 15 - 19 knots
3m 18 - 25 knots

More than 25 knots - time for the SB.

[Adventure Logs]

Was it just bouncing around too much for you? I've found on the Peak4s when over powered, keeping some tension on the bar helps reduce the flapping some.