Please have a look on the official wind range for Zephyr...
As you can see you can be powered preety well from 11-15 knots (experienced riders but with no fat asses..
). After that it is smart to use smaller kite which turns faster and generally has much more fun..
This kite can fly from 8-10 knots but believe me does not have fun at all. Even with a big board (145X45) you have to move up and down the kite to get power and keep going upwind... Of course you can only do some smalls jumps. My weight is 83 kg and I have flown the kite once in 8-12 knots. I borrowed the kite from a friend. In my personal opinion
bar pressure is average or maybe a little above. I like bars with less bar pressure. Of course
if you asked me to compare Zephyr with my previous big kite which was Cabrinha Contra 17m 2007 (bow) I can tell you that the difference is HUGE! Contra has extra extra big tubes and you must spend a lot of time to pump it up...
As regard the bar pressure I can admit that you must have super power to keep going for a long time...
Also Contra is a heavy kite (super big tubes) which means that cannot stay up in the sky if the wind drops significantly. Zephyr in the other hand will keep flying..
Another point that should be mentioned is the turning speed. Zephyr of course turns faster than Contra but you can't change the fact that is a big kite. 17m is a small studio apartment...!!
So, don't expect miracles on the turning speed..
Furthermore Zephyr can be flown even in 20 knots from heavier riders but it's annoying and tiresome. But for sure you can go safely and land your kite because
has huge depower and this is good
.
In general Zephyr beats Contra in all aspects.
If you want only to take a ride when the wind is very light, Zephyr it's a good choice. But if you want to have fun in 8-11 knots, then buy this kite only if you are a light rider... If you are a havier rider and want to have real fun, a foil kite like flysurfer or the new spleene would be a wiser choise for these light wind days..