DariKite wrote: ↑Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:20 am
I’m a beginner and I’m looking for advice on building my kite quiver. I already have a 12m kite. I will travel to Brazil this year and I need to buy a smaller kite to be able to ride in more windy conditions.
While doing research I see that most people rarely have a gap wider than 3 meters (maybe 4m at the most) between each kite. However, I see that some kite models supposedly have a huge wind range.
I was looking at the official Cabrinha Switchblade wind range chart based on a 75kg rider.
2017 Switchblade 75kg Wind Range Oficial.jpg
If I read this chart correctly, for a 75kg rider, a 12m and a 7m Switchblade might be able to cover a range of maybe 9kn to 32kn with only two kites?
The 12m starts with gray color at 9kn and ends at almost 20kn. The 7m starts with gray color at maybe 18kn and ends at maybe 32kn.
There is a 5m gap between them. Does the gray color mean that the rider may feel underpowered/overpowered or uncomfortable at that wind speed? If I wanted to build a quiver for wind speeds between 9kn to 32kn would I be able to accomplish that with 2 kites?
I understand there are endless variables like what board you use, what style of kiteboarding you will be riding, your actual weight and body type, skill level (I don’t plan to be a beginner for ever and will ride above 25kn at some point), etc. But I’d like to know , in general terms, if with current technology it would be reasonable to expect to cover the above wind range with two kites or if one would feel uncomfortable at some point in the above wind range.
If I needed to buy a 3rd kite, should the quiver be 12m, 9m, and 7m? Or maybe if I’m on a budget just get an 8m for now and cover the 9kn to maybe 28kn range without uncomfortable gaps?
Just thought i've point out that 9 knots on a 12m is not achievable at all on a standard TT. If you want quiver to go from 9 to 32 knots for TT you will need from 17m to 7m. It will not be achievable safely with a 2 kite quiver. You will need at least 3 kites and 2 boards. 17m, 11m, 8m. light wind TT, standard TT.
However if you get a little more realistic on the low end then you can achieve a 2 kite quiver from 16 to 32 knots. Perhaps an 11m, 8m.
There is a way to go from 9 to 32 knots with 2 kites. That is to have more boards. 12m and 8m, with hydrofoil and TT/sb will achieve the desired result.
12m will work 9-15 on the foil, 15-24 on the TT
8m will work 10-20 on the foil and 22-32 on the TT.
Now talking about foil decadence, 2m gap is best from 12m down. I run 12,10,8,6,4. And i can say it is glorious indeed.
If you have a bigger than 2m gap you will find a hole in your wind range when you are too powered/underpowered if you want to indulge the same style of riding. The way around this is to have more kites/boards and or be prepared to indulge different styles of riding when different wind conditions present themselves. That way you will not be annoyed by having the wrong sized kite.
On a side note. A beginner should not be attempting 30+ knots at all. That is windy indeed. It is the wind conditions that will send you to hosipital or worse if you pilot the kite incorrectly Sit out high wind sessions until you have a year or 2 of good experience in you. Even then many people are neither comfortable or capable for riding in high winds.