Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

For all foil kite riders
geron
Frequent Poster
Posts: 256
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 4:08 am
Kiting since: 2017
Local Beach: Progreso,Yucatan
Gear: TT & foil
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 135 times
Been thanked: 34 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby geron » Fri Aug 24, 2018 12:23 pm

:D I want one of those 8.5; when can I get?

foilholio
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 3429
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 3:20 am
Local Beach: Ventura Beach
Favorite Beaches: Tarifa
Style: Airstyle
Gear: Foils
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 227 times
Been thanked: 148 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby foilholio » Fri Aug 24, 2018 2:53 pm

@Stef

What line lengths are you using with the CA Waves? Any different lengths for wave riding on Surfboard vs hydrofoil?

The projected area changes a lot. Is Benoit changing/evolving the design or just the size?

stefFZ
Medium Poster
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:20 am
Style: Strapless surfing
Gear: Concept Air Waves & Pulsions. Still a couple of Flysurfers P4.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 16 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby stefFZ » Sun Aug 26, 2018 10:25 am

geron wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 12:23 pm
:D I want one of those 8.5; when can I get?
I don't know. Right now there is only one that is going to be shipped to France for testing soon ... but Benoît seems pretty happy already, hence it could be soon since he produced "on demand" (see http://www.lesfoilz.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4128).
foilholio wrote: What line lengths are you using with the CA Waves? Any different lengths for wave riding on Surfboard vs hydrofoil?


I used 21m on my surfboard, sometimes 19m but I am mostly on 21m bars (FS PEak 2 bars). I don't play much with lines length.
foilholio wrote: The projected area changes a lot. Is Benoit changing/evolving the design or just the size?


The design evolves with every new size. None them are simple homothetic transformations of previous sizes (FYI in chronological order he made: 6.5 / 4.5 /3.0 / 8.5). There have been construction updates as well.

stefFZ
Medium Poster
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:20 am
Style: Strapless surfing
Gear: Concept Air Waves & Pulsions. Still a couple of Flysurfers P4.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 16 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby stefFZ » Sun Sep 16, 2018 11:04 am

I finally had the chance to first test the Wave 8.5 two days ago. The wind was 15-20 knots at a wave spot in South of France. There were some nice little waves too (waves are nice because it is a reef break but this is a dangerous spot). Around me there were 3 kites: a speed 3 or 4 12m with a no volume/mutant surf, a Naish 14m + TT (heavier rider), a Neo 12m + surfboard. I was with my beloved sweet potato 5'2.

I had not a clean spot to launch as there were a lot of plants with pikes on the ground. After a bit of search, I found a place where to put the 8.5 for launch but it must start right in the air and not slide on the ground. I put my 60cm bar with 19m lines and give it a frank pull on the front lines and right in the air. It inflates well without pulling. Once inflated stability looked very good -- and it better to because the beach is only 15m large with rocks on both sides. I went out in the water to avoid any surprise (that was not the perfect place to test a new kite but wind+waves + only time window to get out).

I stayed in the water for around 1h30 then I had to go back working. I have first tested the kite on long tacks to see how it goes upwind and speed, ok good that works pretty well and handle very well speed (no saturation). I do not struggle to go upwind, very easy indeed (with some wave kites this is painful)... then first frank turns of the kite, vow it turns, very agile, first grin on my face :-). Ok now I can go in waves seeing that the kite was behaving very well. I had to be precise because waves break on the reef and there is very little escape at the end. The kite turns very well and has an excellent depower. My fear was that with the increase in size, the kite would not be as dynamic as the smaller sizes, and thus not very fun to fly. But it is not, it is fun to fly and the one thing that really impresses me for that size/power is I could surf and loop the kite in one direction and then in the other direction on slack lines ... something that I do on the 4.5 and 6.5 and now on the 8.5 Cool! The Wave 8.5 is just like a big big trainer kite :) As the other sizes, the wave 8.5 is flying a lot on back lines, with little in the harness. This means that the bar pressure is not light (as for instance FS kites which fly mainly on front lines). That is on purpose as the aim while riding wave was to have a direct feeling with the kite and little in the harness to focus on surfing and have the hips "unlocked" (similar to being unhooked without the pitfalls of being unhooked ... shifting a little the consensus to more ease). This means that some riders may not like it as the concept here is to focus on surfing so everything is done in that direction. It can be surprising for riders who are used to very light bar pressure (this is something I don't like for surfing because this is more difficult to know where the kite is and it forces the rider to counter the power of the kite with the harness and it locks the waist/hips --I prefer to turn around my harm that holds the bar). This said, the bar pressure is similar to the 6.5, maybe less (my guess is less but this is subjective). On hydrofoil it is not an issue at all according to owners of the 6.5.

To sum it up, it is now in my two kites quiver for travelling light! Waves 4.5 + 8.5 + surfboard (paddle surfing below <12-15 and kites out otherwise). I am going to Argentina for 4 months so let's see what I can do with it on the Ocean on days off.

Here is some more (in French): http://www.lesfoilz.com/phpBB3/viewtopi ... 0&start=10

Stef

stefFZ
Medium Poster
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:20 am
Style: Strapless surfing
Gear: Concept Air Waves & Pulsions. Still a couple of Flysurfers P4.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 16 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

Postby stefFZ » Wed Sep 19, 2018 4:29 pm

Stéphane Goffinet in 12-15 knots with the CA Wave 4.5 -- French West coast (Brittany)
Stéphane Goffinet wrote:Avec une grosse pelle sous les pieds, ça fait un ensemble qui fonctionne au top !
https://vimeo.com/290220349

User avatar
Tony
Frequent Poster
Posts: 500
Joined: Wed Aug 07, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2000
Weight: 80 kg
Local Beach: Hatteras Island, NC
Style: Foil
Gear: Delta HA Foils 1280,1050,850,700
Airush Nitros and Duotone Slicks
Appletree Jazz
Bunch of other gear I need to sell
Location: North Carolina - USA
Has thanked: 43 times
Been thanked: 28 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

Postby Tony » Wed Sep 19, 2018 5:41 pm

Hi Stef,
Would this kite be ok for someone coming from tube kites? Been kiting since 2002 but all tubes except for a brief time with PL ARC.
I'm a beginner foiler riding up on the foil both directions, s curves and working on transitions.
When not foiling I'm on a surfboard.
From the videos it seems that relaunch is not an issue?
Also, it seems to launch easily with minimal drag, is that right?
Some of the launches I ride are tight.
What is the suggested line length, I have LF Mission bars 49/55 cm and 20m+3m lines.
Really like the looks of these kites and want to give one a try.
Thanks
Tony

tomtom
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1693
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 1:00 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 218 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

Postby tomtom » Wed Sep 19, 2018 7:21 pm

Hi,

Stef, there is guy on your forum, which has a 4,5 wave and 7 north neo as quiver in signature. Im Neo rider myself. I do not understand french - is there some text or info about Wave from Neo rider point of view? Many thanks.

Tomas

stefFZ
Medium Poster
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:20 am
Style: Strapless surfing
Gear: Concept Air Waves & Pulsions. Still a couple of Flysurfers P4.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 16 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

Postby stefFZ » Thu Sep 20, 2018 3:19 am

Tony wrote:
Wed Sep 19, 2018 5:41 pm
Hi Stef,
Would this kite be ok for someone coming from tube kites? Been kiting since 2002 but all tubes except for a brief time with PL ARC.
I'm a beginner foiler riding up on the foil both directions, s curves and working on transitions.
When not foiling I'm on a surfboard.
From the videos it seems that relaunch is not an issue?
Also, it seems to launch easily with minimal drag, is that right?
Some of the launches I ride are tight.
What is the suggested line length, I have LF Mission bars 49/55 cm and 20m+3m lines.
Really like the looks of these kites and want to give one a try.
Thanks
Tony
Hi Tony, I don't see why it would be a problem with your kiting experience. You will need to adjust to the way it flies to get the most of it but this not a difficult kite. You will need to learn how "to let go" the kite, to let it flies without pulling the bar all the way in and be too aggressive as you could be with a LEI kite. It will be fast and very maneuverable but you will obtain this in a different way, i.e. by being sweet, gentle and precise on the bar. In other words, you will need to pilot it and it will reward you ... to a point you will forget about it and enjoy the surf, especially in the smallest sizes.(*) As for bar length, I ride my 3, 4.5 and 6.5 on 51 cm FS bars with 21m lines and my 8.5 on a 60 cm bar with 19m (a friend of mine uses a 60cm on the 6.5 and I will do the same I think). It is important to spend some time fine tuning the line length (front / back) and you will have to decide where you want the sweet spot when you pull the bar (I like to have no backstall at all -- I usually obtain this by having the backstalling a little by pulling the bar all the way in and then I take a few cm on the front lines by pulling the trim -- others, often hydrofoilers prefer to have the sweet spot with the bar not fully pulled in).

(*) a surfboard with some volume and natural speed would be nice. The idea is to not use the kite when you surf (as for hydrofoiling with big wings in waves) so your surfboard does not need to be very radical. I use a Firewire Sweet Potato in almost every conditions, I switch to another type of board only when it is steep and powerful.

Relaunch is not an issue at all, better than almost all LEIs. It almost relaunch by itself in descent winds. This is something you will learn to do anyway, you can give it a try in the water to test it. As for launching alone in tight spots, not problem as well ... but I will work a bit on launching in a safe place to get accustomed with launching foils alone -- this is very easy and safe with some practice.
tomtom wrote: Hi,

Stef, there is guy on your forum, which has a 4,5 wave and 7 north neo as quiver in signature. Im Neo rider myself. I do not understand french - is there some text or info about Wave from Neo rider point of view? Many thanks.

Tomas
Hi Tomas, could you give me the name of the guy who rides a neo on our forum? I can ask him in French and give you some hints in English then.

tomtom
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1693
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 1:00 am
Has thanked: 23 times
Been thanked: 218 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

Postby tomtom » Thu Sep 20, 2018 7:41 am

Hi,

Its Marc - and this is his signature "Smart Wave 4,5m, North Neo 7m, boards surf & foil home made, foil Ketos, 75 kgs."
He wrote in this thread http://www.lesfoilz.com/phpBB3/viewtopi ... oncept+Air

many thanks!!!

Tomas

stefFZ
Medium Poster
Posts: 113
Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:20 am
Style: Strapless surfing
Gear: Concept Air Waves & Pulsions. Still a couple of Flysurfers P4.
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 16 times

Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

Postby stefFZ » Thu Sep 20, 2018 12:56 pm

tomtom wrote:
Thu Sep 20, 2018 7:41 am
Its Marc - and this is his signature "Smart Wave 4,5m, North Neo 7m, boards surf & foil home made, foil Ketos, 75 kgs."
He wrote in this thread http://www.lesfoilz.com/phpBB3/viewtopi ... oncept+Air
Hi Tomas, I sent him a message. I'll let you know when I have some news.


Return to “Foil Kites”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 137 guests