Sorry if I messed windspeeds and places. Anyway, 50kn is not very high speed for kite traction, except on the water it is. Like I wrote much higher speeds have been reached on hard surfaces with low AR LEI's which are the most "inefficient" kites there is.
I agree. In lower winds race foil kites are of course fastest. I tried to think what kind of foil kite could be best for speed records in high winds. I have some ideas but much of it is guesswork.
Excuse me, kite expert... Have you ever gone in 57.97 kn of speed on water with a kiteboard? in 30 kn?
How much higher speeds on hard surfaces do you refer? In skies, mountainboard, snowboard, kitebuggy? 100 - 150 kn?
As i can see, the world speed record in kitebuggy is 72 - 73 kn...
I guess 20% faster siting down in kitebuggy is not much higher speed than standing in a kiteboard in almost 60 kn...
...
And i think the new Flysurfer Soul is a real game changer for freeriders
The Speed4 (pre-Lotus version on my pic few posts above) which was released about demise time of Psycho4 and Speed3 was somewhat breakthrough design and Speed4 Lotus made by stencils of Speed3 was a throwback considering features
- no silly jet flaps
- sewn in string along front of leading edge to keep shape in light wind
- sewn in battens on leading edge
- A/B/Z bridles only for less drag, one-pulley-per-wingtip, and overall simplicity
But...it changed nothing. People who love foils on snow and buggy and race will keep them as their weapon of choice until there's something better (and racers dumped LEIs and formula boards so fast that there's no question of "loyalty" or "safety considerations" - it's all about winning the race. period). And people who can't possibly enjoy foils because of shitty launch spots, crazy wind shadows/lulls, considering bridle equalizing a pain, lack of swim-in safety, slow turning, lack of looping speed/powerstroke or whatever else won't be moving over from LEIs.
And that's perfectly fine, but it's not a game changer.
...
And i think the new Flysurfer Soul is a real game changer for freeriders
And that's perfectly fine, but it's not a game changer.
Did you consider the price?
All that features of a foil Kite and the handling and relaunchability of an inflatable at the price of an inflatable...
For me, all the combo is a gamechanger. Freeride Inflatable Kite guys demoing the Soul are being spelled, reconsidering changing their kites for Souls.
Last edited by sabraxas on Sat Nov 10, 2018 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
All that features of a foil Kite and the handling and relaunchability of an inflatable at the price of an inflatable...
For me, all the combo is a gamechanger. Freeride Inflatable Kite guys demoing the Soul are being spelled, reconsidering changing their kites for Souls.
So let’s say I buy new 10m Soul for $1300 and it’s about twice the price I pay of a new 10m Rally. And speaking of Rally I get more grunt, turning speed, and loop power (and depower too) out of my 9m Rally than from my 10m Speed4 and I know how to fly both.
To be fair - 6 years of development between Speed4 and Soul is probably as much as changes in Rally 2012-2018 but 10m Rally 2012 I had is par to 9m Rally 2017 I ride
But still I and people like me won’t be able to enjoy a foil kite in conditions I described above. And wait until they need a repair to be done and bridles equalized - that would be a major WTF moment for them.
Time will show who is right here. I don’t forget, so let’s check it again in fall 2019
All that features of a foil Kite and the handling and relaunchability of an inflatable at the price of an inflatable...
For me, all the combo is a gamechanger. Freeride Inflatable Kite guys demoing the Soul are being spelled, reconsidering changing their kites for Souls.
So let’s say I buy new 10m Soul for $1300 and it’s about twice the price I pay of a new 10m Rally. And speaking of Rally I get more grunt, turning speed, and loop power (and depower too) out of my 9m Rally than from my 10m Speed4 and I know how to fly both.
To be fair - 6 years of development between Speed4 and Soul is probably as much as changes in Rally 2012-2018 but 10m Rally 2012 I had is par to 9m Rally 2017 I ride
But still I and people like me won’t be able to enjoy a foil kite in conditions I described above. And wait until they need a repair to be done and bridles equalized - that would be a major WTF moment for them.
Time will show who is right here. I don’t forget, so let’s check it again in fall 2019
Completely different kites there and I know you’re talking about the S4 DLXs not the lotus. There was a huge leap in performance after the Speed 4 lotus. That Soul 10m will easily cover 2 of your inflatable kites.