Flysurfer Peak 4

[omg]

guys, is it so hard to keep it to just abt Peak4s?!?
I wish there was a button to filter out all the ramblings of a person you don't want to see.

[jatem]

guys, is it so hard to keep it to just abt Peak4s?!?
I wish there was a button to filter out all the ramblings of a person you don't want to see.

Here are my peak 4 tips for first time peak foilers.

Leave a bar connected to the kite. It makes setup and pack down so fast. You'll be in the water before the others are pumped up. I prefer a bar with a BRM style quick release, and grind the hook off your harness, so it doesn't dent your board when you crash. I don't find I need to use a cam cleat or trim, 70cm throw is plenty, I guess it depends on your arm length.

When launching, lay the kite at side of wind window, sand on the folded upwind tip. Unwind the bar just past the little shiny rings where your lines are attached, and sit bar on the ground. Pick up one of the top (A) bridles where it joins the leading edge of the kite, and shake it gently as you move back to the speed system, and make sure the speed system is clear and not twisted. That way it's clear and straight back to the main lines. Unwrap your kite lines, and launch.

The smaller the peak, the more gentle you need to be with bar pressure, otherwise it will back stall and rapidly pivot turn. Tune your line length so they're equal length. Keep just enough bar pressure so that the kite doesn't flap. If it's flapping, then you're on too big a peak, or you should hold a touch more bar pressure.

Land to side of wind window, touch tip to ground, and run a couple of steps towards the kite, so it sits flat on the ground. Disconnect bar from harness. Sit an object on the wing tip to hold the kite still, like a chewed up dog stick. Roll up lines to bridle. Flop left and right bridles onto kite. Sit bar on upwind tip of kite. Pickup downwind tip of kite, bring it to upwind tip. Keep lines inside kite, roll kite up from the tip, carefully with bar on outside of kite tip, lines inside kite. Fold in half, and into bag.

If you need to relaunch, be quick to keep line tension, and try to launch leading edge upwards. If it's sitting face down, better to gently steer it sideways with one back line. Reverse launching with both back lines can be risky that it will stall and collapse.

If the wind drops, with the kite flat on the water, and you need to deep water pack up the kite, be careful not to pull line tension as you roll up the lines onto the bar. It can fly backwards underwater if you pull on the lines. I find it is best to hold the bar in one hand, still clipped to my harness, and sit that arm on the middle of the board. Use your free hand to roll up the lines onto the bar, as you kick towards the kite to minimize line tension. When you get to the kite, sit on your board, roll up as much bridle onto the bar as possible. Tilt the tips to drain water out. Grab the leading edge, and roll it up onto the bar.

Learn to crash your hydrofoil without crashing your kite, it's an essential safety skill, and important for using peaks. A hydrofoil in your kite lines is just plain dangerous, so keep the kite in the air.

Wear a life jacket with the peak.
Use a foil board with some buoyancy, so you can sit on it to roll up the peak.
Don't go out further than you can swim.

Such a wonderful kite for foiling. They hang in the air like magic, but sometimes the wind dies and you have to be ready to pack up on the water.

I wish people wouldn't offer an opinion on the peak until they have actually tried flying one on a foil. I don't use inflatables any more.

[joriws]

I wish there was a button to filter out all the ramblings of a person you don't want to see.

Doesn't add user as a foe on control panel work for you? Click user name from posting and you can select "Add friend" or "Add foe".

Just received my Peak4-5m + Controlbar - interesting times to get to test it..

[merl]

I'm hoping some of the highly experienced Peak 4 folk can help me out.

I'm not so experienced with the peak but I can try. Assuming that you are foiling with minimal power on your 9m then the 5 will be the closest to that for sure. Slightly less bottom end than a 9 I think, but if you have big lulls it could still be better as it will not fall. It tops out at around 18-20knots. Note that at this point the kite just does not fly so well - as you start to sheet out more and more it flaps a lot. It also has quite a lot of rest pull and is not so nice to launch in this upper end (I got spanked once in the beginning when launching as the pull comes on immediately unlike a twinskin which does not pull as much until fully inflated).

As a medium to heavy rider (compared to many who post here) you might find that you need to adjust your technique so that you don't stall the kite in the turns. I increased the below-bar distance to help me with this, but I still feel that there is more to learn about squeezing power out of this kite at its low end.

[drsurf]

Hi all, LOVE this thread !!!! I check every day to see what is new....

Why? The Peak 4 sounds like the answer to my prayers. I'm ready to buy one, but not sure which size will work for me. Yes, I could buy multiple sizes but my money-tree is a bit low right now.

I'm hoping some of the highly experienced Peak 4 folk can help me out. Here are details on me and my local conditions:

- 87 kg (192 lbs)
- local lake is small, tree lined on three sides. Tight launch/landing conditions and I usually am alone so self-launch/land. Wind there is very gusty (can easily double or triple in velocity), shifts direction 30 or so degrees, and dropping below 5kts for a couple minutes are normal. This lake has a bluff on one end and is several meters below the surrounding land, so yeah not the best.
- Usually, my session ends when a lull hits and my kite (Usually a 9m 3-strut LEI) falls out of the sky. Since the lake is small, I don't have much time to get the kite back up before I am against the shore and then it is game over and time to walk. Or, the kite has tumbled down in a lull and lines are all wrapped around the kite. In that case, I get to swim to shore...ha ha.
- using a Slingshot hydrofoil, H2 wing, short mast
- I am pretty new to hydrofoil, so far have taken short (very short) rides. I also landboard (ha ha more of that than on the water) so have decent kite skills.

- My goal is to just cruise around on the local lake with my hydrofoil. The ultimate goal is to do that as the sun sets......

The Peak4 seems to solve my problems.....it won't fall out of the sky during a lull, and it is easy to self-land/launch.

What size would work best, and what sort of lower wind range would that give me? I am much more concerned about low-end as that is the dominant wind we have here. My theory is the Peak4 will fly in the lulls, and when a gust hits that will give me the power to get up on the hydrofoil and get going. On those rare days the wind is ripping I'll just throw up my 9m LEI on short lines and the Twin-Tip board.

Thanks in advance for any advice. And thanks to those who started this thread !!!!

F-Bear

Hi F-Bear.
I'll keep it simple based on my experience and that of my customers to whom I have sold a Peak4 to. Get the 5m Peak4. Use it and then decide which Peak4 you want next.
If you find you're overpowered on the 5m get the 4m next. If you find you're missing out on light wind days get the 8m.

The 3m is great if you have strong winds and it's my favourite from about 14 knots for my 65kg on a good surf foil. However it can seem a bit frantic for the average kiter who may put it in the water while getting use to the speed, and they tend to oversheet it. It's a bit more technical to fly, but when you adjust it's a one hand kite with just a twitch of the wrist to send it anywhere in the wind window.

The 8m is obviously a bit slower than the 5m but better than a comparable inflatable kite. It doesn't gain you more than 2 to 4 knots at the bottom end compared to the 5m in my experience, but there are many of those light wind days where the 8m light wind ability is the difference between kiting and sitting on the shore.

NOTE: You will not regret buying a Peak4! You will also enjoy it on the landboard. I have not yet heard of anyone who has flown the Peak4 with a surf hydrofoil who is not impressed with the performance. They generally buy a Peak4 after trying as soon as possible

[Horst Sergio]

...Get the 5m Peak4. Use it and then decide which Peak4 you want next.
...

Yes good recommendation. And with the 5 m² it is possible to extrapolate all benefits and also disadvantages of all other sizes, so best choice to start into Peak4 world.

Really would be interested how many Peak4 5 m² now after a year are flying out there over water.
Just notice for me:
Next time before I recommend misuse of FS kites, I am going to make a deal with Armin to draw a commission .

[tomtom]

For sure!. Or at least made him make 2,5 or 2m. Or we are all ditch our peaks in protest

[Trent hink]

Misuse? If it feels this good then it can't be wrong!

[dave1986]

The below wind range table is taken from Flysurfer website Can someone please update this chart with typical wind range for a 85kg intermediate hydrofoil rider?

I dont want to know the theoretical low end/top end for a professional rider, but the realistic low end/top end for the average 85kg rider on a surf hydrofoil (e.g. Moses 633 or similar).

[haiku]

Two days ago i had my first session with the new Flysurfer Peak 4 13 m. Amazing kite, the wind was marginal from 6 to 9 Knots. I rode with the Groove Skate Carbon L and the MHL Lift 170 (my weight is 76 Kilos). I was well powered along all the session, the kite reacted well at the bar input, amazingly as well as the 11 m and even better

. I felt the low end similar to the Soul 15 but the Peak was better in the lulls. So Overall I was very impressed and I'm looking forward to having my next session with It.

Cheers

Carlo