Flysurfer Peak 4

[kiteykitekite]

Well you only need to go 6knots past the 3knots to find the parallel universe and fly the kite upwind of you. Otherwise some ultralight foils handle slack lines just great.

[Trent hink]

Is that you, foilholio? Have you tried a peak yet?

[flying doctor]

I bought a second hand 4m peak 4 just because of this thread, thank you guys!
Yesterday was 23-29 knots at sea, waves chest high.
First went out on my SB. Tide was favorable but still I was lacking some power at times. In a wave I could kill all the power which was great for down the line riding. . But it was seriously lacking in upwind capabilities so only did a short session. I'd like to try a downwinder with it on a SB, that would probably be fantastic.

Then switched to my foil (spitfire XLW). I'm still a novice so pretty demanding circumstances for me. Kite was flapping so I was overpowered but not out of control. Just cruising it was actually quite easy and comfortable. In gusts riding toeside was hard. Turning heel to toe and back was easy and it was great to catch some swell.
Kept the session short because it's not a time to take risks with the cold water (and the health care system under a lot of pressure) as I was clearly at my limit. But I hope to do this again soon!
Great kite, also as a trainer kite for my kids. I'm buying a land board soon to get them going on the right path

[tomtom]

23-29 is 3m Peak territory /even nonexistent 2.5m/. You not seen best Peak can offer yet. Agree SB riding is not best - and probably downwinder only will be really enjoyable.

[slowboat]

I bought a second hand 4m peak 4 just because of this thread, thank you guys!
Yesterday was 23-29 knots at sea, waves chest high.
First went out on my SB. Tide was favorable but still I was lacking some power at times. In a wave I could kill all the power which was great for down the line riding. . But it was seriously lacking in upwind capabilities so only did a short session. I'd like to try a downwinder with it on a SB, that would probably be fantastic.

Then switched to my foil (spitfire XLW). I'm still a novice so pretty demanding circumstances for me. Kite was flapping so I was overpowered but not out of control. Just cruising it was actually quite easy and comfortable. In gusts riding toeside was hard. Turning heel to toe and back was easy and it was great to catch some swell.
Kept the session short because it's not a time to take risks with the cold water (and the health care system under a lot of pressure) as I was clearly at my limit. But I hope to do this again soon!
Great kite, also as a trainer kite for my kids. I'm buying a land board soon to get them going on the right path

Depending on your size, even a 3m Peak may be too big for wave foiling in those winds.

[Kitedougiefresh]

I think the lines in the sand have been drawn with tomtom and others on one side and drsurf and myself and others on the other regarding if the big Peaks are "low wind" kites.

You can say what you want but i am100KG and coupled with a big SS Infinity wind i was with another member riding comfortably at what he and I felt was a very conservative 8 knots. ( I hear you tomtom saying that 8 knots is no big deal. Well. maybe not if you are 70KG but it is if you are 100KG.) Very gentle wind on the face. We both initially felt that it was not enough. Kite loops were needed to go at times. We were using the 11m. We both have 8m and 5m Peaks and he also has a 4m Peak. He is 80KG.


He has a standard size wing. When the wind dropped to where he could not go but I was still riding, I had him try for the first time my wing and he said he had no problem going at all.

So I guess you could say that in all this discussion you need to consider rider weight and the type of foil he has. My foil wing is 2371sq cm.

And I would still like someone to tell me what a better low wing foil there is for a heavy rider like myself than the Peak 13? The other rider ended up buying my 11m the next day since I just bought the Peak 13m which i think is even better for big guys like me. Normal sized riders I think would prefer the 11m.

[gmasiak]

I agree with Kitedougiefresh 100 %. I love light wind foiling (this is what we have in Florida all summer).
My UL Pulsion 12m is great for that condition, accelerating very well, going upwind excellent…but doing transition in very light wind (7 to 9mph) is difficult and require good timing.
Everything change when I got my quiver of Peaks 4 (4, 5 and 8m).
Sure upwind is worst then Pulsion but for free ride foiling this is not an issue. Kite flying in almost no wind and transitions are much, much easier the Pulsion because of excellent kite drift .
Since I got my Peaks 4’s I never look back to close cells kites with one exception …when using my race foil.

[ice]

I agree with Kitedougiefresh 100 %. I love light wind foiling (this is what we have in Florida all summer).
My UL Pulsion 12m is great for that condition, accelerating very well, going upwind excellent…but doing transition in very light wind (7 to 9mph) is difficult and require good timing.
Everything change when I got my quiver of Peaks 4 (4, 5 and 8m).
Sure upwind is worst then Pulsion but for free ride foiling this is not an issue. Kite flying in almost no wind and transitions are much, much easier the Pulsion because of excellent kite drift .
Since I got my Peaks 4’s I never look back to close cells kites with one exception …when using my race foil.

your weight and wing size?

[Kitedougiefresh]

I agree with Kitedougiefresh 100 %. I love light wind foiling (this is what we have in Florida all summer).
My UL Pulsion 12m is great for that condition, accelerating very well, going upwind excellent…but doing transition in very light wind (7 to 9mph) is difficult and require good timing.
Everything change when I got my quiver of Peaks 4 (4, 5 and 8m).
Sure upwind is worst then Pulsion but for free ride foiling this is not an issue. Kite flying in almost no wind and transitions are much, much easier the Pulsion because of excellent kite drift .
Since I got my Peaks 4’s I never look back to close cells kites with one exception …when using my race foil.

your weight and wing size?

I would love to see anyone talking on the low wind topic to post their weight and wing size. I think we all could then have a more meaningful dialog.

[flying doctor]

I went out today with the 4m with 18-22 knots, onshore wind and a lot of push from the waves. Such great fun! It's unbelievable how well this kite drifts straight down wind. I was really able to catch some swell without any restrictions this time. Only downside is the lack of upwind.

When the wind dropped to about 14-16 knots I rigged my hyperlink 9m. The shorebreak was too heavy to get going with the 4m, in flat water I might have been able to keep going. Because I decided to ditch my straps for the first time I had a rough session: so much more difficult than I had anticipated to get on the board. But the waves made it a lot harder I guess. Once riding it was great to be able to move my feet around though. Any tips on a good strapless start?