Flysurfer Peak 4

[14ToeSide]

Just had my first session on my new Peak4 5m yesterday and I was overpowered so I could not really form an objective oppinion. Kite was flapping and upper tip would fold. Kite was managable but nothing special. I was not really impressed Easy launch and no drama landing solo.
Today I rode again and...............all my LEI wave kites are still smoking in the back yard.........On the second thought I could have sold them and gotten smaller sized Peaks but I guess I overreacted slightly...........Been riding only wave kites for last few years. That era is over. I guess you can call me a Convert.

Question: Were you using the Flysurfer connect bar with the Peak? I suspect not.

14

[pvb]

Who here is:

A. Leaving the B-Safe System on the Peak4 for foiling.
B. Foiling with no secondary safety system.
C. Using other secondary safety (please explain).

Peter

[winduser]

A.If you have the connect bar and if you remove the B-Safe connect the safety line to one of the front line. Maybe you will need a small pigtails if to short
B. not recommanded
C. Any bar flagging on a front line will work

[Trent hink]

The front-line safety typical on most bars these days works with the peak 4. It might leave you with a bit of a mess, but it does work.

I like to use the liquid force mission control bar v2, usually with the 4 meter line extensions removed. I have tested the safety even though i generally never ever use it in hydrofoiling conditions.

I haven't removed anything from any of my peak4s. They come with a line you have to install if you want to use the b-safe system.

Who here is:

A. Leaving the B-Safe System on the Peak4 for foiling.
B. Foiling with no secondary safety system.
C. Using other secondary safety (please explain).

Peter

[Peter_Frank]

Who here is:

A. Leaving the B-Safe System on the Peak4 for foiling.
B. Foiling with no secondary safety system.
C. Using other secondary safety (please explain).

Peter

I use B, as I dont need a safety system for foiling.

If I was to use it for high winds / more power, I would use a normal bar with front line safety.

But not on hydrofoils.

Peter

[flying doctor]

Who here is:

A. Leaving the B-Safe System on the Peak4 for foiling.
B. Foiling with no secondary safety system.
C. Using other secondary safety (please explain).

Peter

A. On my 5m as that is how I got the kite second hand.
B. On my 4m I use an old F-One bar but it flags out on both front lines so no real safety.
C. I'm planning to set up my bars for a single flag out, but might go the Peter Frank way and skip it all together.

I've kept on the B-safe for now for when my kids use it on land, but in the water it can only lead to tangles and it isn't necessary for self landing.

[jumptheshark]

All good fellas, If I was really put out I wouldn't have offered free kites.

I also recognize Peaks won't be for everyone because the relaunch. Same affliction keeps many off clouds. Ironic as clouds are amazing at relaunching.

This won't be the last time someone who has never tried one uses the term cult. Like I said, it always put me off when people who had never tried clouds use the term dismissively.

If you feel I miss read, mea culpa.

If your a cloud kinda foiler you will likely enjoy Peaks. Which you prefer is up to you. They are both pretty different from standard three strut/wave kites, but are also very different from one another.

Out today pushing the top end on the 4m. It's super impressive. I don't think I will go for the 3m. It might actually be too fast for me. Today was gusting well up over 30 knots and I could pretty easily keep the kite from flapping for more than a moment . Kite handled like a champ, From launch to land and all the precarious situations I manages over 5 hours on the water. Crashed it badly once, one corner catching wind immediately pulled the whole thing back up and off the water. Outran it drastically a couple times, it sort of crumpled a bit as it fell but regained shape as soon as I got some line tension. It shifted a bit offshore near the end and became super gusty, much less fun, but still easy and the swell were fun regardless. Had to keep surfing on wave power during the nutty holes in the wind and occasionally grind out excess power nearly stalled heading straight upwind, pinwheel a 180 at a near standstill and drop into the next bit of steep swell you come across. Magic day. Don't think I need more than two of these kites.

I ride them on single from line safety bars, doubt I will even need it, but today was windy enough that I wouldn't have ridden without it.

[Flyboy]

This won't be the last time someone who has never tried one uses the term cult. Like I said, it always put me off when people who had never tried clouds use the term dismissively.

If you feel I miss read, mea culpa.

I'm just a bit taken aback that you would have considered my comment to be "dismissive" at all. Clearly, I've been following this thread with interest for a while, not to dismiss it, but because the Peak4 concept is very appealing to me - the simplicity & purity of it. "Cult" was just a joke - let's face it, kitesurfing is a cult & it has all its little sub cults: strapless, big air, foiling, even the really exclusive cult of airstyle. But someone (Peter F) dismissing 3 strut wave kites as all of a sudden "horrible" & "awful" is pretty hard to take (it was also a joke - I know).

I was pretty much decided on getting a 5m until this major financial set-back. But there's another problem. We started with how great the 5m is ... & then progressed to the 4m being better & the 3m being better than that! So now, in order to avoid the experience of having to revert to the horrible kites, you need a whole quiver. AND that still doesn't address the fundamental requirement for a sub 12 knot kite. Also, it depends on what level of foiling you're at. As I'm still basically foiling back & forth working on transitions, & riding small swells, the benefits of Peak4s would be more limited ... I'm guessing.

[bragnouff]

But there's another problem. We started with how great the 5m is ... & then progressed to the 4m being better & the 3m being better than that! So now, in order to avoid the experience of having to revert to the horrible kites, you need a whole quiver. AND that still doesn't address the fundamental requirement for a sub 12 knot kite.

The stronger the wind, the more fun it is, that is the same good old rule that applies here again with the Peaks.
I like my LEI 7 more than the 9, and the 5.5 more than the 7. All my sessions on the 4m LEI have been a thrill. It's just a pity that the reality of weather conditions doesn't allow me to ride the 5.5 every time.
On the other hand, the Peak lets me ride a small simple nimble 5m instead of my 9m LEI, so that's a nice advantage.
If money was no issue, I'd have a 4m Peak, but then the ocean conditions typically start to come alive for a surfboard and I'm happy with the way my wave kites work for me. Small tube kites are also good fun for snowkiting. In good wind, they relaunch well, so apart from carrying a pump, that's not enough incentive for putting a 4Peak on my shopping list.

In over 20 kts, everything is pretty dynamic and lively, it doesn't even need to be super efficient either. But light winds, and very light winds is where the gear efficiency matters a lot more. 8-12kts, larger Peaks would do, trading some performance for ease of use and good stability in lulls, but less than 8kts and it becomes super specialized territory (and ... unfortunately lots of dollars).

[seppalord]

Also, it depends on what level of foiling you're at. As I'm still basically foiling back & forth working on transitions, & riding small swells, the benefits of Peak4s would be more limited ... I'm guessing.

The peaks are so easy to fly and manouver that you will progress much faster with foiling than with a lei kite. I experienced that myself. Everything felt much easier with the peaks because of their superb flying characteristics