Flysurfer Peak 4

[azoele]

I've used my 11m without the 5th line a few sessions, its easy to land to the side. Even your foilboard will give enough windshadow to land behind. When down grab the upwind steering line if you're afraid it will blow away and run to it.

I've now reinstalled it because there is a spot where I have to land between two parked rows of cars with half a dozen windsurfers watching, so i don't want to mess that up. No other kiters ride this spot, but its the closest to my house and with the peak it works.

I'm trying to understand exactly your suggestion:

put the kite down on a side at the window's edge, than take a line (the upwind one, which is the one on the ground?) and go towards the kite changing the grab on the line to maintain tension on just the upwind line while I walk towards the kite?
In this way the kite should just flap and eventually settle down, right?

Thanks for the suggestion.

[azoele]

Sounds like a good reminder of why they're not the kite for everyone.

I had difficulty the first time I tried to roll up a peak on the water, and later realized it was because I was pulling tension on the lines as I rolled it up. The kite started flying under water. Since then, I always half lean on my board for floatation, and swim/kick towards the kite when rolling up the lines, and make sure the lines are not tight.

Yes, definitely: it is a scary thought that of being left stranded very far away with a kite weighing like an anchor, possibly in high wind or not so nice sea...

When my 8m fell to the water, I could not relaunch it: falling down, the bridles had tangled, so it would not fly properly out of the water (and I was afraid that had I succeeded, I would have damaged the kite with the bridels making friction on the delicate canopy).

The smallest ones can be replaced (although they're super nice to fly).
But nothing touches the 13m: it simply won't fall even in the lightest breeze. No sining, no emergency looping, no dreaded slow-motion fall because the kite reached the window's edge during a fall or a moment of distraction, and in no way it'll go up, and there's not enough space to downloop it to save it...

Also: I had a horrible 1h trying to disentangle the terrible mess that happened underwater, even though I thought I had been careful passing the lines around the bar.
The amount of false knots, and the general jumble, were so difficult to districate that I seriously contemplated just slashing all the cables and be done with it... it's an exercise in very, very well nurtured patience and resilience

[jumptheshark]

If your trying to land the bigger ones in light wind it should be a no brainer. Put it down at the window edge on either side. You can lay it down plenty soft and as you slack the lines by walking toward the kite. You can give a tug on the front lines just before stepping to it if you want, but I generally just lay it down softly. In 10 knots, If it moves it will be one flop. I generally jog to the kite and get it before it moves and am using smaller peaks in more wind. It's the easiest kite to land I have ever had. No impact, no power, no issues.
If your going to walk up a line, I would walk up one of the lower two lines, but I have only needed to do that in serious wind a couple times and even then, it was precaution.

Backing them down in a tight spot is only a little more difficult. You can do it nice and controlled, erring always on the side of too much rear line tension, not too little. You can crumple the kite completely and bring it down pretty fast by really pulling in the rear lines, the kite looks all funky, but just comes down. You can do it all nice and controlled too with the kite in shape, but your playing the front and back line tension on the cusp of it flying forward and at much higher risk of a yank. Get to know the kite a bit on an open beach before you put yourself in tricky situations.

Overall, the kite is way more versatile than you think. Water relaunch and even deep water drift launch are doable as long as you are paying attention to a few key details. Those having trouble with these kites in the water are not paying attention to the design. Water pack up is super easy if you do it right, and like any bag of water, super pain in the ass if you don't. Roll up the lines well into the bridle on the bar. put the tips together. Raise the LE to drain the tip cells. Roll tight with bar in kite from tips to centre only really worrying about getting the LE with the battens all rolled up tight. You will end up with a nice wet soggy roll that is easy to drain by raising up the LE. I just flop that part up on the board, swim in and drain it once in the shallows.

Tensioning lines in the water or bunching/rolling it with water in the cells is no different than trying to handle an inflated LEI kite by its Trailing edge on a windy day. There is a manner to handle them that is in accordance to the design and if you can ride a kiteboard upwind, it shouldn't take much to understand the do's and don'ts. Water pack down of a single skin kite does not need to be difficult. There is no panic is it going to take off on its own or tumble downwind, just be methodical and there is no reason you should get water trapped in the kite...... there really is no "in the kite". It only has one skin.

[geron]

I have been packing it this way: roll the lines in the bar (as normal) untill I get to the conections of the lines of the bar and the lines of the kite. Then roll the lines of the kite arround the kite "ball". Sounds like I don't know the coorect way... but this might be the best way.

[jumptheshark]

Don't know if there is a correct way. Like the rest of life, there are usually only a few good ways, and loads of really bad ways to do just about everything.

The kite is single skin, with a cupped leading edge. It just goes without saying that if you roll that leading edge well, water will drain out the trailing edge of the kite as soon as you elevate the leading edge. It also has a closed cell at each wing tip, so it helps heaps to empty those cells and wrap them up tight first to avoid trapping water in the middle of your kite.

I'm not gonna harp on this type of wet kite packing and launching any more than I have, suffice to say that these things can be done, consistently. Happy to discuss with other enthusiasts interested in these techniques, but also well aware that these kites just don't suit many people.

[drsurf]

I think there's a bit too much overthinking of perceived difficulty of managing a Peak4 with regard to landing and dealing with it in the water.

With regard to landing the kite, various correct methods have been described in this thread. However if you don't feel comfortable trying these methods at your usual spot because it's tight or challenging in some way, go somewhere where you have plenty of space, ie an open field or an open wide beach and practice until you are comfortable with your chosen technique.

Likewise with managing the kite in the water. Once again take the kite somewhere where you have an open expanse of shallow water and crash it. Then practice the various launch methods which have been described in this thread while you are able to stand in the shallow water and watch the effect your actions are having on the kite. This is way easier than practicing in deep water with your eyes just above the water level, your foilboard floating into your lines and the kite barely visible through the waves.
In the shallow water practicing you can see how pulling on the wrong lines too much will cause the kite to submerge whereas allowing the kite to gently drift on its back with minimal tension of the correct lines will allow the kite to get into launch position.
Being in shallow water you can tie the chicken loop to a stake and walk around to a disabled kite and put it into position rather than swimming.
You can also practice packing up the kite correctly on the water as you can see what's happening to the lines and kite as you do so.

If you practice the above it will start to naturally make sense of what you have to do. Sometimes too much written instruction can lead to confusion, you just have to get out there and understand it for yourself in an appropriate and safe place.

Once it clicks for you, the fear of the kite and handling it in certain situations will go and be replaced with the joy of a simple, inexpensive and easy to use kite that is fantastic for surf foiling and won't fall from the sky in light winds.

I've seen LEI kite people start using Peak4's, intimidated by the bridles, the perceived lack of water relaunch and a belief that how can a kite that costs half as much as a comparable LEI kite be any good, transform into raving adherents that use Peak4 kites nearly all of the time. They love the fact that they can unpack and be on the water in a few minutes and pack up in even less time. Some have yet to put a kite into the water! The Peak4's are also very durable and safe and I've yet to see/hear of one damaged in normal use, (including crashing).

Like any activity, practice is the mother of skill

[drsurf]

I kind of come to the conclusion that the Peak4 is a foiler's kite (or a snowboarder's kite) as opposed to a kiter's kite. I've used it snowkiting last weekend, and it was sweet, took me wherever I needed to go, flew fine in shitty winds, looped predictably, really nothing to complain about, did the job it was meant to do. However, yesterday I went for a low tide buggy session, and over the last year I was using the Peak 5 or 8 for that, no hassle of carrying a pump, always flew fine, pulled me along... anyway, yesterday then, I decided to go with my (HB Legion) 9m LEI. About 10 kts, kite holding in the air fine, but barely any static pull, but f*ck, that was my most fun buggy session in quite a while. The dynamic rewards of aggressively flying a tube kite were just very obvious. Lots of poke in the turns, massive drifts (of the buggy), meaty loops to keep me sideways for longer, very noticeable bigger wind window to play with, faster through the window, some brutal spikes of juice. Overall it was a very exhilarating ride!
So, while the Peak is a very dependable kite, one you can pretty much forget and concentrate on riding your board, I'd say it is a bit too tame, placid, and maybe not super exciting to fly. There are times when flying a kite like a maniac is a big part of the fun, and that's not where the Peak shines that much.

I've always said that the Peak4 is a surf foilers kite. With any waves/chop or swell that your surf foil can ride, the Peak4 will let you surf them with ease and minimal pull or attention required due to the phenomenal drift. You just want the kite to get out of the way and it does. This is where the Peak4 shines, even the sizes over 5m where they're still more fun and manoeuvrable than any other kite in such light wind.

If you've got the wind and want more excitement then the 4m and 3m Peak4' will get your adrenaline flowing. These small kites are fast, especially the 3m. and require more attention. But the reward is the instant response to turning, depower and power up. Like most wind sports, more wind can be more fun depending on what you like

I also have a race foil which works fine with the Peak4... but it's not as much fun as a twin skin foil like a Soul, sonic or Chrono or even a higher aspect LEI kite. With a race foil the aim is speed and being able to point upwind at ridiculously high angles. So I can understand the analogy with the buggy on the Peak4, the reason there are different kites is because we do widely different things with them. I have a mountain/land board which I can use with my Peak4 but it won't jump like my Soul.

So I guess it becomes a situation of whoever has the most toys ... has the most fun? At least a Peak4 won't break the bank and will probably outlast most other kites. If you've got a surf foil you'll love your Peak4/s.

[geron]

definitely... but just one more idea: I ply it in arms length from one tip to the other (grabbing the leading edge as I go) I do it both wet and dry.

[drsurf]

What's the top end of the wind range for the 3m Peak with 1) race hydrofoil. 2) Surfboard

For those of us that like to ride powered up

While the 3m Peak4 is not the kite I would choose for a race hydrofoil, If I was asked for the top end wind on such a foil I would say approx 35-40 knots on a reach depending on your weight, skill and foil.
On a surfboard much the same but you would need the wind to be consistently strong.

Best match for a 3m Peak4 is a surf foil and then attack some waves

[tswierkocki]

Hello all,

I searched the thread, but found only 8 occurrences of "fifth line", so took the courage to ask hoping it's not an old question...

How many fly the Peak 4 without a fifth line, and how do you feel re: safety and landing?

I like the Connect bar's simplicity and low weight, but for my larger Peak (13m, and to a point the 8m) I'd surely like a bigger (60+cm) bar: I use it in very light winds, and it is a hassle to make it turn in those conditions.

The Peaks are my first foil kites, so not much experience.
I can self-launch and self-land a tube kite safely in light and moderate winds, but the Peaks are a bit of a mistery in this regard, and I value being able to land them without assistance as I often foil in very light winds, alone or almost.
Even backstalling them feels uneasy: the 13m will fall slowly, and will always try to bolt upwards again, even in 5 knots.


Thanks for the collective intelligence, and apologies if I inadvertently beat a dead horse.
Lopi

The Peak 4 is also my first foil kite. For launching I’ve been hot launching them from straight downwind - backstalling on the way up. For landing my favorite method so far is to drop the kite on a wing tip at the edge of the window and pull in the bottom front line.

I practiced a bunch of launching and landing methods on a light wind day to figure out what I liked best.