Flysurfer Peak 4

[Peter_Frank]

What drsurf and jumptheshark said

PF

[Flyboy]

OK. Reattached the rear line which had been the most obvious problem, but could not for the life of me figure out how to fix the front line part of the bridle. It definitely looks "different from the other side. Anyhow, I thought it might not make much difference to the way the kite flies ... so I took it to the beach & fired it up. From the ground I could not see anything wrong with it - looked the same as the other side & seemed to fly fine.

Had a very nice 2 hour session riding way outside the craziness of Kite Beach (in spite of Covid there are still a lot of kiters here). Came in and asked one of the peeps to land me. Asked him to hold the windward tip, but he obviously knew what he was doing & laid the kite down parallel to the wind direction. I folded over the windward tip & sanded it & put my helmet on the LE for a bit of extra weight. It sat there quite nicely for another hour.

Decided to go for another session. Launched the kite by pulling it up from the sand so that it side launched. Went up OK, but some seaweed held the flying lines together, so brought it down so someone could clear the weeds. Went into the water, looped the kite a couple of times to get going ... & something snapped! Turns out one of the front flying lines broke. No idea why, but as I had spent a lot of time riding a kilometre or more offshore, I was grateful it didn't break while I was out there. Kind of freaky - I haven had a line break in years.

[merl]

Looks like we could do with a separate "foil kite noobs" thread - almost none of this recent stuff is specific to the peak 4 (but will soon be impossible to find for those who actually need it).

[lederhosen]

Looks like we could do with a separate "foil kite noobs" thread - almost none of this recent stuff is specific to the peak 4 (but will soon be impossible to find for those who actually need it).

Some kind of wiki sheet would be good, so people who are interested in this kite dont have to read through 199 pages of repeating questions like “is it good for light wind”, “what size to get first” or “does it jump”.

[Horst Sergio]

@lederhosen:
Wiki is already nearly done, just have a few more days patience.

[Flyboy]

Yeah - the Peak4 thread is a bit of an "outlier" in terms of ... volume. But helping noobs is one of the most useful aspects of the kite forum. A summary of collective wisdom courtesy of Horst would be really useful!

[Oldman_Dave]

Flyboys your experience sounds similar to mine in some ways. Since flying peaks I've had a line snap, a line extension splice give way, and a rope slider snap, all leading to swims. All firsts in 20 years of kiting.

Definitely don't go 1km off shore unless you have the time and energy to get back in the daylight. Kite mates, an EPIRB/plb or a backpack with fins are all options. I bought the latter for kiting a particular River mouth on a run out tide.

Specifically regarding your snapped line, was it right near the pig tail? If so have a really good check of your bridle. After mine I noticed that my Z bridle line on the same side was nearly worn through. I had to replace it from flysurfer for $25. My theory is that being new to bridles I flew it with at twist and the 2 lines sawed each other until one snapped.

[Flyboy]

Flyboys your experience sounds similar to mine in some ways. Since flying peaks I've had a line snap, a line extension splice give way, and a rope slider snap, all leading to swims. All firsts in 20 years of kiting.

Definitely don't go 1km off shore unless you have the time and energy to get back in the daylight. Kite mates, an EPIRB/plb or a backpack with fins are all options. I bought the latter for kiting a particular River mouth on a run out tide.

Specifically regarding your snapped line, was it right near the pig tail? If so have a really good check of your bridle. After mine I noticed that my Z bridle line on the same side was nearly worn through. I had to replace it from flysurfer for $25. My theory is that being new to bridles I flew it with at twist and the 2 lines sawed each other until one snapped.

I don't know that it's related in any way to the Peaks. I really think it's just possible that the line was worn & finally gave way. It was an older bar with older lines that I used in preference to a much newer Naish bar that has obvious wear on the loop that attaches to the depower line due to a poor design choice. I've replaced the line that broke with an extra heavy duty line set.

[jumptheshark]

Dude!

He makes a pretty good point.

I have had the kite roll through its lines before and it flies with zero issues but I still correct that shit before the next outing.

You kinda just said you gave up on untangling and just popped it up. It flew fine, you know, for a kite your unfamiliar with then a line snapped a couple hours in.

I would not rest until I knew the bridle was spec.

[LeoLeal]

I am considering purchasing a PEAK as a go-to light wind Hydrofoil Kite. I regularly fly LEI surf kites. I want the peak to be able to go in 7-12 knots and more or less replace my 14m single strut that I have at the minute. Would an 8m peak be the equivalent to an 11/12m LEI?

jumptheshark and drsurf are spot on.

6 m2 and down are the ones that works magic like no other kite.

Above 6 they work great because they are superlight so never drops, and fast to rig and pack down, but you dont get anything besides that, you would'nt get with any other kite.

I am 78 kg and ride my 8 m2 Peak4 down to 8 knots with 27 m lines and a 11-1200 cm2 wing.
With a light 11 m2 LEI on 30 m lines, I would be able to ride in 8 knots, so you are pretty close.

We are trying to warn you - the 8 is a great session saver very often, I use it a lot.

But nowhere near the 3-6 m2 Peak4s which are EXCELLENT in waves and general fun.

Having said that, I know a few who like the bigger sizes simply because of their ability to hang in almost nothing

Peter

Peter ,
Now that I tried my 5m, I totally agree with you.
This Peak4 5 is in another level, even though I still love my 8 but now as my kite session saver.

I'm stoked for it. It's faster , lighter, the set up it's quicker, easier to water relaunch if you drop it( I did it in only 3 min).

I can't believe how Flysurfer could developed such a good kite for hydrofoil without thinking about it.