What is best light wind kite?

[Cortex]

Get the Contra.

Its hands down the best all round performing light wind kite.

A 14 m will easilly replace X2 18 in light winds,and if it picks up,the Contra will still be good up to 25 knots.

Rockstar. Have you ever tried the Speed2 19?
I have tried the ContraBow 14 and I would say that it won't match the Speed2 15 when it comes to low-wind power and jumping-height.
Also the depower is quite huge and I can easily hold it down in 20 knots even with a large board on my feet (I'm 75 kg). I guess I could hold it a lot longer but haven't had the opportunity to try it yet.
BTW, when it blows 20 knots or more you'll switch down to a smaller kite anyway.

I've also tried the Speed2 12 and my feeling was that it also have more lightwind-power then the Contra 14.

All that said the Contra is of course a nice kite as well. But for the ultimate in lightwind nothing I've tried beats the big Speed2's.

[voodoospirit]

on my spot (lake) the wind is usually 6-12 knots, sometimes 15-20 when it's blowing.
if i had the money , i d go for a SA² 19 and if u r a lightweight, u can order a custimosed SA² 15.
the advantage of this kite is that it will still stay in the air in small winds where other kites d fall. and in ultra/light wind, takin off a kite again is really tough.
when the winds climb at 15, i pick my V² but beside snowkitting or wind, the SA² would make my day most of the time.
now, finding the money is the biggest issue

[Tom183]

Thanks Mission Man. Anybody else? BTW Gideonlow, I did search but the results were dubious so please bare with my boring request for help on the forum!

FIRST: define what you mean by "best". What are YOU looking for in a light-wind kite? Maximum low-end? Solid bottom with good overall performance? Affordability?

There is no such thing as the "best" kite until you start talking specifics...

[FredBGG]

What kite for just cruising in light winds with floaty board to replace a Naish X2 18 ?

Hi Phree

Here is a video of me riding a Speed 2 19 in sub 10mph winds and I weigh 225 lbs. Conditions were good with smooth water and no current.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWVadLIeCOo

I recently shot some more very light wind riding with the Speed 2 19 with a kite camera. I'll post a link to that when I have it up.

In the mean time there are other low wind videos of mine on youtube. just search for FredBGG

There's a lot of talk on the forums, but video should clear things up for you as they confirm the claims made with the Speed 2s.

Cheers

Fred

[phree]

What are YOU looking for in a light-wind kite?

Thanks Tom (and everybody) for your feedback. I started this thread seeking recommendations so here is my situation:

* 155lb average 48 yr. old male intermediate level kitesurfer seeking ultra light wind kite (and board) for 7-12 knot winds on slight chop over shallow reef with fun waves outside of reef.

* Currently using 18m X2 and old Wipika Olry 172 bi-dir. board but I need at least 10 knots with this set up and the 7 knot lulls end it.

* Most times when I pass this spot on drive home from work, the winds are hours away from getting good and are in the 8-10 range with lulls. I'm happy having solo sessions just cruising and if I could get an ultra light wind set-up I' d be on the water much more.

* Being there alone is obviously a safety factor so ease of launch and landing is important to me.

* I've never flown a foil and even though its lame, I'm reluctant to start.

So as you can see, all I want is a miracle!

[steveb]

If you own a 15/16m bow?. I'd say your moneys best spent on a really good light wind board. A Spleene, Glide, crazyfly 145/48. Nobile etc.
My experiments so far have shown that a good bow and fast board will get you going, for me it's 10mph but I'm 220lbs, I don't know the conversion rate of pounds to kilos, I'd guess 2.2 so if that's close I'm a 100k. With your light weight I think the limiting factor will be kite relaunch.
I think I'd be asking " whats the earliest launching kite you've tried" .
A couple of guys have mentioned the Contra and that probably launches in as low a wind as anything.
Good luck with your hunt.

[fernmanus]

Phree,

The ultimate setup for a rider your size is a Speed 2 15M (you are too light for the 19M) and a Spleene Door. This combo will have you riding around 7-8 mph.

[windandwaves]

Suggestions:
Cabrinha Contra, user friendly, relaunches
Flexifoil Blade IV, 2 lines, reasonably fast for size, no depower, no relaunch
Jojo RM (only if you're an expert), very fast, twitchy, can gain apparent wind, no relaunch
...go fishing.

[Dr_Rosen]

Yesterday I was at the beach with my Switchblade 14. Couldn't sail, but others could. Here are my observations:

2 guys out on Contra 17's. The could plane most of the time on big big boards, but they were going slow and lacked power.
Another guy was out with his new Silwer Arrow 19 on a regular small board. He was going fast and had lots of power and went upwind very well.
Another guy was out with some 2005 C-kite 26 m2. He could plane but could not go upwind.

The Silver Arrow was by far the best light wind kite!!! I don't know if it is fun to sail etc. but if early planing is the important factor then there were no comparison.

I have head though that a cheaper alternative is to put 40 meter lines on your current 15/16 bow..........but don't know

[Tom183]

* I've never flown a foil and even though its lame, I'm reluctant to start.

So as you can see, all I want is a miracle!

Yeah, if you want to get down into the 8kt range without a foil, you are (almost) asking for a miracle.

But you're lightweight enough that you shouldn't need the extra grunt of a bigger foil, and while a medium-large foil would tolerate the lulls better, just switching from your X2 to a big bow might be enough. You're talking about "just cruising", so a bow + big directional / surfboard should do the job - you won't set any sub-10kts speed/hangtime records though.