Light Wind Specific Kites

[John Guay]

The kite market has numerous offerings these days in the light wind specific category. The problem is getting a chance to try before you buy. Ideally I would love to find a light wind kite that was faster turning and lighter bar pressure than a Zephyr and performed more like a 12m C4. Here's a short list of kites. If any of you have experience with them please comment or add other kites to the list.

15,17m Ozone Edge
16m Airush Lythium
17m Blade Fat Lady
15,17m North Dyno
15,17m Best TS

[Chris G]

Lets not forget the Slingshot Turbine, Epic Infinity, or any of Flysurfer's larger offerings. Light wind gear is taking the industry by storm.
Of the listed I have only flown the Zephyr, which I own, and the Best TS 17. The TS definately had lighter bar pressure than the Zephyr, and it seemed to turn a little faster. I don't know about its light wind performance though because the day I flew the TS was pretty heavy wind.
I would also love to try some of the other light wind kites as they seem to be our "go to" for 80% of our riding here.
Good luck on the quest. Sometime this year I think ill be replacing my quiver too, and haven't decided which brand to buy.
-Chris

[Jake-wright]

don't know anything about any of those kites...i do know that the new liquid force NRG 12m is rideable in 12 knots...which is really good. they make 16 14 12 10 8 and 6 sizes and i'm sure the 16 will do quite well in light wind. The 14 and 16 are called NRG light breeze and have different bar setup and bridle system than the 12-6 to accomodate for lighter wind. no personal experience though...so i guess this is kind of a pointless post...i just really want a quiver of the NRG so i thought maybe i'd share and they might be worth looking at.
http://www.realwatersports.com/2012-liq ... ght-breeze
then click on reviews at the bottom. the 2012's are like half price right now. they have 2013's too, but no reviews yet... good luck

[Jason Klein]

15, 17.5m Ocean Rodeo Flight. my 15 Rise LW is the predesessor and will be similar, you're welcome to try it.
15m Naish Fly. I think Bob Allen bought one of these, maybe ask him about it.
15/17/19m Core Riot. don't know anything about these.

[Nicholas_Vornle]

Hey, I have flown the epic Infinity and it is very nice in light wind. I weight 215lb, and it hold me up with a liquid force 145/44 board. I can also ride it in wind up to 15mph but after that it gets hard to hold down. They have a new model, the infinity V2 which i am trying to save up for. Reports say it turns faster than the v1 and has a little more power. See more at Epickites.com. From what i see Billy has the right kite with the Dyno. He is usually on the water longer than me, but I only have a 14m.

[John Guay]

Heres a clip for the Naish Fly. Looks pretty sweet. Interesting that Naish removes the center strut and I believe the 16m Airush Lithium uses only a center strut.
https://www.kiteboarding.com/proddetail ... 012_fly15m

[Kenny]

John,

This is an excellent topic for discussion because most of us that kite through the summer in Utah end up using our light wind specific kite more than the rest of other kites combined (at least that is true for me with my Flysurfer 21M Speed 3). There are a lot of issues to consider when purchasing a light wind kite, but here are the ones that I think are most important:

1. High Aspect vs. Low Aspect - the high aspect kites will tend to boost better, go upwind better, and turn a bit slower than a lower aspect ratio kite. The higher aspect ratio kites are Flysurfer Speed 3, Ozone Zephyr and Edge, North Dyno, and Best TS. The lower aspect would be the kites like the Epic Infinity and Blade Fat Lady. The Naish Fly also appears to fit in the low aspect category, not sure about some of the others. John, if you love the huge boost and hang-time of the Zephyr, just recognize that if you buy a lower aspect kite that turns well, you may be disappointed when it comes to jumping. There is always trade-offs when going from one type of kite to another.
2. Depower - The one aspect that sold me on the Zephyr originally was the huge depower. Living in Utah we are subjected to up and down winds. So, a good wind range is critical. A kite with a lot of depower is also going to work better in the winter for gliding. You want as large a wing overhead as possible when gliding. Yet, you need to be in control, so a kite with a ton of depower it going to give you maximum lift and control.
3. Bar pressure - I think the medium to heavy bar pressure of the Zephyr is a bigger weakness than slow turning. A kite with heavy bar pressure is going to tire you out sooner and may lead to elbow tendonitis if you overgrip the bar.
4. Price - all of the new light wind kites are expensive. I would like to buy a 15m Edge or North Dyno. However, the best deal going right now that I am aware of is a 20% discount on the Edge from Windzup. I would like a 40% discount on this year's model. Maybe I should be looking at a Best TS as well.
5. Riding style - some riders prefer to use a big board and a smaller kite. Others like to use a big kite and ride powered up. I fall into the later category, but I think there is nothing wrong choosing whatever style works best for you. If you ride strapless or use a race board, you will not need as large a kite as a guy that wants to ride a twintip. The less expensive style is definitely, big board and smaller kite.
6. How big do you want to go? There are 3 kites that I term as huge kites - Speed 3 21M, Core Riot XR2 19M, and North Dyno 18M. They are all in a category of their own for low-end power, but all 3 are slow, especially the big Flysurfer. There are a lot of 16 and 17m kites available and that is considered the standard size for a light wind kite and then there are smaller kites that are optimized for light wind that range from a 12m to a 15m. My opinion is that in Utah it is a good idea to have kites that are optimized for light wind above a 12m size because our winds are so variable.

If you travel a lot, that is a consideration as well. Plus there is the whole pumping vs. not pumping issue (foil vs. LEI) that is discussed endlessly on the kiteforum.com.

[Mike Hill]

John, it might be easier and less confusing to just shed 60 pounds and fly the 12M C4.

[Todd Jacques]

Well I was going to agree with kenny on a few things, but mike has a point.
I think kenny brought up a very big point to me. Range and depower. This is why I like my zephyr. I can ride it in 15-30 easy and maybe higher. is that the best kite to fly in the high winds? no, but does it work in the types of winds we get in utah where it is 8-40 in two hours? yes. I have on multiple sessions flown my 17 when guys were on 10's. Could I have been on a 10? yes. Am I lazy? yes. Do I have a pesimestic view on how long, quality, and quanity of wind in utah? yes
I have heard from a few that ride dynos that they do not have that range. Do i think the Dyno could be a better light wind kite in lighter wind? yes.
For me the zephr type kite is the way to go in utah. It is my go to kite. I have wanted to ride a 17 Edge because I love my 13 so much. This brings me to another topic. SNOW ( yes peter millers one and only love) the Edge and Zephr are so floatty. Dont get me wrong I want to try other brands, but I am in love with Ozones Same thing on snow the 17-13 combo is hard to beat for range and float.

[John Guay]

Thanks everyone for adding to the post. I must say I have been very happy with my Zephyr especially with the range,depower, build quality and the Ozone bar. Personally I might trade some of the loft and hang time of the Zephyr for lighter bar pressure and more turning speed. Seems like you can create pop and height with kite speed although you'll come down a bit faster. So what kites fall into the medium aspect?

[Kenny]

John,

Some of the high aspect kites have low bar-pressure. For example, the Speed 3 has light bar pressure. So, I don't think that has to be a tradeoff. The turning speed may be more of a trade-off. However, before you start looking at medium aspect kites, you should at least take a spin on a North Dyno and/or Best TS since we have local reps for both of those kites. It is always better to try before you buy.

Kenny

[Jason Klein]

Hey John,

I had a further thought on this in terms of sizing. When I bought the 15m I have, I was resistant to go to a 4 kite quiver, which would have been necessary if I went with a 17m at the high end. I went with a 15m to go along with my 7m & 10m. The 10-15 jump is doable by mixing boards, but not ideal and for maximizing low wind fun, the 15m isn't quite enough sometimes. I regret not having gone with a 13m & 17m, instead of trying to bridge the gap with a 15m.

Also, my 15m is a medium aspect, and consequently sits a little further back in the window, and I just don't feel like it jumps nearly as high as the higher aspect kites - which is just about everything else I've ever owned.

[salvador]

13m ozone edge is
mas bueno

[bordy]

Nice Sal!

John,
just ask to try out my dynos on the beach you are always welcome to try them.. The 2012 kites have plenty of range. Compared to your Zephyr I think Dyno, 17 has similar range, softer Bar pressure,( my elbow used to hurt a ton when I flew my Zephyr all the time), better apparant wind speed, much more upwind angle and a much nicer jump, plus the new 2013 north bar is very sweet! http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... Zg53KK1TH4 Give it a whirl, as alway I would rather see you on a North kite you owe it yourself to have great gear!

[Nicholas_Vornle]

Billy,

Can I take you up on that? Would like to try the dyno! Not a long session 5 - 10 minutes