gday geeza
if you want to buy a kite to get out on those lighter days then you will want to buy my gaastra pheonix 17.5 its the sickest light wind kite ever made. the dubble leading edge blader and the shallow draft gives it a huge top end as well as being a light wind power house. its like having a 1 kite quiver. i can get going on it well before it starts white capping and i'll still be hanging on to it when other people start going out on 11s and 12s.
its such a good all round kite extra strength in the leading edge so it reluanches easily without a 5th line, pulls like a 25 when powered up and depowers to a12, turns like a 15 and you can get it for a very cheap price
for more info give me a call on 0405 771 435

Geeza,

I recommend my flysurfer warrior 16.5 (see buy&sell). give me a ring to
see it up in the sky and how quick and easy it relaunches in light winds!

Seriously, I think there's no point in covering the windrange fully
as there's either the sommer seabreeze shouting 10m or less and then
those other days (often after season march april).

Steve

Light wind kites .. Guess what ? You dont need to go much over 14 m at your weight - and this would combine well with your 10 to give you a great quiver.The trick is to ride more board. There are some SENSATIONAL 135 x 45 -47 s out there and you WONT BELIEVE the difference that makes. My personal pick is the Airush Exile or the Switch 155 x 45 Or also consider getting a bigger directional if you can adapt.

As kites get bigger they get draggier and it all becomes a bit of a vicius cycle of diminishing returns. A wider / more area board is the way to get around this as you can ride less kite and maintain excellent upwind ability.

Damo was spot on about shallow drafts - especially in bigger kites. Some kites will drag you down wind no matter what - there are some very full and heavy kites i can think of that will do this. This problem get really bad in kites over 13m that arent optimised to be less draggy. Do your research and look for a kite thats going to sit well forward in the window. Otherwise you are just gonna be walking back up the beach. My personal picks are the Airush Lift and reactors which have real nice shallow foils along with great canopy weights vs. strength.

Mid aspect can be a misleading thing to be seeking as there are so many variables to kite design that mid aspect really tells you nothing - so beware of this. The AR is one of the MINOR determinants of a kites flying characteristics. Foil and rigidity of the canopy along with tensions within have far more influence on the kites behaviour. Defining a kite through AR is not only lazy it is just plain wrong - but it seems to have become an industry standard - one i would like to see gone.

i hope this helps you get 100 more hours of quality water time per year !

There is no spoon.

hi Geeza,

i have a qiver of 8,12,16 and ride a 132 flx and weigh 78-80kgs
the 16 i can start at 12kn, nice at 15kn and hold to 18-20kn.
a mate of mine has a 10m flow and rides that when im on my 12m in about 17kn and up, so with a 135 board and a 16 i think you will be able to change over quite easily and have heaps of time on the water. i also think a higher aspect is better for larger kites, they go up wind better, faster and stable because they are big.

hope this helps out a bit
yes i do have a 16 for sale
(see buy & sell)

wayne

If your interested in trying a 20m Yarga... give me a call 0404637147

ultimate low wind kite, medium aspect, 5th line...

The Cat amongst the pigeons...

Whats size board would you suggest to get out in mega light wings on a 14....

I cuurently ride a flow 10m and think they are great, would really like to get hold of a 2nd hand 14m flow, do you have any at airborne

Hey Gazza,

Ive got one near new sandgroper 14metre kite that has only been used as a demo which I am wanting to get rid of due to my new model finally arriving. $500 and its yours!

Sandgroper kites are mid aspect, super tough, & stable!

regards
Andrew
0418 339 335