was flying a bow kite in gusty conditions 2day with a low psi and it was so hard to fly, collapsing leading edge , not turning great , it was ****,.... yet to try it in clean wind and pumping it up a bit more....anyone else had a low psi kite fold up and disobay ..my old c kite would fly with way less psi.
i'd hook it up to a compressor , take note when it pops then repeat to make sure of consistency , then pump up just below threshhold and kite long distances from shore
From my experience due to the wind range offered by a bow, the downside is even pumped hardish, they will 'jellyfish' a little. The newer ones may not suffer this fate as much. That is the main reason why I don't use them anymore as where i kite can get gusty at times and I need a rock solid rigid frame. Just makes riding intolerable.
Most kite manufacturers recommend between 7.5-9psi for their kites... but when your down on the beach the best way is to just see if you can fold the leading edge. If you can't fold it then it's rigid; if it's rigid then it'll fly properly. The thing is that different kites take different pressures to get them to the point of providing a rigid frame, so simply asking "what pressure in a bow kite" isn't really going to get you a reliable and accurate answer. The shape of the kite, the thickness of the leading edge, the amount, style and attachment points of the bridle... as well as a long list of other factors will determine how inflated a kite needs to be to fly properly. At the end of the day you want it inflated enough to fly properly (not jellyfishing, no tip flapping under high load, etc) whilst not being overinflated enough to stress the material and stitching.
