Self inflating vs pump up kites

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Buell
Buell
SA
89 posts
SA, 89 posts
25 Jul 2008 1:36pm
G'day guy's, yes i'm another beginner and have only been kiting since Nov last year.
As I have only used Bandit kites (9 & 13m) i'm fishing for info on the pro's and con's of self inflating (Flysurfer) and pump up (Bandit) styles of kites.

Are self inflating easier/harder to use, can they be relaunched from the water, can you self launch/land them, what is the pump up kite equivalent (in m2) of a 15m Speed 2, when my 13m Bandit flies but won't keep me on the board (85kg, 137 555 board) will the 15m Speed 2 work ?

Any other info would be greatly appreciated

Hopefully i've not opened a can of worms here !

Cheers all
ianyoung
ianyoung
WA
649 posts
WA, 649 posts
25 Jul 2008 12:49pm
Hi Buell, you'll find a lot more info if you search under "foils" or "foils vs LEI", etc but here's some quick answers:

Flysurfers are just as easy if not easier to use in many respects than LEI.

Quick & easy water-relaunching even in lighter winds is one of their major strengths.

Self launch and landing is again a major strength - although like any kite, not recommended in strong winds.

A 15m Speed2 is the equivalent of a 18-20m LEI so yes it will be going upwind when your 13m won't even get you out of the water.

More info at http://members.iinet.net.au/~ianyoung/Flysurfer.html

Bottom line is see for yourself - I can put you in touch with guys who are happy to show you the benefits of their Flysurfers - email [email protected] or call 0414716812
Buell
Buell
SA
89 posts
SA, 89 posts
25 Jul 2008 5:20pm
Much appreciated Ian and thanks for the correction on the terminology, will be in touch

Cheers
NSW, 4382 posts
25 Jul 2008 6:40pm
Buell said...

G'day guy's, yes i'm another beginner and have only been kiting since Nov last year.
As I have only used Bandit kites (9 & 13m) i'm fishing for info on the pro's and con's of self inflating (Flysurfer) and pump up (Bandit) styles of kites.

Are self inflating easier/harder to use, can they be relaunched from the water, can you self launch/land them, what is the pump up kite equivalent (in m2) of a 15m Speed 2, when my 13m Bandit flies but won't keep me on the board (85kg, 137 555 board) will the 15m Speed 2 work ?

Any other info would be greatly appreciated

Hopefully i've not opened a can of worms here !

Cheers all


Self inflating foils like the Flysurfers are extremely easy to use. I was out testing the new Psycho4 yesterday and did not have any hassles launching and landing it on my own.
The Flysurfers are a very sophisticated kite, and are extremely relaibale and easy to use, the new 5th line type depower system on the Psycho4 is first class.
Very fast and easy to relaunch from the water.
The 15M Speed2 is a very powerful kite, easily equivalent to a 16/17M inflato. The 12M Speed2 would be more powerful but with a wider wind range than the Bandit 13M

I'll write full review on the Psycho4 10M that I have on demo here in Sydney soon when I have tested in stronger winds than I have manged to use it in so far. However, I'm extremely impressed with the kite so far, fast flying and tight turning for a foil kite this size. Not too much lift and should be good for unhooking and kite looping. The stability of the Psycho4 is much better than I had imagined and the kite will be excllent in waves too, because it just drifts back when you slack off the lines.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve
robbo1111
robbo1111
NSW
656 posts
NSW, 656 posts
25 Jul 2008 7:47pm
Buell,
I learnt on Flysurfers, moved to LEIs, then changed back to Flysurfers.

I don't really care which type of kite performs better than the other because these days they're all so good you'd have to be a pro to squeeze every last bit of performance out of them. So it comes down to personal preference.

So for me it was about being a lazy bastard with time constraints and it's here that the Flysurfer is unbeatable. It takes me longer to put my wettie and sunscreen on than to get the kite in the air. Secondly I just like having something a bit different than most other people on the water.

Self launching the FS is a piece of cake but self rescue would probably be more difficult, not that I've had to do it yet (touch wood). And of course self launching/landing is pretty straight forward.

The main negative is price and support, although the distribution network is expanding. There's no such thing as a "run out" sale, in fact you'd struggle to get any discount even on an older model kite. You can however pick up some pretty good second hand bargains if you're prepared to look around.
Good luck.
ianyoung
ianyoung
WA
649 posts
WA, 649 posts
25 Jul 2008 8:08pm
Initial review and some pix @ Ningaloo last week:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39771
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