Imagine you are 66kg have a 11m GK sonic kite; wind is good 13k + from previous experience whats your recommendation?

HowieD said...

Now riding a 133cm Cab Custom which has a lot of rocker (for a kiteboard) and have no issues staying upwind.

x2.

i have a Cab Custom 128. i need a far bit of wind to upwind tack it. best board for downwinders though, love the rocker.

surfingboye said...

HowieD said...

Now riding a 133cm Cab Custom which has a lot of rocker (for a kiteboard) and have no issues staying upwind.

x2.

i have a Cab Custom 128. i need a far bit of wind to upwind tack it. best board for downwinders though, love the rocker.

Too right! The Custom is soooooo smooth through the chop. And it softens powered landings beautifully.

the problem being, flatter and bigger is better for upwind - but worse for tricks of any kind except sliding.

comes down to your technique - and local water conditions ( 13 kts ) with zero chop and no sweep you should go upwind - with ANY sweep you would need more wind on any kites. If the sweep is ~2 kts - you will need more like 18-20kts to stay still so it has a big effect.

also in NSW wind tends to read more than how it feels in WA ie 15/17kts is like 10/12 in wa

12kts in NSW is like 8kts wa

im 61kgs and ride a shinn board(nobile) 2007 model and its a 127 or a maybe 128. . its a very powerful board which allows you to ride fully powered in both light and very strong wind. awesome board. you gotta try it!!

any modern board that's the right size and not absolutely wake-dedicated is fine. upwind, as with light wind, is all about technique. of course dedicated boards will go better in the right hands/feet, but my experience is that a small gain in technique will yield more satisfying results than dropping a grand on a new toy. here are some tips. (i raced boats and sailboards for many years before kiting so there's some sailing lingo in here.)

a really light touch on the bar and a delicate balance between front and rear foot pressure will let you respond quickly to slight changes in wind speed and direction.

if you hit a lift (wind shifts so you can point higher) let the bar out a fraction and edge just a little harder to steer upwind further.

if you hit a knock/header (wind shifts so you can't point as high) flatten out your board to maintain speed as you bear just as far downwind as you need to keep the kite powered up.

in a gust let the bar out a bit to let the kite fly further forwards and load up your back heel a bit more to point a little higher.

in a lull shift some load to your front foot and flatten the board a bit to maintain speed. if you need to pull the bar in briefly to keep the kite powered as you adjust course, be prepared to let it out again quickly to prevent stalling.

look upwind. your head leads a twist through your torso and this helps keep things loaded up automatically to point high.

again, a delicate and responsive sensitivity to shifts in wind speed and direction and water conditions (bend knees over chop to keep up your speed and edge and not bounce downwind) lets you take full advantage of the conditions to find the sweet balance of speed and angle.

in the world of wind power few things are more satisfying than being able to blast upwind, whether just to ride downwind again, to explore, to avoid walks of shame, to avoid other water users, to win races, but personally i just love the sense of satisfaction that comes from being attuned to the elements in such a way that you can have maximum freedom to go where you please.

djdojo- Spot on with that one..

"in the world of wind power few things are more satisfying than being able to blast upwind, whether just to ride downwind again, to explore, to avoid walks of shame, to avoid other water users, to win races, but personally i just love the sense of satisfaction that comes from being attuned to the elements in such a way that you can have maximum freedom to go where you please."

I am 75kg and had the same set up with an 11m GK. Dont underestimate the power you can get out of those things, for upwind rig your AKPO up for light bar pressure (i never could use b4, waaay too light for me b3 worked well with the f2&f5 combo).
Using a 133x40 liquid force recoil i would charge it upwind (in flat water) and still bust out airs.

At 66kg you'd be fanging along