hi got a 13m rev1, bit sick of the slow moving performance , getting a new kite soon for a trip, any thoughts on a replacement for surf etc, love my 9m rev but the 13 just too slow for fun, thinking of a 12m rpm but there are suggestions the low end is weak, any thoughts out there . thanks

I'll put another vote in for the Ozone Light's...
Either the Light 2's or the Light XC's from this year.... The 10m XC has plenty of grunt for the light winds, and turns nicely too...

"best fast turning light wind kite"
All depends on what you mean by light wind. The lighter the wind, the bigger the kite needs to be and the lesser the turning speed will be: no real secret. (Personnaly, I don't think a 12 or even a 13 m bow kite falls under the light wind kite category for an 75-85kg person...). It is all about finding the best trade-off for you, between power and turning speed.

Also, keep in mind that if your focus is on turning speed, you can easily improve the low end of your favorite kite size by using a wider board: the difference is significant, it will enable you to plan + keep more speed in the low end, but no secret here again, the wind required to do fun jumps with that kite will pretty much be the same regardless of the board.

Many people seem to expect from their light wind kite to be able to turn the same as their 9-10 meters... that would be a good thing, I agree, but from what I have seen and tried to date, the reality is different, so if you want to kite in say 10-12 knots I think you need a big kite and/or a big board and ride with different expectations than in 20 knots...

cheers
Jacques

Id have to go with the 15m Wipika Matrix preferablly 04 model

Adfreetv said...

(not tried Ozone cause I never liked the complex 5 line arrangement)

All the Ozone's are 4 line this year.

wainman twelve boss on the slow setting is still faster then anything the same size and same goes for the nine smoke

Adfreetv said...

hookworm said...

wainman twelve boss on the slow setting is still faster then anything the same size and same goes for the nine smoke

I demoed the Rabbit for a few days (and loved it on the lighter setting). I have not flown the Boss but it was my opinion that the rabbit (9m) was not as fast and light as a Furia 9m.

Hookworm, I know you know your kites so I am interested in your opinion - have you flown a Furia and is the low end of the Boss one of the best you have tried? I would like a fast grunty lighter wind option.

everyone has there own opinion about kites and i have flown alot of different kites but havent flown the furiia but have heard good things about it. its hard to say one kite is better then another coz its rare to use ten different kite in the same conditions but the things i look for is re-launch, bar pressure, safty sys, and how the kite reacts to different situations, ie: if i land a trick going down wind and theres know tension on the lines what does the kite do, how easily does the kite pull me out of the water, how quick is the turning, how user friendly is the kite and most of all quality of the product. its easy to get everyone elses opinion but the won that matters is your own. If you have trouble trusting other peoples opinion try work out the specs on a kite you like and the specs on what you'd like in a kite then compare that to the manufactures and see what you come up with. but even easier then that is to demo as many as you can in as many different conditions.

And getting back to which kite is faster turning this also has alot to do with the person riding the kite eg I once flew an old force c kite 13 metre and could barely get the thing to turn but put it in the arms of spaz blake and he makes it look like a seven.