Hi all,

I have recently relocated to the metropolis of Canberra. There is plenty of water here and loads of wind but generally the wind is rubbish, gusty and up and down. A typical day is nw 15-25 knots , but that 15-25 can be within a minute.

so I am interested in what the brain trust that is seabreeze thinks on the topic of gusty wind.
what characteristics in a kite make it best able to handle gusty conditions? and what are the best kites on the market for gusty conditions?

I would have thought a lower aspect kite with high depower at the bar, that sits back in the window and drifts well like a surf style kite would be best?
or even a foil for those moments when the wind really drops out so that the kite stays in the air?

I kite in gusty winds a fair bit, You want a kite with excellent bottom end power and de-power to get you through the lulls and gusts, you also want a kite that holds its shape and does not buckle in the 40-45 knot gusts ( good leading edge support and balance ). Also a smooth kite that does not chuck you when a gust hits. A stable kite that does not fall out of the sky after a gust followed by a lull. I have just finished designing one :) All kites are different and there would be a number of good kites that can handle gusts, and some that can not. I think some C kite would not be the best if they pull like a truck, and some high aspect kites may not be the best also.

Not familiar with lots of different brands, but my Airush union handles gusts very well. I'm riding the 9m.
My older 2012 6m Lithium can handle gusts well, too.
Down in Tassie, lots of strong gusty winds.

I go with shorter lines in gusty winds to allow the kite to move quicker to edge in a gust and reduce the power surge when hit by a gust.

Depends what kind of gusty wind! If it's the type that drops off to basically nothing at all and then comes back I'd go for a wave kite. Wave kites will hardly ever fall out of the sky and do extremely well in gusty stuff as a lot of the R&D is often done is side of conditions! The Reo is an awesome option and another one to check out is the LF Wow as it is also really excels at jumping and looping (best I've tried in a wave kite... they are generally very lacking in this area!).


If the wind is more the type where it doesn't drop off to nothing but rather will be sitting on a baseline of 15 and then gusting hard up to 25-30 I would be more inclined to go for a 5 strut kite as it will be much for stable. As Plummet mentioned the Edge can be a great option for an experienced flier. Others to look at/demo would be the Core XR4 and Cabrinha Switchblade. They are rock solid in gusty stuff and have awesome all around performance.


Cheers and good luck on your search!

AUS126 said..
I'm geared up for gusty conditions too. My thinking is bigger board / smaller kite. I prefer more buoyant board rather than bigger. You often generate your own breeze with the small kites so it doesn't seem to matter as much where the winds coming from or if there is a few holes in it. Also they are safer when the 30+ knot gusts hit. Some of the new small kites seem to have great low end. 6 and 9 pivot for me.

I agree that a smaller kite bigger board is probably a better combo than the reverse.

Most stable kite I've flown in gusty conditions (which means the specified top end and beyond can be reached at times) is the Rebel.

it's aspect gives it a decent bottom end...BUT..it's got a heavy build. If you are gonna kite in the lower end of a kites range I think the

wave kite, 3 struts, light build is a sensible suggestion.

But if you plan to ride your kites in their upper third and beyond, something like a rebel, evo, switchblade (which I always found really stable)...the 5 strut platforms with a bit of aspect so you can drive it to the edge of the window.

The edge...well yes, if you are a very competant rider, it is still not as stable as the kites I've mentioned when **** really hits the fun.

Shoots forward too fast and aggressively in those gusts. Doable, but it's all relative.