There is no best kite....but for upwind excellent and decent jumping you need some aspect, especially in those lighter winds mentioned.

So starting the list

Edge, dyno, Naish draft, F series mutiny, rebel, fuse, LF NRG, Peter Lynn fury, speed FS, VXR airush and..and..

And

A wainmen smoke...

For upwind drive in light conditions? I was joking about the smoke.

Suppose easier to learn how to jump on those to and the smoke.

kkiter said..

Best upwind performance = Ozone Edge.

unless you want to go foil... then the speed 3 cranks a higher upwind angle.

miroslavpena

You can answer your own question by looking over you shoulder next time your out riding and read the names on the kites that are up wind of you

Gorgo is right in a way.

But given the same board and the same rider the kite then becomes more important.

With aspect comes efficiency. But it needs to be complimented with a relatively efficient board as you won't get as much static pull especially with the real race types.

also with aspect and flat foil canopy such as the edge then you also need good timing and interplay of board and kite speed to jump effectively.

Right now my number one choice would be the zephyr which gives you a little more room for error on the above.

Plummet said..

kkiter said..

Best upwind performance = Ozone Edge.

unless you want to go foil... then the speed 3 cranks a higher upwind angle.

Not in my experience, and I've kited alongside experienced flysurfer speed 3 riders here in Sydney. On a raceboard, the Edge smokes them.

My experience and observations are Edge and then kites that are based on it (there are several, including dyno, asv, rrd, etc), and the Cabrinha Velocity.

Same weight as you , same if not litter wind then you and I have been on a switchblade 11 meter . Board is very important I have the same size as you . BUT I have 2 of them ,,one board is dead flat no concaves in it the other dose (not talking about rocker ) the one with out it is up and planning upwind in around 4-5 kns quicker and easer . it is simply call drag when the wind is above 15 the other one comes out digs in better ect .my 5 cents worth .As for other kites I don't get to demo many so cant help .

tnx for ur rplys gyz...i can easy go upwind with my current setup if the wind is 16kn or more but below that is hard..nobile n62 is kite with rly small AR and kite wont go that easy on edge of the wind window so its harder to master upwind tech especially if the wind is below 15kt..

What size should i take for my conditions ??? i considering on 14m2 though..is that too big for my 68kg and 12-18kt ?
I was doing research for kites on their websites and its hard to tell from their info what kite is for upwind and some jumps..except i run into Slingshot Rally specs with is from SS info their best upwind kite for decent jumps but non of u mention Rally..am i wrong ???
most often suggestions for now is Cabrinha Switchblade, Ozone EDGE, North Rebel and Dyno..but what size 12 or 14 ?? and what about SS Rally ?

tnx again

go the 14 in any freeride kite. The higher aspect race kites will also be more of a pain to relaunch in light winds

Kitepower Australia said..

Discontinued in the 2014 lineup, but the 2013 and 2012 were ok, nothing like an Edge though. At your weight you would do much better with a smaller board something a 1.31 555 if you want to stick with Nobile.

wy would be better smaller board for my weight..isnt bigger better for light wind?

Craig66 said..

miroslavpena

You can answer your own question by looking over you shoulder next time your out riding and read the names on the kites that are up wind of you

been today and done that..almost unbelievable how this look over shoulder can help for upwind track..been riding on 12m2 nobile t5 on max 15 kt..tnx again!! great advice!

ok tnx all for suggestions..

1. Cabrinha Switchblade
2. North Rebel
3. North Dyno
4. Ozone Edge
and i wanna add
5. Cabrinha Crossbow
6. Slingshot Rally
7. Nobile T5

now i want those who know or have some exp to rank it all or just those u know or believe in rank order starting with most viable or usable for jumping(simple hooked in..hang time/pop)..and feel free to write some comments why is it that order :) .. i hope the question is not too stupid but where can i ask it if not on some forums :)..tnx again

bennie said..
I would not go a race kite If I was you, they lack user friendliness in order to achieve maximum performance. As mentioned by a few others a freeride kite is going to be better allround for you.

I agree with Bennie's comment.

There are a number of kites which still perform very well up wind, but are good all-rounders too. Maybe the North Rebel or Slingshot Rally could be a fit?

Whatever you do - demo, demo, demo. I've read equipment reviews until I was dizzy, listened to advice on "what was the best kite for me", then tested the gear and ended up buying something completely different.

I think your really need to define exactly what ya after.

Good points about a race kite but heck you are talking some lightish winds on a TT (inefficient board) although you are only 68 and its 42 wide.

If just your intentions are to go upwind and jump then apart from what other have said above I would consider a race kite. They are not as extreme as some make out. I have had so many emails telling me how good crew have found the edge coming from more low aspect friendly kites.

But if you plan on mixing it up then the crew above are right. Something like the rebel would be ideal. Rally I'm not so sure. Maybe. Switch blade 2013 (not before) might be okay to, plenty of crew were using them in the light winds in Bali.

If we stay with the edge as that's what I know intimately now, I'd say a 13m edge would nearly ideal at your weight and board selection.

What kind of wind do you have, is it cold an dense, tropical warm and weak? Or is it just a normal thermal Seabreeze?

So many options so many good kites hey. Bennie is right you need to demo a number of kites then maybe get back to us all and discuss what characteristics wou enjoyed and what you didn't.

Don't rush it...I'm speaking from experience having done that way too many times.

So you have flat water and you want to jump and stay upwind. That sounds race like to me. That's what they do!

Nbl is a nice and fast board to another reason for a fast, efficient kite like a race kite. Relaunch...ho hum, don't buy a kite based on bloody relaunch for gods sake, I have never had a problem relaunching any kite, low, medium of high aspect, whatever bridal config, however many pulleys...just gotta learn each kites idiosyncrasies.

What one giveth the other taketh away, its alway a comprimise.

TurtleHunter said...
2 years kiting and some small basic jumps. Do you guy's really think he needs a more advanced kite

I was gonna say that, however I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings, having said that I don't think anyone can say that they out perform their kite, it'll always have the upper hand