Just wondering if big kites are really just for big blokes.

he kite bug is biting and im on the upstroke of the 1st big learning curve and loving it. But living on the Sunny coast Im wanting 14 plus knots to get going on my 11m kite. Just strated down winders and loving it. Looking at gettin an 8 or 9m kite for the 20 knot plus days.

The thing is Id love to be able to kite in 10 knots but Im thinking thats probably not possible? what is the lightest wind say a 17m kite would fly in in pull me comfortably through the water?

I notice my 11m would be flat out flying in 12 knots, is it the same with the bigger kites???

Not all big kites are the same. Most are intended for bigger guys in regular wind. There are a few good specific light wind kites. My pick of the bunch would be the New Naish fly. I'm 85kg and have flown a 15m fly in 8-10 knts. Bare in mind they will be much slower in the turns than your 11m.

Belldiver - most manufacturers specify a wind range for their kites based on a regular size rider (usually around 80kg). check out some of their websites eg http://www.cabrinhakites.com/2013/wind-range-chart.html.
Although most wind ranges are stretching the truth a bit, id suggest you should only fly that kite in the middle third of what the manufacturer recommends. ie, if they recommend a 10m kite is rated from say 15 knots to 28 knots - id suggest you really only want to be flying the kite from ~19 to 23 knots.
It also depends on wind density - a 20 knot wind coming off a hot desert is not as powerful as a 20 knot sea breeze.

id suggest getting some advice from your local kiting shop would be the best thing, who can give you local knowledge on average windspeeds in the area for different seasons.
Steve.

At 80ks my ozone zephyr 17 and wam surfboard combo doesn't really want to know at 10 knots. 12 to 14 I'm motoring though.
I find it quite hard to judge the low end wind strengths. I suspect that sometimes when wind is reported at 10, your location will vary that considerably with local geography, how far out etc.

cheers Im sitting here at maroochdore and its just hitting 12 knots on seabreeze. Im thinking if I had a 17 I'd be on it, but as i have an 11m Im waiting for constant 15 knots....

I just bought an 8 for the windy days..........

I weigh 79kg, I have a 2012 Switchblade 16m and a 2014 Airush Lithium Zero 18m. The Zero will get me going in 6 knots on the Spleene Monster door. At 8 knots I can get it going upwind easily. At 13+ knots the Zero gets quite scary. The 16m Switchy is perfect in 12 knots on a 146 tt or the LF Little Phatty. I can hold it down to a little over 17knots on a 132 tt but it gets pretty sketch if it gusts much higher than that. I'm a VERY MUCH a noob, mostly mow the lawn and ride very small waves.

It all really depends on what you consider fun riding. I live where there's no wind and I'd rather be mowing the lawn in no wind than not riding at all. There are lots of arguments about light wind kites when I was looking for one. This sucks that sucks etc but where I live, if the wind is 8 knots it could very well drop to 4 knots. Your kite will need to be big and light to stay in the air. I get way more sessions with my big kites than the "cool kids" and their small kites. To each their own.

Have to agree with the last two posts. My GF has a Monster Door that I and others regularly "borrow" to ride with the Fat Lady and you can really get up and riding in almost nothing. But after taking a demo ride on the Naish Orbit if I had to buy another light wind board that would be my pick. It has a little more forgiving flex than the Door (the door just wants to go up wind straight away) and the main difference is the weight, it is much lighter, it felt 2/3rds the weight of the door.

Either way they both also have pads that are super comfy, however the Naish Apex are hands down the most comfortable pads I have felt.