A lot of the newer kites are much better for light wind kiting than a pre 08 one. Maybe an old hard core bow would do it.

I would recommend a Lithium LW 13m. That would easily have you going in that range. Also perhaps an Ozone Zepher

Personally, light wind kiting frustrates the hell out of me. But each to thier own.

KP Sydney has a used Ozone Zephyr for sale, call the guys 0n 02 95296894
It has a big wind range, but you do need to use a bigger board to get down to the 10 knots range.
For you it should work well from 10/12 to 20/22, we have a local, experienced, customer that weighs 110 and uses it from 14/15 to 25-30

Also test drive the Best Tabou & Liquid Force Envy. For the Tabou, it will be hard to find another as light weight and faster turning 17m kite around. Also pretty light for bar pressure. For good planning wind conditions, we found the Liquid Force 15m Envy is most popular for guys your weight in our area. If you can find a cheap Havoc, then it might be a good cheap low wind kite addition to your quiver. I prefer the 2008 Havoc than the 2009 as it feels more grunty. They increased the aspect ratio in 2009, but in 2010 they dropped the middle strut and the kite rose up to a totally different level. Test as many kites as you can and choose the one you find the most joy to fly!

Hi Ryan,

If you are serious about light wind kiting you may also need a bigger board - on some days you need both a big kite and a big board. A bigger board is particularly useful if you are expecting the wind to pick up - then you just start with your normal kite and a big board and swap boards if the wind picks up - easier then swapping kites.

Also the trouble with kiting in light wind at Parham (where as you know we kite frequently) is that the wind doesn't usually stay light for the whole session. In all of last year I only remember 1, maybe 2 sessions where the wind stayed 10-15 knots. But I remember many more sessions (both in summer and in winter) when wind picked up from the initial 10-12 knots to 20-25+++ knots within less then half an hour (hell - sometimes in minutes). Many times (particularly in winter) if we rigged up big we'd end up in trouble.

But on those truly light wind days (ie. 10-15 knots) I just used my 14m Switchblade (at 100kgs I'm only 5kgs lighter then you) and my standard 135x41 board. And I fully agree with Paradox - light wind kiting is frustrating, because light winds are unstable and can easily drop out to 5 knots at times - so no matter how big your kite is you need to be patient.

SpawnofFossl said...


... but was told that a 16m kite would be too big...

I just re-read your original post again - just to clarify - 16m would be too big for TYPICAL Parham conditions, but in the context of light wind kiting nothing is too big - as long as the wind doesn't pick up too much.

Have a look at 2011 Griffin Argo 17m threat:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/2011-Griffin-Argo-17m-beating-lightwind-limits/

New 17m Argo desing is specially improved for lightwind. It seems to be fast even being a big kite.

It would be a good quality/price option. Test it if you have the opportunity.

Im certainly no expert, far from it, still a noob in my 1st season
But i do weigh about the same as you (105kg) and currently only have a 1 kite quiver, that being a 2011 12m switchy. On Saturday just gone I demo'd two light wind kites, back to back, both 2011 models....a 17m Ozone Zephyr, and 17m Best Taboo. It was sub 15knots, 13-15 range im guessing. Both kites got me going on my Slingshot SX (143cm) however there were times during the lulls where I had to sine both kites a little to keep powered. A dedicated light wind board would of no doubt helped, but i wanted to test both kites using my regular board. I could be wrong but doubt a 14m would be big enough for the range you are talking about, and think a 17m is the way to go. Im now just waiting to test out the new 17m Argo, and maybe the Core, however the top end of the Core max's out pretty quickly and wont give me any overlap with my 12m, so probably not an option for me.

Hope this helps

hey Spawn....if you want to borrow the best light wind board going around for a weekend give me a call, Scott has my number....