/me sits back and waits for the flame war to start.....

Great to see another kiter not afraid to try something different!
I don't really understand why so many kiters don't want to try different types of kites. I like flying as many as possible, variety is the spice of life and all that...
The Speed is a highly efficient flying machine. Pretty obvious if your 10m is a low wind kite and then you use a 13m Venom as the wind picks up.
Enjoy it Jeremy!

Flysurfer kites have always intrigued me, but in answer to the question as to why to why LEI's dominate comes down to price. Flysurfer are unfortunately expensive. Most people don't go too much for marketing, they pick a size and compare price and then what feels good for them. But in the end it will always come down to dollars.
Constant winds
Baz.
P.S Please ignore if sponsored.

Flysurfer Speed.
Size (m²) Wind Range(knots) RRP (incl GST)
6 11 - 40 $1920
8 10 - 35 $2175
10 9 - 32 $2430
12 8 - 29 $2615
15 7 - 26 $2870
19 6 - 23 $3125

Hi Curious Minds!

I have been happy with my experience with Flysurfer kites for nearly 4 years and am happy to share it.

Main advantages (no specific listing order) of a 10 m Speed (I can only comment on the first generation of Speed as I have not tried the Speed2)
1- great upwind ability;
2- tremendous increase of power with speed... resulting in more speed... thus more power... thus more speed... and so on! Adrenaline rush garanteed!!!
3- great for jumping high;
4- easy care kite (small volume to carry on a push bike, no pumping, line always attached, quick to set up and self-launch, easy/safe self-landing).

If you do not like the above way of kiting, do not choose a Flysurfer Speed!

My Speed is nearly 3 year old now and still look -nearly- like new: great engineered kite, high quality, long durability because (i think) no part of the kite is under high stress:
- the stresses coming from the lines are uniformly distributed to the canopy through numerous attachement points;
- the leading edge is not stressed by the pressure of bladders;
- each line is connected to the canopy via a 'little connection line' that breaks under abnormal stresses (>30/45kg) before the canopy is damaged.

The 10 m is my prefered toy. At 80kg, I use it from 13 knots on a big board (Nobile 132x41) and from 15-18 knots with a fast board (long and narrow, old Airush Switch Pro 147x33) up to when the sand is blown 100 mm above the beach surface (up to 22-24 knots?). If I want to kite below or above this wind range, I use another kite size for more fun.

I also have the 13m Speed. I reserve it for sub-15 knots wind, because this kite pulls like a truck. However, before I got the 10 m, I used to take the 13 m in winds that nearly blew the sand above the beach surface (18-20 knots?). The 13m is a different style of riding: much slower kite, way more powerful than the 10 m: just ideal for a quiet light wind session.

Ok, I hope that may help.

Cheers
Fred

Ian, is there anyone over this way (Bundaberg in QLD) selling Flysurfer kites?

Yea, Gorgo I understand where you're coming from....perhaps 80-20 rule or something.

Given spare cash I would maybe buy one if they last longer, and deliver equal or better performance. I find that after about 12 months the rubber ducks begin to fall apart (all brands); can say the same about harnesses also.

But thinking of travelling and such, they do seem to be an item of convenience. Ah, German engineering.....and better for the snow I recon.

This all sounds good... but you'll have to excuse my ignorance... If you drop your kite, is it hard to relaunch because it hasnt got an inflated leading edge? Wouldn't it just sink?

I'm drooling.... I would love to have a fly of one. I wanted to get a flysurfer some time ago but was put off by the extra expense.I'm flying PL kites, I like the auto zenith. The flysurfer doesn't do that does it? I am 70kg. What size would be good for the low end ? Any one have any experience on these big ones like the Titan? When you can get so much power from a 13 when would you use a 25M ? I have a friend going through Germany, wouldn't it be cheaper to buy one there?

Sambo, although we find it difficult to get retailers interested until there's a que of people outside their door wanting a FlySurfer, there are guys all over Australia with them and most are more than happy to let competent kiters try their kites - email [email protected] and I'll put you in touch with the closest to you.

The price is actually set in Germany so you won't save anything Sambo - we absorb the freight cost, convert Euro to AUD, take off 17% VAT and add 10% GST = RRP in Oz.

Tom, it never ceases to amaze me that people still think that water relaunching is an issue with FlySurfers when it's always been one of their biggest strengths - don't take my word for it, try it for yourself - takes 5 mins to learn the technique

quote:

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Originally posted by meerkat

last time i flew a venom it felt spongey? is that the way they fly or was the kite i borrowed setup wrong?

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What do you mean by spongey?

I found the V2 to be softer to ride than my 2004 LEI kites.....a lot less hard edged in its power delivery. My Best Nemesis and Airush Lifts feel a lot more on/off by comparison.

In gusty wind, I tend to get yanked off my edge a lot on my LEIs, but didn't get that at all on this V2, even though I was out in wind that would have normally had me struggling and not having much fun on my LEI kites.

quote:

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Originally posted by meerkat

quite a delay between the bar and the kite. I was riding wipika wips at that time though.

It also seemed more difficult, or maybe just different when applying the power. I suspect it was a first generation kite so would need to fly a more recent one.

Am v happy with my 12m takoon nova2 and a 8m sonic GK

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I didn't find that with the V2 until I had so much depower on (due to the major increase in wind after I launched) that the rear lines were very slack. Ordinarily I would have come in for a smaller kite, but all I had was my 8M Nemesis, which I didn't really want to fly in those conditions anyway.

It took me a couple of sessions to get used to how it flies and delivers the power etc, but after that I was fine. I managed to get a brief go in the waves yesterday and, although I was chronically overpowered, I can see why people rave about these for wave riding. I'd love to have had a 10M for these windier days we've been getting

Cheers for the info Tobes.

I only stated kiting in december from a surfing background and havent been behind anything but a C kite. Where I kite the majority of people ride C kites and to be honest, ive never seen a foil flown in real life! Haha. Wouldnt mind having a go though. Does anyone know anywhere around Perth that demo's them?

Sambo / Hi Their ! If you are around our area I am happy to give you a go on the Psycho 3 . I have a 10/13/and a 17 mtr that you can try . I can travell from Wello point to Noosa for a days sail if that is any good .
You can contact me by our web site ; http://flysurferkites.com.au/
Jeff Roberts.

quote:

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Very rarely you can end up with the kite looped through itself but it will still relaunch.

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Unfortunately I've had this happen to me twice with my P3 13m, and seen it happen to a guy with a P3 10m. Both times that I did it were my fault but with a bit of patience you can deploy the 5th line and sort everything out. Unfortunately for the guy on the 10m he had a long swim in. No such problems with the Pulse, it is the re-launch machine, I'm not sure you could bow-tie it if you tried.

Your other point, Gorgo, about the bridle lines isn't really an issue on the newer flysurfers. Sure LCL's can and do fail but most of the times it's happened to me I haven't noticed until I'm packing up. You'd have to have a bunch of them fail to be stranded.

Overpowered, I use a jetski so I can provide continuous coaching to my students! And to easily take them back upwind. Only in the lightest of winds or turbulence (which we try to avoid) do I usually have to assist my students relaunch - just ask them!

Your comments about someone drowning due to due bridle lines are completely unfounded in my experience of flying every type of kite on the market since 1996!

In fact a bridled FlySurfer foil has even been known to save people from drowning www.fksa.org/showthread.php?t=328