well i am pretty much a wave kook, anyone thats seen me kitesurf will attest to that!
there are so many factors really to what type of kite goes best with choice of style. not just wind strength but wave power is just as important to type of board you prefer to use.
after saying that here's my list of wants in a decent kite for riding fast and powered down the line.
turning power - turn the kite and i want loads of power to pull me into the top turn and the bottom turn. c kites are known to do this the best, but any kite that doesn't pivot and or back stall in its turn, but has a radial turn is also good. on subject of turning speed , i personally find kites with direct lines give me a greater ability to react, non pulleys, low bar pressure, not hard turning pressure. my c kite i find have all these qualities.
how well does the kite fly back into the window, is more important to me than depower of the kite on the wave, if the waves substantial enough to the board your using, *even directionals in double head high sends me wooshing down the waves face yeeeeehaa!!!* then your going to be using the waves power, cranking the kite back the opposite direction as your going up to hit the top section for that extra power i find with a good designed kite it floats back as i ride down the wave face. hard to write in words but the kite lines go slack (i have seen many "popular" kites will simply fall out of the sky with line slackness) to me this is how my kite "disappears when riding it" the kite re-appears when i reengage my rail away from the kite to set up the bottom turn and crank the bar the other way, its all about timing and looking down the line at the next section of the break...i don't always get the timing right or my edge right to set me up for the second or third turn but when i do, its a............. f!!!!k yeah!!!!
i find a high de-power kite is good when ridding slight cross offshore, its a park and ride affair then and the style changes for me as the waves peel slower where i ride cross offshore. fortunately my c kite has about 90 percent bar depower.
kite stability is a big thing. the more stable and able to do as described above, the less i need to worry about relaunching my kite in waves, because of the larger scope to make mistakes and not get punished it gives me more confidence to keep at it.
i find the c kite i ride does what i want to how i ride, i get the biggest stoke on it and ultimately that what matters.. a few of the kites mentioned above i have tried/owned and they don't do what i describe above, but then i have seen guys that rip on them...... no such thing as the best surf kite, just the best for your conditions and how you wish to ride and mostly to what gives you the biggest stoke!
