Gday,

After peoples opinions on what size to go for to get out in some bigger winds over winter.

Currently have 10m, weight-little over 70kgs and in WA.

This has been my first season and honestly have only not been out once for fear of being overpowered....even then, with more confidence/experience I may have been out.

Thing is, I believe lots of winter kiting is in storm fronts in Perth?? So was thinking of buying something smaller to get out on these occasions. I cant face waiting till next summer to feed this habit once the wind dies.

I thought about 6 or 7m would be good, so looking in the trader for anything between 5 and 7m. Have financial approval from the boss to buy new kite so might aswell!

I was tempted to buy new and try something different-Wainman Gypsy or Bunny, but for a grand less the stuff in the trader is pretty attractive.....

Cheers for any help.

Matt

winter sucks a big black one, buy a 7, u'll get the most out of it next summer, u'd need a pretty big quiver to try an kite alot thru winter.

Get a 5 a 6 or a 7
6 would probably be the best at your weight IMO

However winter is challenging conditions to kite especially if fronts are moving fast.
Wind speeds change dramatically like 10kn to 40+kn in very short spaces of time.

Might be an idea to check this winter out first and really study the weather.

graceful said...


Go a 6m
just remember if your thinking even for a second that the conditions are out of your skill range they probly are!!

Grace

...it just reminded me for the time I started someone told me: "you better sit on the shore thinking you should be out there kiting, then kiting out there thinking you should be on the shore"

Sounds like 6 or 7m is the go....

I would definately only be going out if I had company and felt comfortable. If the waves are decent I'd probably rather surf them anyway. Doesn't seem to be much risk of that to often in Perth though

As for twin tip or surfboard-thats another question I was going to ask....currently 135 twin tip but was actually thinking about getting a surfboard after the next kite.....maybe even instead of. I want to start spending more time in the waves and figure the right surfboard will let me do that and afew other things such as-Good for light wind riding with the 10m rather than buying a bigger kite plus the right board could also be used as a paddle board (great for justifing the $ )

Considering I've spent alot more time waiting for enough wind than watching it howl from the shore, this might be better than worrying about getting a smaller kite. ****, birthday coming, might have to try for both!

Thanks for the tips so far,

Matt

Hi Emanjay,

A 7m will be your favourite kite. There is no fun hanging onto big kites in strong winds. You will always boost bigger on small kites, and the speed of small kites is intoxicating.

Most experienced riders try and change down onto their smaller kite as soon as possible to stay up wind and be marginally powered.

A 7m will be a big kite for you in the winter gales. Be careful!

Cheers,

KH

Emanjay said...

Sounds like 6 or 7m is the go....


As for twin tip or surfboard-thats another question I was going to ask....currently 135 twin tip but was actually thinking about getting a surfboard after the next kite.....maybe even instead of. I want to start spending more time in the waves and figure the right surfboard will let me do that and afew other things such as-Good for light wind riding with the 10m rather than buying a bigger kite plus the right board could also be used as a paddle board (great for justifing the $ )

Considering I've spent alot more time waiting for enough wind than watching it howl from the shore, this might be better than worrying about getting a smaller kite. ****, birthday coming, might have to try for both!

Thanks for the tips so far,

Matt

With a surfboard usually you choose a size smaller kite....but, again, the size of the surf board makes a difference too....
If you choose to ride the waves, for your weight you wouldn't go too far beyond 11m, so a 6-10 quiver may do......saying that you don't get much swells in light winds on summer days....and some days you may just want to do those lazy floaty jumps....

Thanks for all the replies.

A 6 or 7m plus a surfboard doesn't sound like a bad plan of attack.

Now for the fun part-shopping!

Cheers

Matt

I'm just over 70 kgs and have a 10 and a 7 and they cover the whole range for south west WA.
I ride 133 twin tip and 5'3" directional, and kite all year round.

Emanjay said...

Gday,

After peoples opinions on what size to go for to get out in some bigger winds over winter.

I thought about 6 or 7m would be good, so looking in the trader for anything between 5 and 7m.

Common myth about perth winter is that wind is always bigger, Not always true. It can be frustratingly light as well. It definitely is more difficult to read as the wind is produced differently. i.e. like most other kitesurfing locations across the world.

You can't just pump, launch, tune and leave the settings of the kite and leave alone for your entire session. You "shock horror" need to adjust your settings/kite/riding as the conditions change.

If you can't read the wind conditions and most importantly the rain squalls, then nows the time to start learning(before the winter arrives.)

Very general rule of thumb for perth NW winds are bad. Lighting is bad. Nimbus clouds are also bad, m'kay.

sites:
http://www.kidcyber.com.au/topics/clouds.htm
www.wikihow.com/Read-a-Weather-Map
www.imdb.com/title/tt0031381/

Anything from a 6m to a 8m will be fine. Go for a bow kite if you are fairly new or uncertain about your skillset. A proper bow kite that is.