Rider: 80kg, beginner
Style: freeriding, surf
Weather: 8+knots

I'm interested in what kites people are using to get them out in light winds outside of the racing scene. Have read good things about the Core XR LW but never seen one at the beach ...
Would love any further info/any kites you've had experience with :)
I mainly kite at the local beach break but really just want to cruise around in light winds.

Berg K1t3r said...

The ozone Edge is a market'd as a race kite primarily, but from what ive heard they boost better than most kites and theyre good in light wind in the bigger sizes. But if you want a dedicated light wind kite check out the ozone zephyr also

IMO i wouldnt go near a 'core' even if it was given to me!

Surely if it was given to you, you would! LOL. Why do you say this Berg, any reason you don't like em?

Also to the dude looking for a light wind kite, you say freeride surf, what actual board are you planning on using?

North Dyno 17m, Ozone 17m Edge and if you are heavy and want to be powered in 10knts and less the def the Spleene X19.

try to give them all a demo and see for yourself which one you prefer.

The Dyno is the quickest of the 3, the Edge got lots of bottom end grunt when you get speed up and x19 pulls pretty hard but is slow turning.

Have a look at Griffin TRX (17 or 14m). It has been much improved for 2013. Now is called TRX-Pro, as is turning even faster than TRX 2012.

TRX is designed for freestyle and freeride and is really good on the waves too. Not super-high aspect ratio kite designed specially for racing. It's a 3 struts, light, fast turning kite.

There are 2013 preview videos on youtube. You can look for them or I can post them here is someone ask me to do it (or I can send on a pm if you prefer).

My recommendation: try before buy if you can.

All my best,

Alex

There is no dispute that the Ozone Edge is the fastest kitesurfing kite for kite racing, watch the video below, for proof the winning kite was an Ozone Edge.

For lightwind, based on what I've seen and flown over the last couple of years, the kites that really work and that are fun to use are Ozone Edge and Zephyr 17M's, the Core Riot XR2 LW 17M (does come in a 19, but the 17 is better) The Cab Switchblade 16M, North Dyno 17M, Cab Crossbow 16 and 18M. I've seen foils used in light winds, and I've flown a few 19M models but they just do not turn well enough to be any real fin IMO and are useless for racing as they don't go downwind anywhere near as well as the inflatables.

The key to having fun in light winds is to match any of the above inflatable kites with larger LW TT's or a race board. Crazy Fly have some excellent Light Wind specific twin tips this year that will see you out cruising well under 10 knots on a 17M inflato.

CF Allround 1.45x48 for $799 for example,
http://www.kitepower.com.au/crazyfly-allround-2013.html
There are heaps of other light wind TT's around though.

Message for Kitepower .. so in terms of LW twin tip Crazy Fly ..one board is 145 x 44 and the other 145 x 48, how much difference is 3 cm width and how many knots would improve bottom end? Isn't the wider one going to be harder to edge/put pressure on calfs perhaps compared to the 44 cm wide one?

The Spleene Monster Door is a hit for light winds, school use and big boys!
We got some locals riding them and they go upwind in 10knts on their 12m kites white others cant get of the beach.

Generally, with a light wind board most riders will actually increase their low end wind range a lot more than with a bigger kite. Once you get going you dont need much power to ride.
The big boards are also great for the heavier riders in lighter winds.

When we started teaching in our school on the 166/50cm Monster Door the success rate of people riding upwind at their first board lesson went up heaps, we even have people going upwind on their first tack :) YOU END UP WITH SOME VERY STOKED CUSTOMERS!


All the features below make the Spleene Monster Door an amazing designed light wind board and its actually fun to ride.

All Doors have a four stance options to suit all sizes of riders and stances.

Dynamic Flex Control
Thorough testing was done to figure out the perfect flex. The layers of the fiberglass are separated in zones and decreasing towards the tips. With that construction we can control the flex really precise. You don´t have burning legs or hurting ankles even after long sessions.

Carbon Construction
The 2012 Doors receive their huge performance boost by the application of high-quality carbon in the laminate construction.

Jet bottom Technology
This Shape-Detail describes a Channel on the base side of the board. It allows the board to plane more freely and earlier. Compared to a simple concave the Jet Bottom provides significantly more “edge bite” as it channels the waterflow along its edges. Even in choppy conditions the difference is very noticeable.

Concave Door Outline
The concave outline enables to ride at an extreme angle to the wind with the Doors.

Progressive Scoop-Rocker
For early planing and planing through lulls.

Flat Scoop Rocker
For ultimate maneuverability and early planing ability at all Doors.

The best feature is the ultra light weight of the board. Even tho its massive it is still easy to handle and carry.


I reckon you try one with your 12m next time its 10-12knts
Happy light wind days

Before you go spending big money on some of the posted options you need to ask yourself what do you want to do in 8 knts as you arnt going to be busting out any tricks , if you want to cruise around you'll need flat water or a raceboard something like the vectors, personally I can't be arsed its not what I'm into, as any lightwind kite owner will tell you you keep pushing the boundaries of the kite and generally get frustrated especially in the early stages of owning your new purchase, but you will get days when it blows 13 knts and your ripping while y mates are looking at you in total disgust

Thanks for the info. In terms of griffin options - which has better low end out of the argo 17m and the 2013 trx 17m?

Eppo: my current board is a 135 TT. Don't remember the model.

aussiekiter said...

Thanks for the info. In terms of griffin options - which has better low end out of the argo 17m and the 2013 trx 17m?

Eppo: my current board is a 135 TT. Don't remember the model.

Come and demo an Edge or Zephyr before you make up your mind. And demo a large TT too, we have ex demo last years gear at great prices.

radman4 said...

At 80 kg I would go for the 17trx over the Argo 17 if you were looking at a griffin,it pivots fast and is way more fun to ride than a big widespan kite like a zeph or an edge Not bashing these kites but for surf and free ride there are way better options,and way easier to relaunch in light wind for a lerner ,but try to get a demo on all suggestions would be the best advice and drop in light wind to try the relaunch cos there's nothin worse than a crap relaunch when a k offshore,i would also demo a strapped surfboard 20" wide min as a light wind option,I have a 5'6 x 20" board that no tt even comes close to for light wind unless it's so big that it's a door and rides like a dog the SB is still light and nimble as.
Also my current light wind kite is a Fury Light 15 it has a ton of bottom end a goes upwind like your on train tracks ,pulls as hard as any 17 I have ridden not as fast as a 17 TRX and it's a wide span bow designed for free ride and race so not as easy on the relaunch but still gets me out on the SB in 9-11 knots so does the job nicely

Come on who really surfs on a 17M kite in sub 10 knots?
Both the 2012 Zephyr and Edge 2012 and 2013 relaunch easily in 10 knots +, and below 10 knots all kites are going to require a bit of finesse to get back into the air. I really don't think beginners are looking to buy these kites, the buyers are almost always people who have the kite bug, and who don't care about doing stuff that requires an audience, the buyers of these kites just want
to get out and cruise around when the wind is light.
Based on my experience and watching whats going on in my area in flat water and waves the best boards for light wind are actually large TT's in the 1.45 -1.65 x 46-50cm wide range, and race or semi race boards. Larger surfboards do work in 10 knots and below as well, but they have to quite a bit larger than a normal surfboard.

Last night in Sydney the wind was 9-14 knots, this is what was on the water cruising around and having fun.
Ozone Zephyr and Airush sector 2012
Ozone Sport+ 15M and Naish venturi 2012
Ozone Edge 13M and Underground Stella 1.50x48 2012
Ozone Edge 17 and Aguera race 2013
North Rebel 14 and North race 2013 (tide assisted in river mouth)

What was on the beach/shoreline and not having fun
Moriwaikite 12m?
Cab 16M CB 2007
Naish Park 12M 2012
And some other stuff I can't remember, but all the kiters sludging around the shoreline were also not using big boards

radman4 said...

At 80 kg I would go for the 17trx over the Argo 17 if you were looking at a griffin,it pivots fast and is way more fun to ride than a big widespan kite like a zeph or an edge Not bashing these kites but for surf and free ride there are way better options,and way easier to relaunch in light wind for a lerner ,but try to get a demo on all suggestions would be the best advice and drop in light wind to try the relaunch cos there's nothin worse than a crap relaunch when a k offshore,i would also demo a strapped surfboard 20" wide min as a light wind option,I have a 5'6 x 20" board that no tt even comes close to for light wind unless it's so big that it's a door and rides like a dog the SB is still light and nimble as.
Also my current light wind kite is a Fury Light 15 it has a ton of bottom end a goes upwind like your on train tracks ,pulls as hard as any 17 I have ridden not as fast as a 17 TRX and it's a wide span bow designed for free ride and race so not as easy on the relaunch but still gets me out on the SB in 9-11 knots so does the job nicely

You clearly have NOT ridden the TRX 17m.. The TRX SEVERELY lacks bottom end, sure it turns quick but other than that..... Do you really need a 17m that can do 2 kite loops in a row? The TRX has almost non existant bottom end.

Without a doubt, the 17m EDGE is the BEST kite on the market other than the spleene x19 for light winds. It PULLS HARD makes its own apparent wind. but hey.
I've demo'd the Zephyr, 17m TRX and ARGO, Naish Fly and Edge is still on top.

I hope I am. As I am considering a big kite again. But I did say sub 10 not 10 to 18. In those winds I too have had some awesome sessions.

Caney said...

radman4 said...

At 80 kg I would go for the 17trx over the Argo 17 if you were looking at a griffin,it pivots fast and is way more fun to ride than a big widespan kite like a zeph or an edge Not bashing these kites but for surf and free ride there are way better options,and way easier to relaunch in light wind for a lerner ,but try to get a demo on all suggestions would be the best advice and drop in light wind to try the relaunch cos there's nothin worse than a crap relaunch when a k offshore,i would also demo a strapped surfboard 20" wide min as a light wind option,I have a 5'6 x 20" board that no tt even comes close to for light wind unless it's so big that it's a door and rides like a dog the SB is still light and nimble as.
Also my current light wind kite is a Fury Light 15 it has a ton of bottom end a goes upwind like your on train tracks ,pulls as hard as any 17 I have ridden not as fast as a 17 TRX and it's a wide span bow designed for free ride and race so not as easy on the relaunch but still gets me out on the SB in 9-11 knots so does the job nicely

You clearly have NOT ridden the TRX 17m.. The TRX SEVERELY lacks bottom end, sure it turns quick but other than that..... Do you really need a 17m that can do 2 kite loops in a row? The TRX has almost non existant bottom end.

Without a doubt, the 17m EDGE is the BEST kite on the market other than the spleene x19 for light winds. It PULLS HARD makes its own apparent wind. but hey.
I've demo'd the Zephyr, 17m TRX and ARGO, Naish Fly and Edge is still on top.

Checkout the video below from 1:50 onward to see the TRX in flight.
Windmeter + TRX 10-11 knots

Also the review
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/Griffin-TRX-17m/

There was a TRX 17m kite sent up to QLD, the guy moded the kite to be way underpowered.

Nice vid Chris can't wait for my 2013 TRX's to get here,like the single footstrap setup and waxed rear on the SB will give it a go prob way better for toeside.

INTHELOOP said...

GriffinKites said...

Caney said...

radman4 said...

At 80 kg I would go for the 17trx over the Argo 17 if you were looking at a griffin,it pivots fast and is way more fun to ride than a big widespan kite like a zeph or an edge Not bashing these kites but for surf and free ride there are way better options,and way easier to relaunch in light wind for a lerner ,but try to get a demo on all suggestions would be the best advice and drop in light wind to try the relaunch cos there's nothin worse than a crap relaunch when a k offshore,i would also demo a strapped surfboard 20" wide min as a light wind option,I have a 5'6 x 20" board that no tt even comes close to for light wind unless it's so big that it's a door and rides like a dog the SB is still light and nimble as.
Also my current light wind kite is a Fury Light 15 it has a ton of bottom end a goes upwind like your on train tracks ,pulls as hard as any 17 I have ridden not as fast as a 17 TRX and it's a wide span bow designed for free ride and race so not as easy on the relaunch but still gets me out on the SB in 9-11 knots so does the job nicely

You clearly have NOT ridden the TRX 17m.. The TRX SEVERELY lacks bottom end, sure it turns quick but other than that..... Do you really need a 17m that can do 2 kite loops in a row? The TRX has almost non existant bottom end.

Without a doubt, the 17m EDGE is the BEST kite on the market other than the spleene x19 for light winds. It PULLS HARD makes its own apparent wind. but hey.
I've demo'd the Zephyr, 17m TRX and ARGO, Naish Fly and Edge is still on top.

Checkout the video below from 1:50 onward to see the TRX in flight.
Windmeter + TRX 10-11 knots

Also the review
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/Griffin-TRX-17m/

There was a TRX 17m kite sent up to QLD, the guy moded the kite to be way underpowered.

do you have twintip footpad/strap mounted or glue on your directional?

Its a Griffin Kite Surf Board 5'6 x 20 ( i had 10ft 6 before, typo, I was thinking of my sup.) with bamboo top and built in inserts for straps and pads middle and back. Where I like to kite is waves crashing onto reef and direct off shore winds, strap helps not loose the board.