Quote:
Originally Posted by Big G
Well, its time to replace my light wind kite and I'd like to know who is leading this category these days. I've been very happy with My 14m Royal Era and would buy another however, I think the poor economy has made its mark on this sport also and I believe this company is out of buisiness.
Im considering an RRD Obsession but I was hoping to get some input on this topic....
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Just how light do you want to go?
The 14m Era was a great light wind kite - one of my favorites. You should really look at the 13.5 Kahoona (1.75 lbs lighter than the 2010 13m Waroo!) and some of the light wind 2010 Ozones for equal if not better performance than the Era. The RRD Obsession is an awesome kite, and they have the Religion coming out soon as well.
I believe that currently it's hard to beat a Flysurfer Silver Arrow if you are a heavier rider in under 12 kts. It's not a good kite for me because I am overpowered with it at around 14 kts. Also, you have to get used to the way the Flysurfer feels but you might be the only one riding some days when others are sitting on the beach wondering how the hell you can do it. A bit pricey too, pushing $3k usd.
I feel like once a kite gets much bigger than 15m it becomes heavy and innefficient (especially LEI's) - lots of drag and slow turning speed. Better to have the smallest kite possible and a good board. For $3k you could get a sweet LEI and a surfboard or race board.
But any kite needs "some" wind and if any kite goes down in under 5 kts it's nearly impossible to relaunch. As for self rescue I think LEI has an obvious advantage but I think it a bit of a non sequitur to say an LEI will perform as well in the super-uber-light wind speeds, from what I have seen.
Thankfully kites and boards have gotten a lot better the last few years. 13 is my big kite now. Hard to believe I used to fly a 20m Wipika!
(wanna buy it?
)
Let us know which direction you take and how your choice works out.