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03-05-2017, 03:34 AM | #16 |
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Truckee, CA
Posts: 4,924
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Re: Anybody kite surf?
Well I got some perspective today. Tomorrow is my twin sons' 18th birthday. A small gift I got them just to have fun with was each a $25 two string foil off amazon. They measure out to 1.12 sq. meters, which is really small.
Today the wind was blowing fairly well, around 15-20 mph, before the blizzard hit. I gave them the kites a day early and we went out to an open, snow covered flat along the river. Both kites flew really well, and I was amazed at how hard such a small kite could pull when a gust hit. Gave me a good idea of how even a small 3.5 meter trainer would pull in a good wind. I think it would easily pull me on skis in the right conditions, and would be a blast to learn on... |
03-31-2017, 11:28 AM | #17 |
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Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Truckee, CA
Posts: 4,924
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Re: Anybody kite surf?
Well I ended up with an HQ Hydra 4.2, which is actually a 4.5 meter kite. I bought it from an store back east called mackitboarding.com. Great outfit and they threw in an instructional video and a $60 wind meter.
So yesterday a blizzard blew in. By afternoon the snow was about done but the wind was still blowing. My son and I went out to the lake and found a snow covered plateau on the downwind side of the lake where the wind was unobstructed. According to my wind meter, it was a fairly steady 15-17 mph, with gusts up to 30. Problem was, it wasn't consistent in direction. That made controlling the kite really tough. Anyway, that little "trainer" kite, yanked me off me feet and drug me across the snow, face first, multiple times. Amazing amount of power. It happened so fast I would be launched before I even let go of the bar to activate the break. On one fall, I bruised a couple ribs I landed so hard. It's killing me to hold my arms up long enough to type this. Wife enjoyed an entire evening of "I told ya so"... This kite is gonna be a ton of fun. (Once I recover enough to fly it again...) |
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