Select to expand quotekiteboy dave said...
Hey Plummet once upon a time I was 78kg and had a 10m, 12m, 14m, 16m, 18m, and 21m. The 10 & 14 were new and the rest were 2nd hand cheapies.
Ditched that lot (getting too old, too many punctures) for a 11m Edge which covered 15 kts to - -> ? (my balls ran out at 35kts, before kite's top end)
Just got a 17m Zephyr 2nd hand as I'm getting old n fat now and there's already been a lot of 12-16 kt days lately.
I reckon 11 & 17, that's a perfect quiver.
Hey just a question. The edge it seems has some of the best boosting on the market, can it still be ridden in waves on TT? Nothing like a c4 or of course the reo, but would it suffice? Can it be ridden as an allrounder leading towards the boosting side - or why won't it work in waves?
Yes the edge can be ridden in the waves but it is not the best tool for the job.
It does not float down the line down wind at all. You loose all steering input and it falls out of the sky unless you get line tension again. Also when you are powered up the shoot of speed down the wave face gives it more aparent wind power and it pulls your off the wave face.
C4 is the better bet for boosting and wave riding.
But in intermediate winds and small waves you can ride relatively well.
On the other side of things if you want a boosting session in the waves then the edge provide big grins. you can still slash up waves up the line up wind and do crazy airs of the wave lips. i quite like screaming up behind a peaking wave and boosting and trying to time my landing on the wave face.... very nice.
lastly the edge is not a fast turning kite. So its more difficult to change direction ultra quick. thats why my quiver changes out of the edge into the c4 then cat as the wind and waves increase.
Thanks mate, sums up well. So the C4 - is the best all round kite.
Yeh I see your logic serving well in Perth conditions and the conditions i sail in. In lighter winds, the edge to boost etc, more apparent wind, more grunt. And I would assume in summer when we have stuff all waves, the edge may also serve you in 18-25 to really boost big off the small sloppy waves faces.
When the swell is also there (which tends to be more in winter) and comes with a fair bit if wind (i.e. we get very few days with lighter rideable wind and waves - when really good surfing conditions there is little wind so might as well surf right), the C4 kicks in, an intermediate middle ground between simple wave riding and boosting. When she gets nuts with swell, the Catalyst...
Yeh man am I right in my calls here, is this your thinking - if so it makes a lot of bloody sense,Cheers.
Hey where do you think the say North Fuse fits in here??
yep thats my thinking. Seems to work well in practice.
Sorry never flown a north fuse so i can't comment.
One thing i do have to say is that the c4 flys completely differently to the edge.
c4 likes to create power through turning speed. its fast, dynamic, rips you off the deck quick but you need to have your re-direct sorted or it dumps you down fast too. it takes time to get used to the different styles.
I find myself hunkering for both styles so i am good. but there is a chance you will like one or the other.
I love the edges high speed gliding through the air. you are up there for so long and travel so far. The C4 is like a scalple by comparison, slice up, slice down very urgently. it makes it great for waves as you can boost over white wash or cut back and change direction real fast.
so heres the question i have, if you had perfect 18-22kn side off wind in head and a half sized reef break, fast, barreling wave what would you go for 
pimp or dream away
i'd go a 8m noise and 6'6" surfboard
Some may perceive me as a Slingshot fanboy. I don't hold brand loyalty for anything, cars, computers, clothes etc, I buy what I like, irrespective of the sticker.
I learnt on Rev 1s, so that was my experience and I liked them. My kite quiver grew to include a 15, 13 and 11. (I weigh 105kg)
Then a friend lent me a rally, bugger! It was sooo good. I now have a 14, 12 and 10 and I'm stoked with all of them.
I snapped my 146 SS misfit, which I liked, and bought a Force Industries 145 of Ebay, it's been a great board, was cheap and far more forgiving on my old knees. It doesn't have as much pop as the misfit, but is fine in flat water and waves (except backside, is there a tt that is good backside in waves?)
First surfboards I rode were from my surfing quiver, a 7'x20" square tail thruster, which I find to be too big except on really light wind days, and a 6'8"x18 1/2 pintail which is fast and snappy. I have strap plugs in them, but find straps too restrictive and never ride with them.
Then I bought a 6'2" Slingshot Verve Quad. It's great, not as fast as the pintail, but heaps of stall control, it destroys lips.
^^^^ i think i dream't about it last night but some b***ard woke me before i got the directions.
Well right now i'd go for the 10m c4..... ask me this question in a month. it might be different as my first strapped surfboard has just entered my possession!
