High wind foiling.
Just wanted to share the Stoke for those who foil in 20+knts.
My local is Moreton Bay based at Queen's Beach North.
The bay can have shoulder high wind swell on days like yesterday.
How good is it accelerating down the face of a wave on a foil. Top speed hit 39kmph on my larger wing.
Three buddies my birthday and 20-25 knots living the dream
I agree. Windy conditions are great with a small kite and a big wing. What kite are you using in these winds Horey?
I'm all in for 20 + knot foiling. But I don't call it high wind foiling till at least 28 knots.
Duke 5m Slingshot sst,
Plummet yes true it was badly worded.
Maybe moderate wind foiling 
.
Just had another session on the 5 today
Loving my birthday weekend
I've become quite picky with my kiting now and don't like twin tip riding in anything less than 20-25 knots so that I can do big air and megaloops. That means foiling has gone from a less than 10-12 knots sport right up to 25 knots now for me too.
At 25 knots we get good little swells and chop here in Melbourne's Port Phillip bay and its good fun zig zagging along the faces and even coming into the shallows and riding the breakers. I need a smaller kite though as even my 6m is a bit much in anything over 20 ish knots.
Id love to live near a surf beach!
Same day, on the 4 mtr Uno, great day swell riding. Two 4 mtr FS Peaks out too having a ball. Nothing better than small kites on big surf wings in rolling swell.
Looks like another week of epic foil wind here in Moreton Bay......small kites and big wings ready to go.
I have a question about small kites for 20+ kn days, is it best to have a single strut or wave kite for foiling ?
I love my Ozone Reo and Alpha but wondering which of the two makes more sense for foiling on a 4m ?
The Reo would be higher performing/faster and stronger but the alpha would stay up better in lulls.
Singles strut for surf/swell riding, lightness is even more important when the winds up and your chasing swell. In those conditions your often riding down a wave directly at the kite, your traveling 15 knots +, wind is blowing 20, so that's only 5 knots to keep the kite drifting. This is why the stupidly light Flysurfer Peaks work so well swell riding.Yes a 3 strut will work in swell but your going to have to continually alter your direction eg, head more up wind to keep the kite flying.
If it is just back and forth foiling, 3 struts are just fine as your rarely heading downwind for any length of time. They are better up wing and are good on a surfboard/tt. But if you aspire to playing in swell, go the single strut or no strut.
My 2 cents: At 20 knots plus any kite is going to stay in the air. I had the Apha 4 and now I am on the 4 Reo. I started out with the trainer, a 4 Uno which was okay but because it was designed as a trainer it would distort and jelly fish while trying to water start. My weight at 82 was too much for the geometry of the bridle and the support the single strut has. The Alpha behaved better but it flew quite differently to the Reo. Both offer amazing drift. I fly those conditions often enough and both will sit with you as you move straight down the line on a swell or breaking wave. Like all kites, you have to keep an eye on where they are but generally speaking with that much wind they will drift with you. I personally prefer the Reo, it has a smoother loop than the Alpha, but if we were looking at subtle increment changes the Alpha perhaps would drift slightly better in the lighter end of the wind spectrum.
I too had a 5 mtr Ozone Reo, really disliked it for foiling, but I love my 4 mtr Uno. I guess it all depends on conditions and use.
But I agree, the Alpha is better than the Uno due to the issue you mentioned. Only happens when moved fast and loaded, like when starting off in its lower wind range, but doesn't happen when powered
Looks like I need to pick up the Ghost V1 4m and try it against the 5 sst.
Anyway it won't stop me riding the 5 today......
Is there actually a big difference between 4 and 5m kites for high wind foiling on a surf foil for kites that small ?
Very hard to find a 4m kite, they are almost all on-order only.
I have a 4.5m solo for strong days. It's... Ok.
I'm looking to change it over time.
Upside.. it's very challenging, heaps of fun and very satisfying when it works. This would probably carry for foiling with any similar sized kite.
Downsides:
It feels heavy vs surface area. If I drop it in a lull, can't relaunch when bigger kites will fly.
Hate the inflation LF system. Relies on jamming force to hold the hose on inflation point, always blows off when 95% inflated.
Very hard to balance power to start.. dive it make nothing. Loop it do a Superman over board. Hard to hit perfect power in between.
I'm looking at a 2-3m cloud or peak as a replacement eventually.
My 2c
