Snowkiting

[Swissmatt]

Evnin .. so, it's been a while ... but I'm sorta trying to get back at it .. albeit not in Victoria but Northern AB this time .. Are there any among you who snowkite and are willing to share some info regarding gear with me? On that note I'm also interested in buying 2nd hand gear .. Looking for kite, bar, lines, harness and advise ..

best,
+M

[BK]

I still have a 10m rise with bar and lines if you are interested...

[Swissmatt]

Hey BK, thanks for the offer, but I'm not quite ready to buy . I need to gather some info from people who know as to what is suitable for snow and what not .. so far I'm tempted to buy foils just for ease of setup etc. but I'll keep you in mind!

[Teabag]

Hey Swissmat, you do not "need' a foil for the snow, i didnt snowkite much but enough to see that inflatable won the market for snowkiting in Quebec City, my cell battery almost death, will edit this later when i have acces to a computer.

[foilboy]

I snowkited in Edmonton for a couple of years and once in the air all kites work. But pumping up and attaching lines in in -10 to -35C is a pain. Relaunching can be an issue with inflatables on snow without 5th line. I certainly preferred a foil. There is a small group of snowkiters in Edmonton and they sometimes sell used gear. Get in touch with http://kiteboarding.ca for contacts.

Chris

[Teabag]

I went for 11-22 days in Quebec City winter each of those years ->07-08-09-10 and I saw, read, observe and talk a lot with local rider about foil vs inflatable for snowkiting. Over there the foil dominated until 05-06 on snow, then people were chosing more and more inflatable due to BOW kite being release, then SLE/Hybrid and a huge improvement in wind range for the inflatable. Also for money reasons, one kite for winter and summer.

If you go foil I suggest you to go with closed cell kites instead of open cell, so you can use your kite in the water as well. Flysurfer does closed cell kites and I believe HQ or Powerkites are doing some as well, I can't talk of them good or bad because I didnt try them yet.

I now fly the psycho 4 and speed 3 (closed cell), if you want to try them out feel free to msg me, I'll be back in Victoria on the 24th March and kiting most day I can. (IV/CkSt/Nitinat or Hurricane ridge if I can convince some people to go for a week end:)
Better you try a kite before buying it.

[foilboy]

I am not sure how cold Quebec gets in Winter, but Northern Alberta is probably more extreme. Definitely go closed cell for a foil. It is worth the extra money. Overall a foil will cost you more than an inflatable.
Chris

[Swissmatt]

thanks guys, will keep doing research .. as mentioned, I've been out of the loop since the 04/05 gear season and I take it there are quite some improvements in that department? I especially hear things about massive wind ranges, kits wanting to stay aloft even at very low wind speeds and easy relaunch? Boy do I remember trying to relaunch my 4 line 10m OR down at Dallas Road .. bad scene .. ;)

[jayracz]

I landkite with mountianboards on longbeach on Vancouver Island. I have a bunch of kites but I stick with the foils when on land. I find it is way safer then flying the LEI's. Plus they dont explode from hard hits to the ground. (As of yet anyway!) I stared small with 3m and 6m ballistics (no depower). Then I purchased a 9.5m HQ Montana 2. Nice kite but it flys like shit down low in the window. Wing tips also tend to fold on the edge of the window as well. On the plus, loads of lift, easy set up and tough as nails. I think the newer ones are made of lighter material and have way better flying characteristics. I also Picked up a 08 6m Ozone access xc at the end of summer last year. Man this kite rules. fly's well everywhere in the window. Apparently it was designed to climb mountains so it is not very jumpy. But I haven't had a opportunity to test jumping with it yet. Just didn't have enough beach when I had it out to do anything but down winders. So much controll with that kite. I was kiting a high tide 10' beach strip twisting and turning with loads of speed! I frickin love that Ozone! Can't say I have much snow kite experience thow. But I brought my 6m access with me to Ontario over the Christmas holidays with the intention of snow kiting. I was using a Crappy tire snowboard. LOL and the 6 didn't pull me at all in the kind of wind where I would of been over powered with it on a mountianboard. So I should of brought my 9m HQ. But definetly get a better board. Duh! Step in binding would be nice as well.

[Teabag]

Hi Jayracz, I am wondering if you would like to switch kite for an hour or two if ever we are @ long beach in the same time. I swear you'll like the floation of the psycho4, even more the Speed 3. As for me I would really like to try an acces, I own a Manta II in the past (Ozone) and would like to compare to satisfy my curiosity. Same with the HQ.

Swissmatt: I cant emphasis enough about close cell as oppose to open cell. Flew the Manta II and the Smart (from Concept Air) and I could not believe the difference when I tried the Pshycho4 and Speed3. Not sure if it is open cell vs close cell or the brand but the closed had a lot more wind range (comparable to inflatable SLE/Hybrid) and they had a lot more floatation.

[jayracz]

I just pm u Teabag. Not sure if it worked though!