Kites
Gather notes and questions about our lifters here -- types, tuning, pros and cons
Which kite to get
Hello, I am knew to this and am wondering which kite I should get.
I have done some research and originally I was going to get a cheap ebay 1.3m wide parafoil after watching this video.
I then was doing some more research and was looking on this KAP Facebook group and saw that most people used delta's.
I had a look around and found the Prism Zenith 5 for around £30 on Amazon, I think this would be great for KAP.
I just wanted to get others opinions, I also wondered if I do get that kite is it ok to use the 50lb line that it comes with.
I did also find this one which is a bit bigger but I would have thought the Prism one would be better quality.
I am also slightly wary about using a rigid kite compared to a foil one because of the easier possibility of breaking it.
I was also once thinking of getting this super sled but was also not sure.
Right now im thinking the Prism Zenith 5 might be the best but would like others opinions on which of these I should get, or other suggestions around the price point of £30-40.
I have done some research and originally I was going to get a cheap ebay 1.3m wide parafoil after watching this video.
I then was doing some more research and was looking on this KAP Facebook group and saw that most people used delta's.
I had a look around and found the Prism Zenith 5 for around £30 on Amazon, I think this would be great for KAP.
I just wanted to get others opinions, I also wondered if I do get that kite is it ok to use the 50lb line that it comes with.
I did also find this one which is a bit bigger but I would have thought the Prism one would be better quality.
I am also slightly wary about using a rigid kite compared to a foil one because of the easier possibility of breaking it.
I was also once thinking of getting this super sled but was also not sure.
Right now im thinking the Prism Zenith 5 might be the best but would like others opinions on which of these I should get, or other suggestions around the price point of £30-40.
Comments
Or im not sure if maybe the super sled might work better, it is about the same size though.
I used an even bigger Power Sled 24 sled for many years - same size but different brand.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spirit-Air-Mega-Sled-Kite/dp/B002K8RNLE/ref=pd_sbs_21_1/257-6226809-1463027?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B002K8RNLE&pd_rd_r=25e31d03-44e6-4d6e-834a-76518c4d633d&pd_rd_w=7n6Z1&pd_rd_wg=1z0a9&pf_rd_p=96cae456-8d7a-4bc1-91c7-9b20b4dfd7c9&pf_rd_r=Y47C467XPFB33NRH1J6F&psc=1&refRID=Y47C467XPFB33NRH1J6F
It folds up into its drogue and flies in fairly light winds to about 14mph when it pulls pretty hard. I then used to change to the smaller Power Sled 14 like the Super Sled. These carried a rig of 300g easily.
I prefer the sled kites over the delta because they always seem to know which way is UP and don't dive like the overwhelmed deltas are prone to do. They are a little more difficult to get into the air to start with but you soon get to know how to do this.
Fly High
Sue
I will get the sled then.
I think I will need a longer line, I was looking at a 100lb, 300ft long line do you think that would be strong and long enough?
The line angle is not the steepest, but it stays like glued to the sky. And folds small, so you can take it in your backpack for day trips just because of the suspicion of something KAPable. I use it with 70 daN line (140lbs if I recall correctly) and haven't reached it's limit yet.
Otherwise, deltas are good and most sleds, too.
Personnaly when I travel I have 3 kites to cover all type of winds a large R11 Delta for very light winds , à Dan Leigh R8 for medium winds and a KAPfoil 2 for strong to gale force winds. For me they are the easiest to use, very tolerant to all sorts of mistakes. I have tried Rokkakus, sled, conyne but I do not feel as comfortable as my deltas and kapfoil.
Try to meet a KAPer in your region and try his kites before making a choice!
- Rokkaku (2 m) for low winds. The best flier, extremely stable. Tends to fly far. Versatile.
- Delta (3,3 m) for medium to high winds. Less stable, more pull, flies higher. Ideal for shooting things that are near the launch site.
- Sled and flowform (1.6 m; 2 m): simple to fly (rok and delta are kind of difficult for one person doing KAP) ,easy to assemble. Good for high winds, flies far and low. Good for shooting things that are more distant.
We fly regular cameras (PowerShot, CoolPix, Nikon 1 J1), and even a special dual rig (for both a normal and an infrared camera).
Gosh, I didn't know about the Delta dive. I have a Delta myself which Ive flown just once and would like to use for KAP. Maybe I should add some hard foam or other protection to the camera.
Sue, those sled kites sound attractive to me in that there's less chance of a crash. Can they be flown quite high?