Questoin for the beanery about Newer C kites?

stevegriffith22 · Since 14 May 2006 434 Posts Obsessed

Hey Guys

not trying to "talk brands....."

On kites like the newer fuels and tourch's.......How is the relaunch, how is the true range on them, and how is the depower?

Wondering if I want to go back to a C kites, I really like my kites, just wondering....
sg

stringer · Since 31 Jul 2007 694 Posts Chucktown Flying Tomato

C kites kick ass!
C kites nowadays are waaaaay different than they used to be (for better or worse)
Most still have 5th lines and will flag and relaunch very well on it.
The ones like the fuel that are designed for 4 lines will relaunch well without the 5th line.
As far as "real" wind range, I find that C's have a way bigger sweet spot. Most SLE's can be ridden in a wider wind range, but you aren't having very much fun on the extreme ends not covered by the range of an equivalent C.

My questions for you:
Why are you thinking about C's again?
What kind of riding do you like to do?
What is your experience with C's?

stevegriffith22 · Since 14 May 2006 434 Posts Obsessed

I pretty much am a intermediate, that just hasn't had the time to progress. But I learned on 03 fuels, so I know how to take a beating. Just curious, I really do like my current kites, just wondering more than anything. Wondering more or less, just thinking that its what I learned on, mabey it will be something to think about. Anyhow, just wondering about depower, relauch attributes. Thank, mabey I just need to fly some.

sg

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2027 Posts Windward

Stringer nails it

SLE's have a big range
just some of it is pretty hincky

if you need a kite for something specific
such as a certian wind range
you need to buy one for it!

plus no bridles and pulleys

my legs got a little tired when I went back
at first.

but it feels so right

not "chasing the trim"
focusing on the wave
instead of the kite

pkh · Since 27 Feb 2005 6549 Posts Couve / Hood Honored Founder

Rode C kites the first few years I kited, then switched to SLE's for the last few years... starting to think about adding a C kite back into the quiver, maybe just a 9m to start.

They are awesome for unhooked/wakestyle, and the new ones have tons of range unlike the old ones. They also relaunch easier like Stringer said.

My suggestion is to demo one... it'd be great if C kites got popular again, right now there is zero market for them in the NW which makes it a pain if you want to ride them because they are hard to find and even harder to sell.

blowhard · Since 26 Dec 2005 2027 Posts Windward

pdxmonkeyboy · Mon Jul 06, 09 10:05 am

Last C kite I was on was an o6 fuel ..in 07. Loved that smooth full power feel of the C's but ultimately bought Rev's. The newer C's depower very nicely, much much more than they used to. Its still a very different style of riding though, you control the kite more with your legs than you do your arms. For the gusty gorge, I can just stay on the water longer with the REV's. Nothing beats that C kite boost feeling though...nothing.

C Johnson · Since 17 Apr 2009 854 Posts Seattle Opinionated

C Johnson · Since 17 Apr 2009 854 Posts Seattle Opinionated

haha yeah thats right. don't ever fly foil kites unless you want to be gay.

might as well fly a big dildo up in the sky for everyone to see right Laughing

that's alright though. all the hot ladies flock to the gay guys so I've got no problem looking like one Wink

stevegriffith22 · Since 14 May 2006 434 Posts Obsessed

OK WHO BROUGHT UP FOILS IN THIS THREAD? Drunk

are you hammered....

without starting a fight.......what can I say about my experiances flying a foil..........besides.....

.ok.....how about this.......if they worked in the water every manufacture would be making them for the water, but they don't, so they won't, and for that matter can your really enjoy flying a foil. I hated flying a foil. horrible feeling being tied to a wet sleeping bag. It was rather boreing too. Couldn't wait to get it back on the ground.

anyhow, you guys are giving me good info.
C's are easier to relauch than before......more range than before.....possilby more forgiving...

Thanks guys, some one lock this up before someone says its ok to to be gay enough to fly sleeping bags and they start quoting seinfeld.....I really see this getting out of hand...besides, someone who "actually is gay" could take offence to having the word "gay' and "foils" in the same sentence, or for that matter, they may not just want to be associated with people that fly foils......not that there is anything wrong with riding foils.......ok there is something wrong with flying foils on the water.

When someone lauches a foil on the beach, its like a train wreck.....everyone stops and points in confusion, like flys attracted to honey, or drunks to strobe lights, we all stop and stare.....this is dangerous for us as riders and anyone walking on the beach, foils could potentially be responsible for injuries of other riders on and off the beach. We need to do something about this. I have often almost driven off the road when I have seen foils on the water, whipping my head around as if I was staring at a 1966 427 cobra, or a classic Lamborghini, or a running BSA or Botalko motorcycle, or the hot chick from the transformers movies(sooooooo attractive she is

). Its truely not safe. There must be some govenment regulation agaist flying something in the sky that we all look at like a beacon for idots Alien

.

Remember: friends don't let friend fly foils in the water. We can stop he madness if we educate early my friends, remember it takes a village to raise a kid, stop the madness, form a group, get some radicals involved, start a chant, picket all foil manufactures, WE CAN STOP THE MADNESS!!!!!! Fight for your right to not be stuck in someone else's wet sleeping bag! Twisted Evil

NO MORE FOILS, NO MORE FOILS, no more foils....no more .........

(Insert distastful joke here about flying foils) Laughing

(we need some engineer that suffers from "painfully accurate engineer sydrome" to chime in and tell us all how foils are more efficient now, that would really make this thread loose control......quick lock it up, lock it up! Shocked

PS: flying foils on the snow is ok......don't get all bent out of shape guys.

C Johnson · Since 17 Apr 2009 854 Posts Seattle Opinionated

Yeah I flew an inflatable kite once too. Man all inflatable kites must be exactly the same. Laughing

just pointing out the flaw in your argument.

btw I am an engineer Wink

and for the record I fly both inflatables and foils and both are quite good these days so lets try and keep all the assumptions in your argument from spiraling out of control into an all out kite racism brawl. sound good?

btw you can demo my kites any time, just be prepared to apologize.

stevegriffith22 · Since 14 May 2006 434 Posts Obsessed

Like your style,,,,,,but still don't like em, can't stand the feeling and blah blah blah. but once again. still like C and SLES ect.

Thanks

C Johnson · Since 17 Apr 2009 854 Posts Seattle Opinionated

haha thanks.... Yeah to each his own.

I've flown some pretty crappy foils in my day too. the newer flysurfers (i.e. Pulse 2, Speed 2, Pscycho 4) have all come a long ways though and tend to have a lot of SLE feel to them except with more of that paraglider lift and float. The Pulse 2 is what I learned on so I really feel at home on these kites.

With that said they definitely have there advantages and disadvantages. I'd still like to see a foil I can setup the same way I launch my 10m thruster on the high tide onshore days where I secure my chickenloop to something and set my kite at the edge of the window out on the water and let it sit there while I walk back to the bar and get it ready to go. that's something C-kites cant even do! If someone will design a C-kite that can do that then I might have to seriously take a look at that since it would really help me get out during the winter months when all the low tides are at night.

stevegriffith22 · Since 14 May 2006 434 Posts Obsessed

So...you ride by your self a lot Confused

Just wondering, makes me nervous to not have people around for when I screw up Rolling Eyes

cool, will check out the kites, sound like a winter option.

bwd · Since 04 Aug 2007 385 Posts Obsessed

Sure you can go back.
But it's not the same place.
It's better.

The keys are:
More depower at the bar
Continuous feel of depower -not on/off
Direct feel at the bar
Turn and boost like old Cs
Still need to edge to ride well, or ride at top of range, etc., etc.
Relaunch easily, unlike something from 04 or 05.

Just got an 11m 09 C kite (guess the brand yrself) and it has plenty depower.
Caught myself riding it sheeted out TOO much and not edging, the first time I rode it powered. Like a beginner on a sle/bow. I mean the depower actually lulled me into complacency, it doesnt shout "edge, #$%@" the way they used to.

You still need to edge, but you get a few seconds to remember that fact before risking a "deathrun," courtesy of the depower... ...or so it seemed to me.

At 80kg I call low end (barely riding on a 135x40 TT) 12.5 or 13 kn for this 11m C kite. By 15 it's pretty good, seen 22 no worries so far, but by 20 you do use your legs more, of course.
The windspeeds are from a weather buoy close by, 2.5m above the surface.
The claimed top is 25, and I believe it.
So that would be >12kn range,
maybe more on the top if you have the stone(s).
Pretty good range, no?
The relaunch is very bow like, pull the string and it goes up.
For the small kites they launch in equal or less than you can ride in on a TT (depending on your weight). For the 13 it is a closer call, I've heard, as usual with big kites of all types.

Also rode a 16m "hybrid" lately, (08 or 07?) and it was nice, much more depower than the old days Cs, (still is a C though, 5 lines no bridles -can you guess what brand Wink

)
It overpowered me a little on a surfboard in 18-20, on a TT it would have been comfortable still. The relaunch is fine though I have to say thumbs down on the 5th element (brand hint). It can tangle in ways previously unknown to the mind of man. And is just peculiar.

So, that's what I know about recent Cs I've flown.
They're better now, and a little easier, they may still beat you up a little more than a bow, but a bow will kill you as fast or faster, if it goes really wrong, so in my mind the safety is pretty close.
If relaunch is what held you back, I would consider the problem solved.
Check one out.

By the way, the way the that one I got handles/redirects once you are airborne is just "sick" as they say. It works real well.
Hmm, think it was made with that in mind actually.
Cool

kiteboard117 · Since 02 Mar 2005 450 Posts PDX McLovin

I have made the switch back to C's this season and I am really happy i did.
A few more positives; most brands C kites have been really really refined compared to any of the hybrids. all the little performance traits of the kites(turning, bar pressure, speed) are perfectly tweaked across the whole range, jumping from my 12 to my 8 or even my 6 i cant feel any difference at the bar. Makes learning things or just riding a million times easier, no more "damn it i want to be on my 9" sessions.

C Johnson, the anchored chickenloop thing totally works with all of the C kites i have tried.

C Johnson · Since 17 Apr 2009 854 Posts Seattle Opinionated