Any of you guys like kites? Started with a $20 dragon kite from costco, had a lot of fun and then went to REI and bought a Prism Zenith 5 for like $50 and I've really been enjoying it. I bought the Synapse 140 from the same brand, a dual-line parafoil, but that has been giving me a bit of trouble and I've only gotten it in the air a couple times; I'll likely need to wait for a better wind day to get a hang of that one. Also any kite recommendations or tips? What brands should I look at?
>>2722607i fly horvath zerowind kites, "the long way home" is a very nice kite for low wind or next to no wind and great for thermals.another brand that I like is freilein, pic related is the raptor which flies like a fighter kite. They also have the "sea ghost" which is the easiest to fly.For indoor I have iFlite kites.
I'm afraid of kites :[https://youtu.be/fgbjvvCPa88?si=weef2O4rf4BfL8HH
here's the long way home, goat of kiteshttps://youtu.be/09S-cuI51_I?si=mEt8sArLu_VMFqf-&t=16
>>2722737>>2722856Wow thanks anon! You've introduced me to a type of kiting I didn't know existed. These look very fun to fly! The more I look into kites, the deeper I realize the hobby goes. It looks like there is a group near me that fly these Revolution kites which also look absolutely fascinating.
Kites are based. I like flying them with my niece. Very relaxing.
>>2722737>horvath zerowindthis is the coolest kite shop i never knew existed
>>2722737Is there a US retailer for Freilein, or somewhere that sells/ships here? I can find the sea ghost for about $110 USD and raptor for about $65 USD, but they're on ebay and from china.
>>2722883aliexpress got them, there are some other smaller kite shops around but I haven't checked.
>>2722607For me, it's the fishing pole. Just tie the line of a baitcasting rod to your kite, it makes the whole process of winding the line in and launching it so much easier, and it's tons of fun. Never paid much attention to brand, had a few kites lying around and bought a few more for this cheap on amazon. Great video from someone else who had the idea:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri5f0LwdW44
>>2722901Neat concept. There's some kid's kites on Amazon with built in fishing rod and reel.
>>2722607drones are much more fun, especially with attachments such as a high powered led module. Try flying that around in some rural area at night.
>>2723042Nah, drone sounds boring.
>>2722901Kite reels are a thing already.
>>2722607I've hit a couple more spots with this guy, and I can't tell you how much fun this kite is. Never had a kite that will fly directly above you, I was even downwind of this thing a couple times somehow?Anyway it's an attention grabber for sure; we had it down at the beach and people love it, couldn't count the amount of people who would just stop and stare or comment on it, and the kids all love it. I'll probably pick up the larger zenith 7 soon to see how that performs.
>>2723514It's wild the kind of performance you can get out of normal swept delta/rogallo wings. I just ordered a Zenith myself the other day, really excited to give it a whirl.picrel is from almost 2 years ago when I first got into kites. fond memories.
>>2723757>I just ordered a Zenith myselfHope you enjoy it anon! It's been an absolute joy every time I've gotten out with it. It's a kite that really just wants to fly, lots and lots of fun. Going to head to a different beach tonight and try to fly, and we're going to try and buy their Jazz 2.0 on the way. Hoping the wind will be steady enough to get it or the synapse 140 in the air and see if we can get a hang of the dual line stuff.
One time I saw some guys at the park with a kite that was big enough to pick up the guy flying it just off the ground and make him "fly" like 10-15m at a time. What would he have been using? Was it probably just a sail kite meant to be used with a board on water, or is land sail kiting like that a real thing?
>>2723839Power kite of some kind I'd guess. Something like thishttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MucH-Twnychttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlwH8NldMw8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeztcqfpKogSimilar but different to what you'd see for kitesurfing. you can use these things to pull you on buggys and shit
>>2723839If you're talking about wing thingies rather than the more common power kite as per >>2723886there are a few different kinds. the kind with rigid struts has been around for quite a while and was/is most commonly used with ice skates.
>>2723917>>2723839starting around 2019 there have been inflatable strut and hybrid designs that are used for hydrofoil surfing and other boardsports. they are pretty cool because more beginner friendly than huge power kites and windsurfing sails, and more suitable for surfing ocean waves; at any time you can simply let go with one hand and the wing will hover in ground-effect.you can't really just "fly" along the ground, but you can catch a little bit of air with a good running start or a slope-soaring situation.
Any advice for avoiding neck strain and/or staring at the sun? I just got a 1.8m foil kite and it's a blast to fly, but I gave myself a kink in my neck flying it for just an hour or two yesterday. Didn't help that the powerzone was directly towards the sun lol
