Peter Lynn Poison Size Suggestions?

[Eugene]

Hi there,

I am new to the sport - I learned a couple years ago in Maui. I have not been kiteboarding at all last two years and now I am thinking of getting back into it. My kite control skills are pretty good (I am also a paraglider pilot, and I have played with my power kited on the beach now and again), but I still have a lot to learn to be able to control the board in the ocean waves.

After a bunch of research I think I have decided to get a Peter Lynn Venom. I am right around 200lbs and I am planning to mostly go to Waddell Creek (later on - not a beginner spot) and Sand City (near Monterey 10-25 mph). I would only be able to get one kite for now and with the end of the season almost here it looks like the winds will get lighter around here. :?

For people who have tested/used the Peter Lynn foils - do I go for the Venom 16 (10-22mph) or a the 13(15-30...). As a beginner it is tempting to be able to go out in lighter winds... :roll: (how accurate are these recommended ranges anyway?)

BTW, any suggestions on getting a good price on one of these? :?:

Thank you,
Eugene

[sflinux]

I don't know if you been out to watch Waddell much, but they can use some pretty small kites there (6M). Between the 13M and 16M I would recommend the 13M. You may even want to consider getting the 8M or 10M for Waddell. For the bay area, I would say the 13M.
My buddy has the 13M venom and gets a lot of days on it in the bay area. It has good top end. Both him and I don't personally don't like arcs for light winds (~ 10 mph). Since you only have a budget for one kite, I would not get a light wind kite. The 13M should get you going on a lot of days. And bear in mind, that two boards (small board and good light wind board) and one (smaller) kite will give you a lot of range.
In terms of light winds, any kite will fly in light winds. Bigger just means more power making it easier to go upwind.
I'd say those wind ranges are about right for your weight and a decent board.
If you aren't in a rush, you may want to wait for the Venom2. Being that this was the first year that the Venom came out, I'm sure they'll get the quirks out of the kite for gen2. And if you are on a budget, you can find used tube kites for cheap these days. I prefer the snappiness of my tube kites in the surf. (fyi: I ride a pl guerilla2).
-bric

[consumer]

don't do it, pl's are hard to launch at a lot of the bayspots and inland spots as well.

you can pretty much only kite in areas with large sandy beaches.

[Guest]

Can't say I agree with consumer, I've launched my arc at most kite spots in the bay area (as well as tight ones in Maui) with no problems. With any kite, it is nice to have a wide open space. But arcs can be launced in tight spaces just like leis (and self launched at that). A lot of people actually like arcs for drift launching and boat launching. The misconception with these kites is that they are hard to water relaunch, not so. I've flown 4 line leis, 5 line leis, flysurfers (very easy), and they are not any harder than any of those (I think of them as easy as 5 line leis).
What everyone should know about arcs is they aren't for light winds, they are best for the gusty heavy stuff.
A guy at my local spot has been riding a V13 and just recently picked up a V16. To give you a little idea about the top end of these kites, when he was out on his V16, I was on a 11M fuel.
The main problem with the Venoms was the spars would break. None of the other arcs ever had this problem. I think it had to do with them putting spars in that were too small. If they do break, just go to TAP plastics and make a replacement carbon fiber spar for $6 (though not for V19 because the spars are too long).
I wouldn't recommend the V19. If you want something for really light winds, there are a lot of other kites that are better suited for this.
So yea, V16 and V13 would make a pretty good quiver for most places in the bay area. For the winds you mentioned for sand city, I'd go with the V16. But like I said, Waddell can get some serious winds so if are going to start going there you'll probably want a quiver of smaller venoms. As you know, as a newbie kiter, you don't want to go in the surf until at least a season of solid kiting in flat water.
It was days like today, that I remember what is so great about arcs. A couple people went out for about 10 min and all came scrambling back in for someone to catch their kites. They complained that it was too gusty. I smiled as I prepared to launch my arc. Sure enough, I launched and rode and did notice that the wind was up and down. But gusty, I'm usually the last one to think that when riding an arc. I should mention that an xbow went out and did well as well. (We were the only kites on the water).
-bric

[Pablito]

On Monday at SI, there were two crossbows out and three C kites. The wind was gusting from like 15 to 35. The Xbow guys were like, "gusts? What gusts?".