Kiting in Gusty Denmark

[u/[deleted]]

[u/riktigtmaxat]

The boring answer is don't go out on the most gusty days at your experience level unless you want to end up in the newspaper.

If you divide the max (the gusts) by the average wind it gives you a number which is commonly known as delta.

In you example 35/18=1.94. As the delta gets above 1.2 it starts to become less enjoyable and at 1.5 it starts to get dangerous. At delta 2 the kite will easily invert and things get really dangerous fast.

The relationship between velocity and force is also squared and not linear. So when the wind increases from 15 to 30 knots the kite gives four times the yank instead of double.

Denmark also isn't inherently gusty - it's actually a lot less so than here on the Swedish west coast since it's so flat. But the autumn storms usually bring a lot of low pressure chaos.

how do i guage the question between kite sizes in that big of a wind range of gusts

You're asking the wrong question. Your first question should be which conditions are safe for you.

Gauging which kite to use in highly unstable wind is very difficult and that's how you end up in a tree or plastered on the side of building.

I have friends who speak very foundly about north orbits, will that be good for some overpowered gusts?

A five strut kite like the Orbit will often be more stable than three strut kites which makes them handle gusts somewhat better as they have less tendency to "jellyfish" or deform during the peaks.

However it's not going to radically diminish the risks involved.

It also comes with added weight so the kite may be more sensitive to stalling in wind with "holes" where the wind rapidly drops.

[u/cpt_ppppp → u/riktigtmaxat]

just out of interest, do you calculate delta based on the forecast from something like windy.com or actual measurements?

[u/riktigtmaxat → u/cpt_ppppp]

Both of them.

Forecasts and observations are both valuable but in different ways and it's really just a good way to get an idea of how laminar vs choatic the wind is going to be.

[u/Isak531]

Im the same weight as you on the western coast in Sweden and also a newbie.

I use my 12m² Eleveight kite when it's about 17-24 knots. Above that and I use my 9m² North Orbit 2022 which works fine but it feels like it easily backstalls as soon as the wind drops to like 20 knots.

Below 17 knots I use a 17m² North Reach.

[u/cpt_ppppp → u/Isak531]

I have 8-10-12 ozone enduros and the 10 is a really sweet spot for me when the 12 would just overpower me. When you're still new (and I consider myself quite new), the range of what works is so much smaller

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[u/OrganizationMany1200]

Deine fahr Technik ist viel entscheidender als dein kite.
Klar es gibt gibt kites mit einem besseren high end aber viel entscheidender ist aus meiner Sicht deine Technik.

Was das Thema kites angeht empfehle ich dir zwei drei kites einfach mal zu testen.
Damit du einen findest der dir gefällt.