I have been an enthusiastic kite surfer riding in the surf, for about 6 years, weighing around 70kg, nearly all my kitting has been done on griffin kites, learning on tarkoons, and have had a few sessions on BWS kites, and a couple of flys on other brands.
About a year ago I got the Argo 5m kite for the ballistic days, which I fly with extended lines, on one of the sessions when the wind was howling, I did a down winder which was great, super powered up, on the second session the wind had eased a bit, and the performance was outstanding, the power was there, and flying the kite was exceptional on the wave, as I could keep the kite in a smaller zone, but not needing to park, the things I find with griffin kites, is no so much the quick turning but the way the kite will rise really fast after a dive, this I think helps riding smaller kites, as you can create the power, especially if using longer lines as you get larger dives/ drives.
Since these earlier days I can ride my 5m holding ground in winds around 25 knots,I probably would fly the 5m in nearly all winds we get, I don't really measure the wind, but I would say it flys great in around the 30 to 35 knot range, the board size is around the 6ft range limited thickness and hard edged rails in the tail, I really think I could reduce the board size, as intend to do on my next board, I use straps, but just a normal surfboard. From my experience thrusters are the go, hence have tried a few quads but never really liked them. I there fore calling on griffin to put together a 3 meter kite, so keen to try.
