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I have been fascinated by the the new BRM Parawing but personally find the price a little high, especially by the time you get it to Australia. They are selling extremely well, so people are prepared to pay for a quality proven product. However, so as to not hijack the BRM topic, I thought that I would start this to show what else may work, and for downwinders, a small collapsible wing could be a game changer! So far, the only other alternative is the Born Kites SS4 and some modified trainer kites for kitesurfing, and I'm sure that many others will start appearing. For myself, I have spent a whole twenty bucks buying a 2 line, 2.5m foil stunt kite, and to my surprise, it actually flys really well!. I bought it off Temu at a sale price and it was delivered 8 days after ordering on-line and there is no way I could make a wing of this quality for this price. I flew it first just off the bridles tied to a old North bar, and straight away, I can see where rigging changes will make it fly alot better. I have it hanging from the garage roof and have separated all of the bridal lines, so the plan is to control it similar to a paraglider with A, B and C lines, but no brakes. Also, the bar is aligned with the chord of the wing, to enable upwind sailing. I honestly have no idea what I'm doing here, so it will be a ongoing experiment, but 20 years of kitesurfing, windsurfing and now winging hopefully helps! If you have seen something on the net or have ideas, please share it here.
I see that that the new Born Wavestar 3 is AUD$734 plus postage from Germany. Lets the games begin!
I'm confused about the new born kite. He was all over the brm forum saying he had developed a new kite specifically for water/foiling. Then he releases yet another camcorder land boarding video
Looks like the new Wavestar is up and running with a water run video coming soon. From what I can see, it appears less complex than the BRM, and has a centre retrieval fine.
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The shape of the Wavestar looks really good and for its size the lines stay short. The reverse relaunch was impressive.
At least if he gets some on water foiling footage it won't be some Maui based ?berfoiler who can paddle start a sinker.
That video looked quite good to me, I kinda like the amateurishness of it compared to the polished instagrammed promos we are used to. Maybe it's the peoples kite. But I guess it'll be the upwinding & smooth packing away etc that will show if it's a true rival. With the talk about ozone coming into the market with one, I can see it being maybe better but not necessarily a cheaper option.
In this video at the 7:00 minute mark Greg Drexler talks about the problems of using a foil kite for winging. Specifically they talk about the thin lines flapping about and tying themselves into knots when stowed. He also mentions using a harness for upwind riding.
Seems like thicker, stiffer lines are a requirement to keep things sorted out in the water.
Gong is now in the parawing game - www.facebook.com/groups/1241951093807137/permalink/1251227166212863/
Can someone please test a born kite on the water? The guy is clearly not a water guy but goes out of his way to prove something here:
first hand experience with one of the older kites in the water
very thin dark lines are a problem for untangling on the water
long lines are a problem
kites not designed for launching from sitting in the water, in waves...
Hopeful that the newer kites are better, but dark lines are a problem
Interesting to see your progress, as I have been doing exactly the same thing by modifying a 2.5m stunt kite. What line setup / length have you settled on that works best? I have two 2.5m kites , new lines and a two line handle. Would be keen to see some more specs on the line set up.
