Hi all
Have a general one here and still being relatively new to kiting I'm interested in experienced opinion. I started of on '07 BEST Waroo set but after encounter with the C4 I love it! + i have some foils from Ozone and want to keep all my gear from one vendor.

So i'm 6.2" (188cm) tall at ~88-94kg depending how much I party but I'm planing on keeping it under 90kg

I'm pondering following sets

17m zephyr('11)
13M C4('10)
9m catalist('10)

or

13m,10m,7m C4 all 2010
and maybe getting a Zephyr ('11) for next summer of if the winter really sucks for wind, I still have my old 16m waroo that goes well in under 10kn

thoughts?

i have 11 edge, 9m c4 and 8m light. i'm looking at changing the 8m to a 6 catalist. because i have a bit of a cross over 8m light to 9m c4

get a 9\10 c4 instead of a cat unless you are a die hard wave rider on a surfboard.

ps i'm 80kg

I don't know about C4's specifically, but there is a lot to be said for having the same kites in different sizes. You can swap bits as you need, like when I want to change up or down a size, I can just use the same bar and lines with out having to get another set of lines out. Nice to have spares should something break too.

But if light wind is a priority in your area, then the Zephyr might have to be included in your list.

thanks,

yea same kite in different sized definitely has it's advantages
does make sense and I love the C4!

i'll end up with 7,10,13 C4 and 17m zephyr(have '07 16m waroo at the moment for low days)

should have it covered from 6 to 60kn

Auckland is weird with the wind

the same bar works across the ozone range. now 7m c4 will be a sweet kite but 60knots? i doubt it very much. C4's are fast punchy kites with lots of lift and less depower than a full blown sle. Are they fun? Hell yes. will the 7m crank? indeed it will.

But for those storm days gusting 30-40+ will it be too much of a hand full? the catalist has more depower and more gust munching ability than the C4.

food for thought. i'm on the fence 6m cat or 7m c4. the 7m c4 will be more fun low to mid 30's but the 6 cat will be way more controllable in the upper range.

yea 60kn is a wild exaggeration, but I am looking for a quiver to cover "all" possible conditions even ~40kn(unlikely i'll go out in >40)

by now i'm coming to conclusion that, yes I'll have accept that C4 in gusts might get uncomfortable but I hope same flying characteristics will help me progress

C4 in different size will behave the same so I can hopefully focus on board skills and freestyle, consistency in kite's behavior kind of helps with confidence too.

besides, i am after something I can progress from intermediate to advanced, and more. 13m C4 is heaps more fun than 12m waroo I've been learning on. It just feels better.
I do like the punchy pull and handling and the fact that it will bite back if you get lazy(similar to european women)

I guess I've made up my mind by now, valuable feedback from the wise! thank you all.

7,10,13m C4 + 17m Zephyr is my goal, although Zephyr will come towards spring.
Winter is usually windy in Auckland

C-Hybrids are awesome kites in the 9-14 m range but for gusty 40 knot days i would look at a low aspect bow ,will eat gusts way better than a cbrid and you can usually ride more wide open depending on the kite.

few people told me to be careful with hybrids, they are supposed to be C style kites with some depower, not as much at bows
and I guess if 7m C4 is too much to handle for me in 35+ gusty conditions I'll just sell it and get a bow

I'm a newish kiter and started with the same brand you mentioned. However, once I tried a slingshot kite, I realised that it's a case of different kite manufacturers for different uses. While I use Ozone, for land based kiting, I much prefer slingshot products for use on the water. I strongly suggest approaching retailers and using their demo kites to get more of a flavour of the various products on the market.