3 Tips for Kitesurfing in Light Wind

If you are wondering how to maximise your kiting time and kite efficiency when flying your kite in light wind...? That's what this video is all about! 3 simple tips (plus a bonus tip) for kitesurfing in light wind.
You can achieve a lot better performance with your kite when flying it in the light wind when you work on some small changes.
We find kitesurfing in light wind requires more attention to the small things that help your kite fly. We are going to talk about correctly trimming your kite, power strokes, continuous movement and your body stance. All small changes independently, but when done in combination together can dramatically help you kitesurf in lite wind.
So how do you kitesurf in light wind, its all about kite flying technique and We hope you enjoy 3 Tips for Kitesurfing in Light Wind.
Learn more at flukeskitesurf...

[@kijetikimavi]

Guys.. You can buy Luke a beer on his website..there is an option for that. .I did it is as a token of appreciation ...He does give us great videos... At least something after all that talking.. Great instruction.. Thanks Luke

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Oh mate... legend :) we are stoked to help the TY universe with free vids :) but also do like beer haha :)

[@spencergarrison2468]

@@FlukesKitesurfing I don't see the option for this on your site. You have done a lot for me in my kiteboarding progress and I would like to repay it. Shoot me a link.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

@@spencergarrison2468 oh thanks mate! Stoked!!! :) and happy to hear you’ve got some value out of the vids. it’s actually on our kite course site. Here is the link flukeskitesurfing.funnelbundle.io/ the buy flukes a beer is in the menu at the top. :)

[@spencergarrison2468]

@@FlukesKitesurfing Done and done. Your videos are priceless. Thank you so much for putting the effort in!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

@@spencergarrison2468 mate you have gone above and beyond!!! We have a hot tub planned for tonight so now it looks like it’s a party!! :) total legend thanks so much

[@presFKS]

I've been practicing these tips for years and I'm verry happy to see an expert confirm my feeling that big 8's is more efficient than kiteloop. great video!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

ah nice! Yeah thats certainly what i find works best :)

[@kevinbradley9601]

This is the best Kiteboarding site I've seen especially for ppl just starting out. Man I wish I had this when I started 8 yrs ago. What a great teacher Luke is... very nice. Lots of the kite channels are just highlight reels for advanced kiters, which is cool but doesn't help the weekend guys who get out maybe 20x / yr. Awesome lightwind tips.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Nice one Kevin! Thanks for letting us know mate! :)

[@barrymonteiro8893]

Awesome video mate! Just came back from 3 light wind days of lessons. Your pointers are priceless!!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Great stuff Barry! Let us know how they work for you

[@nicobrog]

Actually, depowering the Kite with the trim decreases turbulence and as the air flows better the Kite gives more power and does not backstall as much Thank you again for your great work, I really enjoy your videos. You always make thinks clear and give great explanations

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Yeah exactly, seem counterintuitive but depowering often increases power in light conditions :)

[@mikegrosso6171]

you have the most comprehensive videos for beginners,, thank you so much.!!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Perfect! Thanks Mike. Glad you like them!

[@mostafaalnasser4830]

Hi Luke. Thank you for the great free experience you ptovide us with. I think that one of the reasons why I love this sport is you and your channel. Hamble, generous and great help! Again heaps of thanks!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Oh thanks Mostafa! I appreciate the feedback and glad you find the videos useful! :)

[@chrispratt7438]

Luke. Great stuff. Spot on. My no wind life in san diego has taught me to also use a wave surf skill as well. smooth rail to rail carve combined with a little squat and extend, this is all to pump and make speed. Similar to what a surfer does on a wave face. These can be quick or slow but has to be in sync with the kite. Easier said than done. The wiggle is often the make or break for me getting up to speed in a lull or making it into a wave . Cheers

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Nice one! thanks for the comment :)

[@bensmidasami4369]

Thanks for all your videos!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

For sure mate!

[@DestroyAllWaves]

Great vid 🤙 I find the kite will climb faster after a power stroke dive by slowly releasing bar pressure when you want to kite to rise again .

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Hey Peter, yeah totally agree! Sheeting out during the climb of the powerstroke is the best way to do it :)

[@naturalhighsmedia7437]

love your videos mate!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Awesome thanks mate!

[@JorgeEgrejasFrancisco]

Great video as always. I subscribe the appreciation we all have about your videos and useful information you kindly give us. Your experience and personal perspective is invaluable. Considering this particular video, it is true that you contradict somehow the ones that state that downloops (or underloops, as you mention them) are the way to go.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Thanks Jorge! Stoked you like the videos! and yes, when the wind gets light... i've found the powerstroke works best to get more out of the kite in combination with correctly trimming it for the light wind :)

[@nicolasboudet9302]

Thank you Luke. We just got out from a lockout due to COVID so I didn’t resist to go kiting with no more than 10/12 kts and must admit it is quite thought, even with a foil kite of 15m2! All your recommendation are always great and I tried to applied them. When wind picks up a bit it was perfect, but under this it was just enough to go and go back 100m downwind. I will try your flat board and bended legs position (I rather tried to lean back as much that I could, without success..)😎

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

great to hear you're back on the water mate! and yeah, give it a go next time and let us know :)

[@dennisvo979]

Thank you for your great videos. I am learning so much from them. Greeting from Long Beach, CA

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Cheers Dennis! Happy to hear you're enjoying the channel :) fire away any questions that come up and we're always happy to try and help out :) cheers mate! and cya in the next one ~Flukes Kitesurfing

[@tunpoa74]

Great video! Very helpful

[@gulliverdalton8680]

Great advice for light wind on normal kites. Very large High aspect/race kites for even lighter wind like to get parked though. Throw in a loop or a big power stroke to start then push them right up into the edge of the wind window, park them and build board speed to generate apparent wind heading upwind.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Nice! Thanks for the insight

[@skywarrior1122]

Another great content video Luke thanks man. Is that the new 3.0 shift bar? Can hardly wait to get mine.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Thanks Randy! This is actually the 2.0.... going to pick up the 3.0 soon too! Stoked

[@pawetomaszewski2379]

What is that spot?

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Canada

[@jimmyjames1411]

Are you saying to turn your board with your hips without edging to turn upwind?

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Hey mate, Yeah, the main principal is to avoid leaning back heavily against the kite. Essentially reducing your weight slightly by standing more upright. It’s a subtlety. So I’m not saying do anything to dramatic haha but just be conscious not to lean to heavily on the kite . You will still need to edge but just try it with a more upright stance. The turning up wind part is almost more visual than practical

[@Eric-do9jq]

Love your stuff. Great video. What about fixed point on the spreader bar vs slider? I feel that some power and direct control could be lost using a slider bar in light wind.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Hey Eric! Oh interesting! Yeah I personally haven’t found it to make any difference in light wind. In a lot of ways I prefer the control with the rope. I normally just use the hook when doing jumps :)

[@vividorpro]

Many thanks 4 the video

[@MrLmaialeal]

Great tips Luke.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Thanks Leonardo! Glad to hear it!

[@marianoderosa4983]

Hey Luke. Can you do a video about tangle lines and how to untangle it? Thanks. Great videos

[@jamiewalking]

Second this. Like when your kite inverts and outer lines get twisted inside.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Hey Mariano, yeah thanks for the suggestion. We will see what we can make!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

@@jamiewalking yeah no problem... even to this day i typically go in, and re-run my lines after inverting them. You can do it still "flying" the kite but is risky. I'll see about thinking of a vid that explains how i do it sometimes in light wind. :)

[@jamiewalking]

@@FlukesKitesurfing yeah I always just rerun them but I've seen people do some black magic to get them back to normal... Cheers for response

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

@@jamiewalking haha yeah there is a way. I’ll try and make a vid that explains

[@RaymerProductions]

What bar and line is this?

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Hey Ryan, this is an Ocean rodeo stick-shift bar :)

[@toureiffel4610]

Great vid as usual mate. Some great tips. Maybe another one for me would be lose some bloody weight! Btw, you are obviously an Ocean Rodeo ambassador. I have one of their new Aluula kites here in Melbourne and am very impressed. Incredibly light and responsive. Having said that I’ve only used it twice but I’m looking forward to using it some more. Bring on those Summer afternoon south westerlies!

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Haha yeah great tip mate... that should have been the bonus tip... haha And yeah love on the the Aluula kites! Stoked you have one!

[@Vladishit_Putler]

which board brand/size do you recommend for light wind?

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

It depends a lot on the rider, but generally speaking bigger is better for light wind, but you do sacrifice maneuverability and jumps etc

[@mirzapirza]

Last time I was in light winds, I kept losing all power during the kite's rotation between the down/up power strokes. Does that mean I'm oversheeting? Or just too underpowered? Thanks for the awesome tips! The different ways to launch and land were super useful when I was learning.

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Glad you found them helpful, and yeah to answer your question you might need to sheet out a little on the upstroke. Also try depowering a little overall. At some pointy it gets very light you wont be able to ride... but even then, if the kite is trimmed correctly and you are actively flying it.. letting it "breathe" by not over sheeting, the kite itself should fly well. It will just at some point have no power to ride. Hope that helps and let me know how it goes.

[@adamc4155]

What is the minimum amount of wind in the forecast that a kiter might look for and what is too light to kite?

[@chrispratt7438]

Lulls (the low) above 10mph. Often this means the avg of 12-15mph on the wind meter. Below this you are on the foil. welcome to my no wind life life in San diego

[@SakowskiStudios]

Hey man your videos are great, I had a question, I’m a beginner who has trained on a kite trainer and am looking to get into kite surfing. I was thinking of buying some gear then getting lessons. Do you think that’s ok or should I take lessons first then buy gear. The reason is I’m eying up someone’s second hand kit that suits me and comes with all the gear I’d need to get started including 3 different kite sizes 2 bars, board and harness. The full kit is much cheaper than buying new gear and I thought it would be ideal as a start. But I’m also wondering if I should just pay for lessons first then decide to buy gear later although this opportunity to buy the kit I mentioned above would be gone. Cheers

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Yeah, try and make sure they are newer than 4 years old. but other than that, its cool to have your own gear ready to go. You might even be able to learn on them. That said if you are unsure about the models, make sure they suite beginners You dont want to buy the gear now only to find out in lessons that they are not the kites you needed. Hope that helps

[@markker8284]

awesome

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Have fun!

[@nilsemmahendrickx-iskandar5350]

Light wind isnt fun anyway ;) 🤙

[@FlukesKitesurfing]

Hahah