I totally agree that marketing is probably want made LEI so popular.

Another thing is water relaunch. I just started the sport and I did
lots of research before buying my kite. My 1st impression was to buy
a Peter Lynn ARC, they say it water relaunches very easily (I`ve seen
videos of people showing this) and I can use it in the winter.

But on every forum I posted I kept being told get a LEI for water
relaunch, over and over and over again.

Guess what I did? Bought a big huge 16m kite for our light wind area.
I was not really impress by how big this thing has to be to get going
in light winds AND water relaunching big kite in light winds is not
always easy.

Then I see JohnnyKitesurfer set-up his Peter Lynn ARC 840 (8m) in not
time, hit the water and fly just as good as the rest of us with kites
much bigger.

Sold my LEI, got very lucky and found a brand new 840 for 200US$ and
just can't wait to get my hands on it.

If you are undecided, go to www.foils.nl watch some videos of foils
in action or water relaunching. Peter Lynn ARC, Water ARC, Guerrilla
(or G-ARC) and the Flysurfer Titan water relaunch just as well
(probably better) than LEI.

--- In cankitesurf@yahoogroups.com, Mark <mark@m...> wrote:
> On 6/27/03 9:33 AM, "Gordon Gannon" <gord@s...> wrote:
>
> > I don't know how much I would recommend a RAM or Foil kite.
> > I'm at the World Cup in Cabarete right now. It's totally going
off. More
> than 200 of
> > the worlds best showed up to try and get into the final today.
And there is
> > not a foil kite to be seen. NOT ONE! If there was any future
with a foil
> > you would think that at least one competitor would be trying it
out.
>
> Oh my god, same old stuff - wow what marketing won't do.
> It's funny, when those of us that come from the kiting world
started kite
> surfing, we were using our open celled land foils just fine for
almost two
> years as the LEI started onto the market in broader production.
When we
> walked into surf store in Toronto to look for gear, we were told by
the
> salesman it's a fringe sport that doesn't work - that store is now
one of
> the two biggest kite surfing suppliers in Toronto.
>
> I've been to the beach many times, even twice in the last two weeks
when
> there were a huge handful of LEI guys on the beach struggling to
launch
> their 12, 16 and 18m kites - couldn't keep them flying, did not get
out
> surfing at all, when there were three guys out doing fine using a
1510 Arc,
> 9m open celled foil and 630 C-Quad! In fairness, I think that lines
that
> were too short hindered the 18m's performance. I know guys that
have sold
> blimps to get foils (and vice versa).
>
> Come on, there are pros and cons to everything. Without going into
along
> explanation of wing design, aerodynamics etc relative to
performance, I can
> assure you it comes down to personal taste combined with marketing.
LEI's
> are heavier and not as efficient when it comes to aerodynamics.
It's what
> you see everyday, it's what you learn on and what you feel
comfortable with.
>
> I do use both styles of kites, been kiting for 20 years and I would
> definitely not say to limit yourself without trying something
first. You
> might want to look at where all the money comes from with
manufacturers and
> competitors to get a better feel for what you are seeing. You have
to see
> that you have major players that committed to a certain type of
kite, spent
> huge dollars in R&D, have done massive ad campaigns that have hit
people
> over the head so much that a lot of foil/non inflatable companies
simply
> can't afford an ad campaign to try and convince or switch the views
of the
> majority of surfers. They produce a good product with a loyal
following and
> are expanding ridership every year - why blow the R&D budget on
advertising.
> It would bankrupt a company just to prove a point.
>
> Fly whatever makes you happy and works for you.
> Just my point of view,
> Mark