Flysurfer PEAK6 Kite

The PEAK is a single-skin kite — no lower surface, just a canopy and a bridle. Everything else follows from that. It weighs almost nothing, packs into a backpack and flies in wind that would leave a conventional kite lying on the ground, which is why it became the standard for snow touring and mountain riding.

Six sizes from 2.5 to 11 m². Kite weight runs from 480 g on the smallest to 1.36 kg on the 11, so you can carry two or three sizes and stop worrying about what the wind will do. The fabric is TX-Light at 33 g/m² with DLX+ along the leading edge — snow, ice and rock wear a kite faster than water does.

The B-Safe system. This is why people take a PEAK into the mountains alone. The kite gathers onto a fifth line, self-lands without a helper and flags out instantly. When the wind drops or the weather turns while you watch, that is the difference between packing up and having a real problem. On the sixth version the bridle was shortened, so the B-Safe lines tangle less and the kite is easier to bring back up after a release.

The hybrid wingtips are self-inflating with mesh over the openings to keep snow and dirt out. Turns come in tighter and the pull stays constant, which matters on steep ground.

Who it is not for. The manufacturer is straight about this and so are we: water relaunch on single-skin foils is close to non-existent. For surf foiling Flysurfer point you at the HYBRID. The PEAK earns its place on water in one case — light wind with a big foil. It also has higher lateral pull and weaker upwind performance than a conventional foil kite.

Where nothing replaces it. Snow touring and climbing: it holds its shape, resists back stall and pulls steadily on the way up. And teaching — with the kite already in the air a lesson can start in as little as 5 knots, with the student in a harness from minute one. Schools keep a PEAK precisely for the light days.

Picking a size. Aspect ratio is 4.0 across the whole range with 29 cells. Projected area: 2.0 / 3.2 / 4.4 / 5.2 / 6.8 / 9.2 m². Lines are 21 m on every size; the CONNECT³ bar is 47 cm for the 2.5 and 4, 52 cm for the 5 and 6, 60 cm for the 8 and 11.

Tell us where you are heading and we will suggest a pair of sizes for the route rather than a single compromise. Worldwide shipping.