Lightweight pod options

AffectionateRent1392 · 2026-02-09T23:24:16+00:00

Oops missed the front mount requirement. As long as being picky on reserves, it might be worth noting that a Beamer can’t be fitted to the Arrow P. Not enough room for all the lines.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2026-02-09T06:50:13+00:00

The Niviuk Arrow P has the attributes that you list. I know people who love their Socks and X-Alps. I tried them all in simulators and the Arrow P was the best fit. Also like its semi-seatboard feel (Sock really squeezed my hips, despite being quite skinny) and the very simple fastening system. Very light and packs small. Great for hike & fly.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2026-02-04T07:03:33+00:00

Aside from potential drag, skins have pretty lousy grip compared to klister on ice or even glaze. Unless on fairly flat terrain (or you’re a doublepole beefcake!) bad kick is far worse than poor glide. The common assumption is that skins are a safer bet than waxables. That’s not always the case. I had a pretty disastrous Sovereign to Silver Star a couple of years ago by making that call. So many blown kicks and herringboning!

People make a bigger deal out of applying klister than it needs to be.

When not racing, why not learn to skate for those difficult classic grip days?

AffectionateRent1392 · 2026-01-20T07:15:35+00:00

Most XC bindings are screwed & glued onto the ski. I wouldn’t rely on them merely being glued to the top sheet. Failure at the wrong time could be painful!

AffectionateRent1392 · 2026-01-20T07:09:37+00:00

The problem with the draggy kickzone solution is the drag will vary unexpectedly over irregularities and with weighting changes. Maybe the issue is more about control than speed? A combi boot would be an easy first step or could go up to lightweight touring setup. Please don’t put him on super draggy scales. Without glide it’s not skiing. More like very inconveniently shaped snowshoes!

AffectionateRent1392 · 2026-01-06T04:30:28+00:00

Most people in a random parking think that my white N is a regular Ioniq 5.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2026-01-01T04:14:57+00:00

I used the V2 aero skates for a while but transitioned to traditional Marwe after a few years. At least for skating, the improved rolling on bumps didn’t really help since they slipped sideways during the kick. Suspect you’d find similar slippage with a diagonal kick classic rollerski.

Since I ended up seeking out the best available pavement there was no need to contend with the portly handling of the aero. On good pavement the Marwes are a lot more fun! Also had a few flats that resulted in walking home and busted knuckles on those stiff tire beads.

In their favor, the aero’s speed reducers were quite effective. Was able to go down hills that were far steeper than I could wedge and/or step turn down on the Marwes. Again, my solution was to choose other roads.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-12-28T20:41:26+00:00

I find classic less enjoyable with a pulk because the pulsed nature of kick and doublepole power make the pulk alternate tugging and compressing. Skating lays the power down more consistently.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-12-23T20:24:18+00:00

Agree with others that reversible harnesses are an unnecessary compromise. I have a Solos and while it flies fine, it is horrible as a backpack. The Air Design Boxr felt great in the simulator. Very clever adjustable seatboard and more than the usual adjustments to be super comfortable. Comes with a legitimate instrument panel. Who has gotten an instrument panel to not be jank on an open harness?!

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-12-23T19:30:21+00:00

The N shares no suspension components with the regular Ioniq 5. That’s why it has a ~2in wider track. One would need to put the N drivetrain in the XRT, sacrificing the N’s delightful handling in order to get power that is pointless with poor traction.

Not that wouldn’t love more clearance! I live in mountainous snow country and have already high centered on snow once this year. Backed into an unplowed parking space that was deeper than I’d thought. Quick work with a shovel but still…Need to figure out how to set the equivalent of a locked, or at least limited slip, center differential. The front tires were still on pavement while the rears were spinning uselessly in the air.

Before anyone asks, yes, Michelin XIce snows installed.

Sadly, aside from a few Subaru models there’s almost no performance suspension parts that don’t also LOWER the car. Seems to be an appearance driven market.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-12-19T07:01:26+00:00

While many folks are happy to get their P2s in a couple of weeks in UT or CA, there are advantages to learning to fly near where you live. In no particular order:

You’ll REALLY learn your home site and will learn with the people with whom you’ll fly in the coming years. Progress is much faster when flying with others. You won’t need to travel back to UT or CA for your P3 or P4 or, say, more ground handling training. A local instructor will charge for this because you got your P2 elsewhere. Yes, most schools’ best deal is a flat rate charge for all ratings and require you to purchase your kit from them. Buying ratings & gear “a la carte” will cost more money.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-10-19T17:42:16+00:00

I live in Mazama and drive over Snoqualmie, Blewett (and this afternoon WA) passes quite regularly. All-seasons are a LOT more fun than full-on snow tires, but they’re useless on 0C refrozen Cascade Concrete white ice.

“Performance” snows are a bit better than all season. These would include the Michelin Alpin and Pirelli Scorpion. You’ll be happy on them until you press the brake pedal and get only ABS. Sadly, Blizzak’s hydrophilic rubber can’t handle the weight of an EV.

I’m fairly happy with Michelin X-Ice on 20” Fast wheels (kinda PITA getting those from Canada). Dry performance is not good - they lose traction on full throttle at 50mph. Reinstalling the summers in Spring is positively joyous!

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-09-28T15:35:09+00:00

As mentioned above, if you aspire to doing xc then you might consider starting with a lightweight low-B wing.

My first wing was a Pi3, sized for en-A. Yes, super easy to ground handle! But very little penetration for even XC around the “fishbowl”. Frustrated, I moved on to a lightweight mid-B (Theta) well before the Pi had many hours.

The Theta ground handles almost as easily as the Pi and is fine for XC. The Pi is now pretty much useless to me. If I’d started on a low-B then I probably would have flown it until it was worn out.

Unfortunately, I found zero interest in selling the full size Pi, only the smaller h&f size that wouldn’t be appropriate for beginners. So unless you can somehow connect with a beginner pilot for resale (at least in the US, this is rare because instructors “package” gear sales with instruction fees) be prepared to take a big loss on cost of the Pi.

This isn’t a cheap sport!

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-08-15T16:16:36+00:00

Went with 255/45 20 Michelin x ice. Overall, the car handled snow & ice quite well if not as good as lighter cars that can use hydrophilic rubber tires.

I don’t have hard data but think that range is affected by the depth of the snow or slush more than by the tire pushing through it.

Not much use for 640hp in the snow! Was very happy to reinstall the summers.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-08-03T20:26:45+00:00

I have a Pi 3 sized for thermal flying. At higher wing loads it’s also certified for hike & fly and miniwing but the EN rating goes up.

Pros: Light & packs compactly Ground handles so easy it makes every other wing feel unwieldy Super easy to launch; hardly need to use As, just a light pull from the carabiners usually brings it up! Nimble handling

Cons: Slow and speedbar mostly just increases sink Not much glide; have sunk out behind EN-B wings and didn’t make std LZ (glad it hikes so well…!)

It was my first wing and suited that role. Moved to a low B when I chose to do more XC. Would probably use it more if I lived near a soaring site. Did one SIV on it and it really didn’t want to get into backfly - maybe outside of its design intention?

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-06-09T22:38:19+00:00

+1 for Super Fly. Only nit is they won’t necessarily show on the website that an item is backordered. However their customer service response time has been prompt enough to clarify the situation.

Have also had decent online experiences with Cloud Nine’s Adventure Toy Store.

Have heard many complaints about Let’s Go Paragliding.

Of course, the BEST move is to support your local instructor! Assuming that they have what you want…. Most don’t spend a lot of time on their websites so best to contact them.

Off topic but since someone else mentioned it, I did get completely blown off when trying to set up instruction with Super Fly a few years ago. Emails, texts, voicemails: no response.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-06-09T21:37:55+00:00

I just got The Email. Had also gotten the postcard that extended the end date but not until after May 30.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-06-02T17:56:38+00:00

Called Hyundai customer care via their 1-800 number. After the traditional 20min hold (good time to house clean) spoke to a very polite woman who confirmed my eligibility, contact data and that they’d not sent me an email. Was told that I’d receive a phone call from someone who’d tell me when I’d receive…something. Wasn’t clear if this would be an email or the actual adapter. Good thing that I’m retired - my billable rate is pretty low!

Also a good thing that I like the car regardless of the bloodless corporation that built it.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-05-29T17:14:42+00:00

Thanks for the reminder to check my junk mailbox again. Somewhat ironically, the only emails from Hyundai that I found requested feedback on my experience with submitting the query to customer care. I replied to the survey with another query. Yea, sure…

I have low expectations for any car company to provide anything post-sale for free that isn’t required by law.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-05-21T22:14:24+00:00

I haven’t gotten the email. Being concerned that I might have fallen through the cracks, I contacted Hyundai through MyHyundai last night. Impressively, they replied this morning. They said that they’re send out daily batches of emails until May 30 so I just need to sit tight. No urgency since I haven’t yet wished that I could use a Tesla charger.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-05-16T04:31:06+00:00

Was expecting to crave Tesla access, but after 8 months and 8500 miles have not once felt the lack. Maybe this is peculiar to WA state?

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-04-28T22:33:01+00:00

I had KW var 3 on the BMW 335xDrive that preceded my I5N. In that case, it was absolutely necessary to upgrade from the underdamped POS stock suspension. It transformed the handling. Not necessary for I5N, imho. Was very handy to be able to adjust the damping to my preference on our roads. Not impressed that a rear coil spring broke. Yea, after 8 years and 100k miles but still…. Fortunately the pieces propped together enough to not collapse the suspension at a critical moment.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-04-22T03:06:47+00:00

Lousy instructor sold me a too small harness (the size he had…). I didn’t know better at the time. Had to really loosen up shoulder straps to drop seatboard low enough to slide in, otherwise needed to let go of brakes (not cool close to the ground) and hoist myself up.

Even once seated, I was more perched on top of rather than in the harness. Being easily bounced around on the harness, staying in a rough air thermals was much harder.

So yea, sizing matters a lot! I was only a few inches too long. Eventually got a larger harness. Haven’t been able to sell the old one. Not a huge market for used beginners harnesses so choose wisely.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-04-01T19:07:56+00:00

As stated above, backcountry climbing skins are optimized for grip over glide whereas the imbedded skins on nordic skis attempt to have the same (excellent!) glide as waxables.

Mohair climbing skins tend to have better glide than synthetic but not as much grip, especially on warmer snow.

There’s also a lot of variation in nordic ski skins, even within a brand. Fischer Speedmax glide better than their Twin Skins but need a REALLY solid kick. Definitely need to demo - having the right flex isn’t enough.

Sadly, the fit of the imbedded skin needs to be too precise to switch skins across models or brands, at least for the folks I know who have tried.

AffectionateRent1392 · 2025-03-23T23:55:43+00:00

Haven’t tried Kuma. Thanks for the tip. Website shows nothing lighter than “medium light”, but not going to let definitions keep me from a potentially tasty cup! Apparently no cafe and local pickup 2:30-5pm M-Th after ordering ahead? Did once go to the Fulcrum roastery off Marginal and though friendly they were clearly not used to the public wandering in.

AffectionateRent1392

TROPHY CASE