Tkb Review: 2021 Flysurfer Peak 4

Sizes Available: 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 13m
Sizes Tested: 8m

Flysurfer Says:

The fourth generation of our PEAK is the obvious choice for the most progressive mountaineers and an essential tool in the growing backcountry kite touring movement. The fascination of climbing steep slopes in the lowest wind speeds shifts the boundaries of possibilities and lets you dream of days with endless deep snow descents.

The B-Safe System is the heart of the PEAK4 as it ensures maximum safety, as well as being simple and easy to reactive. The new reduced bridle layout is color-matched to create a better contrast with the ground and increase user-friendliness. Our tried and tested DLX+ and X-Light cloth material mix increases durability while still being able to make the PEAK4 the lightest FLYSURFER kite in the lineup. Thanks to the new Hybrid Wingtip Technology, used for the 1st time, PEAK riders will be able to experience unmatched stability as well as improved turning and bar feedback.

The PEAK4 is confidence-inspiring and offers a familiar flying feel with continuous power delivery and increased backstall resistance. The result is an ultra-light freeride kite for every beginner which will also meet the needs of daring outdoor athletes.

Visit for more info: www.flysurfer.com/project/peak4/

TKB Says:

Although we will test anything we can get our hands on, when we first heard that Flysurfer was sending a single-skin ram air snowkite to our headquarters on the California Coast in Santa Cruz we thought someone had the wrong idea about the geography of the west. Six hours from the nearest snow-capped mountain and far too early for the snow season in Tahoe, we were encouraged to give the Peak a try as a foilboarding kite and we were warmly surprised with its performance.

The Peak’s foil canopy is supported much like other ram air kites we have tested with the spaghetti bridle, which only makes visual sense to the uninitiated once you’ve got the kite in the air. For those that spend time with foil kites or have a paragliding background, the Peak’s A, B and C risers are easy to spot, lineup and layout for easy rigging. What’s truly unique about the Peak is that it has no internal cells or bottom surface like a traditional foil kite””this is what makes this kite incredibly lightweight both packed up on the ground and in the air. The Peak can be flown with three lines: a single centerline connects to a high-V to the front bridle attachment point and two wingtip control lines. The fourth line coming off the control bar connects directly to the B-safety system, which provides instant kill/depower when engaged. Out of the bag, this B-safety system required some rigging which we consulted the owner’s manual but sorted out in 10 minutes’ time. There is a safety line that runs horizontally across the internal baffles of the kite and connects to a V-bridle that travels via the fourth line to your bar. When you apply tension to that line, it scrunches or tacos the wingtips together and stalls the kite so that it loses power and drops directly from zenith to the ground with dependable power control and ease. With traditional foil kites, you can oversheet the outside lines to kill the power but it requires confidence to bring the kite all the way to the ground. The B-System completely depowers the wing with no risk or fear that it will escape the stall and pop into full power.

The single skin concept is very interesting and makes a ton of sense for snowkiting, but its use over water presents a lot of unknowns in the event that the kite is crashed and has to be relaunched. The Peak has a small enclosed cell at the end of each wingtip, but without closed cells across the body you won’t get the same water relaunch you get out of conventional foil kites, but if you are an expert level kiter who never drops your kite in the water or can get the kite to relaunch almost instantly upon dropping it, the Peak may be a very enticing recipe for freeride foilboarding.

We were impressed with both the power and the depower we got out of our 8m wing. You can feel the wing building more power with movement and apparent wind and the sheeting felt as if you get a bunch of power delivery within a fairly short distance of your bar stroke. Of all the ram air kites we’ve flown, the Peak had a really good crisp bar feel and good steering response. The Peak has a fairly pivotal turn where you can feel the opposite side of the kite depowering while the other side of the kite accelerates and turns, so it’s not the perfectly clean and finessed turn you get out of LEI airframes, but for a foil, the Peak turns exceptionally well. The single-skin airframe does tend to give you extra flapping when you depower in over-powered conditions and that will translate to the bar a bit, but that’s probably no cause for concern in the snowkiting world and in foilboarding you’re typically riding underpowered so it is likely not an issue. If that and relaunch are the downsides, the upside is that the Peak is super fun in foiling because this kite is so lightweight it drifts like no other kite. The Peak allows you to actually ride and carve waves without really having to worry about the kite, while making small steering adjustments to keep the kite in one position. This single-skin kite truly redefined ”˜parked’ for us. One of the other big bonuses is that the lightweight canopy can stay aloft in almost no wind and allows you to ride a smaller one-digit kite while others are on double-digit LEI’s, and for us that enabled sessions that really pushed the low threshold limit. This isn’t a low-end grunty kite””it’s not super fast through the window, but the Peak 4 builds incredibly dependable power with LEI-like steering responses and mind-blowing drifting. The Peak 4 is a must try for snowkiters, but for us coastal dwellers it has the potential to be a quiver booster for more adventurous foilboarders with superior kite control that can keep this freeride wing out of the water.

The Peak 4 came with the Connect control bar which is 50cm fixed length bar (4+17m lines) that changes from a 4-line to 5-line bar (center lines go from a single line to a V at the top) that is designed to work with the B-Safe safety system and is largely designer for snowkiting. The Connect bar is a nice lightweight bar with a simple clean design. All connection points end in loops on this bar. The bar throw is a spectra line with a clam cleat for power tuning with a toggle that has Velcro to keep it stowed. The clam cleat can be moved to adjust the length throw and bring the controls closer to those with short arms. The Connect uses Flysurfer’s older style quick release which uses a loop and pin system that requires a bit more dexterity to reassemble after safety triggers. There’s a hand swivel above the quick release that acts as a quick release guard. It’s got a nylon finger lock to prevent accidental unhooking and a safety depower line that goes up through the middle of the bar. The insert, which is replaceable, has a logo on the front side and a ”˜stop’ icon on the back so you know when you are holding the bar the right way; very clear color coding with orange on the left and dark green on the right provides you visual help as well. The rubbery bar ends have a finger that inserts into the floats, which does a great job of keeping the floats in place but also provides flexibility in light wind and when wrapping up the bar. Under the floats you will find three knots to adjust the length of the outside lines. We really liked the bar’s comfortable grip with medium density EVA that tapers from narrow at the ends to thicker at the center without knuckle bumps or other asymmetrical grip features. The bar ends have ample space for winding and everything wraps up cleanly for easy and minimal stowage. Purpose built for snowkiting and the 5th line B-safe safety system, the Connect bar gives you a ton of adjustments with its low weight and great feel that earns the highest marks for its functional purity.

Visit for more info on the bar: www.flysurfer.com/project/connect-bar-system/