Gday forum, haven't been here in a long time and I'm after some advice on a new kite.

A bit of Background first:

I Started Kitesurfing in 2001 and did so for a solid 10 years. Started out on first generation Flysurfer Warriors before making the switch to LEI kites around 2003. Went through Cabrihina CO2, Rhinos, Noth Vegas's, Rebels and and even a Best 21m c kite.
The last 2 kites I purchase were 2009 9m and 12m North Rebels. Board wise, did twin tips, directionals, strapped and towards the end was into unstrapped surfboards.

Lost interest in the sport a little 2011/ 2012 and then had a bad MTB accident in 2013 that put me out of the sport due to a partial elbow joint replacement and other injuries from the crash.

Anyway, Ive still got my Rebels and have no idea how these compare to current crop of kites on the market.

I'm after something that would have the following requirements:

Lighter bar pressure (for the stuffed elbow) but not dead on the bar like some of the old bridled kites I flew years ago.

A Good wind range as I only want to buy 1 kite... thinking around 9 or 10m for the winds I like to ride in.

A kite Suited to riding waves but doesn't need to be a wave specific kite ... I wouldn't mind busting out the old twin tip again for some hang time ;)

Open to to brand suggestions that weren't around when I was kiting....

So any advice is appreciated ... my highest priority would be the bar pressure to help the damaged wing.

Cheers Matt

Enduro ozone
Neo by north now duotone
Bandits
Nexus core
Plus others, really like my enduros in a couple of seconds you can change it from wave to free ride to freestyle, very nice feel at the bar

Slingshot Rally

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cauncy said..
really like my enduros

Do you find they have very sluggish lift? ie: Standing on the beach bring the kite from 11 to 1oclock and pull the bar in it doesn't lift you off your feet at all.

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Phoney said..

cauncy said..
really like my enduros

Do you find they have very sluggish lift? ie: Standing on the beach bring the kite from 11 to 1oclock and pull the bar in it doesn't lift you off your feet at all.

Not at all, highest jumping kite I've owned, really rip you off the water feel, sure some kites I've had give better halftime but still very respectful, I usually drop the kite pretty low ,not 11, and on freestyle setting v2 enduros, 8 and 10 , they have a similar feel to my old vegas

Ok. I'm comparing it to a Naish Pivot and found it very spongy compared to that.

(But I'm far from a pro)

Digging up a slightly older thread...
I'm in a similar position to the OP but without the bike accident, however I did buy one when I got rid of all my kite gear. I was probably last kiting when Plummet was still in 3 digit posts.
But have since sold the bike and have been toying with the idea of getting back into it. I was thinking along the lines of a Carinha TronicSS 145(Gwad who makes up these butt ugly names?) for a bit of an all round type board in the surf on the Goldie. I believe also kites have changed a bit in the last 8 odd years, so being 90 - 95 kegs would a twelve do the job in most conditions?

Oh yeah, I had done the surfboard (strapped) thing for a couple of years but I found an all round type board to be more fun and I needed a 14 to get me going back then. But I was 100-105 kegs back then too.

So I guess the crux of what I'm asking is, would a 145 board matched with a 12 kite be a good match in todays' modern gear?

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bobajob said..
So I guess the crux of what I'm asking is, would a 145 board matched with a 12 kite be a good match in todays' modern gear?

Kites have gotten more powerful compared to 10 years ago, but they are also covering a wider wind range, especially delta-shaped kites. A 12m with a 145cm board at your weight should be fine if you get at least 15 knots and no more than 25 knots in the gusts. You might struggle at both 15 and 25 knots to start with but with a bit of experience it should become manageable. The sweet spot would probably be between 18 and 23 knots. If you ever get a chance to demo some of the newer kites you will probably be pleasantly surprised.

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harks98 said..
Gday forum, haven't been here in a long time and I'm after some advice on a new kite.

A bit of Background first:

I Started Kitesurfing in 2001 and did so for a solid 10 years. Started out on first generation Flysurfer Warriors before making the switch to LEI kites around 2003. Went through Cabrihina CO2, Rhinos, Noth Vegas's, Rebels and and even a Best 21m c kite.
The last 2 kites I purchase were 2009 9m and 12m North Rebels. Board wise, did twin tips, directionals, strapped and towards the end was into unstrapped surfboards.

Lost interest in the sport a little 2011/ 2012 and then had a bad MTB accident in 2013 that put me out of the sport due to a partial elbow joint replacement and other injuries from the crash.

Anyway, Ive still got my Rebels and have no idea how these compare to current crop of kites on the market.

I'm after something that would have the following requirements:

Lighter bar pressure (for the stuffed elbow) but not dead on the bar like some of the old bridled kites I flew years ago.

A Good wind range as I only want to buy 1 kite... thinking around 9 or 10m for the winds I like to ride in.

A kite Suited to riding waves but doesn't need to be a wave specific kite ... I wouldn't mind busting out the old twin tip again for some hang time ;)

Open to to brand suggestions that weren't around when I was kiting....

So any advice is appreciated ... my highest priority would be the bar pressure to help the damaged wing.

Cheers Matt

Ozone Enduro V2 10m, versatile all rounder with low bar pressure.

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bobajob said..
Digging up a slightly older thread...
I'm in a similar position to the OP but without the bike accident, however I did buy one when I got rid of all my kite gear. I was probably last kiting when Plummet was still in 3 digit posts.
But have since sold the bike and have been toying with the idea of getting back into it. I was thinking along the lines of a Carinha TronicSS 145(Gwad who makes up these butt ugly names?) for a bit of an all round type board in the surf on the Goldie. I believe also kites have changed a bit in the last 8 odd years, so being 90 - 95 kegs would a twelve do the job in most conditions?

Oh yeah, I had done the surfboard (strapped) thing for a couple of years but I found an all round type board to be more fun and I needed a 14 to get me going back then. But I was 100-105 kegs back then too.

So I guess the crux of what I'm asking is, would a 145 board matched with a 12 kite be a good match in todays' modern gear?

Simple answer is yes, 12M and 1.45 (x43 or 44W) TT and or surfboard. You'll be fine in 15/16 through to mid to high 20's knots. A kite like the Ozone Enduro V2 12m and an Ozone Code V2 perfect combo.

Thanks for the replies and input
Apologies harks98 for the hijack

line length adjustment needs a mention to maximise the wind range of a kite.

could be a placebo effect, like- I tuned my gear and more so my mind for conditions. Not sure but it works for me.

G'Day Matt,

There's a stack of kites that fit the bill - Lighter bar pressure, wave and free ride capabilities, wide wind range.

Naish Pivot go 2018 and newer - 2020 pivot has higher bar pressure
Ozone Enduro - Cauncy gets a free hand job from Ozone when he mentions this kite.
Duotone Evo (2018 was a dud) 2019 / 2020
Dutone Neo - Has wave and free ride settings, dont go dice.
Core Nexus - only flys on core's bar and lines.
Fone Bandit 2020 bandit has higher bar pressure.
Fone Bandit - Surf edition - 2020 - light bar pressure
Naish Boxer
Naish Slash
Ozone Reo. - not sure about the bar pressure compared to the others.
New North carve - higher bar pressure.
New North Escape - yet to read any independent test but this kite looks to be a good formula
New Switch Nano - now has a 60 day return policy - this new model is interesting.

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bobajob said..
Digging up a slightly older thread...
I'm in a similar position to the OP but without the bike accident, however I did buy one when I got rid of all my kite gear. I was probably last kiting when Plummet was still in 3 digit posts.
But have since sold the bike and have been toying with the idea of getting back into it. I was thinking along the lines of a Carinha TronicSS 145(Gwad who makes up these butt ugly names?) for a bit of an all round type board in the surf on the Goldie. I believe also kites have changed a bit in the last 8 odd years, so being 90 - 95 kegs would a twelve do the job in most conditions?

Oh yeah, I had done the surfboard (strapped) thing for a couple of years but I found an all round type board to be more fun and I needed a 14 to get me going back then. But I was 100-105 kegs back then too.

So I guess the crux of what I'm asking is, would a 145 board matched with a 12 kite be a good match in todays' modern gear?

for your weight and location 12 Meter and 145 tronic would be a good combo - cant see why not. ?

If you were happy with the rebel when you had it then the neo is basically a more responsive and gruntier version with less bar pressure.

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cauncy said..
Enduro ozone
Neo by north now duotone
Bandits
Nexus core
Plus others, really like my enduros in a couple of seconds you can change it from wave to free ride to freestyle, very nice feel at the bar

+ 1 for the Enduros. starting to get to know my Alpha better now and really enjoying that on 19m lines.

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CH3MTR4IL5 said..
If you were happy with the rebel when you had it then the neo is basically a more responsive and gruntier version with less bar pressure.

Interesting viewpoint. I started on Rebels for a couple of years, then moved to Neo's for the last 5 years. Found them completely different. Neo's are very forgiving and drift nicely. Rebels seemed to be always screaming off one way or another. That is just my experience for what its worth.

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Dave Whettingsteel said..

CH3MTR4IL5 said..
If you were happy with the rebel when you had it then the neo is basically a more responsive and gruntier version with less bar pressure.

Interesting viewpoint. I started on Rebels for a couple of years, then moved to Neo's for the last 5 years. Found them completely different. Neo's are very forgiving and drift nicely. Rebels seemed to be always screaming off one way or another. That is just my experience for what its worth.

The 08/09 rebel wasn't amazing... by comparison a modern Neo will be fast and grunty without much bar pressure, which I would agree is completely different to the Rebel

So totally agree, i guess i'm saying having had that era rebel if you were happy with it then the Neo would be a good choice as having some of the similar stability and control aspects but with much better performance- I went the same arc of Rebel to Neo and haven't flown anything else since. I didn't find rebel to be a terrible kite but it wasn't hugely performance oriented.

not to say that other brands won't achieve the same though, i imagine reo etc are just as good.

You might want to delay any purchases of new kiting equipment
There's a new phenomenon called wi?d winging'
Sounds as gay as it looks' but times a changing

I reckon if you put some long strings on those wings they'd go alright.