Rider: 85kg,intermediate
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle
Weather: 15-35 knots
Build Quality: 8/10
Satisfaction: 5/10

So far I've only had a demo of the cab chaos and while I loved the kite, I hated the bar. In my opinion its far too fussy and over complicated.

The two metal safety release latches are extremely difficult to reset when in the water and when sandy on the beach.

The mini fifth gets congested in the mix and usually needs to be pulled tight just to clip the clumsy contraption back together.

The same system is used on the switchy which I think inhibits its tradition of being the standard, safe, easy to use beginner's kite.

Did anyone else get this impression?

Has anyone found a new bar they are completely happy with in terms of a simple safety system?

2013 north 5th element. Being able to manually unspin lines while having my leash on suicide and the safety will still operate perfectly.
It's neat and adjustable.
Only thing is I wish the leash could spin around the line like the 2012/2013 cabrinha bar.



I was riding a cab with a pro kit, it was awesome to be able to manually unspin the lines but if I pulled the safety the kite is gone.

Gave the adjustable bar ends on the new North bar a test today. Takes a bit to 'find the button' but once you do, give the floats a pull and they come right off and spin around. Works really well when the wind goes from 12m to 9m weather. Changed down, put the kite up, found it a bit quick and twitchy for unhooking - no problems, stopped, changed bar length with kite in the air and took me say 30 seconds.

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LiveToFly said...

Rider: 85kg,intermediate
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle
Weather: 15-35 knots
Build Quality: 8/10
Satisfaction: 5/10

So far I've only had a demo of the cab chaos and while I loved the kite, I hated the bar. In my opinion its far too fussy and over complicated.

The two metal safety release latches are extremely difficult to reset when in the water and when sandy on the beach.

The mini fifth gets congested in the mix and usually needs to be pulled tight just to clip the clumsy contraption back together.

The same system is used on the switchy which I think inhibits its tradition of being the standard, safe, easy to use beginner's kite.

Did anyone else get this impression?

Has anyone found a new bar they are completely happy with in terms of a simple safety system?

im more than happy with my ozone bar 2012 , yeh the is a load of talk about when a new one should be out but its a great bit of kit superb quality, easy re rig if you pull the safety ,etc, etc, of the bars ive seen and used the are some shockers and rippers the bws bar would tick my boxes along with the mutiny bar

Anyone shopping for new bar/lines
make sure you check out/demo the latest from Core.
Totally uncluttered simplicity at its best,
Above the bar cleat depower but for anyone who doesnt like cleats,
this is the smoothest most positve/best cleat I've ever cleated/uncleated.
And of corse unswivelling front line system.
Build quality, materials and design first class imho.
Im not a demo/team rider just your average hack.

Hope this link works

Ral Inn
i was pretty interested in the Zeeko system when it first made an apearance on SB.
from memory you were the Aus dealer...
do you know if they have changed anything for 2013?
do you know if there anywhere to get a better look at them in WA?
and can you tell me what are they worth?

cheers
Dan

That Zeeko bar setup looks great. That little extra purchase to de-power is a real selling point and bugger me... where's the cleat?!

It would be good to read a non-biased review... does it work as well as in the video (obviously without the french synthesiser)?

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Drewm said...
Gave the adjustable bar ends on the new North bar a test today. Takes a bit to 'find the button' but once you do, give the floats a pull and they come right off and spin around. Works really well when the wind goes from 12m to 9m weather. Changed down, put the kite up, found it a bit quick and twitchy for unhooking - no problems, stopped, changed bar length with kite in the air and took me say 30 seconds.

I've got the new 2013 North bar but haven't used it. So what benefit would I get from using the smaller bar set up? Is it just for use on the smaller kites? Does it make the smaller kites a little less responsive? What would I find if I used it on the bigger sz's

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DC23 said...
Ral Inn
i was pretty interested in the Zeeko system when it first made an apearance on SB.
from memory you were the Aus dealer...
do you know if they have changed anything for 2013?
do you know if there anywhere to get a better look at them in WA?
and can you tell me what are they worth?

cheers
Dan

I have been using the Zeeko UDS bar since January and it is certainly the best Zeeko bar yet. The depower system is ridiculously simple and easy to use. I don't use the extra stopper part and don't seem to ever need it. The stopper holds the power of the kite but just some extra push of the bar moves it away, you can have it so far away you can fully depower the kite just by pushing bar away. The actual depower system works very effectively and the only thing is that it being different means you have to think about it until you get used to it. The QR is very easy to use and refit. maybe a bit too easy as I have accidentally activated it by grabbing it to hook in and then slightly pushing which activates it. I have to learn to keep hands off it and hold by the swivel when doing this.

we have customers using this bar on North, Naish, and flexi foils.

Expect updates to it around January and only cosmetic as it works just fine. Probably soon it will be copied by Naish.

North has had an adjustable bar since like 2003. Nothing new.
The clips are the new bit that make it possible to change while flying the kite

Wow that Zeeko bar looks very good, plus the clip is simple and easy to watch.
If only all kite brands made a detailed clip like that for their bars.

I am looking to buy new or runout gear this year. I have not bought new gear for a few years now and its hard to figure out what has changed and what will work for me.

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deanrobi said...

Drewm said...
Gave the adjustable bar ends on the new North bar a test today. Takes a bit to 'find the button' but once you do, give the floats a pull and they come right off and spin around. Works really well when the wind goes from 12m to 9m weather. Changed down, put the kite up, found it a bit quick and twitchy for unhooking - no problems, stopped, changed bar length with kite in the air and took me say 30 seconds.

I've got the new 2013 North bar but haven't used it. So what benefit would I get from using the smaller bar set up? Is it just for use on the smaller kites? Does it make the smaller kites a little less responsive? What would I find if I used it on the bigger sz's

it just gives you a little less leverage for turning.
Imagine having a metre long bar, turn it a little and it'll pull your back lines a lot due to it's length. This will mean your kite will move with every little move your hand makes. On the flipside, with a bar that is small will mean if you turn it a little, it barely pulls on your backline and so does not really turn your kite.
You'll find a lot of freestyle riders cut their bars down to a shorter length so that when they are unhooking and doing handle passes, the kite doesn't move so much.
On a bigger kite, in the waves and when looping, you may want your kite to be nice and quick so the outside setting is more appropriate.

I like to fly my 12 Vegas on the outside settings when it is light so that when turning you don't have to be so aggressive with the bar, then change it in to the inside when the wind kicks and am unhooking - however the 9 is a fast kite already so i put it on the inside bar settings in an attempt to slow it down a little. If I was looping the 9, I would probably move it to the outside settings so that when i pull the bar the kite turns faster.

Savvy?

edit: If you use the shorter bar length setting on the bigger kites, you will have to turn the bar more to get the same rate of turn on your kite.
Have a play, you won't break it or ruin your session or anything, it just feels slightly different.

NKB trust bar 2013

well i just got it and i d like say a few things. and i believe i speak for most north 2013 nkb trust bar owners:

pros;
the new vario cleat is a must have, no more messy 5th line tangles with the depower rope. nice plastic insert and roto head, i broke the last roto (plastic) head onto the metal bar insert, under warranty no problems. yes to the chicken loop construction and iron heart system. yes to the new lines.

cons;
why oh why did they change the bar length and back line trimmer. who wants to adjust on the fly the bar length so easily with plastic clicks? the knot system is so much better/easier/faster more robust and i d like to hear more users thoughts on this. the click system is utterly and completely unnecessary, in my opinion plastic clicks on the bar is a major point of failure.

also the floaters have to be removed before starting to roll the lines onto the bar!!! if not then you risk bending the floaters to extreme at the base and eventually break (it will still work but why not a separate floater section like last year and the year before and the year before that...)

i would have the 2012 bar with the above pros, in fact i will :) i still have a spare 2012 bar, lines should fit ok. but no plastic bar insert. who cares, the new vario cleat rules.

Been flying Zeeko for a while and it's all good, but lacks the high-end quality feel of the North one. Looks like we need a mix of Zeeko and North to get the perfect bar!

Also has anyone tried the CrazyFly bar? => www.crazyflykites.com/
It looks pretty nice too with soft bar ends (like Cab but not as ugly) and that clicky QR (tried it in a shop, seriously the easiest to reset I've ever seen) . No width adjustement though, and "Proudly made in Europe"