Posted by Eppo in "The 4 kite review" thread... thanks for kicking off some 2014 season review discussion.

My school maths teacher couldn't spell or use punctuation (as Eppo can), but he was a sticker for order (I became an accountant). Hence why this post has been split into its 4 component parts:

"Just an awesome winter day, starting at 13 to 15 steadily increasing to 17 to 19 and at times a little above. Not a huge swell but enough to see what drift capabilities are there.

Rode a total of 5 kites today, but 4 of them were newies.

Only be brief as none of them are my focus this year, but it may serve to give a little info to those who are. I will do it in order of riding them. All of them were on my cruiser Pro.

LF Envy 9m

Has a decent bottom end, was only 13 to 16. Power delivery is smooth and linear. No pulleys this year. Not a fan of bars with such a long depower, unless you are 9 foot tall why do you need all of this. Below bar depower, fine works okay. Ends are stupidly big with a real cut in each side which could be a freestylers nightmare with a leash wrap, stupid, they need to look at this in my humble opinion. Swivel good worked every time and I was looping the sht out of the kite.

Got some obvious pop for those wake stylers, gets real decent once the wind kicked in. Decent feel through rotations and loops. Drift really decent.

Matt from BWS was down there I got in his new BWS and he took it for a spin. Delayed steering in general with no steering depowered and seems to stall a little waiting to turn. Moons, matt, sam all on SBs said the same thing after riding it. My brother was less forginving in his comments so i will just leave it there. For a serious wave kite I don't know. For those that want to ride waves and extend themselves into some wake style (unhooked once just to see and it was very stable) a decent option. There a better.

Any spelling errors I just can't be bothered fixing..."

I was lucky enough to test/try this kite while up in Far North Queensland in 15-20 knots. I have tried to eliminate the positive impact of my kiteboarding heaven surroundings and buy my own gear without any network assistance.

This is my 4th season, I am a tall 98kg and have owned a series of surf orientated kites from Slingshot, Best and Griffin. I ride a SB in surf, Nobile skim or Nobile NHP 137/44 in the chop and did this test on my NHP. I spent a bit under 2 weeks watching my mate fly this kite in screaming downwinders, gruelling upwinders (while laden with coconuts), old school boosts and one-handed kite-loop jumps.

The new 2014 envy model release is without a doubt better than the last edition (which was no slouch! I did back-to-back tests). Structural changes include:
- No pulleys
- 3 struts that split the canopy into 4 separate panels (really nice touch)
- Thicker strut ends The build of the kite is beautiful and light.

Little details like elevation on the LEI strut scratch guard, different grade material on the tip panels as opposed to the canopy on either side of the central strut, stiff lines that don’t tangle, asymmetrical bar cross-section that fits nicely into your hand, etc…

The kite sits deep in the window and is steady / smooth with heavy end of light bar pressure. You can forget about flying the kite and focus on board style (or daydream). The kite goes where you will it to go and recovers with drift when you stuff up.

The steadiness of the kite’s pull makes cutting upwind easy as you can fully focus on controlling the board to be on the cusp of dropping off the plane (best technique IMO as it is a very low aspect kite designed for wake style control or beginner progression).

It has great bottom end power (switching from my 12m to 9m was a little surreal and frustrating that I had bought and brought the wrong gear on my kiteboarding trip of a lifetime). I didn’t see anyone overpowered on the kite either, so I’d go for a 10.5m one kite quiver for my Sydney conditions.

Minor dislikes include a watered-down graphic (loved last year’s fluros and am cynical as to why a good-looking kite has to change every year?!), bar ends could be smoother so nothing catches, depower throw could shorten by 15cm so you can reach the swivel (given leash attaches to depower… I think the long throw safety feature has been overdone).

Will I buy one? Had I not tried the Liquid Force 2013 NRG, yes. What I can say is that I wish I had started my progression on this kite and not the many others I chose. It’s a no brainer beginner kite that my kids will use when their mum lets them out (and be my SB and storm kite). To see it in the hands of more experienced riders means that you won’t outgrow the kite as you progress (unhooking, looping, tricks, etc…)

Get out to the touring demo days and decide for yourself (I think it coincides with the coaching clinic below):

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Professional-Coaching-Clinics-Summer-Series/

Cheers
Nathan

Yeh fair comments nathan agree with the above. NRG I have also flown there is a review somewhere. But the 2014 is also direct connection now so the 2014 may fly a little different. Not sure I can get my hands on one of these though to demo

I have just been talking to the national distributor of Liquid Force.

the 2014 Envy 9m is available to demo through their retailers:

- Alliance, Kurnell in Sydney - contact 02 9668 9099 or 0405 149 182
- Wake n Surf, 114 Warf Street Tweed Heads, Qld - contact 07 5599 2267
- Kite Rite, Cairns, Qld - contact 07 40 557 918, 040 928 3322 or info@kiterite.com.au
- others?


PS - 2014 NRG won't be available to demo through the same retailers until late August

Picture of new and old Envy testing in ~25 knots of steady and warm trade winds on Lizard Island in July on 6m, 7m, 8m and new 9m ... you should all be jealous (much stronger than Envy)!

What about us

WA
West Oz Boardsports
"THE POND" Safety Bay

9mt Envy available for Demo now!!!

Regards,
Jason
West Oz Boardsports
Sales: 0411 510 514 (Jason)
Lessons: 0438 591 755 (Sonya)
www.westozboardsports.com.au

What's that WOK you got a NRG to demo???

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NathanG said..
I have just been talking to the national distributor of Liquid Force.

the 2014 Envy 9m is available to demo through their retailers:

- Alliance, Kurnell in Sydney - contact 02 9668 9099 or 0405 149 182

- Wake n Surf, 114 Warf Street Tweed Heads, Qld - contact 07 5599 2267

- Kite Rite, Cairns, Qld - contact 07 40 557 918, 040 928 3322 or info@kiterite.com.au

- others?

PS - 2014 NRG won't be available to demo through the same retailers until late August

Picture of new and old Envy testing in ~25 knots of steady and warm trade winds on Lizard Island in July on 6m, 7m, 8m and new 9m ... you should all be jealous (much stronger than Envy)!

Also available to demo in VIC at KSS Altona! We will have the full range to demo from the 26th AUG.
You can email steve@kssaltona.com.au or phone 0414724189 from 22nd Aug as i'm in Sri Lanka kiteing at the moment :)

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Addikt said..I like the orange......pity the trim/cleat is still below the CL would be nice if they had it on the side and you could swap the flagging line to be on the top or bottom, think you can do this on the slingshot bar depending on if you are left or right handed.

that's the kite and bar package I tested.

Still really impressed and have sold my quiver of 3 that I used last season in preparation to move to LF... Not sure if NRG or Envy is for me.

Rider: 98kg, intermediate (5 seasons)
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle
Weather: 12-25 knots of gusty Westerly at Kurnell on Botany Bay
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Disclosure: no shop or brand affiliations impacting my review

I did about 4 hours of back-to-back testing of the 9m 2014 Envy and 10m 2013 NRG yesterday (thanks James - Alliance Gear). I kept swapping my 137 TT and 6'3" SB as the wind strength fluctuated.

I am used to putting ~8 psi into my leading edge, James was keen for me to put quite a bit more into his kites. This appeals to me as I often put up with leading edge deformation when chucking the kite into the power zone during a transition (lightweight <90 kg kiters won't understand).

The Envy is a good choice for the waves if you don't want to have a really active kite (it's sedate compared to the Ozone Reo and Griffin TRX). The kite is happy to be anywhere in the window, loops without any vicious changes in power, has great relaunch and is used by kite schools. I feel qualified to comment on this as my previous kites have all been low aspect surf orientated kites (SS Octane, Best Kahoona, Griffin Argo & TRX).

LF sponsors many wake and some PKRA freestyle riders that unhook and all seem to use the Envy. I wanted to find some that prefer the NRG... nope, all seem to be on the Envy. I understand that it's the most popular of LF's kites and developed out of the Havoc some years back.

So it's a really well behaved learner's kite that the pros like for its stable power and control. I will not hesitate to recommend my mates who are keen to take up the sport to start on this kite. It's construction strong, has split struts and no pulleys.

I am hoping to demo the 2014 NRG, which becomes available next week, before buying some new kites for this season. Choosing between two LF kites is enough choice for me. More reviews and video at:

www.realwatersports.com/collections/kites/brand_liquid-force

I'd love to hear from others who have tried this kite. I figure that if the retailer lets you demo their gear, they deserve a bit of a write up.

I see the NRG has sliders instead of pulleys is that the same for the Envy?

Bremorf you will find you should sheet in on all kites to turn fast in light wind.

The model Envy you are riding has the pulley attached to the wingtip and has a slight delay in the turn, it does not like to be steered with lots of slack in the lines. The new one has no pulley and the rear line is attached directly to the wingtip reducing the delay and giving very positive feedback through the bar.
Its always been a stable kite but now its probably one of the most stable kites i have used, it is definitely not the fastest kite but very comfortable.

We are using them in our school for the second year now and the 2014 is a kite i grab and ride myself a lot! the new Envy is a big improvement.

Nathan thanks for the plug :)