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I have been using bow kite since 2007, now I am curious to start using a c kite, what's the best kite for this transition?
Rider: Weight,Level (beginner,intermediate,advanced)
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle
Weather: ?-? knots
Build Quality: ?/10
Satisfaction: ?/10
Disclosure: (e.g. work at a shop/team rider etc)
My Comments:
Many good Cs out there. I can comment authoritatively on the Ozone C4s - the 2011 and 2012 models were very accessible C kites and if you're after a used/superceded kite/quiver these would be great. They have simple relaunch, enough depower at the bar for most folk, as well as real C flying characteristics. They respond brilliantly to edging, have great pop and slack and deliver very smooth power through loops.
The 2013 C4s are more dedicated, though on the "freeride" bridle setting are still an accessible C. This bridle adjustment takes seconds but makes a significant difference to feel and handling. In general I prefer the "newschool-freestyle-wakestyle" setting (knots furthest from the leading edge, but if it's super gusty or I'm riding a surfboard (happens occasionally) I use the freeride mode (knots closest to leading edge) for a bit more depower at the bar. There is a C4 thread in this section and the kites are hitting the water now so there will be demos and reviews aplenty.
You'll learn great skills and reap much enjoyment from flying Cs. The responsiveness, stability, and more direct connection to the elements are what it's all about. Enjoy!
Vegas is another option before you move to say a fuel. Or just go for broke. Personally I'd get a transition kite like mentioned first.
the c4 is an excellent kite, i'm not knocking it: but if it needs leading edge support- it's not a c kite. pretty simple.
companies bring out sle kites but promote them as c kites because it's a good marketing niche. (people like to say "i ride a c kite")
Fuels are no harder to relaunch than your garden variety bow, hybrid or delta. So I would like to dispel that notion which seems to get bandied around a lot by the pseudo C enthusiasts. As for depower, learn how to edge harder or have more than one kite. All kites seem to have some form of trade off in their flight characteristics as soon as u move to more and more depower. Besides you should always aim to fly a kite I'm it's ideal wind range anyway, rather than relying on forum users hyperbole with respect to how much their kites can depower.
Personally, I would advise you to go to a SLE C-shape (a C shape with bridles). Your program include Surf, and surfing with a real C-shape can be a bit tricky, especially with kite of 9m² and bigger (unless you have side-off wind and can surf without moving your kite).
Personally, I have the Vegas 2008 in 9m and it is ok for freestyle, and for surfing excepted with on-shore wind (move too slow and pull too hard when passing through middle of wind window).
But I would say that I perform better freestyle tricks (excepted kiteloops) with my 12m² hybrid (Rebel 2009). This is due to kite size.
Therefore, the best for you would be to try an Hybrid (Takoon Reflex, North Rebel...), a SLE C-shape (Vegas) and a real C-shape (Fuel), with same size. I bet that you'll probably prefer hybrid or SLE than 100% C shape.
For water-relaunch, don't worry, 5th line certainly help but can cut your kite in 2 when wave-riding. 4 lines C-shape without bridles can usually been relaunched only by swimming toward the kite. This is more exhausting than 5th line, but no more technically difficult. Hybrid and most of SLE just does relaunch the same way as bows.
