I saw this review and was quite surprised:
www.thekiteboarder.com/2014/02/tkb-review-2014-rrd-vision-mkiii/

I thought the Vision was a fast turning fun and grunty kite. If the review is right it seems to be more like an "average" turning not too grunt kite, an "all-round free ride kite for beginners and intermediate". I don't feel any enthusiasm in the review comments.
On the opposite, the review of the new obsession show it as a fast turning kite , still a very good booster but also descent for surfing!!! For me the Vision was the one that can be used for surfing (apart from the Religion of course) and certainly not the obsession. Confusion....
www.thekiteboarder.com/2014/02/tkb-review-2014-rrd-obsession-mk-vi/

Does any body had a chance to try these kites and can comment on this reviews?

I've only ridden the old models of the religion, vision and obsession so take this with a pinch of salt...

I'm 90kg & ride a 5'10" North WAM, no affiliations but my mate taught me to kite with RRD kites and that's what I've stuck with.

The vision will turn fast but you really need to pull the bar aggressively to get it to turn fast. If you don't it's pretty mellow. The vision is also better upwind & jumping than the religion, but not as good as the obsession. The vision also drifts nicely. It's a pretty good all rounder. It's does most things very well and is pretty forgiving and I guess that can lead some people to think that the kite is a bit boring, but you will fly better because it's easy to fly.

The obsession can really boost and is a relatively fast kite compared to it's competitors, generating a lot of power when it's looped making for quite a fun and thrilling ride which is perhaps the reason for the different reviews.

If you're still reading, allow me to go on a bit of a general rant about kites and my particular hate for any manufacturer that says their kite can do erverything. All else being equal I'm just going to discuss the kites in terms of how high they sit in the sky when you walk it down to launch.

A kite that sits very high, can generate a lot of lift and allow big jumps and get you up wind very effectively. They can usually develop a lot of power too. This is the obsession.

A kite that sits low is not as good for boosting as you don't generate the lift and is not as good up wind as you can't fly the kite as far "around the corner".

So, why would you get one like this? because they drift. When you go down the line towards the kite, the kite will float back with the wind keeping pace with you. This is the religion.

The vision is about smack bang in between the obsession and the religion in terms of how high it sits in the wind. Not surprisingly then, it's ok at drifting but not as good as the religion (perhaps better than it should be due to it being light weight); and it's pretty good up wind and boosting but not as good as the obsession.

So, why the hell would you get the vision? Well, because the obsession (and any other kite that sits so high and generates so much lift) doesn't drift. Yes, you can get it to drift if you're skilled and you practice with it, but it's not easy to do. This is because it sits so high in the window that as soon as the lines go a bit slack the leading edge tends to drop and the wind catches the top skin of the kite, sending the kite down uncontrollably. Just not fun in the surf.

The two kites I use the most are my 7m Religion for down winders and 9m Vision if I'm surfing the same spot as I can get up wind and have some fun jumping while I do it. Leave the obsession for the show ponies that like to boost because they can't surf.

Thanks Bronziebait, what you say makes sense. In another hand there is a dedicated wave kite made by Switch , the Method V2. I have the 11m and the 9m , the 9m is not bad but the 11m, I can't stand it, poor drift, cross the wind window full blast, slow turning, but it goes upwind very well. Some people seem to like it, but for surfing? I don't get it. I might change them for a 9m Religion and a 12 Vison or Religion. Not sure yet for this big size.

I still think the RRD Type 9 was a revolution in its own right. That kite (12mt) surprised me in 12 to 15knots whereas my Cab Switchblade 14mt struggled and was very slow turning.

I would agree with bronziebait and I would also say I love the Vision. I also fly the 2013 version so it may be a bit different to the newer one. Im an advancing beginner/intermediate rider but am progressing pretty quickly. I recently bought two Visions (7 and 10.5m). I demoed the 10.5 (or is it 10m) Religion first and on the first fly really didnt like it, I found it really slow, unresponsive and not much fun at all. I tried it again in stronger wind and found it to be great fun down wind/in waves as it sits up and floats fantastically. However, it doesnt really go up wind that well unless the wind is really strong and it doesnt boost that well either. Its supposed to be a fast turner but I didnt really notice that and I think the Vision turns faster.

Anyway, we are talking about the Vision, it is great fun to fly, but you also know where it is going to be so if you do make a mistake on the bar it wont punish you. It goes up wind really well, ok not as well as race kites but very well for an all rounder and it also has some great boosting abilities. It also floats in front of you well when wave riding. Whenever I fly either of my Visions i always end up with a huge grin on my face which I havent always got flying other kites.

I read one review which called the Vision the "Ford Focus" of kites, which may be true in that they can do everything but dont stand out at doing one thing, however, with the right engine/ suspension/ wheels the Focus can be great fun to drive and the Vision is like that. If you dont want to spend shed loads of money on buying a different kite for every occasion then the Vision is a good investment.

Is the Vision similar to the North Dice or Epic Renegade??
I might be totally wrong anyway, just checking for a good around wave/freeride kite with some jumping abilities and good upwind.

I flew a Dice in Vietnam last week, I didnt really enjoy it. It was pretty light wind and I was on a 13m. it didnt go up wind and didnt boost either, but that may have been due to the light wind. The 2013 Vision certainly fits your needs

Select to expand quote

haluchine said..

Is the Vision similar to the North Dice or Epic Renegade??
I might be totally wrong anyway, just checking for a good around wave/freeride kite with some jumping abilities and good upwind.

Yeh man, the dice is an excellent wave kite not just good, but to get the most out of it's freeride jumping characteristics you need a decent amount of wind and a good C kite jumping. Technique...and is an okay wakestyle kite but not excellent (but that's not what you are after). The renegade or the vision sounds more like what ya after.

If you do demo the dice make sure you are well within its wind range and just a little tip...give it a crack on a 4 line low Y bar.......if ya not gonna unhook that is.

Do you know where I can get original RRD bladders? Any distributor in Aus?

SOS SURF sossurf@iinet.net.au
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06160 FREMANTLE
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
0061 894307050
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