Well I flew the 10M Monsoonz yesterday with barrie - he's 93 kg and i'm 63kg.
First impressions: Looks well built, the LE doesn't look as bombproof as most of the other 2007/8 kites but i'm not sure it needs to be - the suspended struts design means that when the kite hits the water or something hard, it just all flops and distorts without bending or shock loading anything. Time will tell with this one. The bridle is brilliant and simple, no huge long 5m bridles with complex pulleys etc, the front bridle is like an 06 sonic (very simple and tangle-free) and there is a single pulley on the kite with a link line to the rear attachment point.
On the beach: we put the kite up in 6-8 knots, it was only just flying but i was able to jump and float with it quite easily. Sheeting in hard, you can stall it in very light wind if you really try but overall extremely stable. sits depowered at zenith for 5-6 seconds before slowly moving off. felt very powerful for such a small kite.
On the water: MOTHER OF GOD THIS KITE IS POWERFUL. I took off in a measured 7.5 knots on barrie's unidirectional peter lynn board. Didn't need to loop the kite or anything, just smooth constant power, and lots of it!
Upwind - i've never flown anything like it. I found myself going upwind with little effort in less than 10 knots. I had to keep jumping to wash off the headway i was making upwind. Both Barrie and I were able to point very very high with this kite. I believe the Monsoonz was taking me upwind at a greater angle than i've ever been on my sonic, which is known as a very good upwind kite.
Riding - It is important that everyone who reads this understands this: in 8-12 knots of wind this kite has roughly double the power of my 11m sonic. DOUBLE. And it's a 10m. Unbelievable.
It's very different to anything i've flown before - you can put it at the edge of the window and sheet it on HARD, and it will not stall or drop speed, it just starts pulling you like you're attached to a train. Even in 10 knots i was riding with the thing depowered a bit because there's just so much grunt. You really need to try this for yourself, it's not something you can describe with text. Barrie reckons it had more power than a 15m peter lynn, and i would tend to agree. It certainly develops significantly more power than my sonic 11m.
Turning: I honestly thought the kite would struggle with turns, because it is such high aspect and flat. Not a chance. Turns beautifully when it's depowered heavily, very quick and agile when it's full of wind. Powers through the turns without dropping speed like most bows do in light wind. Pull through the turns is constant and massive.
Speed: - Not as fast as my sonic. Goes pretty well, but the terminal speed of the sonic just isn't there. Mind you I was only kiting in 10-12 knots so that might be a bit misleading! I am used to the sonic's speed which is what i like so much about it, the monsoonz isn't quite as fast flying but develops a lot more power.
Jumps: One word. Floaty. Send it back slowly towards zenith, pop up and sheet the bar in. Massive hangtime, better than anything else i've flown. It feels like you just want to stay up forever. I was jumping well in 10-12 knots on this kite.
Bar: I hate the pulley bar. I'm a weedy little bugger and i can't handle bar pressure, that's why i fly a sonic. The pulley bar allows huge amounts of power to be dropped from the kite, but the pressure is just too much for me. My hands were dead after 10 minutes on the kite. We put it on the beach and changed to a normal bar setup with a long-throw centre line like the 06 sonic. WHAT A CHANGE! There is almost no bar pressure with it like this. This kite felt lighter on the arms than my sonic, and that's saying something! I was much happier with the normal bar setup..... until the wind picked up.
See, the pulley bar is there to allow large sheeting ranges to drop the AOA from the kite. Getting rid of the pulley bar means you need to move the bar twice as far to achieve the same AOA change. When a 15 knot gust it, i found my arm was only just long enough to enable me to handle it. With the pulley bar this wasn't a problem, but the pressure was. Barrie said he didn't mind the pressure from the pulley bar, i guess his arms are stronger than mine.
I guess the moral of the story here is that if you're a bigger bloke with stronger arms than me, you are probably going to be OK with the pulley bar. If you're a little bugger, you might struggle. I think i have found a way around this problem though, with a simple bridle modification. I hope to put this to test soon.
Overall impressions - A brilliant kite. Ridiculously powerful for its size. Very easy to fly. Heavy bar pressure with the pulley bar, feather light with a normal bar setup. Can't depower as much with normal bar setup. Massive floaty jumps, the best hangtime of any kite i've ridden.
Barrie has ordered a few more of the kites, he's also getting a 7m which i am very keen to try out. For anyone 70-90kg the 10m will get you moving and upwind on a directional board in 9-10 knots. Basically if the kite will fly, you will be able to stay upwind. I'm not sure who would want the 14m, if it's just a scaled up version of the 10m it must be insanely powerful. I think you would only want the 14m if you were 100kg+
Me, i'm hanging out for the 7m to try as a one-kite quiver. My sonic blew the leading edge and bladder when i was carrying it up the beach yesterday, and i'm frankly sick of it being a little bitch. If my bridle modification plans for the monsoonz work, I will almost certainly buy either the 10m or 7m.
Sorry for the long winded post.
Visit www.stormriderkites.com.au if you're interested in the Monsoonz. I'm not affliated with Barrie at all but he's one of just two distributors in Australia at the moment, so your best bet is to talk to him if you're on the east coast. He's based in south-east QLD.
MMMMMM fort that little amount of wind with the massive hang time and big bar pressure i find all this a little on the BS side of things.
Honestly last week i would have said the same thing as you man, Barrie said it - "Nobody will believe it" and I think he's right. You just need to try one for yourself.
For its size, it is easily the most powerful kite i've ever used. If you're looking for a light wind kite, there is nothing better that i've tried. I'd much rather fly a 10m inflato than a 19m foil too :)
Sounds like pimping dribble to me.[}:)]
Whats your kite experience Neill??????????
What other kites have you owned?????????
haha, I knew nobody would believe it. You've just got to try it for yourself, when I first looked at the thing I would have been skeptical just like you guys, but after having flown the thing for a light wind session you will see what I mean.
I'm only an intermediate kiter - have flown 06 and 07 waroos, switchblade 12m, turbo diesel, 06 Sonic (my kite), Cabrinha CO2 C-kite from 2005 and of course the monsoonz.
I am not affiliated with Barrie at all, just contacted him because I wanted to try the kite out. It's the only one in QLD at the moment, he bought one to see if it was any good. He raved about its power but I didn't think it would be *that* great, then I got on the thing and saw for myself. I've flown a 14m bow (waroo) in 10 knots and was only just staying upwind. The monsoonz had a heap more power than that in the same wind, and was much more smooth to fly.
Seriously if you guys want to see how it performs, hit up barrie at www.stormriderkites.com.au and have a look at the kite. We'll be out with it this weekend I suspect, depending on wind either at Bongaree, Brighton or somewhere up the Sunshine Coast.
Neill, for future reference. Try and make your review slightly more honest. Even the great Steve from kitepower doesn't pimp so badly, although if you ask the waveslave, then he does.
quote:
Originally posted by Neill
First impressions: Looks well built
quote:
Originally posted by Neill
the LE doesn't look as bombproof as most
quote:
Originally posted by Neill
On the beach: we put the kite up in 6-8 knots
quote:
Originally posted by Neill
6-8 knots, it was only just flying but i was able to jump and float with it quite easily.
quote:
Originally posted by Neill
in 8-12 knots of wind this kite has roughly double the power of my 11m sonic. DOUBLE.
quote:
Originally posted by Neill
I was only kiting in 10-12 knots... One word. Floaty. Massive hangtime, better than anything else i've flown.
Before you call BS and without flying the kite, some of the points do have validity so be careful before you call someone on a post. Most of the guys who tested the new ultra flat (new bruno patent) have said the kite has a substantial amount more low end than the current range of bows. Bruno was up an riding on a 5m in 15 knots but he is a light weight. All the guys who tested the ultra flats said the 10m ultra flat had the same power as a 15m C kite and more power than a 12m bow.
You're also forgetting about the fact that the person writing the review is 65kg's, and given that I am able to ride my 12m bow in 10-12 knots and I am 75kg's, its quite reasonable to think he could be powered and doing jumps with a kite that is equivalent of a 13m/14m bow in the same wind.
Everyone is super stoked when riding a new kite for the first time, remember that before you start insulting them.
Every part of what I wrote is true and honest, that's why I'm not going to edit the post at all.
The kite *looks* well built, but only time will tell. The only potential weak spot I could see was the LE, which looks like my 2006 Sonic LE - and we all know how great they were.....
Barrie and I put the kite up in almost no wind, then it picked up a tiny bit to 8-10 knots with gusts to maybe 15 at times. When I first left the beach on his directional board he was standing right behind me with his windmeter - 7.5 knots - I couldn't believe I could stay upwind.
With the kite *just* flying in 6-8 knots you could turn it one way, then run the other way and fly the kite forwards - sheet it on jump and you stay up there for a while. Watching Barrie fly the thing in 15 knots a few weeks ago, he could stand on the beach with the kite at zenith and sheet it on and it would lift him straight up and deposit him 5 metres downwind - without jumping. The vertical pull is enormous.
There's apparently a Wind-X distributor in WA (the only other one in the county apart from stormriderkites) so you should be able to go try the kite out. Then (if at all possible for you) write up a detailed review of it and see how "honest" everyone is.
See, I could now do what you're doing and say "Meerkat must have vested interest in the Monsoonz kite being unpopular because he works for company ________ and they have a competing kite" but I'm not going to.
Well I'm over arguing with ****ers on the internet, go and try the kite for yourself if you don't believe me. Saffer is spot on with his post, the ultra flats from Bruno have much higher effective area (to generate power) than almost anything else out there, the Monsoonz is only very new to this country but I think it will take off (pardon the pun) as one of the most popular light-wind kites ever made. I wish it every luck in that endeavour, the kite is truly awesome.
Good points saffer and perhaps i have jumped the gun.
Its the "it has double the power" "greatest kite ever" statements which irk me. His review would have been read with more leeway given if slightly less exaggeration was used.
Seabreeze has recently become a complete pimp site and its farking annoying. Then again i am in the review secion......let me out.
www.seattlekitesurfing.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6947&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=windx&start=0&sid=36e4a0c99d556e6890f8b7fe7b64e4a9
have a read of the 8th post down.
quote:
The first was in light wind and on the stock 2:1 bar, it was rolling swell and chop and no white caps, my guess would be 12knts + or – and believe it or not I had the bar a little depowered, jumping and back rolling no problem. I didn’t ride them back to back and I hate to write this because it sounds like hype but it felt like it may have the low end of my 07 Waroo 15m.
nothing personal meant, apologies if thats how it comes across.
However i am in the market for a new kite and IF i go on every review that i read i will need to buy a whole bunch of new kites. I need(like many other people who use this site) some sort of subjective review and quite frankly haven't seen one in ages and ages
All that i ask is that a reviewer has a second though about the adjectives used. 
and i will put my grumpy head back where the sun don't shine.
Actually what you need is an OBJECTIVE review, not a subjective review.
But what denotes an objective review? Does the reviewer need to find weak points with the kite for it to be believable? Can he not embellish certain points which stood out with the kite? Is it necessary that the review contain half-half positive and negative points regarding the kite? What if the kite is actually that good, and the review is 100% honest, but nobody will believe it?
All of these questions are a moot point, because at the end of the day it's just some guy (me) commenting on some kite (Monsoonz) that he flew for one afternoon. Hell, you might not like the same things in a kite that I do, and that's cool. But personally I want a light wind kite that jumps big and floaty, has amazing bottom end (sub 10 knots) and suits my style of riding. The 10m Monsoonz does all that for me.
For everyone reading this, I urge you to go try one yourself in some light winds. Crazy powerful kite for its size.
Neil is right....belive it.
I was astounded (and a bit annoyed) that Neill could get going in such light winds.
Standing on the beach my meter was reading 7.5 knots (at ground level) when he took off on a hybrid directional/skimboard and he started to head up wind. About 10 minutes later the wind picked up to about 10, gusting 13 and he was doing 2m jumps with ease….
I weight about 93 kg and I could get some small jumps in but had no trouble going up wind and started to do some down wind runs…
I did a test between the 10m Speed II and the Monsoonz to give a comparison on the power this thing has…but as usual got bagged….even though I was the only one who did it.
I told you Neill that no one would believe you….I do ….I saw it….
Cheers,
Barrie
quote:
Originally posted by Neill
Actually what you need is an OBJECTIVE review, not a subjective review.
Whoa back with the warm and fuzzies.
Save it for your AA meetings.
You still need to answer my question Neill
How long have you been kiting for????
"double the power of my 11m sonic"... Holy crap, we have a 10m kite that has the power of a 22m Sonic...(it's true, ask Barrie...ask Barrie...who does Barrie work for??, but he saw it.....)
It only has twice the power of my sonic in 8-12 knots, what i was trying to convey to the less mentally advanced among us was that the kite has a ridiculous amount of low-wind power. My sonic will barely get me moving until it's 12-13 knots but the Monsoonz was able to keep me upwind in less than 10.
Get a life and try the kite for yourself instead of bagging a product you haven't even seen, let alone tried, in real life.
I've been kiting for 9 months, I have about 80 hours on the water. I can ride toeside, do the odd backroll, land 90% of my jumps cleanly and have ridden a few kites.
I'm Barrie...who are you? I work for me....and who ever pays the most...
The thing I notice about forums is generally...
The Bad Robots Don't Know They Are Bad Robots
Barrie....
I was kiting today at Bribie at Bucks, noticed that 10m monsoonz flying and well...with a 10-12knot SW wind it did look to be flying quite well, i'll give you that 
, a mad look'n kite ay! 
hhmmmmm, i initially apologised for being to eager to critise this review. I have researched a bit further and i feel i was "to eager" to apologise.
The review is indeed misleading and bits "have been left out". Kite is probably ok, but clearly needs to be demo'd for an honest opinion. However due to the obvious misleading review on this site and others i will not look twice purely out of principle.
Good luck with the kite guys, if its half as good as you suggest then it should sell like hotcakes.
Crakas
found a link to a video filmed in Malaysia that shows the Monsoon certainly flying well in light conditions, kite looks sweet. Good luck and I look forward to seeing it out on the water.
kiteforum.com/viewforum.php?f=200/index.php?option=com_videos&task=show&id=1582
Really? You must have demoed the kite then Meerkat, and now can prove us all wrong with your excellent first-hand knowledge of the situation! Please, post up all of your experiences with the kite and tell us what you think. I would also love to know what we "left out" of the review and information provided?
If the kite doesn't have amazing low-end power, I would love for someone to explain to me how a 93kg rider was going upwind on a 10m kite when there are absolutely no whitecaps in sight (see link for pics above). Perhaps we have edited the photos or something?
Don't worry Neill, your critics are some of the anonymous contributors who think it's their duty to disbelieve and doubt the genuine people who put their name behind their comments.
The rest of us who know you and Crakas have no doubt the kite performs as stated.
Now review the 07 Sonic!!!
Haha I'm starting to see where you're coming from Dave! I'd really like you to fly the kite next time Barrie's up the coast here because I reckon you'd be astounded at the bottom end. Might lend a bit of credibility to the argument too.
Sonic was brilliant in the light wind, I'll definately do a review up once I've flown it a bit more. Only had about an hour on it. You'll be happy to know the reverse launch is working perfectly, even a bit easier than the 06.
neill, i was talking specifically on how you and your mates have insulted anybody who has questioned your review(and any neutral has to agree its generous), On this forum and others.
as an example: You fail to mention the difficulties some people have in relaunching the kite when it lands leading edge down into the wind or how the kite can experience excessive luffing and can hindenburg?
I understand a newkite creates excitement and your review is possibly filled with adrenaline, however the negative attitude on this site and insults posted by both you and barrie when people question your review is quite a worry.
I don't doubt the kite is ok, all new kites this year as kiting is hitting the mainstream big business.
I have been kiting for 6years(2 line thru to current FANTASTIC designs) and while am nowhere near as good as some blokes i have plenty of experience to translate reviews into reality. I have never been a one manufacturer person or a one kite dealer(variety is the spice of life), i currently own 5kites with four different brands and have demo'ed 4 new kites this year.
None of the kites demo'ed are better than my current 8m sonic with modified bar for surf. And its because they don't do the one thing better for ME. its a personal thing, i kite in the surf in certain wave conditions, certain wind conditions, certain board dimensions at certain times of the year. Its all about the specific attributes for the individual.
I'm seriously glad the monsoon rocks your world and it looks great for many folk who like to cruise about in light winds blah blah, i don't need to demo it to know that its not going to do it for me. Doesn't mean you should go out of your way to insult people because they disagree with you? thats the point of the forum, discussion.
happy kiting and chill.
I would have fought back in anger too- you and the naysayers started the sledging and neill and crakas retaliated. I think that there are some awesome developments in the kiting world at the moment, new kites with more power for their size, super depower, ridiculous boost and as more money is spent on r and d the kites will continue to improve. I thought the new kite I have just purchased would fail to live up to the hype- but if it was half as good as they said it would still be what I wanted, and it has lived up to everything so far. I really don't think people should comment on a review until they have tried that particular kite themselves. The five line setup changed kiting, the bow kite changed kiting- the new ideas that work are coming thick and fast and we need to keep an open mind. That's my two cents worth anyway.
quote:
Originally posted by airush geoff
I would have fought back in anger too-
