Hey guys,

I'm looking at replacing my slingshot rev2 13m. At 70kg, my current windrange on a 130cm board is 13-20knots, where 20knots is controllable but uncomfortable. I'm looking for a more relaxed, boosty freeride lightwind kite.

Two key elements of this kite which i don't like (compared to the rev2 9m) are the relatively high bar pressure and the way the kite sits deeper in the wind window trying to drag me downwind . The only thing i prefer about the 13m to the 9m is the floaty jumps

So the question is: what 2011 kites have light bar pressure, go upwind well without having to edge like crazy (a kite that sits forward in the wind window), and have good boost and float?
I've got my eye on the 2011 Ozone Edge 13m at the moment, any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Fuse, Rebel.

Vapor X

1st option
liquidforcekites.com

Your 2nd best option will be a bigger board 140x40 ish but liteweight flexi & bugger all rocker

get a rally everyones go one

definately a rebel or fuse lots of power, fast turning, really floaty very good upwind . i dont think yourll be disappointed. i have 2011 fuses 12m 9m 7m , they just work . i used a 12m rebel in cape verde over christmas in 10 to 20 knots and loved it . only thing i didnt like was the fifth line set up , had it a couple of times when i stalled the kite and it rolled over on its back and bow tied , could find a way of resolving this apart from putting the kite in safety and swimming back .
all the best daz

Go for a 10.5 Griffin Chimera ,im 95 kg and can ride this kite in anything from 14-35,it rocks,and flies further forward in the window than most so upwinds a breeze,four strut flat centre section gives awesome boost and float ,get a demo on one you wont be dissapointed.

12m bandit 4 is sick. It replaced my 13 octane and im stoked. Everyone thats tried it was impressed.

Fuse on light bar pressure settings, Edge is awsome, but have only tried the 11 and 9 but pretty sure 13 would rock.
Ozone zephyr or Core XR 17m would be the true light wind options and at your weight would probably give you 8-20 on the zephyr or 7-18 on the XR.

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dazzamuffin said...

definately a rebel or fuse

I haven't tried the new Rebels but the older ones used to sit far back in the window and stayed there and pulled hard no matter how hard you edged.

Another brand you might think about trying: All the Naish kites except for the Charger sit forwards in the window. All have very light bar pressure too.

I have a 2010 Cult and 2011 Bolt. Both have a "relaxed" feel but still quite fast turning. The Helix has a bit more boost. I haven't tried the Park. Both have good low end but need to be sined initially to get going in light wind. You can't just park and forget them.

thanks for the suggestions everyone.

i'll look into all of these kites and then hopefully start to demo some of them.
as great as it would be to have an ultra-lightwind kite such as a 17m zephyr or core, i'm worried that it wouldn't give me enough wind range overlap with my rev2 9m. At 18 knots and over, i go for the 9m, 17 knots and less i pump up the 13m.

@radman4, would a 13m chimera better suit my needs? would a 10.5m be any fun in 13knots on a small-ish TT? unfortunately though i might have to cross this option off my list because i don't think there are any griffin dealers in melbourne.

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SaveTheWhales said...

1st option
liquidforcekites.com

Your 2nd best option will be a bigger board 140x40 ish but liteweight flexi & bugger all rocker

yep go a bigger board, you will save money!!

i really couldnt comment on the old rebels but the 2011 really works never felt over powered, when wave riding it turned massively well with hardly any pressure on the lines . it did stall twice but that was my fault. i had bolts but i changed them they just didnt have any power. my 10m bandit dos had more power than the 12 m bolt, i agree it was very fast . ive sold them to a mate who is only 68kgs and he love them .

the choice is vast but also expensive if you get it wrong lol

have fun trying them all

all the best daz

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kiter zac said...

yep go a bigger board, you will save money!!

excuse my ignorance, but how would a bigger board reduce the bar pressure?

This might be an overgeneralisation: I think kites that sit back in the window have a constant truck like pull. On the other hand, kites that sit forwards in the window can change their pull depending on how you fly them. This can make them seem gutless if you're not used to flying them.

Better try lots of kites to see which style suits you best.

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holgs said...

This might be an overgeneralisation: I think kites that sit back in the window have a constant truck like pull. On the other hand, kites that sit forwards in the window can change their pull depending on how you fly them. This can make them seem gutless if you're not used to flying them.

Better try lots of kites to see which style suits you best.

i agree with this. it was just a few weeks ago in fairly flat conditions when i was flying the 9m rev2, and there was the strangest sensation, the wind was in the low end of the wind range, i could feel hardly any pull from the kite, and yet i was still flying upwind at an incredible angle . it was totally effortless and enjoyable. i hadn't really noticed this much before as we usually have really choppy conditions forcing me to often sine the kite to keep up speed over the chop (except in stronger winds).

i think that these sorts of kites have a greater wind range because down low the kite can be kept deeper in the window by sining it, but at the top end the kite tends to stay closer to the edge where there is less pull from the kite. more power is just another powerstroke away, so i feel more in control of the amount of power the kite is producing.

i think that if i were more into wakestyle and doing lots of load and pop based tricks, then i would want a deeper sitting kite so that i had the little bit extra tension in the lines to explode off the water. at this stage, however, i'm not interested in flicky, spinny handlepasses.

obviously, i prefer the 9m to the 13m. ultimately, i like the more relaxed feel of a kite that sits more forward in the wind window and has light bar pressure.

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holgs said...

dazzamuffin said...

definately a rebel or fuse

I haven't tried the new Rebels but the older ones used to sit far back in the window and stayed there and pulled hard no matter how hard you edged.

Another brand you might think about trying: All the Naish kites except for the Charger sit forwards in the window. All have very light bar pressure too.

I have a 2010 Cult and 2011 Bolt. Both have a "relaxed" feel but still quite fast turning. The Helix has a bit more boost. I haven't tried the Park. Both have good low end but need to be sined initially to get going in light wind. You can't just park and forget them.

This is in interesting question and concept. I tried a 14 m Rebel 08) at 12 knots at Woodies and it stayed upwind 80kg, 132*39 board) and even jumped (a bit, by sending it about a sec before popping). Perhaps the rebel sat back in the window more than other kites but it pulled upwind. How is that possible?

BTW a trick I learned from the blue 14m Rebel 08 user at Woodies (sorry mate forgot your name) for you light wind rebel users: Extend the fifth line by about 12 cm for light wind days (just a pig tail between fifth line and the Y piece on the kite) and the kite scoops more wind, otherwise behaves quite similar. I would not do it beyond 25 knots though.

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DJF said...

holgs said...

This might be an overgeneralisation: I think kites that sit back in the window have a constant truck like pull. On the other hand, kites that sit forwards in the window can change their pull depending on how you fly them. This can make them seem gutless if you're not used to flying them.

Better try lots of kites to see which style suits you best.

i agree with this. it was just a few weeks ago in fairly flat conditions when i was flying the 9m rev2, and there was the strangest sensation, the wind was in the low end of the wind range, i could feel hardly any pull from the kite, and yet i was still flying upwind at an incredible angle . it was totally effortless and enjoyable. i hadn't really noticed this much before as we usually have really choppy conditions forcing me to often sine the kite to keep up speed over the chop (except in stronger winds).

i think that these sorts of kites have a greater wind range because down low the kite can be kept deeper in the window by sining it, but at the top end the kite tends to stay closer to the edge where there is less pull from the kite. more power is just another powerstroke away, so i feel more in control of the amount of power the kite is producing.

i think that if i were more into wakestyle and doing lots of load and pop based tricks, then i would want a deeper sitting kite so that i had the little bit extra tension in the lines to explode off the water. at this stage, however, i'm not interested in flicky, spinny handlepasses.

obviously, i prefer the 9m to the 13m. ultimately, i like the more relaxed feel of a kite that sits more forward in the wind window and has light bar pressure.

When looking for a kite that sits more at the edge of the window I tried North Evo 08 and Rhino 09, both 10m. Both have higher bar pressure than a 9 or 14 m rebel, both sit somewhat more forward in the window. So I would say the bar pressure is just a measure of distribution of forces between front and back lines and has not in principle to do with how far back in the window the kite sits.

On the other hand I would admit that I start building quads from riding the rebel as the edging needed to go upwind is more... so more total line pressure (front and steering lines) might be related to a kite sitting back and little total line pressure is perhaps what you guys mean by relaxed kiting.

Delta kites sit most forward in the wind window.
Core Riot XR 17m LW is a delta- it pulls forward like a truck you be edging for your life in over 15knts

The 14 rebel is awsome for up wind & light wind have ridden it in tidal flow with nearly no wind ,its quite different to the other rebal sizes feels heavy in the air while your relanching, but once you start riding it has pleanty of power and trucks upwind even in 10knts but has no bar pressure and behaves itsself even if your unhooking or chasing waves will say it dosnt turn as fast as the smaller rebals but can go kiting when the 12 wont even fly
Hope this helps
George

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INTHELOOP said...

Delta kites sit most forward in the wind window.
Core Riot XR 17m LW is a delta- it pulls forward like a truck you be edging for your life in over 15knts

No they don't, Deltas tend to sit deeper in the window which is why it pulls like a truck and doesn't go upwind well.

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DJF said...

Hey guys,

I'm looking at replacing my slingshot rev2 13m. At 70kg, my current windrange on a 130cm board is 13-20knots, where 20knots is controllable but uncomfortable. I'm looking for a more relaxed, boosty freeride lightwind kite.

Two key elements of this kite which i don't like (compared to the rev2 9m) are the relatively high bar pressure and the way the kite sits deeper in the wind window trying to drag me downwind . The only thing i prefer about the 13m to the 9m is the floaty jumps

So the question is: what 2011 kites have light bar pressure, go upwind well without having to edge like crazy (a kite that sits forward in the wind window), and have good boost and float?
I've got my eye on the 2011 Ozone Edge 13m at the moment, any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Ozone Edge 2011 13M (or 15M) are the most lifty, most positive yet light bar pressure, most upwind and floaty high boosting kites I've tried this year.
If you want a demo get in touch with KP Geelong or SHQ or me.

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DJF said...

thanks for the suggestions everyone.

i'll look into all of these kites and then hopefully start to demo some of them.
as great as it would be to have an ultra-lightwind kite such as a 17m zephyr or core, i'm worried that it wouldn't give me enough wind range overlap with my rev2 9m. At 18 knots and over, i go for the 9m, 17 knots and less i pump up the 13m.

@radman4, would a 13m chimera better suit my needs? would a 10.5m be any fun in 13knots on a small-ish TT? unfortunately though i might have to cross this option off my list because i don't think there are any griffin dealers in melbourne.

Griffin are doing a 12m Chimera as well now ,i have got one on the way,give Chris a yell at Griffin as he might be able to hook a demo up in your area,well worth the effort.