2018 quiver advice?

[satvic]

howdy all. My gear finally reached a point where I realize it's probably time to look for new quiver and stop patching after each session I live far from any local dealer/shop so I learned to do 99% of all repairs just to avoid the downtime.

I'm starting to spend more time on water to hydrofoil in the lighter winds and freestyle / kite-looping in strong wind days which probably accelerated the destruction of my older kites... however wanted to hear your opinions since I haven't been keeping up with the progress in the last few years. WHAT WOULD YOUR DREAM QUIVER FOR THESE RIDING STYLES ????

Now that most of 2018 gear is officially on sale, was looking in reviews online .. somehow 99% of the them are from online stores and sound as total sales pitch with little relevant information. Are regular guys like us too busy to shoot/write a real life review on performance, durability and ease of repair? )

So far I'm thinking about a 3 kite quiver for most wind conditions here in southern US and possible long trips to La Ventana in Mexico. Naish Torch seems to be at the top of the list with the quad-tex fabric and Slingshot RPM close second with universal performance and much more attractive pricing ...

After horrible experience with products and customer support from Switch, CrazyFly and RRD I decided to eliminate them from my list.

[Sun]

If you want a combination foil and looping kite, you probably need to take a long, hard look at three strut kites like the Pivot, Evo, or RPM/SST. Foiling loves the light weight kites, and all of the aforementioned 3 stutterers featured in the 2018 King of the Air competition (SST instead of RPM, but whatevs).

Pivot seems like it fits your bill with Quad tex and light weight. Evo is heavier with multiple battens. RPM/SST have fixed bridles though which may suit your need to have gear last longer.

In the end, pick on price and colors. They are all good kites.

[tautologies]

So you want a kite that is good at kite looping and foiling. How hard to you want the kite to pull in the loops? I mean to me (just considering my experience ir would be pivot and or slash, both naish kites). If you want hard core loops then yeah torch, but not quite sure how to foil with that kite.
The slash is more forgiving for foiling than the pivot, but the pivot pulls hard while looping. Pivot feels more lively and faster turning, more grunt. Slash is super smooth. It jumps great, but not as hard pulling as the pivot. Both killer kites.

[Bossstyle]

Get yourself a Flysurfer SOUL. Watch the videos.

[satvic]

awesome! thx!

[Ludmil]

Wonder why nobody mention Dash?
That 3 strut very fast and light versatile kite, loops amazingly well and on top it's close to Torch for unhooking as additional benefit...
L.

[satvic]

Wonder why nobody mention Dash?
That 3 strut very fast and light versatile kite, loops amazingly well and on top it's close to Torch for unhooking as additional benefit...
L.

I"m leaning towards the PIVOT at this time great hang time, mega loops and good usability with foiling... quad tex sounds very attractive.

[Sun]

Wonder why nobody mention Dash?
That 3 strut very fast and light versatile kite, loops amazingly well and on top it's close to Torch for unhooking as additional benefit...
L.

Much to my own chagrin, I share your sentiment. The Dash looks like a lovely kite, a great mix of the Pivot and the Torch. I just don't ever see any. Would LOVE to try one.

[GregK]

I"m leaning towards the PIVOT at this time ...

Have you owned a Naish kite ? Familiar and OK with their octopus inflation system ?

[windmaker]

I"m leaning towards the PIVOT at this time ...

Have you owned a Naish kite ? Familiar and OK with their octopus inflation system ?

If you are isolated and have problems with the octopus inflation (it happens) it will be a nightmare . Quad tex is just one more marketing gimmick. Would be wiser to go for an rpm/enduro/bandit/drifter style kite...