Ram Airs Crash in San Diego

[Tom183]

Bottom line: I have a quiver of SPEEDs now and know what they're capable of compared to traditional inflatibles. If you haven't tried one, you don't know what you're missing - and if you don't want to know, then fine. I'd rather be riding than trying to explain it to somebody who isn't listening anyway - and that's probably a better way to dispel the myths.
Just be prepared to look away when a SPEED shows up at your beach, or you might have to face the truth...

[Tone]

it was early and i couldn't be bothered to write anything more "useful"

either way i had a shit hot day today.

[AMX]

Either way, that's the most boring kite test I've ever read. Completely useless & inconclusive. No suprise that PMU is the only one that's jumped on it.
Asking a bunch of regular folk to comment on these kites, means we have absolutely no yard stick with which to compare, and not being pros. everybody has different views because they probably wouldn't know how to interpret the feeling they were getting and how to test. Kite manufacturers should be embarassed to advertise on the back of this test.
Yeah, I just joined, so what!

[jakobjth]

Either way, that's the most boring kite test I've ever read. Completely useless & inconclusive.

I agree 100% with you. Nothing could be said about the kites performances from these tests. More or less every kite brand had bad and good judgments. Not a very structured test... just some judgements from people with different skills having 30mins-1h on the kites...

I've my own conclusions. Lightwind is 20% about the kite and 80% about the board. It's funny that 99% about lightwind kitesurfing on the forums are about the kites...

[zfennell]

To be honest,
this is really Toby's fault for poking the troll.
But you gotta admire the renewed devotion to the cause.
He's even developed some new typing skills.


go get 'em sport.



-bill

[Tom183]

I've my own conclusions. Lightwind is 20% about the kite and 80% about the board. It's funny that 99% about lightwind kitesurfing on the forums are about the kites...

I can't agree with you on that... You definitely need a good lightwind board, but after that you have to look to the kite again - a 16m simply does not get you going as soon as a 24m with the same board. So I would say it's closer to 50/50 kite/board, although the board gets overlooked more often - and that's the cheapest place to start...

And technique is hardly ever mentioned - that's at least 40% all by itself, IMO. So make that 40/30/30, techinque/kite/board...

[caribcat]

I like foils. I think the speed is a great innovation and continues the good work that FS are doing. However..... I was on a beach on Sunday where I haven't kited for a year. I was impressed how much better the local riders have got -no real hotshots but everyone was generally going for it, a couple of kiteloop attempts and a lot of unhooked moves. Kites were generally 16m LEI. Two well known FS riders came out on Speed 13s and looked great, easy cruising on stable kites, a few very floaty jumps BUT that was it! This is how these guys have been riding for the past 4 years.

When push comes to shove, though they are great kites and better in many ways than an LEI, foils make you a DULL rider. From my experience on foils and my visits to many kite locations lately, my guess is that a third of LEI riders are trying tricks unobtainable on a foil. NB For beginner and intermediate riders who want to cruise they are superb, easy, very safe and yes they CAN be self rescued (the tips are easier to put together than an LEI, infact)

If you disagree PLEASE point me towards a video of a rider on a foil that is going off! (in the 2005 sense of the phrase).

[the_lone_wolf]

When push comes to shove, though they are great kites and better in many ways than an LEI, foils make you a DULL rider. From my experience on foils and my visits to many kite locations lately, my guess is that a third of LEI riders are trying tricks unobtainable on a foil.

[...]

If you disagree PLEASE point me towards a video of a rider on a foil that is going off! (in the 2005 sense of the phrase).

sorry mate but thats BS, what percentage of the kitesurfing population have you or any of us seen? you're basing your assuptions of what other riders can do on what you see at your local beach, if i did the same i'd be on here telling people that handle passes didn't exist...

in what way are tricks "unobtainable" on a foil? i could certainly do all the latest handlepass and kiteloop tricks on my SPEED if i were doing them on a tube before hand...

no video of this guy but a few pictures, all on FS XTC 10m

Waveriding:


Kiteloops:



Wakestyle/Unhooked:



Handlepass:



How much of that can you (or i) do? it's not the kite holding you back...

[kenny la kenelle]

funny thing you say...

In the place I kite, we are marginals using foils and we try tricks as LEI riders: backloop kiteloops are OK and I tried my first real kiteloops 2 weeks ago... To speak of your arguments: foils are OK for cruising I would say that for most tricks you don't need any particular type of kite... Apart for kiteloops for which you need a very fast turning kite, all other tricks are down to the rider... Some riders do handle pass on foils, some people do big airs on foils... and some other people just cruise with latest LEI kites doing nothing...

Put a very ggod rider under a very old kite, and he will do his stuff... Put a beginner under a top of the shelf kite and he will do nothing with it... it's not down to foil Vs LEI...

[Nukin]

I have to agree with Lone Wolf. The FS kites beg you to try new tricks. When you mess up and stuff it - there is not a lot of sorting out lines or time spent re-launching. I attempted everything in the book with my psycho 2's because I knew how easy the kite was to relaunch. It's much easier to sort our 3 lines rather than 4 or 5 after you stuff it. Foils loop, pass and jump just as good as LEI's, but probably still turn a little slower.