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Pump me up
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Postby Pump me up » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:09 am
There is a bit of debate at the moment about the best light wind inflatable for 2011.
Dimitri Maramenides thinks the Epic Infinity is better than the 17m Zephyr (below).
It would be interesting to gauge what others think.
As an aside, I think it's a shame that kite companies no longer make 20m+ inflatables. Some of the old-school inflatables (eg Waroo 20m, Rhino 2/6 20m) were as good as ram airs in light winds but much easier to use and safer.
Dimitri M wrote:That is true about Ram air kites, but I have a kiter that has a 17 Zephyr and he tested his kite head to head with the INFINITY few weaks ago and was very impressed on how much power the INFINITY had compare to the 17 Zephyr and how fast it was.
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mocolombo
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Postby mocolombo » Mon Jan 17, 2011 11:47 am
North will release on march the Dyno, light wind kite on sizes 16 and 18. Maybe it can be a good choice.... let´s wait and test.
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Farang
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Postby Farang » Mon Jan 17, 2011 12:33 pm
I´m waiting for a Slingshot Turbine 17m - will come out soon....
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20 m or bust
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Postby 20 m or bust » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:38 pm
I bid on a 2006 20 m Waroo the other day. Unfortunately didn't get it. Still my favorite all time kite...perfect for fat a's
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TommyDuotone
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Postby TommyDuotone » Mon Jan 17, 2011 3:59 pm
Depends what you mean by best. The 17m Waroo has incredible pull(lowend), but is not very fun to fly and not that good in the surf. The 20m C's (ie. Caution Spitfire) don't work well in the surf either with even more lowend. So, the best for me is the
16m Rebel(slightly less lowend than the 17 waroo) with a bigger board. I can still have fun riding waves with my biggest surfboard in the lightest of winds(weigh about 200). I am looking forward to trying the North Dyno and the Infinity, but for now, I'll stick to the Rebel for the light stuff
Last edited by
TommyDuotone on Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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neworleansrich
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Postby neworleansrich » Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:03 pm
Hopefully this thread won't become yet another debate over whether it's worth kiting in light wind. For those of us that don't live in a place with steady 20kt winds, having an efficient light wind kite helps fill in the days between real breeze. Sometimes you can have fun riding in 10kts; other times 10kts suck.
Furthermore, I believe development at the low end will ultimately translate into more efficient and better flying kites of all sizes. Hence, I would like to throw my voice of encouragement to companies willing to work on light end. I think there are plenty of customers out there.
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shawntkeating
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Postby shawntkeating » Mon Jan 17, 2011 4:54 pm
No matter your brand, shape, or style preferences are. I think it comes down to this. When you start talking about light wind, we all like to kite, and we need wind. Well sometimes the wind just doesn't blow and then throw in life's responsibilities and different weather patterns and regional influences, heavy weight and you have many people that could seriously benefit from a light wind designed kite.
So, I think it is safe to say that all this light wind kite talk is just a result of people trying to find the best kite for that job. My current favorite light wind kite at a weight of 210-215lbs is the new 2011 Renegade Infinity from Epic kites. Its feather light, not a monster size kite, its fast and it has only 3 struts. It simply allows me to kite more often with less dependance on ideal wind conditions.
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Tone
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Postby Tone » Mon Jan 17, 2011 5:32 pm
shawntkeating wrote:No matter your brand, shape, or style preferences are. I think it comes down to this. When you start talking about light wind, we all like to kite, and we need wind. Well sometimes the wind just doesn't blow and then throw in life's responsibilities and different weather patterns and regional influences, heavy weight and you have many people that could seriously benefit from a light wind designed kite.
So, I think it is safe to say that all this light wind kite talk is just a result of people trying to find the best kite for that job. My current favorite light wind kite at a weight of 210-215lbs is the new 2011 Renegade Infinity from Epic kites. Its feather light, not a monster size kite, its fast and it has only 3 struts. It simply allows me to kite more often with less dependance on ideal wind conditions.
you have a prototype?
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Geronimo79
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Postby Geronimo79 » Mon Jan 17, 2011 7:42 pm
If dimitri says he can ride in 7 till 10 knots with that kite i believe him. Why would he lie? As soon as someone test of equal skill and says something totally different he would loose his reputation. Which is very important to a greek called Dimitri.
That said.. Lowend riding is 90% skills. And lets be honest loads riders simply arent that good that they take full advantage of the possibilitys of a kite.
Many kites will be very good in lowend. If you can fully use the kite well.. and maybe lack a knot or 2 lowend because of that is very well possible.
Also the personal feel with a kite is important.
Sofar what i know and heared of the Renegade Infinity it is fast for its size, and has a good power for its size. Sofar everybody says its faster (which means more fun) and really powerfull at the same time in the lowend. (moves like a truck). So even though some of those testers are Epic affiliated and some not It does give you a good idea its a good kite for lowend. And if your in the market for one you should definitly try it before buying something. Who knows you like it.
Try and you will know.
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Tone
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Postby Tone » Mon Jan 17, 2011 8:11 pm
Geronimo79 wrote:If dimitri says he can ride in 7 till 10 knots with that kite i believe him. Why would he lie? .
to sell kites.
duuurrrr.
remember Best and the Hellfish?
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