Hello Mr. aleks,
Thank you for your honest post. You have to understand that the SCREAMER 12 that you got needs to be tested in 15 to 18 knots at least and not 10 to 15 knots. Especially the relaunching or the jumping. The best wind for the SCREAMER 12 is (17 to 22 knots) depending your weight. Personally I use the SCREAMER 12 in 18 to 27 knots, after that I am over powered. Please do me a favor and test the kite in higher winds at least 15 to 18 knots but not 11 knots. It will fly in 11 knots but won't perform the way it is suppose to perform.
Your name: "alexs" sound familiar!!! Are you the one who tried the Screamer 12 (3G) in 18 to 23 knots that day on the OBX and loved it!!!! Because that person loved it so much that he decided to buy the SCREAMER 12 (2011). So if that is you, please try the SCREAMER 12 in stronger winds and you will see the difference. Try it in 17 to 20 knots and you will see a big difference. I don't remember if you bought it complete with a 2010 bar or 2011 bar. But if you bought it with a 2010 bar you will need to trim it at least 10cm because the outside "Flying" lines are too long and that makes the kite not perform as good because of less power. So you need to trim the kite. You can always check the video I made for "how to trim your kite using another bar"
And once again if you plan to kite in 10 to 15 knots then go with the SCREAMER 14 or the RENEGADE 13. These sizes are made for that type of wind (10-20 knots).
Let me know if you need any more help. You can always email me.
Thank you.

Hello Mr.KevinTheKiter,
I am so sorry I did not respond to your post about why we are not having "DACRON" on our trailing edge of all our kites.
Well...their is a really good reason why
You have to understand that the materials have to be light, strong, UV resistant, impermeable, durable, low stretch, airtight, breathable, watertight, waterproof, tough, stable, and so on...
Most of the kite companies use these 2 types of material on their kites: Teijin & Dacron which is made out of polyester in case you did not know. Few other kite companies use a different type of Nylon for their Canopies.
So let me explain so you get a better understanding why we are not using the "DACRON" material on our Trailing Edge, and instead we use 2 layers of Teijin’s canopy fabric, known as T9600.
Kites have tendency to stretch after a good period of use. I don't know if you know this, but a 6 months kite will fly different then a bran new kite depending how much use you have on it. This is due to the stretching of the canopy material. And so far most kite companies use the Teijin material made out of Japan which it has much higher UV resistance and less stretch then other materials such as nylon.
After doing lots of R&D and talking to dealers, manufacturers, and customers, we realized that after a good six months use, the kites that had "DACRON" material had more stretching on the Trailing Edge then other prototype kites that had only a double layer of Teijin material.
This is because the "DACRON" material is heavier and won't stretch like the rest of the canopy material and because of the excessive flapping and turbulence of the Trailing Edge, it will tend to make the kite flutter more after an excessive time period and also will might start ripping the Trailing Edge.
This is the reason why we decide not to use "DACRON" material on the Trailing Edge because of so much disturbance and the effect it has on the kite after a long period of time. But we use "DACRON" on other places of the kite where you don't have so much flappering.
I hope this helps you understand the reason why we are not using "DACRON" on the Trailing Edge of all our kites and use Teijin material but folded in two to add thickness. By doing this they both can stretch at the same level and it doesn't put weight on the Trailing Edge, compare to the "DACRON" material.
Once again, thank you for addressing this. Now people have a better understanding why we and few other kite companies don't use "DACRON" on the Leading Edge of their kites..

Is there anything else I can help you with?????

P.S. This is another email I got from a customer this morning.

Dimitri, so what it seems you are saying is that your 12m screamer does not fly well in sub 15knots of wind? If that is the case, what should my wife ride, 120lbs, in the 10 - 15 knot range. Hell I can even fly my 12.5m ion3 (which you offered to replace) down to 11 knots planning upwind on my 154cm door... Not fun but certainly does not exhibit the poor flying characteristics mentioned by the previous poster... Is 15 knots really the bottom end of your 12m screamer?
Interesting fact... I recently rode my wife's Cab SB 10m in sub 15 knots, and my door and was not only able to go upwind but we tested relaunch as well. That thing wanted to fly so bad it was like it made its own wind...

Laughingman, I think you misunderstood the situation. I can ride Screamer 12m in 11-14 knots and stay upwind, no problem, especially on a big board. I just can't get enough power for high jumps I was expecting.

Dimitri, yes I'm the guy who tried your 12m at kite point. For others - it was a day when I rode fully powered on a Switchblade 8m. I was a bit overpowered on 12m Screamer on that day, so I can't say I loved it. I was certainly surprised by its range though. I just needed a little more time to get used to its power. I tried 14m next day in light wind condition and it worked pretty well, that is why I decided to buy a Screamer. I didn't buy a bar though - using my own.

It is not easy to find 15-20 knots in Ontario. I tried the Screamer 12m again today, but it was only 11-13 knots with big waves. Certainly not fun for my Screamer, but my friend on Trigger 12m was well powered. Now I feel like I have a gap in my kites' sizes - in 13 knots I begin to be overpowered on my Switchblade 16m, but not fun on Screamer 12m yet. Maybe Screamer 14m is the answer? If only it wasn't so expensive...

I had a problem with self landing today. No matter how much I tried the Screamer wouldn't stay face down on the ground. I had to wait for a fried to come out of water, self land his kite and help me with mine. The wind was 10-11 knots on the shore. Any suggestions?

how were you self landing? The method I use all the time is: Bring the kite to the edge of the wind window, about 15 feet off the ground, and then let go of the bar and brag the inside lines and pull a few arm lengths until you get to the three metal loops. From there pull your top inside line as the kite comes towards the ground. It should lay on the ground, leading edge down. I was able to do it perfectly the first time (so it can't be that hard) and everytime since. Check www.epickites.com and look at the self land video. Dimitri shows several says to self land the kites.

take care
brian

11-14 knots and upwind no problem on a Screamer 12M? ...sounds good!
I fly the Screamer 14M in 10-20 mph when my friends are on Switchblade 16M &12M, Infinity, Zephyr 17M, Kahoona 13.5M, Waroo 15M and Turbo2 14M.
I think 10-20 knots is lightwind kite time, ..in 11-14 knots I would usually not ride a 12M kite.
I owned a 2010 Trigger 12M kite and a friend has a 2011 Trigger 12M kite.
The Screamer 12M is definitely more powerful than the Trigger 12M, and has better boost and float.
My Renegade 11M is very similar overall power to Trigger 12M, but pulls through the turns more/better and has better drift.
About your buddy being well powered on a Trigger 12m in 11-13 knots, that is surprising, he must be an efficient rider.
Self landing the Screamer 14M in 10-15 is very easy, from the very edge of the window and close to the ground, I can plop it LE down and into the wind and it stays put every time. The Screamers LE's sit very flat on the ground, the Renegades not as much.
I agree that a Screamer 14M or Renegade 13M are the kites for 10-15 knots.

can the epic judge be used with any for line bar (lines are equal length)

Hello bigdaddy,
Yes the JUDGE 11/8/6 can be used with any 4 line bars. But the lines need to be equal length. Also with every JUDGE kite, you have an extra 18 meter lines that comes inside the bag.

That is the thing - on my bar the split to 2 central lines is way too high. I can't reach it to pull on top line only. Pulling on both of them doesn't do the trick for me.



My friend has Trigger 2012. Did Blade make it more powerful this year? Also people have different ideas about being well powered - I don't always agree with my friend on that . I can only say that he stayed upwind pretty easily when I began to struggle.

Dear Mr. aleks,
Also remember the board plays a big role in light wind or strong wind. Maybe your board is not as efficient as your friend's board in light wind. If your board has a deeper rocker then it will be very slow in light wind hand hard to plan or stay up wind but good in stronger wind.
Personally I have used the OXYGEN (135x47 cm) twin tip board with the SCREAMER 12 in (11 to 15 knots) because other people were demoing my SCREAMER 14 while I was doing a photo shoot. So I did not have a bigger kite to ride. So I took the OXYGEN board to compensate the difference, and guess what I had plenty of power to jump and land on the rusty boat. it was not much fun because I had to work the kite but I least I was able to get a great picture while the other guys enjoyed the Screamer 14.
So again maybe try your friend's board next time and see the difference.