Epic Kites 3rd Generation. 3G II

[Dimitri M]

Hello alexeyga,
To be honest with you I don't think I missed you at all because I sent you an email yesterday concerning the measurement of the grey lines you wanted 2 weeks ago for the RENEGADE 7/9/11/13. So like you saw I never forgot my duty as the owner of a kite company. So finally I was able to get the measurement and send it to you yesterday with out having you reminding me. Plus I did tell you I could send you a new Depower Strap for FREE but you were responsible for the shipping or wait for few weeks and I will try to get you a metal buckle. But you were responsible for the difference because the factory was charging us more for the metal buckle then the plastic one that we have now. So you decided to wait for the metallic buckle. I don't see any other kite company do this type of service especially coming from the owner of the company.
Also few hours ago I sent you another email telling you that I don't understand what's going on with your DEPOWER STRAP!!!! Because only 1 to 2% of the people have had this type of issue from all the bars we have sold which is nothing.
I also explain to you that our kites come perfectly trim out of the bag so no need to use your Depower Strap. And If you use your Depower strap that means 2 things: 1) You are over power and need to land your kite and put a smaller kite. or 2) Your kite is not trimmed well and need to be trimmed by adjusting the knots on the kite or bar.
Personally I use my DEPOWER STRAP only when I launch and when I am over power and need to land the kite. But that is it. I never use it back and fourth every time because it will probably wear it like anything else.

[Caesar]

I also explain to you that our kites come perfectly trim out of the bag so no need to use your Depower Strap.

You are wrong (again). Both of my 10m LTDs were not trimmed correctly. I had to set the correct knot 12cm higher.
The reason for the incorrect trimming might be that the original bridle lines were about 10cm too short (your quality control failed there too).
But of course I must be one of the 0.4% of your customers this happened to.

[Geronimo79]

Alexyga good to hear you like the kites. Same goes for me.

Sucks that you have the issues with the buckles. I personally havent had that problem nor anyone i know. So my personal guess would be either you do/have something different then me or you just have bad luck with the buckles.

As far as i know the buckles are the same as most other companies and they are good with very little problems. For me the worst thing possible would be a clamcleat horrible crap those things.

Now i weigh about 105/110 kg (before Dimitri's Bootcamp it was about 10kg more) i usually ride my 12m up to 28/30 knots and i had sessions with the 10m in 35/40 knots. I would reckon that would be a heavy load on the buckles.
Now i do rarely use the depower, only for landing and launching kites and sometimes in gusty conditions. So maybe you use it a million times?
Or maybe you have some setting really different?
Or maybe you are just unlucky with them.

I do think its a good thing Dimitri offers you a metal buckle. Although i think the normal ones should be good enough since their are hardly any issues with them.
Well take care, i see you trying to give honest feedback/critics.

[Kite2Heaven]

I have two naish bars that peeled within 2 months so rather than bagging Robby... Said to myself f*** it - got two cheap new 'old' long Eclipse bars and converted everything to them. Works brilliant and the grip doesnt come off..
Had a problem with a 2 year old kite strutt splitting at the fold crease - got it repaired and completely covered all struts with sail tape, now its bullet proof
So now im happy having said fuckit, whatever.. and changed to a custom setups
Energy better spent kiteing happy with other fun people.

[L0KI]

You are wrong (again). Both of my 10m LTDs were not........
But of course I must be one of the 0.4% of your customers this happened to.

I would hazard a strong guess that you are in that .4% that have all kinds of problems with all kinds of products (that the rest of us just seem to have no problem with).
Have had very little trouble with any gear I've owned ..in any sport I've ever done.
It seems the same guys have trouble over and over with everything they touch.
I can fix, tune, and maintain all my sports gear and fix most anything else I own.
I feel bad for you guys.
This sport used to be like that, just like windsurfing, and sailing, and surfing, and mountain biking...full of resourceful individuals like Kite2Heaven.
The gear gets better every year, but the easier it gets, the more it attracts what I call the Jetski Types,..
..just push a button and it goes. wheeeee!

[Westozzy]

Jetski types that's funny. Yeh I remember the two line foil days, in the shed, coming up with all sorts of ideas to keep me on the water, albeit generally unsuccesful becuase I'm such a clux when it comes to practical skill application. Can solve a mean calculus problem though..ha ha

[Caesar]

I would hazard a strong guess that you are in that .4% that have all kinds of problems with all kinds of products (that the rest of us just seem to have no problem with).
Have had very little trouble with any gear I've owned ..in any sport I've ever done.
It seems the same guys have trouble over and over with everything they touch.
I can fix, tune, and maintain all my sports gear and fix most anything else I own.
I feel bad for you guys.
This sport used to be like that, just like windsurfing, and sailing, and surfing, and mountain biking...full of resourceful individuals like Kite2Heaven.
The gear gets better every year, but the easier it gets, the more it attracts what I call the Jetski Types,..
..just push a button and it goes. wheeeee!

Well, you Old And Broken must be one of those "bright" people who don't even realize if a kite is trimmed correctly or not. If you would know, you most likely wouldn't have sold your 10m LTD because you could not cope with it. If someone with a bit of knowledge (those .4% you are referring to who are able to report problems and faults) would have helped you "Mr. Know-It-All" with the setup, you would still be a happy 10m LTD owner (or unhappy because of fucked-up struts which in that case would not be your fault).
But I'm sure you don't even get this message...

[L0KI]

Well, you OldnBroken must be one of those "bright" people who don't even realize if a kite is trimmed correctly or not. If you would know, you most likely wouldn't have sold your 10m LTD because you could not cope with it. If someone with a bit of knowledge (those .4% who are able to report problems and faults) would have helped you "Mr. Know-It-All" with the setup, you would still be a happy 10m LTD owner.
But I'm sure you don't even get this message...

I own three small businesses and you brew beer for somebody else, let's not measure who is bright and who is not.
I sold my S10 LTD kite because it was redundant, too many good kites in the middle range.
My 2011 Renegade 11M was/is still working nicely, next to a 2012 Evo 11M.
My 3G S10 ran beautifully, I knew it was totally right after fifteen minutes in the air, and it ran perfectly when I sold it.
I don't keep kites until they are thrashed, and I rarely lose a dime when I sell one, the S10 included.
Got two new 2012 Blade Prime C kites after that, to try them out, got one in a trade for a surfboard.
Lots of great kites in my magic shed!
In fact, the last North kite I bought and sold (in December) a 2012 Rebel 14M, I made $240 profit on it.
I bought two used North bars to use with that kite for $150 for the pair...sold one for $149 and one for $180.
So my Rebel 14M experiment this winter told me everything I wanted to know about that kite and made a profit of $420, which almost paid for my used Zephyr complete at $450, and I put the original money right back in my Paypal.
So, not only do I know my gear, I also know how to get it, use it and sell it, and not take a beating.
All this with a sixth grade edumacation.

[Flysurf77]

An other awesome Kiteboarding day with the Renegade 6.5m 4G and 4G bar.
This bar has a metalic buckle and it works as good as the other 25+ plastic buckles I had on my previous bars in the past few years!

I had 1 depower straps that didn t hold anymore after a while using it.......replaced it and, voila, problem solved!
I am using this new 4G bar about 4 to 6 hours a day with 18 to 35 knots wind, in the flat and ocean, for already 20 days and for the next 40 days.......
I have not and won t rinse it, have and will use it in sandy beaches, muddy spots, salty walter and under strong sun, to see how well, or not, the 4G bar holds.
It will be approximately 250 hours of hardcore use and intense abuses !! Let see if I can get something to fail and how long it will take!

Hope your Kiteboarding day has been as good as mine!

[alexeyga]

Dimitri,
Like I've answered by e-mail, thanks for the information that I have requested and which you haven't forgot to share - this is greatly appreciated. I also do appreciate your offer for the replacement strap, and I was planning to get it until this weekend when the other replacement strap on my buddy's bar has failed. At this point it's just making no more sense to continue crashing money and trying to get any adequate support from you. like I've told you in my other message - I will personally find these buckles in metal and will replace them my-self but just so I could offer a working bar along with these kites when I'll be getting rid of them. Same goes for my buddy, he's got so fed up with this BS and has ordered an another brand's bar to use with his kites - as it's nothing but ridiculous.

I've been riding for over 6 seasons now, have used bars from different companies, which includes Eclipse bars for over 2 seasons with the same-style trimmer (it's a mistake b.t.w. to call it a "depower strap") and I have never, like ever-ever, had any issues with any trimmer I've touched, nor any or my friends did until getting some Epic bars.

And now all of a sudden your story is that we're using the damn thing wrong? Dude, maybe my riding is totally wrong, maybe i'm using the trimmer in a totally wrong way, but I have been doing for looooooong time, and most people around here do the same thing and you know why? NOT EVERYBODY HAVE A CHANCE TO RIDE IN A PLACE WITH CONSISTENT AND STABLE WINDS!!! And it's just plain stupid to be changing kite sizes every 5 minutes because the wind keeps changing every 5 mins by freaking 10-15 knots! And again, around here I've never even heard of such thing as a failed trimmer until experiencing it my-self with the damn Epic bar!!!!

THIS IS A JOKE!!!