Okay as I promised, I am back and ready to share my experience with the Infinity V2Laughingman wrote:You're funny Dimitri,Dimitri M wrote:Hello Peter aka (Laughingman),
I just found out that the INFINITY V2 demo kite that I am expecting this week from a customer won't be here to send you because he decided to buy it. My wife just informed me about this few minutes ago, and I was unaware of this transaction since I was expecting that demo to come back this week.
So I am going to send you my own INFINITY V2 complete with bar, it has been used 3 times. And will ship it to you today so you can have it for your Cuba trip on the 26th of January. Once you get back from your trip please send it back to me as soon as possible because I have other people wanting to demo it.
I got all your shipping info and will be sending you the FED EX tracking number later on this afternoon. Have a great trip and be safe.
P.S. Mr.Pump me up you are next.
I think we have already dealt with all the particulars within our email thread. No need to repeat them here...
Dimitri has asked that I let all you guys know what is going on so here it is... it is not really on topic of the OP but this is where Dimitri last corresponded about this on the forum so my guess is this is where he would like me to post.
Yes its true, I am going to demo the Infinity V2 and why not, so far my opinion of the Infinity has been based on the purple/pink prototype of the version 1.
I'll recap what I said before (back in 2010/2011) about the purple/pink prototype of the infinity 1
pros
1. it was very stable in very light wind... it would just hang there while other big kites would be falling out of the sky
2. It was very easy to relaunch in very light wind, no running or anything ... just depower it and pull a line and the thing would roll over
3. the bar set up was easy to use and straight forward
cons.
1. (for me) it sat too far back in the window making edging up wind almost impossible unless you were on a light wind specific board
2. and if you were on a light wind board it was easy to loose speed control since edging against it was near impossible
These two cons actually worked in heavier riders favor. I'm only 175lbs. 200lbs plus riders loved this kite.
3. the plastic clip release system did not make me feel comfortable considering how many times I've seen them break, I understand there is a new release system in testing so I assume this will be solved shortly.
When I get back I will report on these 6 points and any other things that come up.
Also, I must say Dimitri has been very professional and has shown excellent customer service throughout this process. I feel it is very generous of him to send me his own personal kite although I'm pretty sure if you own the company all of the kites are yours...lol. Anyhow, all told, so far this experience has been better then any other experience I've had when considering a purchase of just about anything... ever...
Now lets hope the kite performs as I hope it does.
Sincerely
Pete
P.S. Just received the kite a week earlier than needed, to bad we have no snow.... Dimitri even threw in a gift for my wife... somehow I suspect this was Helen's idea.
Cuba was once again incredible, but this time it was windy every day except for one so I only had one afternoon when the wind was low enough to bother to pump it up. It was blowing 8 - 10 knots that afternoon and later on picked up a few knots which is when I switched to my 12.5m Ion 3.
I really wanted to like this kite... I was thinking I could pick it up for a deal if I liked it...
So the pros and cons are basically the same as before and are still accurate.The kite is stable in light winds, relaunches well, and has a clean and straightforward bar set up, but it still yanked me downwind because it sits so far back in the window.
In the wind that I tested it in, I was planing very well, I even had 1/2 of the depower pulled in but still struggled to get upwind. I tried everything I know, and I would say I do have some light wind skills, obviously I'm no pro but living in SWO you have no choice but to learn quickly how to milk every bit from low winds.
Also, the quick release did malfunction, of course this happens when I am about 2km from shore (Dimitri, I bet your ears were ringing that day), I was about to make my turn and bam it lets go, tried to reassemble it in deep water but was unable to get the red slide to move up (seemed like it was jammed) so I could put that U clip back in place. I ended up bringing the kite to the shore side and dragged into the sand bar where I could get a better grip on the release.
Dimitri, I swear I will not try another one of your kites until you get that release system fixed. I have been kiting for 5 years and never have one of my kite's release system malfunctioned, additionally when I have released on purpose reassembling was no problem.
This system is not reliable and had I been upwind of people when it malfunctioned someone could have been hurt.
Anyhow, bottom line is, once it picked up to about 11-13 knots I switched to my 12.5m kite and was having a better time of it. So for a difference of a few knots it was not worth it to me. Maybe if it was way more fun then it was, maybe if I didn't have to work so hard to get myself upwind I would have purchased the kite only (you can keep your bar if it has that release).
Now I want to be clear, I had well enough power. I was planing easily, but each reach was exhausting just to maintain. By the time I clawed myself back up wind I was ready for a break.
After all is said and done, Dimitri, Helen and the rest of his team have been very attentive, professional, generous and all the good things you could wish for when considering a purchase. The deposit I put down on the kite was happily refunded ( there were some duty charges ) but minimal.... $30 or so... and my wife looks hot in her new tank top.
Dimitri knows how to treat customers and I think this is why so many of them defend him and his brand so fiercely. I get it now. The rest of the industry should pay attention, Dimitri is making you look bad, and while this kite was not for me, I have tested his Screamers and really enjoyed that model, I even liked the 14m!
So there you go Dimitri, my honest thoughts and experience as requested, sorry I could not make it more positive...
Sincerely
Pete