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Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

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yzbob
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Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby yzbob » Fri Apr 12, 2013 8:16 pm

for the last couple of yrs i've been flyin bandit 3s 8m & 11m. still really like them for the most part but...

they are getting old,
im starting to get into wave riding

finding the 11m is sometimes too much bar pressure for 1 hand and gives me tennis elbow.

i have flown the Wainman 12m and it was fine with one hand.

bandits i feel pulling me off the waves more compared to the few times out on the Wainman (probably my poor skills)

i think i could probably cover the same wind range with the 7.5 and 10.5 Wainmans with both a TT and surfboard as much as i did on the bandits on just a TT. love the carrot bar but feel the bandits are a bit more responsive. undecided.....

would love to hear opinions from people who have flown both and how the new bandits compare to the old ones?

thrown i ur 2c please :-)

fourperf
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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby fourperf » Fri Apr 12, 2013 11:49 pm

yzbob wrote:for the last couple of yrs i've been flyin bandit 3s 8m & 11m. still really like them for the most part but...

they are getting old,
im starting to get into wave riding

finding the 11m is sometimes too much bar pressure for 1 hand and gives me tennis elbow.

i have flown the Wainman 12m and it was fine with one hand.

bandits i feel pulling me off the waves more compared to the few times out on the Wainman (probably my poor skills)

i think i could probably cover the same wind range with the 7.5 and 10.5 Wainmans with both a TT and surfboard as much as i did on the bandits on just a TT. love the carrot bar but feel the bandits are a bit more responsive. undecided.....

would love to hear opinions from people who have flown both and how the new bandits compare to the old ones?

thrown i ur 2c please :-)

never flew B3`s only B5 and B6. B6`s are great kites. Light bar pressure, turns fast, very stable and lots of range and drift well (better than B5 imo). Great wave kite. :thumb:

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jumarcil
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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby jumarcil » Sat Apr 13, 2013 3:20 pm

Tried the b3 and they were not that powerful . Now riding B6 and i just love these kites. I have the 9 11 and 14m. Great quiver

Fast, really good power, good drift, the lift is awesome. Light bar pressure, you can ride the 11 and 14 with 1 hand. The only thing is that there is still a bit of fluttering sometimes, but you dont feel it in the bar.

If you like the b3 you will fall in love with the b5 or b6

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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby mc8 » Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:18 pm

I spent a lot of time on b2, b3, b4 and b5, but i own the rabbits.

The old bandits had quite a lot of bar pressure (b2 i think was the worst), and i was getting tired quickly on those.
I believe b3 was first 3 strut bandit with shorter bridles ( fun fact: a year earlier wainman came out with 3 strut short bridled kite :naughty: guess they were not the first ones, but i just noticed that when comparing them :) )
I liked the b4 12m2 a lot, the 8m2 not so much. Also had some problems with relaunching in lighter winds.
B5 8m2 was great but i didn't like the 10 at all..it was responding really strange and unpredictable. 11m2 was ok, something in between. Bar pressure on fast setting was actually to low for me on b5's, as i couldn't feel the kite well all the time. Never tried the slow setting though.
Haven't got a chance to try the b6 yet, but i hear it is almost the same as b5.? They are really well built kites, with a lot of attention to details. But i don't like that they are getting cheap on things like the bag, or that you don't even get a pump with the kite.

Can't really say anything bad about the rabbits, except that the gold color on the boss might wash off quickly ( something about that color. F-one had the same problems with their black-gold kites ). But you know how much we all love OUR kites :) Seriously though, i like many tuning options, the bar is great, built to last and isn't obsolete after one season..but you already know all of that, if you've flown the rabbits.

I believe you can't go wrong either way. They are both great kites. Guess it comes down to small differences like one pump with no pump in the bag, or 3 strut with pump included :wink:

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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby naishdude » Sat Apr 13, 2013 11:31 pm

Ever considered the Switchkites MethodII ?
this is a great wavekite, quality of the used materials and the finish is equal to better than some of the major brands. Price is without competition... :wink:
Maybe have a test
more information: www.switchkites.com

good luck
dude 8)

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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby Jdude » Sun Apr 14, 2013 6:45 am

Owned Bandits 2-3-4-5 and 6. This kite gets better every year. Got to ride the B3 again about a month ago. Took it for a spin just to check how much the kite evolved.

A short comparison between the B3 and B6 :

Bar pressure - Lighter on the B6
responsiveness - B6 is a lot more responsive
speed - B6 is faster
Power - B6 pulls more to the edge of the window so you go upwind a bit better but power feeling is almost the same.
Drift - B6 drifts better
stability - about the same. maybe B6 a little better
Relaunch - B6 for sure.

Regarding the B5 - the smallest gap between the Bandits is between the B5 and B6 but still you can feel the differences. If it's a money issue then go for the B5 but if you can afford it then the B6 is IMHO the ultimate kite.

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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby yzbob » Sun Apr 14, 2013 9:03 pm

i decided to change brands. haven't got the opportunity to try the new F-ones and was out on a wainman again today. i just find them a bit easier to do stuff on a twin tip, they definitely had the edge in the waves and the bars are worlds apart. sad to say goodbye to the bandits but onwards and upwards hopefully.

thanks guys. some good feedback in helping decide.

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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby xsporthk » Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:29 am

Good choice!!

www.xsporthk.com

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Re: Wainman vs F-one bandit3 vs new bandits pros & cons?

Postby Jdude » Mon Apr 15, 2013 6:12 am

yzbob wrote:i decided to change brands. haven't got the opportunity to try the new F-ones and was out on a wainman again today. i just find them a bit easier to do stuff on a twin tip, they definitely had the edge in the waves and the bars are worlds apart. sad to say goodbye to the bandits but onwards and upwards hopefully.

thanks guys. some good feedback in helping decide.
Comparing a 3 year old kite to a new one isn't right... but the wainmans are great kites and they are on the top of my list as well.
have fun.


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