Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Forum for kitesurfers
eree
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1261
Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:49 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: shallow sea
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby eree » Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:17 pm

Da Yoda wrote:.... My kite criteria is freestyle, freeride, & some wave applications. Can someone help steer me in the right direction? ;-)
oh sorry, freestyle...yeah..., fall to sleep... need to focus.....again fall to sleep..............

L0KI
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2817
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:17 am
Gear: .
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby L0KI » Fri Jun 28, 2013 9:32 pm

2012 Evo is a great flying kite, the most all around of the North kites, does everything well, super stable, boosty, great bottom end for those of us that like grunty, relaunch easy, not stally in light wind.
Constructed very well, like the North kites always are.
Also, your North support network is all around you, dealers, reps, tons of kiters flying Norths in the whole NW USA.
Lots of new and used kites available in your area.
Resale is also very good.
Not sure all of this is true with the Bandit.

Da Yoda
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1341
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:20 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Style: Strapless Freestyle, Wave, Freeride
Gear: Handmade Surfboards
Location: Western USA
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 168 times

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby Da Yoda » Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:01 am

tautologies wrote:Do you have a chance to test the two last ones? Also can you remember exactly how these differences are when you test new kites? I think I would end up almost confused..unless I kind of the a didregard type test...have 1 or 2 favorites and then compare..
I'm working on demo'ing the last two (Evo & Park) soon. Just waiting for the wind to return.
I feel I'm pretty competent at deciphering the nuances of various kites, so I think I'll encounter no issues with remembering how the kites feel or behave. I can usually tell if a kite feels and flies the way I want it to in short period or time. I should also mention that I may be able to demo the Park and Evo back to back, which will make the process of elimination easier.
I would really like to narrow it down to just two kite models vs. three and then do like you said and perform a "disregard type test" to whittle it down to THE ONE. ;-)

User avatar
bnthere
Frequent Poster
Posts: 391
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2009 9:50 pm
Local Beach: South Padre Island and South Texas USA

Hood River and the Columbia River Gorge USA
Favorite Beaches: South Padre Island Texas: year round the best flatwater and fall - winter - spring fun wave riding as well.
Style: all styles of kite riding
Gear: Blade
Mystic
WindAlert
Brand Affiliation: Blade
Mystic
WindAlert
Seadoo
Headzone
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby bnthere » Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:05 am

cant help it, gonna drop an opinion on this one:
Oldnbroken wrote:2012 Evo ..... not stally in light wind..

i would have to disagree. i doubt many people wouldnt. the evo, in all sizes, is an extremely difficult and frustrating kite to use in light wind compared to many others.

maybe i will get slammed by evo fans, but there are many kites that will fly the edge of the wind more easily in lower winds, climb without a lot of "pumping" or sheeting out then in, etc, way better than the 30lb plastic and carhart grade fabric reinforced evo.

neither the park nor the evo are higher aspect or freeride kites. neither are boosty. both are lower AR (sle and delta) all conditions / wave oriented. fuse or rebel is a better choice from N, except the 3 strut thing, draft from naish. naish ride even fits the category better than the park (although park is a pretty good all around kite)
Last edited by bnthere on Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:12 am, edited 3 times in total.

Da Yoda
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1341
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:20 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Style: Strapless Freestyle, Wave, Freeride
Gear: Handmade Surfboards
Location: Western USA
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 168 times

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby Da Yoda » Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:07 am

Oldnbroken wrote:2012 Evo is a great flying kite, the most all around of the North kites, does everything well, super stable, boosty, great bottom end for those of us that like grunty, relaunch easy, not stally in light wind.
Constructed very well, like the North kites always are.
Also, your North support network is all around you, dealers, reps, tons of kiters flying Norths in the whole NW USA.
Lots of new and used kites available in your area.
Resale is also very good.
Not sure all of this is true with the Bandit.
I've been hearing really good things about the Evo. I can't wait to try one!
Believe or not, in Nor CA there's only two dealers stocking the Evo. There are no used ones to be found anywhere right now and almost all the local riders and ambassadors are either flying the Rebel or the Vegas. The Evo is still a virgin around here. :-(

F-One's US distribution is actually headquartered in the Bay area. There's a fair amount of riders, ambassadors and a couple of local dealers around, but North is still the dominate brand.

Westozzy
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2918
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 11:25 am
Local Beach: Mandurah
Style: Freeride, wave
Gear: Rebel, Vegas 2012
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby Westozzy » Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:18 am

I would have to agree with bnthere. You asked for a high aspect three strut and the two you are testing are neither. Especially the evo. To add to this it has delta DNA, with the delta characteristics.

Maybe you should have just asked for all rounder kites, because as I said what you are testing does not match the criteria you asked for.

But in the end if it gets you on the right kite for you then its been a post worthwhile. Good luck let us know how you go.

L0KI
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2817
Joined: Thu Aug 18, 2005 1:17 am
Gear: .
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby L0KI » Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:51 am

I agree the Evo is a medium aspect kite, but it does all the things Yoda asked for.
The magazines seem to think... the Evo boosts very well, drifts well for surfing, relaunches and has no fifth line, and will pop and slack for freestyle, and is an easy freerider.
It has five struts now, which I think made it a better kite than it was.
Looking for a kite to do it all, limits you to a short list.
Either they don't boost because of the other things they are designed to do well, or they are higher aspect and are weak in other areas.

Westozzy
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2918
Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 11:25 am
Local Beach: Mandurah
Style: Freeride, wave
Gear: Rebel, Vegas 2012
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby Westozzy » Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:03 am

Yeh isn't that a fact. Always a compromise. Agreed the Evo and park would suite yodas riding criteria , so I'm wondering why the high aspect question now?

Da Yoda
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1341
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:20 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Style: Strapless Freestyle, Wave, Freeride
Gear: Handmade Surfboards
Location: Western USA
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 168 times

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby Da Yoda » Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:08 am

Westozzy wrote:I would have to agree with bnthere. You asked for a high aspect three strut and the two you are testing are neither. Especially the evo. To add to this it has delta DNA, with the delta characteristics.

Maybe you should have just asked for all rounder kites, because as I said what you are testing does not match the criteria you asked for.

But in the end if it gets you on the right kite for you then its been a post worthwhile. Good luck let us know how you go.
I think you're right... I should have inquired about which is the highest aspect "all-around" kite vs. specifically a 3-strut. I knew that asking for the "highest aspect" kite could actually equate to what is in fact a "medium aspect" design based on the specific topic, but my overall goal was to find the most aggressive kite in that category.
When I first posted I was only looking at 5-strut "all-around" kites knowing that they tend to be more aggressive. I quickly realized my kite options were somewhat limited. That's what prompted me to explore the 3-struct category more closely, but as I had originally stated, I was finding it hard to find a 3-strut kite that was more performance oriented vs. beginner oriented or wave specific.

I'm now a little confused... How is it that the Park and the Evo are completely different kites? Both are categorized as the brand's "all-around" kites.
The main differences that I can see are in the shape, struts and their ARs. This is why I wanted to know which 3-strut kites would have a higher AR in hopes to find something closer to the aggressiveness of a higher AR, 5-strut kite like the Evo. Sounds like the Park is not an ideal comparison. Considering my sizing requirements and the kites available to me, what should I directly compare to narrow down the options?
Evo vs ?
Park vs Bandit
Bandit vs Evo
None of the above... each are completely different kites that shouldn't be compared to each other regardless that they're categorized equally.

Btw... Thanks for your time and the replies Westozzy. For the most part, you've been really helpful to me. ;-)

Da Yoda
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 1341
Joined: Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:20 pm
Kiting since: 2005
Style: Strapless Freestyle, Wave, Freeride
Gear: Handmade Surfboards
Location: Western USA
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 168 times

Re: Highest Aspect 3-Strut Kite?

Postby Da Yoda » Sat Jun 29, 2013 1:21 am

I want to reiterate that I was specifically looking for info on the "highest aspect", NOT "a high aspect" 3-strut kite... because I know they don't exist.

"Highest" means it could equate to what is measured as "mid aspect" in kite terms. I just wanted to know which 3-strut kite would have the highest AR in hopes that would equate to a more aggressive kite to compare to something like an Evo. Maybe I'm just wrong on my thinking here.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: andylc, arjas, Baidu [Spider], basti52406, Google [Bot], Puddle Pirate, PullStrings, purdyd, rStorms, SolarSet, Ulrik, vela99, Vivo3d, WS79 and 381 guests