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North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

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Westozzy
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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby Westozzy » Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:23 am

Yeh I have. Nice wing the bandit always rated it. Definetly boosts big in the right winds and powerful loops. But the dice kills it in the surf, ridden the B5 and b6 to and the drift is not really apparent, needs to be kept moving. Its not true drift, the dice has true drift. I mean it is right jo there with all the great wave kites, its a killer wave kite hey. The dice also unhooks better and give slightly more slack on the lines, but the bandit I still an awesome wing don't get me wrong and would suite a lot of riders. Dice is a more stable platform with smoother power delivery, stupidly smooth. Time to demo really. You gotta find what works for you.

boyceduke
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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby boyceduke » Sun Sep 15, 2013 12:29 pm

Hi all, I had a quick go on a 10m dice, (1 hr choppy conditions) so I can't be over critical until I have a second fly. I have been riding for about 4 years, weight 97kg, 6ft 3 ride a 136 TT shinn board, I was out in cross on conditions high tide, choppy as hell in about 19-22mph I think.
I enjoy free riding and basic freestyle, Just learning F-16's so I'm far from advanced. I'm not into handle passes yet and I'll be honest probably won't as I'm too old and can't afford the time off work. I'm not brand affiliated in any way, I'm a paying customer who loves the sport and is totally addicted.
I have been riding rpm,s on and off for 3 years and I changed a few times to different brands but always felt the rpm was more refined, quicker, better handling, forgiving and nice through the loop. I would love to own fuels but the south coast in the uk doesn't suit these kites IMO. Anyway I took my rpm,s to the beach called into the local shop and picked up there demo 10m dice.
First impressions after pumping up, typical north build quality, top notch, D2 material small Dacron trailing edge, much lighter than other kites in the north line up. Scuff patches in all the right places and the new inflation valve, simple to use and quick to pump up, similar to ozone/liquid force.
Laying on the beach it is fairly high aspect and looks like a Vegas with the tips cut off.
I almost forgot I had 22mm lines so probably an equal balance between speed/low end.
In the air the kite looks similar to an rpm but slightly more solid feeling, hard to explain. The north bar is also great on par with the simple slinky bar.
I fully powered the kite up and dived it through the window, the kite accelerated so quickly, caught me by surprise, I easily had enough power to pull out over the crashing waves. The kite felt nimble, solid with great bar feedback. The bar pressure was medium to medium light IMO, slightly lighter than an rpm but I did have it set up on light setting (couldn't be bothered changing it). So on the heavier setting probably ideal for freestyle and the lighter side for waves.

Upwind was great, you could hold your line and the kite would be pullingntowardsbthe front of the window. Down wind was fantastic, kite just drifted so well, I ran towards the kite on quite a few occasions and it just floated backwards well balanced with slack lines.

Freestyle, the wind was not as strong as I would have liked it to be honest due to my weight but I was easily getting 12ft plus airs. Kite loops were very nice indeed, quick with medium pull allowing me the rider to still be in control.
To sum it up it is very rare I get on a kite in these conditions and actually think I prefer that kite to my own as I am always comparing other kites against my own rpm as they have a great reputation as a do it all machine.

To sum up I used to own north Vegas kites as well, great kite but personally can't stand 5 lines, don't think there is any need for them. Also owned a rebel, same opinion, 5 lines and not very good at loops etc.

I just found the dice a great compromise, solid, well built, 4 lines, simple bridal, responsive, excellent drift, IMO pretty good low end considering, a real rpm contender. Well done north, looks like 2014 will be another expensive year for me.

A 2013 Rpm sold already and the other one very soon.

boyceduke
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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby boyceduke » Sun Sep 15, 2013 12:41 pm

Just wanted to point out when I tuned up at the beach 3 kites were already out, a 12m rpm, a 12m rebel and a tiny guy on a 10m very high aspect kite (unsure make/brand), I was defiantly larger in size than them so I had some concerns when I pumped up a 10m with the wind dropping off slightly on the high tide. These concerns were forgotten as soon as I launched. So this must say something about the low end. Even the shop were surprised when I returned saying I got out. I am defiantly no light wind expert, I much prefer to be powered.

Oh what to do now ah, 10m dice and wait for the new evo that is meant to be a cross between the fuse/current evo, apparently totally re-designed. I already have an ozone zephyr for the very marginal days.

Could just have the zephyr and 10m dice, massive gap but may work, and treat myself to a kiting hol :D

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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby davesails7 » Sun Sep 15, 2013 1:10 pm

Does the dice feel like a C-kite when you steer it hooked in? Don't know how to describe it, but when I've flown Vegas, RPM, and several C-kites, they have a similar bar feel that I don't like. I really like the steering feel of the Rebel. Will I like the dice?

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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby Westozzy » Sun Sep 15, 2013 2:47 pm

Dave a really genuine review their mate well done.

Put it in the wake style setting and you get even more bottom end and much much better float and more power through the loops. Give that setting a crack we noticed a huge difference today.

boyceduke
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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby boyceduke » Sun Sep 15, 2013 7:41 pm

Hi dave, I would say it is much more reactive than the rebel, more in line with the Vegas, rpm, c4. This is how kites should be in my opinion, don't get me wrong the rebel is a great free ride kite but for freestyle it's not ideal. But each to their own.


Westozzy: defiantly need another go, I will swap settings and try on 24m lines as well. What do you ride?

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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby Westozzy » Sun Sep 15, 2013 11:44 pm

As of last week....zephyr 2013, 11 and 8m dice on 22m quad bar... :D


Cross between an evo and a fuse....north are really getting there head in the game!! That would be an awesome combo of DNA. Freestyle at high altitudes.....oooo yeh (of course not for this older duck, lol).

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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby boyceduke » Mon Sep 16, 2013 8:41 pm

Got another very quick go on the 10m Dice today, literally for about 15mins, the wind looked promising 20-25mph, I had my larger TT with me today ( not ideal at all), any way cross shore with flat water, went out and after literally 5 mins a weather front came through, base wind picked up to about 30mph with gusts nearer 40mph IMO, the kite was pumped to 7psi, not sure what the correct pressure is for the dice as most north wings like to be at about 6psi.
Anyway I depowered the kite about 60%, I was again on the light setting with 22m lines. I found it very difficult to hold an edge, this was down to the board but the kite started to behave quite strangely, it did not hold its normal shape, the leading edge was changing shape, with both wing tips almost trying to invert on them selves, very strange indeed, i have never had this happened to any other kite, but i do pump most other brands upto 8-10psi so this may be the reason why.

I didn't attempt any tricks or loops as I was finding hard staying in control, I did a couple of normal boosts and was slightly disappointed with the overall height no more than 12ft still. Two other riders were out on rpms, a 9m and a 10m, both slightly smaller than me and they were both getting good height.

Anyway, I lost my board on a back spin transition due a a naughty gust, this took me 5 mins to recover it due to the tide and wind conditions, both other riders called it a day and not being one to stay out on a new spot alone I would rather kite another day so I came in.

I am just being honest, I really wanted to like the kite and I still do but I am concerned about the jumping ability now and also how the kite behaves at the top end of its range.
Also this is the 1st generation of this kite, the bandit will be releasing its 7th generation very soon rpm, 6th generation out next feb and the park on its 5th I believe.

Anyway after packing the kite down and returning it to the shop I went to the beach as a spectator and a local was riding an 2013 naish park 2013', it was behaving very well in the air, solid etc, admittedly the wind had dropped very slightly

Perhaps I should demo the bandit and park prior to making a costly decision, any thoughts?

I will be having another go on the dice before I discount it though, cheers

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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby icebird » Mon Sep 16, 2013 9:17 pm

@boyce
I was out on a Vegas 2013 8m while wind picked up to similar levels as you describe, on a small board with good grip. I'm 69kg.

I didn't try to jump that day and found it unsafe to walk on land, so I rode it out in hard rain trying to get upwind to where someone could land my kite, not seriously overpowered on water, just nearly running out of depower.
I found the Vegas struggled to go upwind when so heavily powered (normally goes upwind quite well), and from earlier experience it is more powerful when less powered if that makes any sense. So I somehow do relate to what you describe. I don't know the Dice so I can only take it so far, but jumps requires a fast moving kite and when the wing is too powered, it seems to slow down kite forward movement, inhibit upwind, and even slow down the board on more downwind pull.
I don't see this as a bad thing, it means the kite works really well without being tiring when used in the optimal range.

I'm thinking the Vegas has a pretty good range. This makes me curious. What makes the Dice preferable to Vegas? Wave kiting, lack of 5th line, and possibly more floaty jumps?

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Re: North Evo 2012 9m, now wanting Dice 9m, comparable?

Postby boyceduke » Mon Sep 16, 2013 10:22 pm

@icebird, your description and summary is spot on, the kite did slow down, possibibly due to change in shape and to much wind etc. I will take it out again with an open mind.

Reason for the dice is because I only like 4 lines, so I'm thinking, dice, bandit 7 or park. Decisions, decisions......


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