Are Switch kites getting any better?

[dimip]

Most didn't believe that on a Nitro v3 10m, twin tip 132x41, 80kg rider I can accomplish 13-14 to 32-35 knots, expect those who had witness it.
Recently, so cold wind I found the limit and is 35 knots gusting 40 on the same 10 m. I lasted it 20 min with those conditions, but the jumps where lasting 10-12 seconds
Ps. I don't recommend kitting in those conditions is dangerous with so big kite, but if you wanna try or have dult, Switch Nitro is the weapon of choice

[flysurfing]

I was thinking to get a 6/7 for like cape town condition with 40 knots but so far seems the feedback with the 8 is that 40 knots is

40 knots on an 8m? Be careful what you read... Unless you weigh 200 kg...

well currently i can go up to a firm 30/33 knots with my draft 9 m which has a very poor depower

[eree]

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Wow. Just... wow. I have been riding a quiver of Switch Kites for quite some time now. I have access to and regularly demo kites from a wide variety of manufacturers. I choose Switch Kites because I have never flown a more expensive kite that has done anything to make me even consider throwing down that much more cash.

As a typical "featherweight" weighing in at 255 pounds and standing 6'3" tall, I can appreciate what a well thought out series of posts you have. I am not that great of a rider, not a team rider, and I ride a low-end TT board (Cab Spectrum 144cm). Funny thing... even though I weigh nearly TWICE as much as some of my fellow (featherweight) riders, I seem to be far upwind of most of the rest of the crowd at Kailua. You can see me usually up past Flat Island and near the Mokes. Yes -- on a TT no less when others are struggling to gain ground on directionals. Ever ride in chop-city (Kailua)?! Not a smooth patch of water to be found... anywhere. My kite never bogs down or beats me up on the water-moguls we have out there. I try lots of maneuvers outside of my ability level every time I ride and most do not end well. I crash... a lot. Somehow I still manage to get up and riding again quickly. Must be all of that "crappy low end," huh? One of my favorite tricks to learn... kite loops. Sure I still crash a lot, but my kite stays out of the water. Once again, that must be because my kite has "very slow turning speed," right?

What is my kite of choice? Why, the Nitro III 14m of course! This kite does it all with style and control. I am usually frustrated that I screwed up a trick so when I water-start I send it... HARD. I hardly touch the water for a couple of seconds. Seriously, this kite RIPS me out of the hole if I tell it to. However, a gentle first dive and I simply pivot up onto my board and ride away. RARELY do I need more that an initial power stroke and then settle it into a locked in position at 10 or 2 to be up, and screaming upwind. Tons of depower from the bar if I need it and it sucks up the gusts and squalls like a champ. So much smoother than anything else I have ridden. I am upwind in as low at 10 knots and I haven't found the top-end yet... although I admit to being difficult to intimidate. The kite turns nicely for such a big'un. Power throughout the turns and still able to loop it in control. Super easy relaunches are the norm. Oh, and I self launch and land at Mokuleia every time -- no drama at all. This thing does what I tell it to, when I tell it to. I can't ask for anything more than that. I have sold my other kites. This one kite suits me just fine.

Your posts remind me of a petulant child screaming at a parent that they want to take the animals home from the zoo. No amount of appeals to reason and sanity will suit you. You are unhappy and want the world to know. To those reading this and wondering why I am dignifying anything said in previous posts with a response -- it is because I have had such a great experience flying these kites. I am a grown man that flies a kite for fun. I smile and laugh like I have not in years when ever I get out on the water, and anything that facilitates me participating in an activity that makes me that happy will always get my praise. Switch has been great to me. They make fantastic products that put a smile on my face, sell them at prices that I can afford, and have been extremely responsive to questions I have had. They solicit my advise on new models... and I don't feel at all qualified for that! Imagine if Horacio Pagani asked you for feedback on his latest super car and took your feedback seriously. That is what I feel like when Bill and Felix ask for my opinions on changes that they are making to a product or an entirely new product. They continually say that they ask me BECAUSE I am a big guy... BECAUSE I am just an average intermediate rider... and BECAUSE I ride on both the choppy side of the island and in the waves up here on the North Shore. They are very concerned about getting caught up in focusing too much on design for only one type of rider... namely pros and experts. They want all of their customers to feel the thrills we kite surfing types are lucky enough to experience. Believe me, I sure feel the stoke! If only I could become a team rider... sigh. I should have bought one sooner (my only regret).

ok, i just read it now and i can not understand why did you wright this?

i hope you are able to comprehend this: i can do stuff with the other manufacturer kites better than with the switch kites in the same conditions and i like them much more
is that sufficient? oh yeah, and my other manufacturers kites are more expensive and not advertized as being best upwind angle kites.

but it is getting clear to me that almost everyone who bought the kite from the switch has the unhealthy, almost pathetic need to justify the purchase by praising almost supernatural capabilities of switch kites.
why? because they cheaper and you are embarrassed for being cheap?
i hope you are not...

you are having fun? well good for you. years ago someone having fun with the switch kite, honestly or just lying to me, cost me lot of money. i pay for my toys with my own earned money like most of the people. so buying cheaper switch kites for me turned for me losing money.
and i felt i had to share the experience again

another thing Speedkilz, you started with nitro3? i started criticizing switch when there was only the first and only nitro. may be it is thanks to guys like me you can enjoy the nitro3 now, don't you think?
since then they made profile of the nitros wing higher, changed the bridles and wing tip shape and now with the nitro4 another one of their holy cows is eaten - the thin leading edge is getting fatter!


so, yeah, switch is getting better after all. but it is disappointing that all of these points of improvements were known for years now and the designer of the switchkite was working with the kites long before he started at switch...

[Faxie]

Here we go again....

[mr_daruman]

My honest impression: I can compare my Combat 2 kites which I do like for wake style btw, to the ozone kites (all the kites basically). The switch kites are heavy in comparison. I guess there overbuild tough, extra fabric, extra glue, extra sow points etc...
I mean you walking on the beach, medium to light winds, kite in hand, the ozone is gracefully levitating while the Switch kite just slogs along barely lifting of the ground. This translates to their flight characteristics the kites just feels HEAVY. Which I like for unhook stuff, doesn't move much, but for anything else I use Ozones.

[SimonP]

The Combat is heavy, it's a five strut C kite built extra tough for people who often drop their kite. It does take a bit of skill to fly in light fickle winds, but that is not what the kite is designed for.
The Nitro is a better choice for light wind.

[flysurfing]

The Combat is heavy, it's a five strut C kite built extra tough for people who often drop their kite. It does take a bit of skill to fly in light fickle winds, but that is not what the kite is designed for.
The Nitro is a better choice for light wind.

I second that i tried it and it's not the light wind kite you want to have.

Try the Nitro 4 if you have a chance it's pretty amazing... i'll report a full test when i got my new quiver and ride it for a week or so.

[alford]

Warning, this is an old thread but wanted Faxie to weigh in on the recent changes at Switch, specifically the loss of their lead designer and the stagnation of new kite releases.
What's going on there and is the brand on solid footing? For example, It took them forever to release their new bar and after all the waiting it's the same damn bar several other brands are using. For the record I'm not a owner but have always wanted to try their kites but like many others I'm waiting for the next generation Element. I'm starting to have my doubts about the brand's solvency and product development.

[Faxie]

Warning, this is an old thread but wanted Faxie to weigh in on the recent changes at Switch, specifically the loss of their lead designer and the stagnation of new kite releases.
What's going on there and is the brand on solid footing? For example, It took them forever to release their new bar and after all the waiting it's the same damn bar several other brands are using. For the record I'm not a owner but have always wanted to try their kites but like many others I'm waiting for the next generation Element. I'm starting to have my doubts about the brand's solvency and product development.

Afaik Bills contract ended with Switch, and for reasons they decided to not extend it. New products are being outsourced, the bar being the first example. That explains the 'OEM' style bar they have now. Original bar designer went to Ozone afaik.

There should be one more kite designed by Bill ready for production, and if they decide to release it, it will be the last of Bills designs under the Switch name.

The guys at Switch sound pretty positive about the future, so who knows what surprises they have. (Felix mentioned Firewire as an outsource example... )

[alford]

I hope so, a viable Switch brand is good for the industry IMHO.