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Are Switch kites getting any better?

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Faxie
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby Faxie » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:18 pm

alford wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2018 6:34 pm
Faxie, did you get out today on the E6?
Yes I did. 2,5 Hr session mostly flat water, bit choppy sometimes.

Disclaimer!! : The wind was 32-34 knots with gusts 40, I was waaay overpowerd (87kg, 9m, boots) so this 'review' is for highend only. Everybody was riding 7 or 8, some C-kites 9. C4X bar 55cm with 24m lines. Default settings on the bridle, and full power on the backline leaders.

Bad things first:

Ok first thing: When I launched, I pulled the entire trim strap just in case. What I noticed is that the kite steers very wel when fully depowered (better than previous models), so that's a good thing. What i didn't like is that when I just started, there was a gust and the kite fully collapsed to a flat shape and bounced back. I wasn't planning to try that again, so I put the trim halfway and never had the kite collapsing again during the session. Just something to consider when overpowerd.

Second thing: I didn't find it particularly stable in those gusty winds... it responds pretty good when a gust hits, not too agressive, but when the gust is gone, the kite falls back quite a bit and powers back up. The backlines sometimes went slack in those moments. You don't really feel the gusts in the bar itself, but you can definitely feel a lot of yanking on the front lines. All in all it feels a bit like you're on a seesaw sometimes. I've flown my 10m Legacy a few weeks ago in similar winds, and it behaved much better. Older Elements behave better in their extreme highend too. At the end of the session the wind had dropped a few knots, and the kite behaved better but still not as good as the previous models.

Now that's out of the way, it's time for the good and neutral things:

Neutral:

- Barpressure is not high, but not low either. Just medium, and that's fine. Comparable to the V3-V4 Elements.
- Upwind performance when overpowered is not great, but not bad either. Bit middle of the road. I felt my older Elements were just slightly better.
- Leading edge is thicker than the previous models.
- There is a slight lag in steering response, but nothing bad or anything. Comparable to a F-One Bandit or 2017 North Evo. Previous Elements responded quicker.

Good:

- Good power to size ratio. Better than previous models.
- Jumps very easy. Just bring it up and pull the bar. Better than previous models, those require more technique.
- Jumps very smoothly, comparable to an Ozone Edge. No big yank, but nice lift.
- A lot of hangtime, more than previous models. Was a lot of fun to be honest, with an extra little boost almost every jump thanks to the gusty winds. You have to work the kite though, because you land with some speed. Downloops are comfortable.
- Pretty fast turning kite. Not as fast as the V4 though. Turning feels smooth too.
- Bar pressure is pretty linear along the sheeting distance, even fully depowered.
- Relaunch is very good, though it will wobble on it's tip in those high winds.
- Overhead stabillty is very good. Will try again in lighter winds.

Again the disclaimer: This was near the upper limit of the kite. So keep that in mind.

Friday should be a 17-20 knots day, so I hope I can do some unhooking, looping and wavekiting then. Couldn't really throw the kite around today. (No way I'm kitelooping 30+ in that cold weather)
naishdude wrote: if you try bridle wrap....sent it in a downloop and let the kite touch the water....tip over and...
Thx
Dude
I'll try friday ;)

Faxie
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby Faxie » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:25 pm

Oh and about the collapsing: The kite was inflated to 8-9 psi.

stenner
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby stenner » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:29 pm

I'd say that's a fairly favorable initial review considering the winds. Thanks and we'll watch for more hopefully Friday.

naishdude
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby naishdude » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:35 pm

nice review, given the overpowered situation, Friday they give a nice 20 to 25 knts..( brouwersdam) will be TT weather with the 9m :wink:
Dude :cool2:

Faxie
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby Faxie » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:41 pm

stenner wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:29 pm
I'd say that's a fairly favorable initial review considering the winds. Thanks and we'll watch for more hopefully Friday.
My guts are telling me that this is a very good allround kite that will please a lot of people ;) I'll know more on friday.

alford
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby alford » Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:35 pm

Faxie wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:41 pm
stenner wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:29 pm
I'd say that's a fairly favorable initial review considering the winds. Thanks and we'll watch for more hopefully Friday.
My guts are telling me that this is a very good allround kite that will please a lot of people ;) I'll know more on friday.
Looking forward to it. That's a good bit of wind for a 10m today.

Faxie
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby Faxie » Wed Jan 17, 2018 10:15 pm

alford wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2018 9:35 pm
Faxie wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:41 pm
stenner wrote:
Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:29 pm
I'd say that's a fairly favorable initial review considering the winds. Thanks and we'll watch for more hopefully Friday.
My guts are telling me that this is a very good allround kite that will please a lot of people ;) I'll know more on friday.
Looking forward to it. That's a good bit of wind for a 10m today.
It was the 9m EV6 ;) But I've flown my Legacy 10m in those winds a few weeks ago.

Faxie
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby Faxie » Sat Jan 20, 2018 2:47 pm

I had another go with the 9m in completely different conditions yesterday. Wind was 16-18 knots, so not enough for the twintip, but I went strapless, so this will be a onshore wave review.

So 16-18 knots, almost fully onshore, with leftover windswell from the storm af the day before, so 1-1,5m waves with little distance between them and not completely blownout. Used the same C4X bar with 24m lines to have a fair comparison between this and the last session. Normally I would ride 20m lines in the waves, but the last few sessions on my 7 and 9 m I used the 24m too because I was too lazy to remove te extensions, lol.

First things first: The kite was way more stable now. Still dances around the edge a bit, but very gentle. When riding you don't even notice it. Overhead stability is very good. Only way I could get the kite to fall down was to fully pull the trim, and let the bar shoot to full depower while walking forward. Otherwise it just stayed in the air.

Second thing: I did my best to get the bridle to tangle in shallow water (didn't want to do it when riding... waves close at each other, risk of losing my board, and lots of current) but no such luck. When the kite is inflated you can't get the main pulley over the wingtip. Maybe if it loses some pressure and you really really bend the tip inwards, but you can get any bridle to tangle that way ofcourse. So that's a big plus.

It has more power than the previous Elements, not much, but there's more. It retains a bit more power after transitioning too, so switching feet is easier. Where the V3 and V4 (no experience with V5) sometimes had a slight hesitation to climb again for the upstroke, I didn't experience that with the V6. It turned and climbed smoothly right away. Power delivery in loops felt the same to me.

The kite feels very smooth, and barpressure is medium, about the same as previous Elements. When travelling across the window, the power delivery is smooth. Not a real peak that yanks on your hook.

Relaunch is better than previous Elements. When the kite sits in front of you, and you let it travel to te side, it is very similar to previous models, but on the previous models the sharp bend in the wingtip would create too much drag on the water when the kite was almost at the edge, so you had to be gentle in the lowend or the kite would fall down again. The V6 doesn't experience that tip drag thanks to the round LE at the tips.

So is it all good? ... Not entirely imo. While it is by no means a slow kite, it does repond a little slower on barinput than the V3-V4, and it turned slightly slower. Not a big deal though. Still faster than a Bandit for example.

The drift is extremely good, as long as you keep the kite a bit higher up. I noticed when I had the kite at 10 or 2 o'clock it was a bit noseheavy after a few seconds of drift.

Another thing I noticed is that the response with slack lines is less than the previous models.

Upwind is good. I didn't have any problems riding out with the full onshore wind and waves.

So the verdict so far: I think the previous models work better as pure wavekites, though some people experience bridlewraps. As a beginner/allrounder/freeride kite the new V6 would please more people I think, as long as you're not pushing it to extremes.

I hope to give it a go at freestyle, but the winds aren't looking that great at the moment unfortunately.

alford
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby alford » Sat Jan 20, 2018 6:13 pm

Faxie, thanks for the second edition of the E6 review. Sounds like a capable all - around kite.
I checked the Switch site, looks like some sizes are already sold out in one of the two color choices...good news for Switch.

naishdude
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Re: Are Switch kites getting any better?

Postby naishdude » Sat Jan 20, 2018 7:13 pm

Faxie wrote:
Sat Jan 20, 2018 2:47 pm
I had another go with the 9m in completely different conditions yesterday. Wind was 16-18 knots, so not enough for the twintip, but I went strapless, so this will be a onshore wave review.

So 16-18 knots, almost fully onshore, with leftover windswell from the storm af the day before, so 1-1,5m waves with little distance between them and not completely blownout. Used the same C4X bar with 24m lines to have a fair comparison between this and the last session. Normally I would ride 20m lines in the waves, but the last few sessions on my 7 and 9 m I used the 24m too because I was too lazy to remove te extensions, lol.

First things first: The kite was way more stable now. Still dances around the edge a bit, but very gentle. When riding you don't even notice it. Overhead stability is very good. Only way I could get the kite to fall down was to fully pull the trim, and let the bar shoot to full depower while walking forward. Otherwise it just stayed in the air.

Second thing: I did my best to get the bridle to tangle in shallow water (didn't want to do it when riding... waves close at each other, risk of losing my board, and lots of current) but no such luck. When the kite is inflated you can't get the main pulley over the wingtip. Maybe if it loses some pressure and you really really bend the tip inwards, but you can get any bridle to tangle that way ofcourse. So that's a big plus.

It has more power than the previous Elements, not much, but there's more. It retains a bit more power after transitioning too, so switching feet is easier. Where the V3 and V4 (no experience with V5) sometimes had a slight hesitation to climb again for the upstroke, I didn't experience that with the V6. It turned and climbed smoothly right away. Power delivery in loops felt the same to me.

The kite feels very smooth, and barpressure is medium, about the same as previous Elements. When travelling across the window, the power delivery is smooth. Not a real peak that yanks on your hook.

Relaunch is better than previous Elements. When the kite sits in front of you, and you let it travel to te side, it is very similar to previous models, but on the previous models the sharp bend in the wingtip would create too much drag on the water when the kite was almost at the edge, so you had to be gentle in the lowend or the kite would fall down again. The V6 doesn't experience that tip drag thanks to the round LE at the tips.

So is it all good? ... Not entirely imo. While it is by no means a slow kite, it does repond a little slower on barinput than the V3-V4, and it turned slightly slower. Not a big deal though. Still faster than a Bandit for example.

The drift is extremely good, as long as you keep the kite a bit higher up. I noticed when I had the kite at 10 or 2 o'clock it was a bit noseheavy after a few seconds of drift.

Another thing I noticed is that the response with slack lines is less than the previous models.

Upwind is good. I didn't have any problems riding out with the full onshore wind and waves.

So the verdict so far: I think the previous models work better as pure wavekites, though some people experience bridlewraps. As a beginner/allrounder/freeride kite the new V6 would please more people I think, as long as you're not pushing it to extremes.

I hope to give it a go at freestyle, but the winds aren't looking that great at the moment unfortunately.
Nice Job Faxie,
at least now I can say that it is a real review , as I know you and its not just some overheated emotional sales talk...

Nice and it will please a lot of people who are looking for a smooth forgiving freeride/ crossover kite.
As for me, it will not be MY kind of kite, but it will suite a lot of others.

Cheers and thx for the review!
Dude :cool2:


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