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2014 Liquid Force NRG Light breeze 14m Problems

Posted: Fri Jun 13, 2014 9:42 pm
by Gwuenn
I just got this kite and have flown it twice. So far I hate it.... the issues are it turns slowly, I really have to crank on the bar to get it to move. When flying it at 12 o'clock it moves behind me and is not stable. In light wind when turning as the kite comes back thru 12 it often falls out of the sky inverting itself. On one occasion it was inverted so badly I had to deflate it to get it right. It does not relaunch easily at all. The las time I was out the wind turned light the kite fell out of the sky and it took me forever to relaunch. While I was trying I saw someone on a 10m kite in the air make it back to the beach. This kite got great reviews... anyone have any idea what might be the problem. The back lines are in the rear position, I moved the to the forward position but haven't tried it out yet. The last time I went out I used my 2011 best kahoona 13.5 just because I didn't want to be frustrated.

Re: 2014 Liquid Force NRG Light breeze 14m Problems

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 12:36 am
by slingshotucf
That sounds really off for the NRG. Check your line lengths first. Then I like to set my NRG's up with the rear attachment set to the most bar pressure setting and then I move the knot closest to the kite down about 1/2 way to the knot below it. Attach to that top knot and with the lines from the bar being equal length you should have it perform really well with great turning and minimal stall. You could also just attach to the knot closest to the kite and just depower it a little bit for the same effect. Also make sure to pump it till it's baywatch firm. I hope that helps.

Re: 2014 Liquid Force NRG Light breeze 14m Problems

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 1:02 am
by OceanAdventures
We had a local guy buy a 2013 NRG 16m recently, and when we were all having fun riding his kite couldn't stay in the air or get him going. His kite was sitting on the beach and I said it looks a little under inflated. I went to flip it over to help him pump it up more and I was completely surprised at how heavy the kite was. I called another local guy over and asked him to pick the kite up. He was just as amazed at the weight. He said his 2007 Contra weighed less that that kite.

Long story short he picked up a Flite and was riding no problem, and is looking to get rid of a 16m NRG if anyone is interested... :)

Re: 2014 Liquid Force NRG Light breeze 14m Problems

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 6:52 am
by geopeck
I've seen other riders have relaunch problems with the NRG, although it may have been a problem with skill level. I had a friend who was using one and said that the better option was doing a reverse launch instead of trying to get it to the side of the window.

Re: 2014 Liquid Force NRG Light breeze 14m Problems

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 10:57 am
by ciscokitesurfer
is this kite new or used? check the rear line attachment. The rear lines should not be loose when you sheet in. I own a 16 meter 2014 NRG and had own 10 and 12 meter 2013 NRG
the kites is great for me. Powerfull and great for boosting.
Yes it is slow
Yes it is heavy
I need a minimum of 8 Knots to mow the lawn with a big light wind kite board.. At 10 knots you are boosting.
I agreed it is not easy to relaunch when the winds are below 10 knots
the kite must be pump hard.
Use the original bar. I had used other brand bar and they chock the kite.
The kite likes 23 meter kites
30 meter kites is slow to turn.
cheers
Jose

Re: 2014 Liquid Force NRG Light breeze 14m Problems

Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2014 2:23 pm
by dracop
I own a 2013 12m and 16m NRG.

Liquid Force has a video on tuning your bar and lines, it helps ALOT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hir9_LtvLnQ

I hated my 16m until I changed the bar and kite settings, now I love it. For me, I went with lightest bar pressure (fastest turning) by setting the rear bridle attachment closer to the wingtip, lightwind setting on the rear lines via the knot labelled as such, and then moved the bar line attachment down to the middle knot. I fly it like this in virtually all conditions altho I've considered moving down a knot on the bar in light winds as I like strong bar pressure. I really prefer the way the kite turns on its wingtip though so I won't touch the light bar pressure/fast turning setting, especially since there are other ways to get bar pressure. 16m Kite flys like a champ now :)

I've used it in 12 mph-28 mph winds (the 28 mph was by accident, surprisingly it performed really well and stayed smooth/controlled - some big boosts that day :) I will not even bother trying to use it if its below 12 mph, its lighter wind not ultra light wind (eg, its not a FS or Chrono).

In terms of relaunch, I've never had any real issue but it depends on skill level with the kite I guess. Others have constantly complained about relaunch online so you are not alone, but I've been able to get mine in the air in 8 mph winds fairly easily. In sub 15mph winds, I usually just hot launch or reverse launch the kite - dangerous but if you prep yourself for the yank forward you can get away with it (I've even done this for an emergency low wind waterstart).

Otherwise, get the LE down facing the water like a wide "U", grab one of the rear lines (you may have to go past the bar float coated leaders, but avoid having your hands on the lines as much as possible - having your hands on the lines is dangerous as the lines can slice into your hands), hold pressure on that line as the kite swings round to that side, it will start rotating onto the wingtip. Once on the wingtip you have to manage letting go of the rear line with switching to using the bar without the kite simply falling back to its LE face down "U" shape. If its super low wind, you may need to climb the wind window gently by occasionally sheeting OUT as you park it parallel to the horizon. The overall difficulty of relaunching the NRG vs other kites imo is that the flat canopy/tank like structure requires more extreme input in order to get the kite on its wingtip relative to a lighter weight/ open C kite style.

23m lines - if you use the 7m line extensions it turns like a PIG. The extensions are only useful if there is a strong wind gradient (strong winds at 30m and weak winds at 10m of altitude) as the ktie likes the 23m. It DOES pull like a Mack truck with the extensions but you will find yourself nipping the top edges of the wind window to avoid the kite dropping below 10:30.

The kite is flat out heavy. It needs to be fully pumped up or you will get alot of problems. Inversions in particular are a sign to me you are probably under-inflating your kite. The kite has a stiff structure when fully pumped up and rarely inverts, only inverts on me when I flag out on the lower center line.

I usually pump up my 16m in two stages - I pump it until it starts giving me slight resistance on the pump (wingtip still folds easily). Then I close it up, park it while I do other stuff, come back and finish pumping it. It takes a few minutes for air to fully equalize between the struts and the LE for some reason and that is slowing it down. YOU CAN TELL if you need to do this by feeling the struts, especially the ones on the wings, and feeling the LE. If the LE is rock hard but the strut is much softer - you need to let it sit. If you have alot of beach to play with, I've noticed flipping the kite and walking around with the kite upside down in walk/transport mode tends to equalize the pressure much faster than letting it sit on the beach. Once I have the struts hard, the kite stays that way for 6 hour sessions, the valves just get tight once you start getting air into the struts for some reason.

Overall, I think the NRG is a great big guy kite for 15mph+ winds because the heavy structure will offer you alot of support when you are riding, especially for boosting. I do not think its a good pure light wind rider kite; the Solo, a Zero, or a foil would do a much better job in sub-15mph imo. I know the brands like to cross market those two segments but not every solution works both ways.

Re: 2014 Liquid Force NRG Light breeze 14m Problems

Posted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 10:06 pm
by dyyylan
What kind of wind are you trying to fly it in? This is very unusual, sounds like either way too little wind or user error