x2 vs Fuel 2003 performance and construction. Any opinions?

[Guest]

On 2002-10-15 17:36, Rolie wrote:

To me there is only a few companies that do true development in this industry. Naish is definately the one on the top.

Now I know I am going to receive spanking for my words and I am looking forward.

Rols

the only spanking I have to offer you is how misinformed you are. Naish is not leading the way in developements, at least not in developments that work. as far as the first 4 line kite, well bruno gets credit for all the lei's imo. was it naish that had several connector points to attach your lines to first? i dont think so. is it naish who reinforces their ripstip with mark cloth? i dont think so. was it Naish that came up with the reverse launch bridel they stole from wipika? i don't think so. do i care what you think about me, us, or naish? i don't think so. if naish is good to you, keep riding them. but you need to pay a little bit closer attention to who is really doing the innovating and who is copying. yes naish innovates, as does slingshot and north and wipika and....screw it. i'm done with this phase of this conversation. believe what you want, i do. ride what you want, i do. go ahead and deal with a company that has screwed me many times in the past, i wont!

[Johnny TBKS]

On 2002-10-14 10:29, Anonymous wrote:
Johnny,

By the sound of it you are fairly influencial in the SS world. Reckon you could influence them to update their website?

You bastards better be right

Later,

Pete.

Hey Pete,
I was eavesdropping on some conversations over at SlingShot and from what I understand, the SlingShot website is scheduled and due to be renovated on or by Nov. 15. So, if you're still wanting to see what THEY have to say about their stuff, check back then.

Pea's Out!
Johnny

[Guest]

Thanks dude,

But I will (I hope) have had the chance to try my kite by then. I just read your post saying you kite with the 15 in 6 knots. sounds pretty tasty. do you reckon I will be able to get going in 8 kts (17 and 90kg (200lb), and less than pro standard) I was hoping for 9-10, 8 would be sick, as long as I can still hold it down till 14-15 kts.

Thanks dude,

Pete.

[Johnny TBKS]

If you have a floaty board, I don't see why you couldn't. The speed of the steering on the kite makes it so easy to generate power. As far as Pro level, I feel that alot of pros can't ride at all in light winds, mainly because they dont even try. It does take some technique and practice to be able to stay upwind in really light winds, but if you have a lightwind board, it can be done. I think that http://www.kitesurfingschool.org/ has some information for light wind riding that may help you out.

Talk to ya later,
Johnny

[Guest]

Hey Johnny,

the kite arrived today (big smile) I have only had a quick look at it, didnt even pump it up, I had to come to work (where I happen to be now). The kite looks really sweet, the build looks excelent (from the quick look I had).

I do however have my first beef (minor and quick likely to be the only one):

The safety system that comes with the system it not able to be converted to a centre line spinning leash easily (I have used this system on my north for quite a while now and have found it far superior to a setup on the rear line). The problem is that the kite comes with 23m lines and 3 leaders (look about 7m to me) one attached to the chicken loops and one for either rear line. i can easily sort this out my self (and I will as soon as I get some more leader line), but it would be nice to have the option "out of the box" so to speak.

Another thing that may be an issue is that the bar supplied is 24" and all of the reviews I have read have been of people using 18" bars. I hope this doesnt mean the kite is going to turn ridiculously quick (but time will tell). What do you use? Do you think it is work while to speak to the dealer and see if I can swap it for a shorter bar before I use it (although being carbon I may be able to mod it myself with a saw)

Other than that the thing looks spot on with what I had imagined. It will be interesting to see how it relaunches.

Hopefully I can get a run tonight or tomorrow morn. Ill let you know how it goes.

Very much appreciating your (and others) reviews.

Thanks

Pete.

[Johnny TBKS]

On 2002-10-17 06:46, Anonymous wrote:
Hey Johnny,

the kite arrived today (big smile) I have only had a quick look at it, didnt even pump it up, I had to come to work (where I happen to be now). The kite looks really sweet, the build looks excelent (from the quick look I had).

I do however have my first beef (minor and quick likely to be the only one):

The safety system that comes with the system it not able to be converted to a centre line spinning leash easily (I have used this system on my north for quite a while now and have found it far superior to a setup on the rear line). The problem is that the kite comes with 23m lines and 3 leaders (look about 7m to me) one attached to the chicken loops and one for either rear line. i can easily sort this out my self (and I will as soon as I get some more leader line), but it would be nice to have the option "out of the box" so to speak.

Another thing that may be an issue is that the bar supplied is 24" and all of the reviews I have read have been of people using 18" bars. I hope this doesnt mean the kite is going to turn ridiculously quick (but time will tell). What do you use? Do you think it is work while to speak to the dealer and see if I can swap it for a shorter bar before I use it (although being carbon I may be able to mod it myself with a saw)

Other than that the thing looks spot on with what I had imagined. It will be interesting to see how it relaunches.

Hopefully I can get a run tonight or tomorrow morn. Ill let you know how it goes.

Very much appreciating your (and others) reviews.

Thanks

Pete.

GOOD POINT MAN. Out of the box option. But you can set it up like thatout of the box can't you? The manual may not mention it...shit, now that I think of it, I havent even read the manual in full. Anyway, you can rig it like you like. V from chicagokitesurfing covered that topic here in a previous post I think. Heres the exact topic thread I believe...
phpBB/viewtopic.php?topic=2774&forum=1&8

Check that out and if you have further questions about it, let us know.

Your kite will be ok on the 24 inch bar. Give it a try and see how you like it before changing bars. It may be what you like. I fly mine on different bar length's...just depends on which one I grab or dont have in use on another kite. I've used as small as an 18 inch bar on my 17 and as large as a 24 inch bar on it and I was pretty ok with both of them. These kites ARE fast turning though, so try it out. Also, remember to try different rear line attachment points if you find the kite too fast.

Listen to this....we are setting here talking about freakin' 17m kites turning TOO FAST! Tell me that this isn't just a beautiful thing. A year ago, we were looking for ways to speed them up. Helps to show how far kites have come, that's for sure.

I let someone demo a new Fuel today. This guy normally flies Naish kites...a few different models. Long story short, he came back in and told me that this must be a real tricksters kite or something cuase it's mad fast and more responsive than he cared to have it. This again was a large kite, set to it quickest turning settings. He felt better with it once I adjusted it to be a bit slower for he.

To each their own right? At least with this kite, each one who owns one can configure it to be the ideal kite that each would like to own.

You're gonna be stoked when you fly that thing. I'm eager to hear back from you. I was looping my kite today while riding, sometimes doing several loops back to back in one direction. I even looped the kite a couple of times to get the twists out of my lines instead of spinning the bar. It's great IMO to have a kite this size that is this responsive. I'm STOKED!

[Guest]

Never thought I would be so disapointed with wind readings like this:

(deg C) Dew Point (deg C) Rel Hum (%) Wind Dir Wind Speed Wind Gust Press (hPa) Rain since 9am
(mm) Max Temp
(C) Min Temp
(C) Max Wind Gust
(km/h) (knots) (km/h) (knots

21.6 6.3 37 NW 26 14 35 19

Maybe tomorrow I can get a go. Going sailing

Later,

Pete.

[Guest]

rollie

have you been living in a cave?

ever heard of th airblast. IMHO As an owner of both, all Naish did is clean up the AB


No one else on the market had anything similar until 6 months later... Look at some of the new kites coming out, they are so similar to the X2 and so many features are just simply ripped off.

Some of the new kites might be better than the X2, of course, they had the time to improve what was already on the market.

[chicagokitesurfer]

Anonymous,

I can say for sure that the Fuel and X2 are not similar in many ways. I saw both sitting side-by-side and there's a WORLD of difference.

Construction:
The fuel is built with rock-solid construction. X2 looks good, but not as solid and the seams on the Fuel make the X2 seem a step below. The materials used are totally different, too. I see differences all over.

Shape:
The fuel's' shape is completely different and the X2 has an extra inflatable strut on each side (2 extras) which do nothing but add weight. I doubt the Fuel was a copy regarding kite shape. Plus the extra panels that Slingshot uses allows them to customize the shape of the "arc" of the kite using their seams, not struts or bladder, reducing weight. A totally different concept than Naish designers.

Performance:
Seems the performance has big differences, too. The X2 is prone to break seams when they go down and a wave hits the LE of the kite. The 18m X2 did not perform well, either. I was out on my 15m ARC foil and weigh 30lbs more than the X2 rider. I was riding more upwind and getting jumps as high even though he was on an 18m kite. Wind was too light to see the 14 and 12m X2s in action.

All in all, Naish is a good kite and yes, they were released earlier, but there are too many differences to call them a copy. I respectfully, and totally, disagree.

V
http://www.chicagokitesurfing.com

[Johnny TBKS]

This is the second time I have seen this accusation, and I have to say that I whole heartedly agree with V. If you think slingshot is running a rip-off or copy job type of kite production, you are pretty well misinformed and more than likely just making accusations based on your assumptions.

Johnny