Windwing Rage 2 review (10, 12, 17m)
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:02 pm
I just got back from 7 days in Ventana, Baja Mexico. I spent 4 of the 7 days trying out my new quiver of Rage II’s (10, 12 and 17m).
I purchased the kites in Mid December and wanted to try them out before the 30 day return expired.
I have been kiting for one season in the SF bay area (Sherman, Stinson, 3rd, Crissy, …), am a pretty competent intermediate kiter. My main focus in my progression is getting to the point where I can jump consistently so I can start doing some tricks in the air. Kites I have owned are Naish Aero II’s, and Globriders lifts.
I flew the kites configured with the Safe system and the CC bar.
Range: Tons of range. I was able to stay on the water way longer and through much more wind speed changes than I could have ever with my prior kites. The nice part was I did not need to continually adjust a depower strap to do so. With my prior kites when gusts would hit or when the wind really picked up I would have to really work at not loosing my edge. With these kites and the CC bar you simply push the bar away slightly through the gust and sheet it back in when through the gust. On one day I was the 1st one on the water in light winds on the 17m kite. By the time I came in many were out on 10’s and 12’s fully powered.
Safety: The SAFE system works. When you push the bar out all of the way the kite looses 90% of its power, flutters in the air and slowly falls to one side of the window. For me this is a huge step towards safety. Not having to take your hands off the bar to depower a kite is huge. I originally came across WW on the forums in my search for a safer system. I was not disappointed.
Upwind Ability: Good
Jumping ability: Since this is an area I am working on all I can say is I can jump higher and more consistently that I could with my prior kites. Outside of that I have no way of really judging these kites jumping ability.
Riding with the CC bar: The CC bar took a little getting use to, but after a few days there is no way I would go back to a standard bar. Riding one handed is great even in gusty conditions.
Re-launch: The kites were all very easy to re-launch. By pushing the bar all the way out it was very easy to get all 3 kites on their backs.
Set up Instructions: These needed some work. The kites come configured with a standard set up. They contain instructions and bridals for setting up the SAFE and Relaunch systems. I needed to make few phone calls to Windwing to get things set up correctly. They were very helpful and after a few hours I had all 3 kites set up with the SAFE system. I think they have already corrected most of the 1st shipment problems. Once you have it set up correctly there is no more messing around each time you use the kites.
In summary:
I would highly recommend these kites. They definitely have one of if not the Safest system on the market and by far the most range of any kites I have flown. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Note: While I was in Ventana one of WW’s team riders named Flash was there. He was riding all of their different kites for a photo shoot. All I can say is the kites in no way hindered his performance (kiteloops, huge jumps, upwind, …).
-marin
I purchased the kites in Mid December and wanted to try them out before the 30 day return expired.
I have been kiting for one season in the SF bay area (Sherman, Stinson, 3rd, Crissy, …), am a pretty competent intermediate kiter. My main focus in my progression is getting to the point where I can jump consistently so I can start doing some tricks in the air. Kites I have owned are Naish Aero II’s, and Globriders lifts.
I flew the kites configured with the Safe system and the CC bar.
Range: Tons of range. I was able to stay on the water way longer and through much more wind speed changes than I could have ever with my prior kites. The nice part was I did not need to continually adjust a depower strap to do so. With my prior kites when gusts would hit or when the wind really picked up I would have to really work at not loosing my edge. With these kites and the CC bar you simply push the bar away slightly through the gust and sheet it back in when through the gust. On one day I was the 1st one on the water in light winds on the 17m kite. By the time I came in many were out on 10’s and 12’s fully powered.
Safety: The SAFE system works. When you push the bar out all of the way the kite looses 90% of its power, flutters in the air and slowly falls to one side of the window. For me this is a huge step towards safety. Not having to take your hands off the bar to depower a kite is huge. I originally came across WW on the forums in my search for a safer system. I was not disappointed.
Upwind Ability: Good
Jumping ability: Since this is an area I am working on all I can say is I can jump higher and more consistently that I could with my prior kites. Outside of that I have no way of really judging these kites jumping ability.
Riding with the CC bar: The CC bar took a little getting use to, but after a few days there is no way I would go back to a standard bar. Riding one handed is great even in gusty conditions.
Re-launch: The kites were all very easy to re-launch. By pushing the bar all the way out it was very easy to get all 3 kites on their backs.
Set up Instructions: These needed some work. The kites come configured with a standard set up. They contain instructions and bridals for setting up the SAFE and Relaunch systems. I needed to make few phone calls to Windwing to get things set up correctly. They were very helpful and after a few hours I had all 3 kites set up with the SAFE system. I think they have already corrected most of the 1st shipment problems. Once you have it set up correctly there is no more messing around each time you use the kites.
In summary:
I would highly recommend these kites. They definitely have one of if not the Safest system on the market and by far the most range of any kites I have flown. I would be happy to answer any questions you have.
Note: While I was in Ventana one of WW’s team riders named Flash was there. He was riding all of their different kites for a photo shoot. All I can say is the kites in no way hindered his performance (kiteloops, huge jumps, upwind, …).
-marin
