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THE HELLFISH PROOF IS HERE!**TODAY'S LIGHT WIND TEST**

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RG87ST
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10mph?

Postby RG87ST » Sat May 21, 2005 2:36 pm

i guess we were lucky. got 10min rain at 630pm then it went perfect.

I'm still skeptical about 10mph.. it doesn't make sense you can be powered so light, you still need something to blow the kite... it's like wanting to rip a half foot wave with a high tech board...

anyways when i got Best I thought they'd be ok for the price since they would probably come apart after a while.
my kites are still good condition after over a season of hard kiting.

we'll eventually see the hellfishes out there and see what it's about.

i'm glad Best's pushing the envelope. good luck with that.

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gumball
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Postby gumball » Sat May 21, 2005 6:17 pm

More Hellfish reviews...

Image
click here for windows media format

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Balloonboy
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Postby Balloonboy » Sat May 21, 2005 7:03 pm

I keep suggesting head to head comparisons: guys at the same spot, on the same board, same everything more or less except one dewd is on a HF the other on the comparative kite ( 05 Rapture, Reactor would be good choices IMO).

Some goof sits on the beach with a wind meter. Not that I believe those things for ABSOLUTE readings but they are good for RELATIVE readings (e.g. it was reading avg X knots while the first rider was out with HF then increased to avg X + 2 knots while second rider was out)

They swap kites and after the session compare notes with what people observed on shore. E.g even in the light avg wind. the first rider on the HF could plane up quicker, stay planning with kite locked, and could stay up wind comfortably blah blah blah. You get the idea.

Please. Otherwise its just one man's opinion in isolation.

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Postby sq225917 » Sat May 21, 2005 7:51 pm

kazi:


you know i just couldn't work it out, something was wrong, but wth your last post, it all makes sense.


how you doing fella.

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kazi
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Postby kazi » Sun May 22, 2005 2:07 am

I'm fine :lostteeth:

I'd still just like to know how the depower is on this kite.

I'm looking at WW and Best and as a newbie I've heard good things [unbiased ..hehe] about both. I'm interested in the safety features. Doc has used both and I figured he could shed some light on this, especially with his comments about the 5th lines. So I figured he didn't use one on the Hellfish. I'm just confused because he mentioned in his review that he didn't need it, yet he said he was lofted. ....not much detail as to what he ment of course.

Anyway, obviously this is the first unbiased review, so people are going to read into everything thats said. The Hellfish is interesting to me because of the durability aspect. I'm in a position to get some kites but after that won't be able to upgrade for a couple of years at least. So I want something that will last. I also want something safe and forgiving. As 'fo' has mentioned this may still be down the road a ways...

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Postby skagroovy » Sun May 22, 2005 5:57 am

please post about a 200lb guy in 7 not winds... i dont care about 125lb light weight flying in 12-14, not your average kiter......

late

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DrLightWind
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Postby DrLightWind » Sun May 22, 2005 6:10 am

kazi wrote:I'd still just like to know how the depower is on this kite.

I'm interested in the safety features. Doc has used both and I figured he could shed some light on this, especially with his comments about the 5th lines.

OK, the trim strap was set for maximum power almost all the way out and Shannon told me you don't have to change that for light wind.
It’s long enough to give you the depower range when you needed IMO.

The safety feature has 2 quick releases, the main is just below the sheeting system for easy pull.
The secondary is at the chicken loop which would get rid of the kite in extreme cases.
This system is simple without any extra safety leash to tangle up because the chicken loop becomes your leash
when the main QR is activated.

Of course if you don’t like this system and you could find a better one you like, use that!

I’ve flown the 13m without any 5th line. I didn’t feel the need for it because I could relaunch it very fast.
Maybe because I have a lot of experience relaunching big kites in a light wind.
The other reason because I was one of the first one who experimented with 5th line and 5th elements I know the following disadvantages.
#1- Mainly more BS to set up.
#2- Spaghetti factor and line tangle.
#3- When your kite tumbles the 5th line wraps around the LE than your session is over because of swimming it back to shore.
#4- The 5th line can cut the LE as happened to people.

I didn’t like it after 3 months of flying, that’s why I got the Raptures.
Certain cases probably it’s desirable like in a case of a beginner or cold water quick launch and safety.
My opinion is that you could use a 5th line while you’re learning on the Hellfish since there is a place for it on the LE.
Later on when you don’t drop the kite to the soup you could remove it.

It would be easy to learn on this kite and learning to jump since the sweet spot is wider,
so you don’t need any board speed like with other high performance kites.

Same token a beginner could do more mistake on the Hellfish since it’s turning much faster.
Also as I mentioned it could lift you up in a cat’s fart in a light gust unexpectedly.
Because the 13m is so light the hang time is increased to a 17 – 18 m kite,
and the jumps are effortless like on a 7 – 9 m kite now you see? You have to be careful!!!

Don’t forget the Hellfish is a high end high performance kite so things can happen much faster,
that's part of the reason why you can get lofted easier!!!

Good luck with it,

DrLightWind

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DrLightWind
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Postby DrLightWind » Sun May 22, 2005 2:04 pm

skagroovy wrote:please post about a 200lb guy in 7 not winds... i dont care about 125lb light weight flying in 12-14, not your average kiter...
Here you go, rastakite is 50 lbs more than I do and flying the Hellfish in the same wind range. He had the same experience as I do.
Looks like I could even go lower than 10mph with a bigger board what normally I would use in such a light wind.

It's mind blowing I still can't believe it, because all this happened so fast unexpectedly and you won't know the truth until you fly one.
The difference is like days and nights so you don't want to go back to the darkness because the truth is shocking and so bright........
rastakite wrote:The 13m Hellfish
The wind was 10-12mph and I was riding the float 133 and I had PLENTY of power. I could jump and go up wind easy. the kite was super fast and responsive but it flies different then other kites. The wind was lite but I found that if I let the kite alone and not moved it up and down it generated more power the longer you just let it sit there. Really cool.

This thing felt like a much smaller kite but the hangtime was like a much bigger kite and the responsiveness was great no lag, you pull it goes like no other kite ive ever flown.

I weigh 180lbs.
DrLightWind

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Postby ptraykovski » Sun May 22, 2005 3:00 pm

Dr. L,

I the video I noticed a few other (traditional...obsolete?) kites in the background and they also seemed powered ok. Did you have a look to see what size kites others were on that day?

I have a 13 on order so i'm trying to get a feel for which kites it will replace. Will I use my 16 anymore. Wil it have same top end or similiar as my 12? Guess I'll find out soon enough

-Peter

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Postby jb » Sun May 22, 2005 3:42 pm

Same problem, I have two HF in Europe on order, delivery in July. I didn´t decided the sizes. Can you please compare the HF-sizes with Yarga-sices (11 HF like .....Yarga, 13 HF like ...Yarga)?


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