This particular one is from the former Freak Dog (I have difficulty even writing that) which is Eric Hertsens' production and design. Eric is someone you can trust to not short-spec the kite, so the build is excellent. It is a 12 and looks like a high aspect ribbon in the sky. The last very high aspect kite I had was a Peter Lynn F ARC. It was an electric animal: the power came on/off like a bolt of lightning. I love the simple graphic stripe. A spray can of auto bumper paint dispatched the big F__ D__.



Picking a first-try day when the gusts were into the low 30mph was kind of stoopid but I stayed close to the backside of this point. When time to put it down (I self-launch/land 90% of the time..) I dropped the kite into a wind shadow. Out into deeper water it was Victory at Sea and not much fun anyway.

I only rode for about 45 minutes but was really pleased how it held this air. It was waaay too gusty for me to feel totally safe, but after about four tacks I could ride one hand. I was afraid the kite would turn into a Jack Russell, but not, it was very stable. Yet, perhaps the best thing - you can really throw this kite. It responds to the bar like a 7M ...yet is stable like a 14/16.

I am used to a much longer depower throw, but with a little strap I found a happy medium. I will also need some more time to figure out jump timing. It does not seem to have the abrupt boost as some kites. I am also used to a lot of bar pressure, whereas almost all the power was sent to the hook.

I love that sound when the kite 'feathers' as it reaches zenith in a jump. Because of the confident control, landings were simple and smooth. Conditions were such, the only time I really let it generate speed, I exploded ..and went for a high and long rotation - without my board. Even upside down and backwards, the kite was easy to control.

The forecast is good for the next week, so I should be able to make a side-by-side comparison with my other favorite 12 - the 2008 j-n DiVinci.

Jim

.... I edited this post because I mistakenly thought the patent was for Bruno Legaignoux 'flat kite' design. The design is from the board of Eric Hertsens.

I think you are misinformed, as far as I know, this kite was 100% designed and developed by Eric from EH kiteboarding, EH pays the Diamond White royalties for the use of the SLE and the concave trailing edge technologies, Bruno was never involved in the development of any EH kite designs.

BTW, the kite you tested is a 2007 EH Ripper model produced for Freakdog. EH stopped production for FD early 2009.

Marc

"I think you are misinformed"... Marc: You are 100% correct.

From Eric's pen: "I have never seen a Bruno Ultra Flat, we are neighbors, (3hr drive), but hardly see each other. I pay for the Diamond White patent because I use the concave trailing edge ..."

Assumptions (It should be a Mortal Sin to make an assumption) will make you look like an idiot every time. I remember seeing the video of Bruno's kite .. and assuming that Bruno and Eric probably live next door to each other and share Mangos in the morning.. 1 flat kite = another flat kite in ones small mind.

My apologies to Eric. (Luckily, Toby won't allow him to come thru this page and grab me by the neck...) ..but I'll have more to to say about this kite shortly.

Jim

hey . . . you will love this kite . . .

it jumps very well/easily and hangs well too . . .

very stable . . .will happily sit above you . . . and its turning ability is surprising for such a high AR kite . . .

i have used it happily on a 45cm bar but had it out the other day on a 55cm bar and 25m lines and the wind came up to the 18-20 knots and what a great session . . . really does everything well in flight . . . i usually only rig it for lighter winds and put it on a bigger board . . . it can develop a lot of apparent wind on a fast board . . .

i don't think EH plans on making any more Rippers bigger than 9m which is a little sad . . . so i am hanging on to mine . . .

Today was great. Usually, our South is a steady wind but the last few have been gusty as much a 2X+.. Today there were good periods of about 16-18kts with pops into 20. This kite is perfect for those conditions.

I didn't get a chance to put the other 12 against it but flew my 08 Rhino 14 before the winds started peaking. By comparison, the R14 is slow to respond to the bar - tends to overpower (extra 2M?) more easily and, when it came to jumping, does not make me look as good. I'm sh/t compared to some of our better crew, but if I can land every jump quietly and softly - then in this case; the kite makes the man.

I'm still a bit confuuz'ed about the jumps.. I cannot decide if this is a kite to throw from 9-to-12 or 11-to-1 ..? I may switch from a seat to waist harness to get the bar up higher. I tend to think I work better if the bar is above eye-level versus at my shoulders. Another thing I need to figure out; I can get more altitude with the R14 .. but this 12 glides like a hang glider. I love that hang glider feeling! I will not take this into the ocean 'till I am more comfortable with it but would expect the kicker off wave faces will help me with gaining altitude.

I cannot think of a thing the kite does wrong. It is hard to water launch in light air, but a 12, at my weight (86kg), should stay in the bag if there is no white showing on the water. You know, how if you were going to Brazil, Cabarete, HAT, etc...you naturally think the winds will be better there - this is a kite I would pack.

Jim

The third session was a little less productive - but instructive. Winds went from near zero to mid-teens. During the later, I may have had to work the kite a bit but was getting upwind fine. Jumping was a waste of time because the winds were very uneven. I seem to need a wind that will hold steady or increase in the middle of a jump.

During one of the lulls, the kite fell out and did not want to relaunch. I found out why: the #4 strut was soft and the kite would not continue the roll to allow the center strut to clear the water. I went in, pumped it up, and it drift launched fine.

One other thing; I modified Eric's lineset. For me, his lines are waay too fine because I self-launch most of the time. That means that I dump the kite to the leash when I am done and hand-over-hand the kite into me. I have had some 4-line kites that were like trying to land a 20kg Grouper without a rod and reel.

I replaced the center lines with a pair of current version North rears. North uses a heavily braided line that is quite tolerable with bare lines. I changed the leash and added a stopper ball from Cabby so the bar cannot go all the way to the kite. I love the bar itself. It is a perfect size for my hands. I like a meaty bar .. and a big bonus is it becomes larger toward the center. I had an RRD bar that did that - excellent. I keep a loop of Velcro on my wrist that I wrap the lines when done.

Jim

....this is a simple copy/paste of another post in the regular section, but is tied to this kite.

It may not be the 5th line specifically .. but I kite alone 90% of the time, drift launch ..then land in the water. I much prefer a 5th line when reeling in a kite hand-over-hand.



I got this 12M, 'Unleashed' Freak Dog ... which may be an EH Ripper with a different, properly buried, name printed on it. I have Eric's line set and bar. I changed out his lines to thick fronts, added a Cabby stopper ball up the safety line ..but was, still, not totally happy. One thing; the bar is too low for me. I like to hang on the bar .. I enjoy bar pressure, so a low bar with light pressure is not to my taste.



So I took my trust North, 5-line bar and hooked it to the FD-12. It's not exactly that easy. It took me a couple of scary moments to find the right lengths for the pigtails added to the front lines and the 5th pigtail which is connected to the pump leash loop. First go I had about 35cm too much back line which made the kite a wild, back-flying weasel .. the second go about 15cm too much back line tension, gave full power at zenith with the North bar all the way up .. the third was the Charm. Wholey sh/t....

This kite was trans-fricking-formed. Winds were peaking into the mid-20kt range. The other two people out were on 9's. I've had lotsa of kites but never one that goes upwind as fast. I could ride comfortably with one arm 70% extended with the kite about 60degrees in these winds. With the ability to completely luff the kite - it was never scary .. not one second.

I have also found the perfect jumper. I was having trouble with the stock bar only coming to about shoulder height with my seat harness. You can see in the bar picture how much farther the North bar will come up. I find it best - for me - to extend my arms and do a pull up on the bar. I like to keep the bar overhead and then crank it. Back stalling is waiting in the wings, but at these winds, the bar rarely came down halfway. This is also not a kite for 10 knots...

The kite is fast: throw back to about 1 and allow it to luff at the top of the jump and then crank down on the bar for a Pillow landing. You can pick from a standing-still or speed landing. I have said it before; this kite makes me look a helluva lot better than I am.


If you have this kite and can borrow a recent North bar: add pigtails (strong ones!) with a couple of knots to the front lines at about 15 and 18cm. Then make a 3m/10cm 5th line pigtail... better if you color mark them ... especially the 5th line - Blue. .... then go find some wind.

Jim

.... I live my life in the open, so I'll share a pvt. message
_________________

Wow.. is the name really that embarrasing for you?

Well I felt the need to address your name-o-phobias, because, even though we did private lable the kites, we have had nearly 3 years and 5 modifications(generations) to the kites, and could have saved you a whole lot of time getting the most out of your kite, especially in the bar set-up, but then again, maybe our name is so scary to you, that you would not have listened to our suggestions anyway.

By the way, we are still in business and operational. I hope after reading this you get the fact that we actually have a sense of humor and find it funny that you spent the time to remove my names from your kite.. How did you get FD off of the struts? HAHA
Take care, thanks for reading.. LOL
Scott

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Scott: I actually tempered my opinion of your brand name. I could not think of a worse name. I do not find it scary, just not something I wanted to associate with.

Freaks are associated with those poor bastards that had to display themselves for money in carnivals, Bipolar religious kooks and half the people on the Venice Beach strand..

Dogs in many cultures are feral scavengers on social par with rats .. and in my culture, when attached to performance, a Dog is bottom scale.

I'm not some Mormon pucker-butt, but there is some level of guilt-by-association with everything you display whether a 'SHOW ME YOUR TITS' t-shirt or Girard-Perregaux watch. So, Yes, I thought about painting out the struts, but the type is fairly small and civilians cannot see it when the kite is parked on the ground.

Scott, luckily we live in a country where you can almost do anything commercially and if you like this name ...then I wish you all the best.

Jim

You need to upgrade your imagination I think

.. Touche' Kami. I should have phrased that; of existing brands.

Jim