Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Best Yarga 13.5m

Find reviews of kites, boards and accessories
User avatar
Dax
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2757
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:41 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Portland, Oregon
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Best Yarga 13.5m

Postby Dax » Wed Mar 10, 2004 12:35 am

Best Yarga 13.5m

Rider: 165lbs (75kg)
Experience: Intermediate
Other Kites Owned: 16m Aero2, 12m Aero, 10m Aero, 14m Fuel 02, 6.5m Airush ATV
Board: 147cm Hammersurf GTO
Bar/Lines: 50cm bar, UDS, 27m lines
Test Day 1: 12-14mph
Test Day 2: 18-28mph

Pictures of Kite (see post below)

I wish I could do a full review on the kite, but I really only got the chance to try it twice. The first session was pretty underpowered, and the second session started good but then got overpowered. If you are looking for a review from a rider with more experience on these type of kites (newer moderate AR) please read SQ's review here: phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2299981

For my review I will say that I am mearly an intermediate rider, and don't have a lot of fancy tricks under my belt. But I'd imagine a lot of people reading this are probably at the same point in their kiteboarding career, so my review is for you.

Physical Impression

Lots of material, very stiff tips and struts. The foam backing on the LE and struts may be what cause this kite to feel a bit heavier than my Aero2 16. The material also seems thicker in many sections where the Aero2 is very thin. The kite looks nice pumped up, I am a fan of the 1/3 Blue 2/3 Black color layout, but not all my friends were. The struts match the color of the canopy, and some people I showed it to were suspicous of how the black fabric will last in the sun. I have had non symetrical layout kites before, but never with different colored struts. Time will tell if this will effect long term performance or not. Its certainly not the only primarily black kite out there (my friend's 04 Fuels are both primarily black with half black struts.)

When pumped up the kite is very stiff, especially in the struts. The tip struts are fed from the LE blatter, and are much stiffer than on my Aero2 for the same amount of air pressure. Even with the kite not pumped up to 6 psi, the struts on the tips felt very firm.

In the Air

No real surprises here. It did seem very stable, and I liked how the kite maintained its shape even when I drastically changed the sheeting. My Aero2 has an annoying quality where the end tips pinch in when its sheeted in, this causes the the handling of the kite to change every time you change the AOA. The Yarga seemed to maintain its shape and handling characteristics until I completely oversheeted it.

It had more bar pressure than my Aero2, which took some getting used to. Depowered the steering didn't change too much, and I was surprised how much control I had even with the rear lines completely slacked.

Wind Range

The low end was very impressive. Even when I probably was asking more of the kite then I should have, it still responded with plenty of power. I could generate a lot of speed and power and even jump head high in 12mph wind, but it took 14mph before I could stay upwind easily. Even in low wind, the kite moved me along the water more quickly than my others do.

The upper end didn't reveal any magic. Its kind of an odd sized kite for me, that feels pretty big. I didn't feel comfortable on it past 25mph. This could be in part because of my bigger board (which I plan on replacing soon.) I was happy with how the kite would shoot forward in the window when I needed it.

Unfortunately I never got to ride the kite in its sweet spot wind range (15-20mph), which kind of sucks since I think it would have done well. I was happy with it even outside of its range, and would say that its very friendly from 14-25mph.

Water Relaunching

Never had a problem, relaunched as easy as my older kites, way easier than my Aero2.

Jumping

Since I never quite had good wind, my jumps were either little baby ones, or crazy high ones. The big jumps were higher than I've been before, but I never quite got the timing down right. It was also on my very first week after not being out in months, so I am still a bit rusty. I can say though that the Yarga had me going high enough that I'm not sure that a higher AR kite (like the Nemesis) is really necessary.

Turning

No big surprises here. It turns pretty quick. I think I might need to go to a bigger bar (currently using 50cm) to get the most out of the turning.

Conclusions

I think the Yarga is a fantastic kite. At first my buddies all made fun of the name (what the hell does it mean anyway?) and the fact that its cheap. It doesn't have the sex appeal and cool features of say a One Pump Fuel, but it flies just as good (I rode it on the same day as my buddy on a 04 Fuel.) I'd say if you have a deal on an 04 Fuel that makes it just as cheap, go for it. Otherwise, its a no brainer: Buy the Yarga, take the hundreds of dollars you saved, and go to the offseason spot you've been dreaming about. You can be assured that your money was well spent on a kite that will not disappoint, and when you start jumping higher than your buddies who spent 30% more, then you will have the last laugh. :thumb:
Last edited by Dax on Thu Apr 15, 2004 4:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Dax
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2757
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:41 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Portland, Oregon
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Dax » Wed Mar 24, 2004 6:41 am

Have had a couple more sessions to get to know this kite...

Low end rocks! I can get upwind and planning as early as my buddy on his 17m 04 Fuel. I could stay upwind long after many others on the same size kite from other 04 brands have given up.

The kite is super stable, no problems keeping it flying on the beach when wind was dipping way down. Other 04 kites on the ground, Yarga flying happily.

Power is smooth, but it does turn on when the wind picks up. Still not sure about this kite much over 20mph (I think I need a shorter board.)

Jumps when executed correctly are incredibly floaty, feel very nice.

It likes to be pumped up HARD. The small leading edge means it needs extra air pressure. This is fine by me though since I think its low end and jump abilities could probably be attributed to the slim leading edge.

That's all for now, needless to say this kite has not failed to impress anyone yet (price aside.)

User avatar
sq225917
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 8789
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 1996
Local Beach: Cleethorpes, Hunstanton, Lytham
Gear: Eleveight and Flysurfer
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 8 times

Postby sq225917 » Wed Mar 24, 2004 8:11 pm

i'm surprised by your comments regarding the low end, i've tried it back to back with the 17 fuel and the 13.5 yarga does not have the same pull. though it is way easier to go upwind on due to the its speed across the window once it hits 15mph.

i agree with you regarding its jumpability though, but you might want to check that wind reading with a speedmeter next time you are out.

User avatar
Dax
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2757
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:41 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Portland, Oregon
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Dax » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:06 am

Wind in the Gorge at the Event site is very hard to get a read on. All I can say is I was staying upwind at the same time as I rider on a 17m Fuel was not. Could be different rider abilities and what not (though I think he has more experience.) Also in the same wind my buddy and I had about the same results when trying to get up on a plane. Though I haven't tried the 17m myself, so I guess I can't say for sure.

For now I will concede benefit of the doubt, but I must say low end upwind performance has been awesome so far.

User avatar
ferrarista
Frequent Poster
Posts: 320
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2004 8:11 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Montreal,Canada
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby ferrarista » Wed Apr 14, 2004 10:25 pm

Hey Dax there is no pictures of your kite in the gallery. I kind needed those pics to show my cousin.

thanks

User avatar
Dax
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2757
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2003 12:41 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Portland, Oregon
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Dax » Thu Apr 15, 2004 4:21 pm

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

User avatar
ferrarista
Frequent Poster
Posts: 320
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2004 8:11 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Montreal,Canada
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby ferrarista » Thu Apr 15, 2004 6:36 pm

sweet pics Dax. thanks alot

User avatar
Dutchie
Medium Poster
Posts: 152
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 9:29 pm
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Postby Dutchie » Thu Apr 15, 2004 8:33 pm

Like the color and the pics should make an end to the discussion about qualitity[/i]

User avatar
tautologies
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 10864
Joined: Mon Feb 16, 2004 5:36 am
Brand Affiliation: None
Location: Oahu
Has thanked: 100 times
Been thanked: 156 times
Contact:

sizes...

Postby tautologies » Wed May 05, 2004 10:09 pm

Hi

Dax, when you say that
Low end rocks! I can get upwind and planning as early as my buddy on his 17m 04 Fuel. I could stay upwind long after many others on the same size kite from other 04 brands have given up.
you should actually put your kite besides your friends kite. We measured my Nemesis 14 with a Gaastra 14, and the Nemesis was way bigger, both in length and width. No wonder I had so much pull, and that I could go upwind when others had problems on their 16....now apart from that I am super stoked about the kite. It's really nice, and jumps good, and fast as hell. I really like the kite.
...but I thought 14 m2 was 14m2. I kinda wish there were some standards to follow....

a.

User avatar
sq225917
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 8789
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 1996
Local Beach: Cleethorpes, Hunstanton, Lytham
Gear: Eleveight and Flysurfer
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 8 times

Postby sq225917 » Wed May 05, 2004 10:39 pm

not all kite manufacturers measure the same way, calculating flat area from curves can be done differently according to projection points, and most manufacturers size their kites up or down to fit in with other models in the range, so perhaps the gastra is out.

the nemesis 14 is very close to the north 14m and the 13.5 yarga is only a touch bigger than the 04 fuel 13m

i'll bet there isnt a kite on the market that is within 5% of its stated size


Return to “Reviews”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 50 guests