g'day all, my aplogies if this message appears twice. the first post does not appear to have worked. anyway, i'm looking at getting a new kite for use in 10 - 15 knot winds. i'm interested in purchasing either an arx, airblast or rhino. i'd be particularly interested in hearing anyone's comments on how the rhino compares with the arx and airblast. i'd also be interested in hearing anyone's thought on what size kite to get. i'm not sure whether a 12m or 16m is the way to go.

thanks in advance

oops, i forgot to mention in my previous post that i'm about 78 - 80kg and don't really intend on using the kite with a board longer than 150.

Hi,

I would suggest a Rhino 16.0.
A friend, who tested all of them told me to prefer the Rhino in the bigger sizes.
In smaller sizes he would suggest another kite, but for winds of 10-15 knts you need a 16 sqm kite. Assuming you are able to handle the kite queit well you can go for this size. With your weight and board size a 12 sqm kite won't make you happy, since you won't have enough pressure in it for having fun.

Cheers
Toby

I have a Rhino16m. I'm up and kiting at 6 to 10knots on a wipika Eclipse 159.
I'm 72KG.

thanks for the replies. i've not had a good look at rhinos, are they well made. what sort of setup do they have for adjusting the power. unfortunately, every time i try to look at north's website it crashes my computer.

also, i've not flown a 16 meter kite before, i'd be interested in hearing your comments on what it's like to fly a kite this big.

see ya

I had a 15.5 ARX before and it was quiet tough to ride with. Strong steering forces and very hard to relaunch.
But it provides great power at light winds.
And at stronger winds you have a great hangtime.
The Rhino 16 has less steering forces and relaunches easier than the ARX. And it is easier to jump with, since it handles better and turns faster.

So in this size the Rhino 16 is one of the best choices. You will have a lot of fun with it.

Toby

the quality of the Rhino is very good, since the tubes are made of Dacron, which eliminates delaminations.
The whole kite looks great and I didn't hear of any problems.

here a picture of the rodeo bar:

thanks toby, i was actually just speaking with a few guys on the beach today and they also suggested that the 16m rhino was the better kite. looks like i'll be ording the rhino tomorrow. i'll let you know what i think when i get it out in the water.

cheers.