I have been fortunate enought to ride the new Monkeykites Tribe 13m2 for acouple of months now, and here are some of the thoughts. First off I want to say that I am affiliated by Monkeykites and do know them and ride they're product.
Positive:
- Super easy relaunch
- Stable as a rock
- Really really really high windrange
- Feels safe when you ride it
- Very nice and consistent pull
- Very fast turning
- AND it does not cost a fortune!
Negative:
- Less grunt than last year (go for one size bigger than you did last year)
- No onepump (yeah, I would really like this, not directly a negative quality tho)
- Battens (optional)
Kite inflated (the font is different on the kites that are now shipped)
Kite in air
The kite handels very nice, very fast but as I said abit less lower end that last years powerhouse, on the other hand it can be held in much much more wind. We had a visit to Tarifa in November last year, we used the 13m2 in conditions from 16-30 knots. Now 30 knots is NOT recommended, but we where doing fine on it in the lagoon. The 13m2 is at its best in the range between 16-22 knots (for us 70 kg riders).
Brede in the lagoon in about 28-30 knots
For kiteloops this is a machine!
Me doing a downloop
The thing compared to last year is that very little has to happen on the bar to make a change in the kites angel of attack. So alittle pull in of the depower strap (or pull out) and you will feel the changes directly in the kite. So you can change the very long chickenloop rope they send with the bar
Also a very nice kite on snow, nice consistent pull and a very big depower range.
Me doing a flat 3 off the kicker on snow
The only things I would like to put my finger on, is the battens. They are a bit anoying ... they are optional, BUT if you do not use them, then you have to pump the end struts really really hard (depending on the wind).
Brede doing a high railey
The strange thing with this kite is the really high range it has, and apparently it has a bridle system to make it behave and look more like a bow. The attchment points are all on the kite, but have not gotten any info on how to use this system as of now. The leading edge and struts are super thin.
It can be flown with or without a 5th line. The launch is super easy on a 5th line setup, when the kite has fallen out of the sky and had rolled over (it allways falls down that way). Just pick a backline and pull it and voila instant relaunch. It was a bit tricky at first, but this technique is works very nice
More info can be found on the Monkeykites forum http://www.monkeykites.com/forum/
If you have any questions let me know.
Good winds to you all!