Ocean Rodeo Mako Review

[bigbamboo]

I should first preface this review by saying that I am an importer, and retailer of Ocean Rodeo kites.
My friend Pete leant me his Mako 150 yesterday, and what follows are my impressions of the board.
The wind was blowing around 17-19 knots yesterday, and as I have been thinning out my quiver of kites to make room for my One’s (apparently my wife does not share my beleife that there is no such thing as too many kites…), I had to use my 8m. Ocean Rodeo Stinger. I weigh around 145 lbs, and normally I wouldn’t use this kite in these winds, but I thought I would be overpowered on my Bronco 14m in the gusts. The board I normally ride is STILL the original Ocean Rodeo Outlaw from 2002?, but I thought I would have trouble going upwind underpowered on the Stinger 8m.Pete offered his Mako, and said he would use my outlaw with his Bronco 10m.
I have built my own plywood/epoxy board, which has worked as well as most production boards I have used, and much better than some. Generally, I think that the: swallow tail, bat tail, progressive rocker, flip tip, 3 stage rocker, torsion tip, progressive flex, etc. to be the typical marketing BS that sporting goods manufacturers need to dream up to get us to buy the new fandangled, can’t do without gadget for this season. I remember speaking with the owner of a certain board company at Surf Expo one year about how much I liked my super flexy Outlaw. He was good enough to take the time to explain to me in some scientific, and engineering detail why flex sucks, and why his super stiff carbon boards were the only way to go. Next season he came out with his own line of flexy boards that were a revolution, and were far superior to the stiff boards everyone else was making.
The Mako has made re-think that it may not all be marketing BS after all. I do however believe that the progression in kite technology does warrant upgrading the quiver periodically, as most of the new bells and whistles are legitimate improvements.
The first thing I noticed about the Mako was the dichotomy of its feeling both loose, and solid in one board. Although I was never overpowered in the conditions I was in with the 8m, there were some powerful gusts, yet I never felt I was going to lose an edge, and even when I wasn’t edging especially hard, the board felt locked to the water in spite of the choppy conditions. The sea was about 3-4 ft swell with confused chop, and plenty of whitewater, but somehow the board smoothed out the chop, and my knees didn’t take the pounding they normally would have. The board is longish, but had a smaller, very controllable feel in the chop, and swell. In spite of its locked in feeling while edging, the board easily slides out, and breaks free to carve a turn. I suppose that it is that the board has only 2 fins that gives it this nice loose feel, and the concave that holds it down.
As I was riding the board, I was thinking of a slalom water-ski which has only one fin, yet you can edge extremely hard, and get a shoulder near the water without sliding out, again due I suspect to a skis concave shape. A ski would have of course been a complete disaster in this sort of sea.
I had no trouble going upwind on the Mako, and even when I felt underpowered, and flattened the board out, I still seemed to be making some headway upwind. I normally use the Stinger to teach beginners since it handles, and re-launches so easily, however with its low aspect, 3 strut design, it is not an upwind demon, but with the Mako, it was never a problem.
I never got an appreciation for the balance of pressure between the front and back feet that people say is possible with this board, as I think I was riding it as a “traditionalâ€

[bc]

Hey derek,

Good to see that you are out there kiting, was wondering what you were up too. The local forum has been very dead. Wind is starting to arrive in Tanzania had a couple of sessions last week, forecast this week looks good too.

Cheers

BC

[TomW]

I´ve ridden my Mako a year and can vouch for the locked and loose feel.
Even leg pressure is possible, even turning board on front leg, driving tip around the turn, like a carving ski or snowboard.

Mako is speedy too, ridden flat the board tracks and goes fast in a speed run.

Forgiving when landing sloppy jumps in choppy conditions.

I am not sponored by anyone.

TW