Postby stompinggrounds » Sun Jul 01, 2007 12:08 am
Hey all,
Everyone will look at this post and think I am pimping, but this is an honest review. I am 165 lbs and i would consider myself and advanced rider. The wind was 15 knots steady with a lull around prolly 13. The waves varied but mostly 3-5 foot faces. I come from the flexifoil atoms, which to me is by far the best kite ever made.
Construction:
The construction on the kite is great, definitely not subpar, prolly a step below flexis and slingshots.The bag is great plenty of size, nice strap options, and it's extendable.
The bar:
To me the bar was great. The actual bar itself has different textures on either side so people can tell which side is the correct one also the bar has a large NO on the wrong side so for beginners this is a great feature. The actual bar is pretty thick. I come from the skinny grippy flexi bar which is awesome, so this bar seems to fat and soft for my liking, however i know this pleases some people. The depower strap is the classic pull pull which works flawlessly. The EZ lock is great for underpowered riding adjusting the stopper will have you litt in no time. It has other advantages that you will see later. Eclipse team rider Alex Fox has come up with a very cool use for the stopper. Some of the leashes that were sent out were defective, but dimitri sent me a beefed up brand new one instantly. I had it the next day, and so far no problems.
Flight:
Upwind i thought was actually better than my atoms. I felt a couple of time like i was trucking downwind, however it turned out i was well upwind of my previous tacks.
Speed was much better than my atom, it was extremely fast. Kiteloops became a joke. I could throw the loops as powered as i wanted knowing the kite would be fast enough to climb back to neutral allowing me to land like butter.
Stability was standard. I had heard from alot of people that it was a twitchy kite and i would have to watch it, but i was doing unhooked wake stuff, and found no problems. I do keep my hand up against my chiken loop line.
Feel:
Hopefully you guys will understand what i say when i talk about feel, its like bar feedback. The eclipse has very direct steering, and has an elasticy full feel that makes the kite feel very oft and relaxing in your hands. Great for beginners.
Boosting:
Im not a huge booster but i had been told that this is where this kite shines so i had to pull the trigger a couple of times. With the help of the kickers(waves) i felt like i pulled some 20 - 25 footers, in 15 knots on a 12 i thought that was pretty sick.
Overall:
I am very pleased, this kite is all i wanted and more. Speed, stability, and a good bosster to boot makes this kite great for the advanced freestyler, seasoned pro and even the beginner. A couple of small things the kite needs. I would love to see the kites have quality and build like a SS or flexi, and also one pump i feel needs to be an industry standard.
I will be pleased to answer any questions.