KITEWHIPPED...in love with the Thruster!

[KITEWHIPPED]

I just returned from a 4 day trip to OBX and demo-ed Dimitri's Thruster kites (10m, 12m, and 14m) along with his 127 Skywalker board. I think I made a mistake demo-ing the equiptment b/c now I've fallen in love with it and can't stand the idea of flying anything else. I plan to sell my quiver of 2006 waroos (7m, 9m, 11m) and my 14m GK sonic to replace them with these kites. The kite reminds me of the Cabrinha Switchblade (another kite I love), but better. The safety system is as close as you could get to having a 5th line and it's foolproof. I found that with my waroos the only way I could guarantee that the kite wouldn't relaunch in high winds was to attach to the OSR, but inevitably this would stretch my line if I pulled the release in high winds. There is no way to stretch the lines when pulling the release on the Thruster. This hybrid kite has the pros of both bow kites and C-kites and none of the cons that I can see. It depowered well in gusty conditions, moved quickly and was super powerful with unreal hangtime. Considering the kind of air that Dimitri likes to catch, I'm not surprised that he designed this kite. What's amazing is that you don't have to be an expert to use this kite. I just had to share my experience. If anyone is interested in buying my quiver, let me know.

[stevejo]

I just returned from a 4 day trip to OBX and demo-ed Dimitri's Thruster kites (10m, 12m, and 14m) along with his 127 Skywalker board. I think I made a mistake demo-ing the equiptment b/c now I've fallen in love with it and can't stand the idea of flying anything else. I plan to sell my quiver of 2006 waroos (7m, 9m, 11m) and my 14m GK sonic to replace them with these kites. The kite reminds me of the Cabrinha Switchblade (another kite I love), but better. The safety system is as close as you could get to having a 5th line and it's foolproof. I found that with my waroos the only way I could guarantee that the kite wouldn't relaunch in high winds was to attach to the OSR, but inevitably this would stretch my line if I pulled the release in high winds. There is no way to stretch the lines when pulling the release on the Thruster. This hybrid kite has the pros of both bow kites and C-kites and none of the cons that I can see. It depowered well in gusty conditions, moved quickly and was super powerful with unreal hangtime. Considering the kind of air that Dimitri likes to catch, I'm not surprised that he designed this kite. What's amazing is that you don't have to be an expert to use this kite. I just had to share my experience. If anyone is interested in buying my quiver, let me know.

There is quite a bit of hype about these kites alright!
I know I'm not one to talk as I've only joined in the last few months too, but you joined today and all of a sudden have a top review?
Or is this an eclipse competitor trying to give this eclipse pimping impression? ha, i'm just being paranoid!!
Kites I'd like genuine reviews and would love to try are the eclipse thruster, blade vertigo, royal era,north vegas, + very curious about these new flat kites, fluid torque, wind-x and EH ripper... I'll get searching!

[windyway]

After reading the hype and flying a dozen different kites, I took a chance and bought a slightly used 2007 Eclipse Thruster 14m at a very reasonable price. I was so satisfied, I bought two Nanos in smaller sizes on a closeout.

The good comments you read about Eclipse are true, regardless of who wrote them.

[K3rM1t]

stevejo - If you think it's hype, don't listen to any of us. Go find a demo, try it for yourself. You're welcome to demo mine when they get here (SD) if your in this area. If not, find someone close to you and try it.

Then let us know what you think!

[pbmaniac27]

yeh most of what i hear about eclipse it legit

dimitri really is on the money with these kites

i have 12m thruster and love it to death. Its fast than my 9m waroo and really is a great all around kite which combines many of the benefits of different style kites 2gether


try it and you will see what i mean

i couldnt see myself on any other kites i have tried

[stevejo]

hey don't get me wrong, i'm not saying these kite aren't as good as he says! They're on my list of kites to try for sure (see my last post ). I was commenting more on the fact that he joined kiteforum the day he posted his review.

[alkiter]

I don't have any Eclipses, but I have to admit they are impressive and recommend you try them out. I tried an 08 Nano 12 and an 07 Thruster 14 and was impressed by the turning speed of the Thruster 14 (as fast as my Rebel 12) and the huge lift. Plus I like the "5th line type" and below the bar safety. I'd give them a go if the QR was changed to a 360 deg accessible and push away type.

[fkb]

It's true these are great kites, I won't argue that.

Unfortunately the deal is that if you get the bro deal or free kite you have to post on the forum about how good the kite is.

This being someone's FIRST POST is proof enough ... but there are plenty of other similar posts to back up this claim.

I hope the discount was worth selling out.

[KITEWHIPPED]

Stevejo and fkb,
I think you have several misconceptions about me. First of all, I am a SHE, not a HE. Second of all, the length of time I have been on this site does not reflect the length of time I've been kiteboarding, demo-ing equiptment, or viewing kiteboarding sites. Third of all, if you question what kind of work I do, click on my profile. There is no need to be judgemental. I tried the Eclipse kites, loved them, and wanted to get the word out so other people could be as inspired as I was to finally motivate to sign up for this site. I didn't know that there was a cut-off for one's enthusiasm when talking about kites, or a certain amount of postings required to give an opinion about a kite. Thanks for the warm welcome to the site.

[fkb]

Didn't say anything about your sex, job, or kiting experience.

Welcome to kite forum. lol.