Postby biggins » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:59 am
Hi,
I'm not affiliated with EH kites, buy all my kites/boards like everyone else and recently purchased a 7m Ovando. I was waiting until I got to test it in good winds before posting.
My thoughts:
Bar/lines: 45cm bar with 23m lines and 4m extesions come with it, nice touch so that you can use the extensions for light wind or make it a bit easier for beginners etc. Bar has four lines, and two "oh shit" handles on each side with several knots to adjust and use for reverse launching as well. Safety is excellent as it connects to a front line and slides up, and has a large red ball to pull which is easy to find in an emergency, also the chicken loop release is a pin that slides out of a loop so no chance of jamming...hard to describe, but check out the website and you can see it. It also comes with a leash that has a large red ball for easy find in an emergency. you can choose to hook it up to the center which gives a front line safety or to go suicide. It also has a cool feature to be able to spin it to untwist the leash if you are an intermediate or have been working on a certain trick that has you spinning a million times in one direction...just unspin it while riding and then if you're riding suicide it's done, if not just unhook the leash and reatach and it's all untwisted...super easy and great feature for untwisting. Finally, it comes with an extra set of leash line and depower line...these are the lines that go through the bar and get the most wear and tear...it is REALLY easy to replace these which is great news, since most bars are a pain to replace...again check the website to see how, any 8mm spectra line and about two minutes and you're done...nice touch!
Next bag: Awesome bag! Full black with only one zipper that is at the bottom to be used if you don't want to deflate the bladders...ie keep the kite inflated. Otherwise it has a drawstring on the top, one velcro pocket, and a strap on each side for bar/lines and pump. Pump is all black and just like a slingshot pump, bar/lines come with a netted bag as well so that your lines don't catch on anything which is a nice touch.
Finally the kite! The kite is NOT a one pump...personally I like that as it keeps the maintenance down, but I suppose some may not like the extra 30 seconds it takes to pump. I found it super fast to pump, each bladder has the little balls in them so you don't have to squeeze them, just a couple of pumps and you're done on the ribs, and being a 7m the leading edge took only a few seconds as well. Attach the lines...no kook proof connectors which I think should be added as I had one slip back in 2003 that almost got me worked, so I've used them ever since, but it's an easy add. Construction looks great with lots of scuff pads and stiching etc.
flying: I took the kite out in 10knots...way too light for the kite and my 87kgs (gained a few) I flew it on the 23m lines with included 4m extensions) self launching was super easy just like in the video on the website, and how most launch bows now. Kite was FAST and looked really small up there. There were several people trying to ride on 12m, 15m, and a 17.7m. None really staying upwind except the guy on the 15m who was maybe 60kg. I had a huge lightwind board with me, so figured I'd give it a shot...couldn't quite stay upwind, but did better than the guys on the 12m and 17.7m, which suprised the hell out of me and everyone around, considering I was the biggest guy out there.
Took it out today in 14-18knots with a 132cm, and the kite came alive! It was set the whole time, and had the power of my old 11m C kite! good jumps, FAST turning, stable, unhooked it doesn't back stall at all like some bow kites, relaunched easily with a pull of the back line, and was just fun as hell to ride such a small kite in these winds!!! Low bar pressure as well, but enough to feel the kite...I get tennis elbow after long sessions, so this is nice. Good depower, but can't comment too much on this since the wind wasn't that high, but by sheeting out I could kill most of the power easily on even the short throw, but it was smooth and not too on/off. Amazing kite overall, about the power of a 9m SLE I'd say, but turns like a 7m. It's not a magic kite of course, but by far the most fun kite I've flown to date.
Me: kiting since 2001, kites I've owned: 2line Liquid Force, Naish AR5, Cabrihna blacktip(horrible kite, bad customer service), arcs(foil, loved it, but they never kept up performance wise imo), 2002 fuels, amazing kites for that year, 2003 fuels, 2004 fuels, blade two line foils(powerful kites, easy and old school two line, but no water relaunch) 2005 fuels, 2007 North Rebels(GREAT kites, loved the depower, bit high on bar pressure, and low end sucked a bit) flysurfer SA19 (most powerful kite I've ever flown, amazing light wind, but scary if the winds picked up and turned like a dog) Slingshot REVs, (GREAT kites, awesome range, overall everything great, bit of back stall unless you pulled in the depower)
and I'm sure I'm missing a few along the way....favorite kites were the rebels and revs, the flysurfer for ultimate lightwind, and now by far my favorite is the Ovando! This kite is the real deal, make no mistake it's not some hype, the guy used to design kites for some of the big brands and now is going it on his own, so more power to him....He's made an amazing kite here imo, and i'm in NO way selling his kites or any kites for that matter, I'm a regular customer who buys his kites like everyone else and just likes to spread the stoke.
Great package, I highly recommend this kite as a customer with no hype. It's not some magic kite, but it's a damn good one imo.
j