Hi
So , finally got the time to test the kite in its upper end and the best of all : Tarifa is back again for the locals !!!!!
Here a pic of our famous " charca " which happens once in a while with full moon or after a decent storm so we get the counted days to ride in flat water , from the pic you can see that it goes from Tarifa town up to 2 mares which makes about 5 or so miles of flat water to enjoy
Anyway .... was able to test as I said before the top end of this kite with up to ( at moments ) 30 knots . ( by the way .... it work just fine , not that I would pump this kite in such winds but it is definitely enjoyable ) again , in normal conditions . I would not even dream of using the OV´s in extreme gusty conditions like we use to get when our east winds ( Levante 9 blows with full force and even worst ; on their top end .
I was kiting from around 14.30 till 16.30 so can see the wind chart
The kite works just great , when you want to squeeze the last bit of low end you need to have a " fine " finger tip in order to get all the juice out of this kite but above 15 or knots it works like any other out there .
When I went out I have the kite already with the trim strap ( or as I call it de-power strap ) 1/3 trimmed , I managed to keep kiting with the trimmer fully pulled and I was positive surprised that the kite does not feel in any way funny at all , most kites I have tested ( and owned ) in the past several years worked fantastic as long as you kept your hand away from the de-power strap and as soon as you started getting overpowered most of these kite ( in worst cases ) got really shit , bar pressure started to increase , the turn got slower and reacted jellyfish when they were hit by gusts but the OV works in this conditions like always .... like it really a lot , so no worry you need to trim this kite down , it works very well
Also it pulls like a truck .... you must take attention to the trim strap ( I mentioned before ) as soon as you feel that you are keeping the bar on the upper 1/3 you MUST trim this kite down , remember that the CL line throw is only 25 cm so you better keep the bar in the lower 1/3 if you want to have some de-power abilities if gusts hits you . It takes a few strokes to figure it out but then it goes automatic so it can be that after todays 2 hour session I trimmed the kite probably half a dozen times ...
The most I enjoy with this kite is wave riding , the turning abilities are really something else from the rest and although I never ever have been a kitelooper , I must say that kite-looping the OV makes lots of fun !!!
Something funny ( or better say different ) I found out today , this kite is NOT a sort of : keep it at 11 ,send the kite to 12 , make the cut hard with your board type of jumper , it likes speed ( better if you keep it at 10 or so ) send the kite hard to 12 and if possible a kicker or wave for jumping , the jumps are smooth and if you are over powered it can pull you really hard ... even when landing ..... a new experience but fun (at least for me ) .
So..... in terms of low end , this kite kick the ass of all other kites out there . It is a fantastic kite for wave riding and if you have some level it can be a fantastic overall free rider kite ( I am not a free styler so can´t say anything about this kite in terms of unhooked riding )
Also ..... is really much more fun to ride with a 9 m as with a 11 /12 in the same conditions ....I think this says it all.
Stay tuned ..... got a 9m & a 6m Ripper for testing ( specially in our east winds ) so as soon as get some water time on those kites I will write a review .
Have fun
Saludos
Franz