Postby djlepper » Mon May 10, 2010 11:17 pm
I posted this in the main thread but feel like I should post my thoughts on the Screamer here too:)
I'm not affiliated with EPIC Kites and actually am a rep for one of the kiteboard manufactures. I'm 245-250lbs and live in LA area so not the place with strong winds (even though last couple of weeks have been pretty strong:)
I usually rode Waroo 17 and Bularoo 13, for couple of years, and this year I started to look for new kites, as there have been a lot of changes in design and performance.
Last couple of months I test rode any 2010 kite I could get my hands on... Slingshot Octanes, F-One Bandits, EH EZE, Best (Kahoona, Waroo, Bularoo),Wainman Rabbits, RRD Obession...and few other brands, so I can have an idea how each kite rides, before I drop at least $1500 on a brand new kite/bar.
Couple weeks ago I got demo kites (SCREAMER 14 and RENEGADE 11) from Dale (west coast Epic rep). I was a little skeptical about riding 14 in our SoCal conditions, even though when I talked with Dimitri @ Pismo KiteXpo he assured me that 14 should be more than enough:)
First time I tried it the wind was kind of light (avg 15-16mph) and I pumped my 17 just in case. Totally unnecessary. 14 had plenty of pull for my weight on a "small" 135x41 twintip. Staying upwind no problem and some decent jumps:)
The thing that I totally fell in love from the first tack was how it handled. The feedback on the bar is direct and the kite is very responsive. The kite is always exactly where you expect it to be, an it flies a little forward in the window so you always kind of see it in the corner of your eye. This kite is the easiest kite to fly one handed that I tried.. When I'm just cruising I hardly ever have both hands on the bar. This was the only kite so far that I didn't have to get used to at all, it felt perfect right from the beginning.
Few of my kite friends also tried the kites and all had very positive comments:)
I had a chance to ride the 14 again last weekend. This time wind was 20-22 avg, and I must say that Screamer cuts upwind so well that in two tacks I ended up 200 yards upwind of everyone and my launch point . Also I've never ridden as fast on any kite as I did that day.... I mean if I was racing this kite would definitely be my choice.
It took me couple of tweaks of settings to get it dialed in with this kind of wind (mainly so I wasn't too overpowered), but after that it felt just perfect.
All pretty much has been said about this kite earlier so I'm not going to repeat the build quality, how it jumps etc etc...
This may not be a kite for everyone , but anyone who's in the market for new kites, should def. check it out, just to see if it works for them. I know it works for me, that's why I have one in the mail right now:)