This video bellow will show you how fast and easy the RENEGADE kites relaunch in the surf.


VIMEO:


YOUTUBE:

That was an Element-al kite rescue at the end.
Edited for the sake of classy-ness, ...."You stay classy San Diego".

Not very classy, seems to be the norm for Epic, it seems that Switch is the only one that keeps you up at 4am, thats good news. I should end on an unclassy epic statement, "maybe your both oldnbroken"....

Yes Mr. waterhead,
We had a blast that day in the ocean, both of our kites fell in the water few times but I was very lucky to re-launch my RENEGADE 9. On the other end the other rider was not very lucky with his 11 meter Element because he was next to the shore break. So I decided to help him out before shredding his kite. Then after that we continued another 11 miles down winder. You missed a great time. I never mentioned what kite I saved.

P.S. Forgot I had my camera on the kite and when I saw the footage I decided to use it. It doesn't matter which kite I saved, does it!!!! And on the video you really have to pay attention to see what kite I was saving. We are all having a great time. The question is: ARE YOU HAVING A GREAT TIME..
Enjoy the new ad.

A perfect example of why many people won't go anywhere near this tacky brand. Who would want to be associated with the amateurish and annoying videos, the shockingly awful colours and design of the gear or the cringworthy owner who, with a handful of associates seem intent on spamming this forum with shit.

And don't even get me started on the so called quality of the kites and bars. Try putting an Epic bar and kite next to a North for example and then tell me its decent gear.

And before you try and get me to try one of your kites Dimitri, I'm very happy with my kites and bars and so is the world freestyle champion who also uses them. Interesting that you'll never see an Epic at the PKRA.

Mowind is back!!! woohoow!
Always on top of topics you dont like reading ^^ awesome!

Disclaimer: I work for Epic kites. All those haters who think I am pimping can save some time and stop reading now and leave a nasty reply below.

My vacation/bootcamp with Dimitri.

So I just got back from a week in OBX trying out all the new stuff that I could possibly fit into a week. It wasn't hard with drill instructor Dimitri around. For those of you who don't know him, I don't actually think he is human. I actually had to beg to stop kiteboarding so I could make sure my limbs didn't fall off.

Here is a quick review of all the things that I was able to ride. My experience is coming from riding a Renegade 6 & 9 so, that will be my baseline for comparing these.

Infinity
I am not going to make any claims of wind range. I did not have a meter and we kited in spots that didn't have a reliable reading on iKitesurf.com. What I will say is that there were no white caps and I had plenty of power. I mean plenty too. I had to pull some de-power in the 'gusts'. For as much power as this kite had, I could still turn it and get in some decent jumps. Nothing high but, lots of hang time. I live in the Gorge and don't usually use anything over a 10 so, this was a big change for me. I was able to relaunch it but, in that light of some wind, you have to be patient.

Racer 17
I only rode this one for about an hour before the wind died but, was very impressed with the speed and upwind ability of this kite, even in light winds. Later in the week, I saw some guys actually jumping this kite but, I was in wind light enough that I just worried about staying up wind. This one I found easier to use than the Infinity. I felt like it pulled more and rode farther forward in the wind window.

Screamer 14
This was my favorite of the light wind kites. It was faster and I felt I could generate enough power that it was all I needed when there were no white caps but, you could feel enough wind that you think you could go kiting. This and a surfboard would be my set up for light wind.

Screamer 12
This is a hang time kite. It goes straight up fast but, holds you there like the Renegade does and floats. It was fast enough to ride on a surf board and get some turns in. Lots and lots of power for a 12.

Screamer 9
Very different feel than the 12. This is a high wind kite. It goes up fast and comes down fast, not as much float at the 12 or the Renegades. I was able to do two or three nice kite loops on this one and they never felt like I was getting yanked around. Unhooked on this kite is very different as well. The Renegades retain power while with the Screamer 9, you could slack the lines and pull off more moves. If you live in an area where the wind is 20 or more and would like to try some new tricks, then this is kite. It moved where you wanted it in the sky and could depower very easily.

Judge 11
Of the medium size kites, this was my favorite. I haven't ridden a C kite since the first bow kites came out in 2006 but, this one impressed me. I was able to let go of the bar and it depowered about 70%. Enough to let me drop and the kite fall to the water. Relaunch was surprisingly easy as well. It had nice hang time a great speed. I rode it on both a twin tip and a surfboard and it worked well on either.

Judge 8
This was the kite I was most hoping to try while I was out. Unfortunately, the day that I got to ride it turned out to be super gusty. I mean like 10 to 30 side off shore. I would guess that if you were testing kites and had perfect wind then, every kite would feel perfect so, maybe this was best? For gusty conditions, the Screamer 9 worked much better. The 8 worked but, certainly wasn't as comfortable as the Screamer 9. When the wind was up and kite was powered, it felt nice. Again, I was surprised at the relaunch of the kite, I could get it out of the water with just a pull on the rear line. This kite didn't hang like the Screamer 12 or the Renegades but, felt more like the Screamer 9 in that it went up and down fast and you could slack it if you wanted. The Screamer 9 gave you much more board speed and flew farther forward than this Judge 8 which makes sense right? That is the main difference between these two types of kites.

Renegade 7
For a 7, this has lots of power and of course was my favorite. The Renegades are the types of kites that I personally like. The three strut 'all around' delta design is easy to use, hangs really well on jumps, let's you down nicely and relaunches great.

Screamer LTD 10
This kite ate up the gusts and just went faster. I had a huge jump on this thing and it brought me down faster than the Renegades but, not as fast at the 9. It is a very different shape than the other Screamers and more of a Ferrari feel. Very powerful and cornered really well.

5'7" Reef ATV
I was skeptical of a surfboard this small. I use a 6'0" mainly so, the idea of a board this small didn't put a lot of confidence in me. I was surprised to get on it and feel that I could easily jibe and ride it in very light winds. When I was riding the 14 with no white caps, I could still easily balance on this and pull of the tricky light wind turns. I didn't get to ride this in the surf but, used it as my light wind board to go to for the light wind kites above. I could pop it out of the water for some strapless jumps and it went up wind very well.

Now you may ask, "Well, you work for Epic so, you judged everything as great." right? I would respond that each of the kites is different and suited for that purpose. If you put a beginner on the Judge, they are going to hate it. If you put a freestyler on the Racer, they are going to hate it. So on and so on. If you don't know Dimitri, you will not know that he is a perfectionist to the detriment of all around him. He spends a lot of time on the water but, also a lot of time with customers asking questions and getting feedback. He has worked on these kites to no end and they are great kites for their purpose. The amount of time that this guy thinks about kiteboarding and how to make this kite better or that bar easier to use is crazy.

To sum up, if you are thinking about buying a new kite, give an Epic a try.

kt

Agree entirely.

Newsflash:

Most customers are not mentally retarded.
Very few people enjoy being condescended to.
Look at the poster Dimitri just put up.
How could I possibly treat this company seriously?

The quantity of objective, non partisan comment in hundreds of pages of epic threads is close enough to zero to be statistically insignificant.

I find it vaguely amusing that anybody gives actual money to this company.

And yes, I'm doing lots of kiting and am very happy thank you very much.



l

I had a guy at the beach today try to trade me his North gear for my Epic stuff because he liked it better and said it was a better quality. His words not mine. I'd never trade though!!!!

I totally agree - now we are an Olympic sport we have to take this shit seriously and stop clowning around. I propose a new slogan for our sport ... "KITEBOARDING - there's nothing funny about it" or perhaps ... "KITEBOARDING - it's not a matter of life and death - it's more serious than that. Seriously."