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Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby ed257 » Tue Aug 14, 2012 3:01 am

The Rise is gone and in its place is the Prodigy, but is the Prodigy actually intended a direct replacement for the Rise (same style of riding), or is it just that the Rise was discontinued and the Prodigy is the new kite in OR's lineup.

While it is likely that the Prodigy turns better than Rise, I doubt that it goes up wind as well, jumps as high, has as wide a wind range, or handles gusts as well as a Rise.

Has anyone else tried the Prodigy yet?

E

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby L0KI » Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:20 am

I think your assessment might be right, except the good in gusts part.
I would guess the Prodigy maybe could be made to be a better gust eater, depending on what they did in several areas.
I always felt the Rise was yanky in gusts, and a bit stall-ey, with great jumps and great power and great construction as is always the case with Ocean Rodeo.
Would be great if this new model was improved in those two areas and still had all the other great Rise stuff.

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby POACHER » Tue Aug 14, 2012 3:42 pm

Old N'Broken - Curious that you find Rises to not be good kites for gusts? (*yanky) If there is something better out there, I'm open to suggestions. I really need kites that deal with gusts. Aren't you riding Switch Elements? If yes, I'd be very interested in hearing how those kites handle gusty conditions.



It figures that I get a quiver of Rises the year they decide to nuke the model from the lineup..... :roll: :lol:
Oh well. I like them so far.

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby clubkite » Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:32 pm

Review of the Prodigy 14m

I am a kite instructor and a dealer for Ocean Rodeo. My all time favorite kite in 2012 has been the Cypher. Specifically the 12m Cypher as winds around where I kite are fairly light at this time of year. See my review for the Cypher here...

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2374309

I had a feeling that the new Prodigy kite would be based heavily on the Cypher 2012 with changes to make the kite more stable and with easier relaunch. I already consider the Cypher to be an extremely stable kite with fairly easy relaunch. To me the Cypher is an extremely easy to fly kite with its main merit being a great flying kite even when massively de-powered. So what has Ocean Rodeo come up with in the Prodigy?

Bear in mind that I am comparing a 2012 - 12m Cypher with a 14m Prodigy.

Firstly I really like the graphics. It looks much better in the sky than in pictures. The new graphics has shed some of OR's usual graphics with the usual engineering feel to it. But do remember to wear your sunglasses when you pump up the Prodigy. The leading edge, struts and center of the kite are Persil white. In bright sunlight, you will be blinded.

Fifteen minutes of riding was all it took to get to know the new Prodigy. It is extremely stable. Even more stable than the Cypher. It relaunches much more easily. Not ridiculously easy as the most easy to relaunch kites available today but very easy launching.

The first few minutes, I felt the turning speed was slow. Until I started giving much larger bar inputs. And surprise, the Prodigy is a pretty fast turning kite as well. However under normal bar inputs the Prodigy turns fairly slowly. So I would call the Prodigy a slow turning kite that can turn fast.

The jumps are nice and floaty, which is a major departure from the Cypher which has a more sudden and powerful lift. The landings are definitely softer. I think beginners will definitely enjoy jumping the Prodigy.

Upwind ability is on par or very close to the Cypher and that means getting upwind is no problem at all. The drift is also on par to the Cypher. In fact many characteristic are similar to the Cypher but just gentler. (Read very gentle).

It also rides great when de-powered, and it’s nice to do unhooked tricks which is also very much like the Cypher.

I tried it twice in very light wind conditions, 10 knots plus or minus. While I of course struggled to get back upwind in the lulls, the kite handles light winds well. In fact in light winds you will be pulling hard on the control bar to get the kite moving fast and as mentioned, the Prodigy can turn fast when you need it to.

Whilst teaching in light winds, I switched from the Cypher to the Prodigy and immediately noticed that the Prodigy stays in the air better in very light winds. It also relaunches easily in light wind, however once the kite gets off the water (around 2 O’ clock position) it seems difficult to rise any further and needs some persuasion. However in these very light winds, many kites would be stalling and falling back in the water. Once it rises past 2’O clock, the Prodigy continues climbing up to zenith easily.

Choosing between the 2012 Cypher and the Prodigy is a close call. However we will need to compare the Prodigy with the 2013 Cypher which is currently still under wraps. I will be testing the Prodigy 12m next and I think I am going to like it very much too.

I lent the Prodigy 14m to a beginner kiter flying a Cabrinha Switchblade 12m and this is what he said. “I like the movement of the kite, much more direct and I am surprised that it turns faster than my 12m.”

I then lent it to another beginner, “Definitely relaunches easily. Can I order the 12m? Get me the blue one, damn nice, Blue is my favorite color.”

Definitely an easy relaunching kite, definitely a good kite to get started riding, definitely good if you want to start trying some unhooked tricks and nice and floaty for the old school tricks. Definitely good for beginners. Also good if you are serious about learning new tricks.

However for more advanced riders, I think perhaps you need to wait for the 2013 Cypher. With the Prodigy performing so well, I am sure OR must have some really awesome kites for 2013. I can’t wait.

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby ORSales » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:16 pm

Thanks for the great write-up Neil! I've commented on some of your thoughts below...
clubkite wrote:So I would call the Prodigy a slow turning kite that can turn fast.
We designed the kite to do exactly that so I am glad you noticed! We wanted to make sure the kite was ultra stable and predictable in flight which meant making sure it didn't react to every little bar input but was able to snap around quickly when the rider provides intentional steering input.
clubkite wrote:I think beginners will definitely enjoy jumping the Prodigy.
It is indeed a very lofty and forgiving kite in the air, again something we designed for as the essence of freeride is a soft and forgiving experience yet still full of pop and lift.
clubkite wrote:Upwind ability is on par or very close to the Cypher and that means getting upwind is no problem at all.
This was an interesting design choice on our part. We rigged the kite with a bridle that wants to pull the kite to windward but with a foil shape designed to induce some drag and keep the kite downwind at first. The result of this is a kite with a ton of initial grunt to get you up and moving which slowly makes its way to the window's edge and begins pulling you up wind. This also results in a kite that stays deep and in control if you are chasing it off the wind.
clubkite wrote:It also rides great when de-powered
The bridle on the Prodigy has been set up to ensure back line tension remains even when heavily depowered.
clubkite wrote:...and it’s nice to do unhooked tricks which is also very much like the Cypher.
clubkite wrote:However in these very light winds, many kites would be stalling and falling back in the water.
We focused the most with this kite design on ensuring the stability of the kite in flight. As rigged out of the bag the kite will resist stalling and is very difficult to get to luff over with fidgety bar input or if you heavily depower the kite when it is as 12 O'Clock.
clubkite wrote:I lent the Prodigy 14m to a beginner kiter flying a Cabrinha Switchblade 12m and this is what he said. “I like the movement of the kite, much more direct and I am surprised that it turns faster than my 12m.”
Again, snappy direct turns once the bar is pulled hard enough to ensure the input was intentional.
clubkite wrote:Definitely an easy relaunching kite, definitely a good kite to get started riding, definitely good if you want to start trying some unhooked tricks and nice and floaty for the old school tricks. Definitely good for beginners. Also good if you are serious about learning new tricks.

With the Prodigy performing so well, I am sure OR must have some really awesome kites for 2013. I can’t wait.
We put a lot of time and effort into the Prodigy design for this year as we wanted a kite that was an ideal entry level kite but also one that would appeal to seasoned dedicated Freeriding kiteboarders who want that predictable, stable feel of a kite to enjoy their time on the water. Glad to hear you are stoked and - yes! - we will have some amazing 2013 kites to complement it!

John Z - OR

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby ORSales » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:26 pm

POACHER wrote:Old N'Broken - Curious that you find Rises to not be good kites for gusts? (*yanky) If there is something better out there, I'm open to suggestions.
The Rise as always handled gusts well but given its design (higher aspect, higher performance) it was prone to stalling if you were not active with the bar. This allows a nuanced rider to juice the kite for more low end power once moving but can also be seen as a frustration.

The new Prodigy kite and our 2012 and planned 2013 Razor kites also handle the gusts quite well, though if you are only looking for a kite capable of handling gusts the Prodigy might be your best choice as it is a very forgiving kite.
POACHER wrote:It figures that I get a quiver of Rises the year they decide to nuke the model from the lineup..... :roll: :lol:
Oh well. I like them so far.
The Rise as been in our line up since 2006 and was a great kite for us for years but has been eclipsed by the Razor on the high end side and was usurped by the Prodigy on the less edgy, more forgiving side making it redundant in our line up. We want to offer consumers clearly defined choices so they can identify their riding style and target a kite to them, not just to confuse them with options that overlap.

With that in mind you can rest assured that there are a ton of loyal and happy Rise customers out there who love their kites. The Rise will likely evolve into our 2014 Race kite, though as of right now that is only speculation!

John Z - OR

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby ed257 » Fri Aug 24, 2012 2:13 am

The Prodigy does look a bit like a Sling Rally. I wonder if it performs like one?

Has anyone not affiliated with OR ridden one of these yet?

Does OR do demo days?

E

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby L0KI » Fri Aug 24, 2012 2:59 am

Looks like a good all arounder. :thumb:
Last edited by L0KI on Sun Sep 16, 2012 3:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby Slappysan » Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:22 pm

When are we going to see some professional reviews for the prodigy?

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Re: Ocean Rodeo Prodigy - All New 3 Strut Freeride Kite

Postby ed257 » Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:19 am

Slappysan wrote:When are we going to see some professional reviews for the prodigy?
I would like to see some independent (unbiased) reviews. Does anyone else have this kite?

Ed


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