Drifer vs Renegade,vs Noise

[prayfawind27]

Has anyone been fortunated enough to ride all 3 kites and if so can you give your thoughts to which one is better in the surf and why you think it is,,,

[TommyDuotone]

I've owned a quiver of Renegades (G1 and G2) and currently own a quiver of the Noise. However, have never flown the Drifter. I ride a surfboard over 95% of the time but every so often have a Mako that I ride in flat/choppy water.
In short, Renegade is an excellent all-arounder and works really well in the waves. The Noise on the other hand is a pure wave riding machine(boost really well too, but so does the Renegade).
So, if you want the kite strictly for wave riding, it's gonna be tough to beat the Noise. However, if you want a kite that does everything well including wave riding, the Renegade might be a better choice. Let me know if you want more specifics. Good luck with your decision.

[davesails7]

I have kahoonas and dynos, but I have demoed the 2013 drifter 11m and 2012 renegade 11 m. Different days, but both were in about 18 knots.

I liked the drifter except a little too much on bar pressure for my taste. Similar feel to the other cabrinha kites, but slightly lighter on the bar than switchblades and crossbows. Nice pivot turns. Drifts really well and super stable.

I didn't like the feel of the renegade at all. I had been boosting 15-20 foot jumps on my kahoona 11.5 v3 when I got on the renegade 11m. Much heavier bar pressure on the renegade. Very numb feeling, same amount of pressure no matter how much I pulled in the bar. I thought I was going to boost huge judging from how much bar pressure there was, but I was only jumping half as high as my kahoona.

I know others have said how much they love the renegade, so I guess its a personal preference thing. I haven't liked any of the epic Kites I've flown (9m 10m and 12m screamer 3g, infinity v1), so i guess I just dont like the feel that they are going for.

Demo if you can! Luckily dimitri makes it easy to demo especially if you live near obx

[Hawaiis]

I have only tried the Drifter, Noise, and the 2011 Nomad, they are all very good dedicated wave kites.

[vbnhatty]

Try the new Best Cabo, had a demo on one and it is way better than the noise and a little better than the drifter. I haven't flown the renegade. The noise back stalled heaps and wasn't good to unhook on. Drifter was a bit better unhooked. Cabo could ride unhooked for awhile and could focus more on the wave. I'm def picking up a quiver of Cabo's soon.

[TommyDuotone]

Interesting. Maybe you should re-address your question to how many people have spent a lot of time on any of these 3. Hard to give an accurate review based on a demo. For example, one of the best attributes of the noise is it doesn't back stall, even when slightly over sheeted. Which makes it a great kite for unhooking. The stock bar has to be trimmed about 6 inches for the lines to be square. I think the reason is because if you did not have the 6 inches dangling out, it is a bitch to trim due the tiny knob (harder than any other bar I've ever used). The new bar with the above trim is much better. Not a big fan of the bar I have for that very reason. Luckily, I rarely find myself trimming it.

Can't wait to try the new Cabo though. Wish my buddy would hurry up and get his.
PS. I am affiliated with another brand, not BWS.

[vbnhatty]

I have rode the 2012 noise heaps and the 2013 for 2 seven mile downwinders in shoulder to head high on both a skim and surfboard. It's a great surf kite but I wasn't too impressed compared to the Drifter/Cabo. The Drifter I rode for about 4 hours on two separate days in waist-chest high surf and had about 3 hours on the Cabo on a skim and surf. For my style of riding I'm def going with the Cabo as I like to stay unhooked on the wave for as long as possible. They are all awesome surf kites compared to any other kite I have rode in the surf.

Cabo
Drifter
Noise