Hi Guys, John Z from OR here.
I generally tend to let these discussions take their own shape as I hate seeing other sales reps on here pimping but I thought I'd chime in with a few comments, please read them with the understanding that I am very biased
The
Prodigy was introduced to be the easiest kite to fly that we've ever made. It was designed to be ultra stable, especially in light wind - ie, no luff overs and no back stalls. It was also designed to have muted bar input, meaning you can snap the kite around ultra fast with a meaningful pull on the bar but small inputs will not result in a twitchy or otherwise nervous kite. What's more, we designed each size for its expected use, so the 14 and 12 are both designed to be flown in lighter winds and to have a ton of grunt. The 9.5 and 7 carry the kite through the lulls and handle upper end winds well (massive wind ranges) while the 5 and the 3 are basically designed for school use in lighter wind conditions or with lighter riders. (If you want a high wind kite, get the
Storm).
The result of this design is that it appeals to an incredibly broad base of riders. We've positioned it as an excellent choice for new kiters as it won't ever surprise them. However we've also positioned it as an amazing choice for wave riders and freeriders. Freerider's will love it's long, lingering lofty jumps (compared to the
Razor which rips you off the water the
Prodigy has less acceleration in a jump but much more loft) and the wave riders will love it's stability in flight, especially when chasing it down the line, the kite will drift backwards beautifully for you and maintain positive steering.
In fact, all of you should follow
Dom Moore on Facebook. His Surf Sanctuary page is his home on the web to post content and he has some amazing shots of him with the Prodigy in some unique situations, such as the shot below.
If you have questions, post them here and I will answer or contact your local dealer or tech rep rider to arrange a demo.
It should be mentioned - if there are no Ocean Rodeo kites at your beach, contact us today. We are actively recruiting new Tech Team riders to work with us to grow our exposure globally. We have a new EU warehouse that opened last week which means we now ship next day into Europe for free (low flat rate for dealers) with no duty or taxes owing on all of our favourite gear, including the
Prodigy, the
Razor, the
Mako and our amazing
Soul drysuits.
Lastly, you were asking about bars. For better or worse we have 3 bar designs. Our company prides itself on 3 things; innovation, simple design and customer feedback. The bars are a direct result of all 3. We worked hard to take away - not add to - each of our bars, to keep them as simple as possible so they are easy to re-set on the water and to re-rig if you need to replace parts. The safety is a simple push away and the trim is available above or below the bar. The
Fusion is our most popular bar and represents a fusion of both our
Freestyle (above the bar) and
Freeride (below the bar) bar systems. It incorporates below the bar depower and a mini 5th line for both a shorter throw than the Freeride and also the ability to practice handle passes with a suicide set-up. Again, we recommend you ride with what's comfortable to you, so we make available options most riders are familiar with.
I welcome any of your questions - very stoked to see the incredible vibe around our new gear this season. See you on the water!
Dom Moore, Ocean Rodeo Media Relations Manager in deep