Postby patrickrynne » Wed Jul 03, 2013 5:10 pm
Hi All,
Saw this thread and thought i'd throw in some info about the Velocity.
This is the best kite in the crossbow family I think we've ever put out. Granted I'm biased to free ride/race style kites as I ride primarily for exploration, racing or in small waves. Here are the biggest differences between the Velocity and previous Xbows.
1.) Less Bar Pressure - When riding you will find that more load is distributed on your harness and less on the bar. I think this is a huge improvement for anybody that likes to do long sessions! I used to get "the claw," that perma-fist on my hand after marathon days in the waves with the older Xbows. Not with the velocity.
2.) Efficient - the key with this kite is that its super efficient and has a massive wind range. This means that you'll be flying a smaller sized Velocity to get the same power as most kites. This is important when comparing kites performance. For example, if you compare the same sized SB with the velocity, the SB is going to feel more reactive, turning faster, etc....but to get the same power as a SB, you could use a velocity that is at least 2 square meters smaller. When you do this you'll see that the small Velocity is at least as agile as the bigger SB.
3.) Turns faster - Of course this is a higher AR kite with a flatter arc then other kites in the lineup, so it won't turn faster than a SB of the same size etc. But when tested head to head with previous Xbows, it is noticeably faster. An example is when you're racing downwind cycling your kite, for every 1 cycle you can do with last years xbow, you can do 1.5 with the new velocity. This is one reason why the guys are going so fast downwind this season.
4.) Lighter - We took off all the little rip stops here and there that we didn't think were necessary and shed some lb's from the canopy. You notice it in light wind especially. I've never ripped one of our kites before, and so far these are holding up just as well.
5.) Everything is clean - from the racebar depower system, to the thin bridles, to the quick release....everything is designed to be as simple and clean as possible.
6.) Nice big bag - Personally I loved the long "sailing" style bags, so I was skeptical about having to use a back pack. I think the most damage we put on our kites is when we jam them into little bags wet with sand. Luckily the bags for the velocities are spacious and so you don't have do a perfect roll job to get it in. Perfecto!
hope that helps....really stoked on these kites, they are awesome!
-Patrick