Try before you buy. Right.

[Laughingman]

THIS MIGHT WORK :
We need a company that's willing to RENT a Used kite to there buyer
to try ; shipping around the world, is Not that bad now, for something
as small as a kite & bar & pump, and shipping charges would be acceptable
to people that end up Not-Liking that particular kite.
You could actually have a rental kite shipped to your vacation destination ; but
i'd wanna know for Sure it had NO leaks if my vacation depended on it !
Bille

Not a bad idea at all Bille.
Actually some people do take advantage of my offer for demoing the EPIC kites when I send the kites to them. I have a kiter who just left for a trip to the Grand Cayman and wanted to demo an Epic kite for a week while at the island. So I sent him a RENEGADE 13 LTD that he wanted complete with bar. All he had to pay was shipping to his address in Florida USA and he is allowed to hold the kite for 10 days. But I did put a retainer on his Credit Card incase I don't see my kite again. Then once I get the kite back will refund the full amount.
But again that is a great idea RENTING the gears. Maybe I should start that since I have been doing it with out charging for the rentals.

I've taken Dimitri up on his offer twice as I was going on vacation but the real treat is testing the gear in Hatteras. Dimitri has such an infectious energy. It really is something else to try kite after kite with Dimitri giving pointers in between tests and also taking pictures... Some of the best we have of each other kiting.

Dimitri, just my 2 cents but I would be cautious about charging for rental kites, once someone pays for the use of a kite they may take advantage and abuse it instead of feeling lucky to have the use of the kite.... Just something to consider. You know how the kites I have demoed come back to you...always as good as they were when I received them... Except that one chickenloop....

Thanks so much for your generosity.

Sincerely
Pete

[Okinawa Kiter]

OceanAdventures,
This is the reason why Momi and I came up with the INFINITY Light wind machine kite. So we can make sure kiters that live in places that doesn't blow more then 15 knots can go out and have fun no matter the conditions.
I know so many people who work hard and when they get out of work in the late afternoon they can go and kite even if it's blowing 7 to 12 knots and really enjoy their session. And this is why we created the INFINITY model (fast turning speed, powerful, and feels like a small kite).
I am just lucky to travel around the world and be able to kite in 18 to 30 knots.

I second the fast turning speed turned faster than a SW 14m. Are the new models better for getting upwind? Hopefully newer models are better for getting upwind, then it would be perfect as the turning speed is very fast for sure and has lots of power. This is why I'm sticking to my Edge. Nail the upwind part and I'm sold.

[SupaEZ]

It just doesn't pull as much as you would think a 19m should.
The core is a faster kite than most, but the extra 2m of sale makes it average out, but we still feel like other kites have more low end, but we are nit picking... Well because that's what we do..

A properly tuned and sailed Riot19 XR3 will not have to stop riding....
.... before a properly tuned and sailed Turbine 17 2013.........
....if the wind gradually backs down....with both riders same weight...experience...LW board

The way you test low end is who needs to go in first when wind drops to a true wind speed of 7 kn

I do not even run extensions on the XR3 that has very short delta bridle...24 m lines is perfect

This year Jan through June i rode the XR2 19 57 days and July to today XR3 68 days

Our area has many of the big players for low end and all the guys ride real good

SP3 21....Edge 19..Dyno 18...Dyno 17...Turbine 17

Only rider that stays longer than me on the water if the wind backs down real real low is on SP3 21

Just my 19 cents

[Dimitri M]

Dimitri, just my 2 cents but I would be cautious about charging for rental kites, once someone pays for the use of a kite they may take advantage and abuse it instead of feeling lucky to have the use of the kite.... Just something to consider. You know how the kites I have demoed come back to you...always as good as they were when I received them... Except that one chickenloop....
Thanks so much for your generosity.
Sincerely
Pete

Hello Pete,
Yes you are right and I have had this problem with few people demoing my kites. They just don't care much and when I get my demo kites back they are all wet and sandy. So I always have to do extra work in cleaning them to make sure everything is in good shape so the next person can enjoy them. So maybe I should just continue doing what I am doing and let people demo the kites with out charging them a rental fee so they don't abuse the offer.
Any way Bille, your idea is a great idea. But I might have to do this for FREE so the kiters won't take advantage and respect the gear they are using and return them the way they receive it. Few kiters like Pete are great because they do take care of the equipment and I get the kites back in the same conditions I sent them, clean and dry.

[Dimitri M]

Okinawa Kiter,
If you are looking for a kite that will go up wind like crazy then the RACER 17 we have will do the trick. Once again it all depends on your riding style. Me personally I love free style and the RACER 17 doesn't do it for me because it doesn't turn on a dime, doesn't relaunch as fast, doesn't pop as well and doesn't jump as well as the INFINITY v3 does. It just another beast for a different type of riding style. If you want to compare it to the EDGE kite then he RACER is the model you want to test. But if you want to be able to do a lot of freestyle moves and feel like you are kiting on a small kite in lets say 8 to 11 knots then the INFINITY V3 is the kite you want to go with. And yes it does go up wind very well.

[OceanAdventures]

It just doesn't pull as much as you would think a 19m should.
The core is a faster kite than most, but the extra 2m of sale makes it average out, but we still feel like other kites have more low end, but we are nit picking... Well because that's what we do..

A properly tuned and sailed Riot19 XR3 will not have to stop riding....
.... before a properly tuned and sailed Turbine 17 2013.........
....if the wind gradually backs down....with both riders same weight...experience...LW board

The way you test low end is who needs to go in first when wind drops to a true wind speed of 7 kn

I do not even run extensions on the XR3 that has very short delta bridle...24 m lines is perfect

This year Jan through June i rode the XR2 19 57 days and July to today XR3 68 days

Our area has many of the big players for low end and all the guys ride real good

SP3 21....Edge 19..Dyno 18...Dyno 17...Turbine 17

Only rider that stays longer than me on the water if the wind backs down real real low is on SP3 21

Just my 19 cents

Sorry, but all my riders disagree. We don't talk in knots here, we talk in mph. And we are riding twin tips in 7 mph, not big surf boards. That would be like me going out on a race board and a 13m velocity and telling people this it has better low end than the turbine.

When we do kite test, it's the same board, back to back, with a wind meter watching to see if the wind fluctuates that may change the feel.

Shoot, give me a hydrofoil and I can be riding in 5 mph with an 11.

When it comes to light wind twin tip riding the core doesn't have the best low end in our test.

Dimitri we are waiting for the demos bro.

Thread has now been officially hijacked... I'll leave this alone now.

[SupaEZ]

We don't talk in knots here, we talk in mph.
And we are riding twin tips in 7 mph
Shoot, give me a hydrofoil and I can be riding in 5 mph with an 11.
Thread has now been officially hijacked

Mph are for cars....vrooooom.... vrooooom.... vrooooom
In a true 7 mph of wind in a kite...6.08 knots...wow how exciting is it riding those TT's ?
In a true 5 mph of wind in a 11m kite....4.34 knots...an hydrofoil won't even lift out of the water

[balugh]

So...let's get this back on a little bit of a track...

I would NEVER give someone >£1k for a kite without trying it out first. Luckily, I've some local shops with a variety of kites to try and I've also paid for stuff to be shipped to me for trial. I'd rather pay £50 for shipping than waste my time with a kite I don't want.

I do appreciate that some people don't have the same facilities locally. However, if that's the case and you've a local community of kiters then my recommendation is to get a demo in for a group of 3 or 4 riders. I've done a little impromptu pimping like this for brands that aren't sold locally...

[Dimitri M]

OceanAdventures,
Will get you the INFINITY V3 for you to demo so you can see what this kite is all about. Can you email me at dimitri@epickites.com your address so I can see when I have the next one available to send you. Will 10 days be enough for your to test it? Any way let's talk via emails.
Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you guys.

[Laughingman]

OceanAdventures,
Will get you the INFINITY V3 for you to demo so you can see what this kite is all about. Can you email me at dimitri@epickites.com your address so I can see when I have the next one available to send you. Will 10 days be enough for your to test it? Any way let's talk via emails.
Thanks and HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of you guys.

Dimitri, I would send them the 13m ltd as well... I love that kite especially with 25m lines. So much fun to fly and amazing low end even on the free ride settings.
It could very well be the choice kite with a race board or hydrofoil in ultra low wind. I think it speaks more about what the renegades are about while the infinity is in a class on its own.