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old designs can be so much fun....

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mede
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Joined: Fri May 24, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2001
Weight: 72 kg dry
Local Beach: Lake Geneva
Favorite Beaches: Sri Lanka West Coast, Marsa Alam, Cape Verde, Tarifa, Beauduc, Corpus Christi, Ceara
Style: Foil, Strapless surf, Big Air
Gear: Kite:> Tomo Vader 5.1 HE & KS MariMacho board,
Gong YpraS Foils,
Pansh Kestrel, Kauper Falcon, Blade Trigger kites.
Wing:> Amos Shapes Sultan Custom board,
Gong YpraS + Ypra Surf Foils,
Gong UPE Aramid Droid & Neutra Wings
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Location: Sri Lanka / Switzerland
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old designs can be so much fun....

Postby mede » Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:14 pm

or such a pain :naughty:

Last week, we had really nice 10ft onshore conditions, and about 25-30knts wind.

So after a long time, I took out my 7m2 Takoon Furia 1 that I bought late 2007. (typically, I don't get that much wind recently, with our daughter, we do less of the mistral type conditions we used to do in the earlier days ;) )

Summary: I had a total blast, and I'm amazed how well it still performs. Very fast turning, great depower, excellent kitelooping .

Then, today, when I was rigging my 12m Trigger (2012), I popped a valve.
Encouraged by my recent experience, I decided to undust my 13m Furia 2, and let the valve glue properly dry.

Holy cow, what a disappointment... I remember that I used to think that for its size the 13m Furia 2 was rather fast ... it's horribly slow compared to today's standards.
The lag from bar impulse until kite action seemed unbearably slow, and I totally missed the first 2 or 3 waves until I got the anticipation back of how much before the lip you already need to initiate the kite turn... No comparison with my snappy, predictable, nicely drifting Trigger.

So bottom line: Going back to older designs bears many surprises... in the good as in the bad.

Did anyone of you recently try an old design?

JGTR
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Re: old designs can be so much fun....

Postby JGTR » Thu Jul 17, 2014 7:54 pm

I still fly 07 Torches, much better than most modern kites :thumb:

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SO_FL_Kiter
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Posts: 133
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 5:16 pm
Local Beach: Jupiter, FL; Juno Beach, FL
Favorite Beaches: Jupiter Kitebeach, Biscayne Bay
Style: Wave/Freeride
Gear: 15M LF Envy, 12M North Rebel, 11M SS Rev2, 10M North Rhino, 9M LF Session, Airush Sector, Naish Custom Global 6'2", Liquid Force 5'7" FCD, Cabrinha Custom 136, Crazyfly Raptor 132
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Re: old designs can be so much fun....

Postby SO_FL_Kiter » Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:48 pm

I still fly my 2007 North Rebel 12M. It's my most used kite. I've demoed some newer North kites, and I own several other kites (North, SS, LF), but I really like the Rebel. I'm sure one day I'll replace it when it fails altogether, but for now, I'm happy to keep using it.

wardr77
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Posts: 88
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:10 pm
Local Beach: UK Camber , Whitstable. Southcoast in general
Style: Freeride
Gear: Nobile / Slingshot
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Re: old designs can be so much fun....

Postby wardr77 » Thu Jul 17, 2014 9:48 pm

Was out on my 07 15m Slingshot Link yesterday. Had a great time, it's a big 9 strut monster that takes a while to pump up and is not exactly fast, but I was jumping and looping all over the place. It's worth virtually nothing 2nd hand now so not worth getting rid of.
The interesting thing to me is the quality of the material used, the kite canopy is in better condition than my newer kites which have been used less. There are no 'soft cracks' in the material, the TE is perfect, and no part of it that has gone to 'tissue paper'.

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Robsw6
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Local Beach: Hayling Island
Favorite Beaches: One eye, Sidi Kaouki, Big Bay, Gwithian & Hayling
Style: Powered
Gear: Reedins, Orbit2s & Surfboards (Cabrinha's & Naish), Nomad/TAD Mutants, Flash 4'10 & Naish Pro 4'10, Moses Hydrofoil & North Atmos
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Re: old designs can be so much fun....

Postby Robsw6 » Thu Jul 17, 2014 9:51 pm

Mutants are still the best overall high performance board design :D :D :D

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mede
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Posts: 571
Joined: Fri May 24, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2001
Weight: 72 kg dry
Local Beach: Lake Geneva
Favorite Beaches: Sri Lanka West Coast, Marsa Alam, Cape Verde, Tarifa, Beauduc, Corpus Christi, Ceara
Style: Foil, Strapless surf, Big Air
Gear: Kite:> Tomo Vader 5.1 HE & KS MariMacho board,
Gong YpraS Foils,
Pansh Kestrel, Kauper Falcon, Blade Trigger kites.
Wing:> Amos Shapes Sultan Custom board,
Gong YpraS + Ypra Surf Foils,
Gong UPE Aramid Droid & Neutra Wings
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Location: Sri Lanka / Switzerland
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Re: old designs can be so much fun....

Postby mede » Fri Jul 18, 2014 4:58 am

I actually never came a cross a mutant so far, pitty....

would love to try one, sure it's a great board for a crossover wave-freeride session.
Is someone still making them?

plummet
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Plummet hydrofoil and mutant
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Re: old designs can be so much fun....

Postby plummet » Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:36 am

Mutants are making a comeback!!!!!

I love mine. I've been riding some double head monsters this week on it. Epic times.

But most people have their minds closed to them because they are "uncool". Those people miss out on the glory!

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mede
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Posts: 571
Joined: Fri May 24, 2002 1:00 am
Kiting since: 2001
Weight: 72 kg dry
Local Beach: Lake Geneva
Favorite Beaches: Sri Lanka West Coast, Marsa Alam, Cape Verde, Tarifa, Beauduc, Corpus Christi, Ceara
Style: Foil, Strapless surf, Big Air
Gear: Kite:> Tomo Vader 5.1 HE & KS MariMacho board,
Gong YpraS Foils,
Pansh Kestrel, Kauper Falcon, Blade Trigger kites.
Wing:> Amos Shapes Sultan Custom board,
Gong YpraS + Ypra Surf Foils,
Gong UPE Aramid Droid & Neutra Wings
Brand Affiliation: none
Location: Sri Lanka / Switzerland
Has thanked: 87 times
Been thanked: 38 times

Re: old designs can be so much fun....

Postby mede » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:55 am

I think coolness comes with skill :naughty: couldn't care less about how someone is dressed , harness type, helmet or no....
Main thing is he is pushing his limits, or just having a blast.
Never mind the others ;)

I always wear a helmet, for example (and I know exactly why when surfing overhead cross/onshore beach break, and pushing things :naughty: )

So some guys who are riding first time at our place might find it funny... this typically changes when they are not even able to get accross the white water with their stylish looks :rollgrin:

Definitely need to try one of these mutants one day....


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