For those who are considering to get into C-shaped kites, I would highly recommend checking out the Blade Prime.
This article from KiteWorld Mag is part of the reason I purchased this kite.

http://www.kiteworldmag.com/2012-kite-t ... -prime-9m/

Addendum: Should've included info on the "luff curve". Yes, C-kites and bow kites do have the same power, assuming their surface area is the same. The qualifier on this should factor in the "luff curve". Kites with deep luff curves have more low-end (and less top end) than kites with shallow luff curves. The old Rhino 2 C kites were a case in point: Extremely deep luff curves, with very good low end but truncated top end.

Sailors and windsurfers change the luff curve of their sails by altering the outhaul on their rigs. "Bagging out, i.e. deepening the luff curve, of their sails, increases bottom end. Similarly, pulling in the outhaul flattens their sails, increasing the top end.

Bow kites with shallow luff curves have been shown to be problematic in the past (e.g. the first generation of Slinghot bows). They were found to fly to close to the edge of the window, often leading to inversions. Hence, for a bow kite to be stable, it needs to have a deeper luff curve than a comparative C-kite. In general, bow kites have much deeper luff curves than comparable C kites.

But, if surface area and luff curves are similar, bow kites and C-kites have similar low ends.

Pumpy

I concur with your finding about your C4 kites.
Ozone C-4 13M pulls with less power than Epic Renegade 11M. Tried 'em back to back.
I just think the C4 (2011) is just and easy going, not super grunty low end kite.
Just tried an Epic Judge 8M C kite and it has gobs of power for an 8M.
I mean compared to any 8M I've ever been on.
I think some of what Pumpy said, just appeared in the shape of a fat little C kite.
Gotta test it again to see if I'm having hallucinations..... again.

Hmm please define power first... What I mean is this everyone is basing their argument on their experience with kites and not real testing. I think you would have to test the actual amount of lift each kite produces at certain wind speeds. To truly tell if they do need more wind or not to generate the same power.

Why do I say this? I think everyone is basing the power on going upwind, which is the most important thing at the low end. Well from my experience I can fly both C's and SLE's in the same wind. Relaunch them do tricks blah blah blah. The big draw back to a C at its low end is going upwind. They just set too deep in the window.

There is a reason why race kites are flat high aspect ratio. The same goes for freestyle kites, wave kites, free ride kites etc etc. Each shape has its own advantages over the others but lacks something the others don't have. That's my thoughts on it any way, but I could be wrong. With out knowing actual numbers its all just opinion really.

We can talk projected area, forward, drive, power in turns and angle of attack etc etc etc. However, a lot of what you get out of a kite is due to technique and I really do believe that more modern safe kites are producing truly shit kiters. As kiter of 5 years I started at the ‘bow revolution’ so I know first hand how this makes you become far to reliant on push away depower with resultant poor (poo) stance. You also don’t learn to ‘fly’ your kite and instead get pulled around by it.

I now fly a modern C kite because above everything else I value feedback, handling and precision more than anything else – I’m no freestyle monkey either. My largest is an 11m and I kid you not when I say that I can almost go as early as a local guy on his 17m Zephyr on a similar sized twin and this is because I’m not being pulled along but flying my kite to get the most from it. By this I don’t mean I’m working it like a mofo I just know how to position it and when it is at it’s most efficient.

Also I disagree and I think that size for size a good modern C has more sweet spot and a lot of hybrid kites – yes hybrids have more overall range but whether this is actually usable or even safe could be argued and I think it is a travesty that companies push this ‘massive range’ and ‘huge depower’ as it instils false confidence in some riders.

That said the pigeon holing and use of sweeping statements and descriptors for types of kite – C, Hybrid, Hybrid C, Bridled C, Bow, Delta, Open Delta C has also increased confusion. I think there must be a better real world terms to describe a kite beyond that of the marketing bullshit?

To the original OP – be prepared that if you buy a modern C like the Torch your other kites are going to feel shit in comparison. A good days kiting on a C kite is sublime as you feel more connected to and in control of everything and the kite become an extension of you and not some blancmange attached by string. Yes some good hybrid kite have C kite feel – but none feel like a C kite.

+1 on that. I ride a 13m and 9m fuel and a 6m rpm. After riding c's for a while, I really wish that rpm was a fuel too. Looks like a new purchase is in order!

+1 same boat. Having flown C4-s for almost a full season (after a few seasons on other hybrids), no other kite can make me smile. You get so hooked on "being in control no matter what" - that there's no going back. C-shapes are back stronger than ever and are here to stay!

I agree Mike, which kites fit into what category is not very clear anymore.
I think everybody agrees on the Fuel it seems, ..you can add to that the Naish Torch, Airush Razor, Switch Combat, LF Nirvana, Best GP, maybe North Vegas, etc, if you want to add five line C kites to the category where the Fuel sits. So, do the C kites that use a small bridle at the front two tow points qualify as a C kite? Epic Judge has two attachment points in front and nothing else, is it more of a C kite than a LF Nivana with all it's (four points) fifth line bridling? I think so. Are the Ozone C-4, Flexi Hadlow, Blade Prime and the rest of the bridled C's, truly C kites? I think they are, but lots of folks disagree. Is an F-One Bandit a Delta now or a Hybrid C Delta or whatever they are calling it this year? Some Delta kites like a Rally or Kahoona are easy to classify. What are open C kites?..are they a class of SLE (yep) but lots of SLE kites are not Open C's. SLE used to mean one thing, now it means everything but the Fuel.

I came off a Bridled C to a pure 5-line C (Airush Razor) and the difference was instantly noticeable - IMO you simply cannot make any bridled kite feel like a C.

That is not to say some bridled C type kites don't offer good feedback and feel as they do, but they still don't provide the precision and direct connection through the bar to you, the board and water that a pure C kite does.

If you started kiting during the ‘bow’ revolution the hype at the time instilled a certain amount of fear and trepidation towards C kites. For anyone whose experience was similar, or for those who were tortured by C kites of old I urge you to try a modern C kite. You seriously don’t know what you are missing until you do.

I live and kite in Scotland where we can get gusty frontal winds yet I have never felt more safe than I have on my Razor. There is enough depower to handle the gusts but the predicability and stability cannot be matched - especially if you compare it to a hybrid that will to an extent fly when fully depowered but will do so like a shopping bag on string!

I started my C kite time on Flexifoil Strike kites, a four line C kite with very little sheeting range and crappy upwind on anything big. The 11M was great, the 13M was OK, the 15M was a pain in the ass and the 17M was really a pain in the ass. I owned Slingshot Machine 17.5M and it was a good kite because the fifth line was sheetable. I owned Slingshot Octane five line C kites and they were the same as the Machine. Then started the SLE kites and the first thing I hated was the backstalling. Had to learn to fly the kites completely differently, but the range was huge in comparison. Also, for lightwind kiting, it was hard to beat the Turbo2 14M bow compared to a Machine 17.5M. Way better in the lightest winds, and could hold that damn kite up to some pretty high winds. But I agree, the feel was not there. The basic SLE has come to a point that many brands don't stall anymore and they feel pretty good, but most of them have gotten way more C shaped. Never flown the open C types like a Park or an RPM. Have been on the C-4 kites and they feel pretty good but they felt underpowered. I had just come off my Epic Renegade kites which are very powerful. I am also used to the Epic Screamers which feel like a fire breathing dragon compared to a C-4. Would like to try several kites right now. The Epic Judge, Airush Razor and Varial X, Naish Park are on that list. I don't really want a five line kite though. I am way more inclined to get excited about a four line C kite than a five line. Even if it has a bit of bridle.