We at Peter Lynn Kitesports are proud to introduce the Leopard Open Cell Snowkite.
The Leopard is an exceptional combination of powerful performance and safe snow kiting. This 5th line, high aspect ratio, open cell depower kite is designed for high performance snowkiting and for experienced snowkiters that breakdown boundaries for breakfast. The excellent turning speed provides you with the initial boost to get going and makes it easy to sine and/or loop the kite to keep you going even in light winds. A big wind range, good low end power, high turning speed and massive lift & hangtime are some of the key characteristics the Leopard brings to the table.
I got myself a quiver of 9m and 11m leopard and so far I have to say that I am quite satisfied. They are pretty high aspect. I would say that they are pretty much the same ratio as the Speed 4 10m that i had been using the last 2 winter. Since I dont use foil on the water no more I got open foils, cheaper and easier to setup and pack. Quality of construction and materials : really good. The security is also great being a 5 line kite. If you release there is no power left. The line that is connected on the rear two lines is also useful to land the kite or when you take a brake.
So the real question is : how does it fly. Quite good actually. I dont like heavy bar pressure and the leopard has no pressure, to give a reference, about the same as a speed 3 12m on the lightest settings. Being high aspect the kite has no problem tracking upwind at pretty good angles. The kite builds speed really fast but it isn't a fast looper, the loop radius is also quite wide.
Out of the bag there was something that bugged me quite a bit at first. The depower throw was quite short so there wasn't much depower available on the bar. If I trimmed the kite then yes I could take away a lot of power but in gusty weather it is nice to be able to dump power without having to trim. Today I went for a ride but before, I moved the clam cleat about 3 or 4 inches further away from the chicken loop and now the depower throw is quite ok. Wonder why they put it so close. It was setup like that on both the 9m and 11m.
People who used speed in the past would feel quite at home on this kite. It is a fast kite , not fast as in fast looping but fast as in speed, and it is really easy to tranfer that speed in lift and hangtime. The hangtime really stands out, the kite glides smoothly when you jump. The kite is also real stable, you feel it when you jump, and you a lso feel it in gusty weather. Also not a single bow tie in about ten sessions so far, I have been using foils for years but still.
I had quite a few foil in my life and so far I really enjoy both the 9m and 11m. I use the 11m as my lightwind kite as it is quite powerful (foils are alway more powerful than tube size for size).
We've had a lot of snow lately so I think I will enjoy some pretty nice sessions on my new toys.
