What did you think about the SPI Kite Roundup

[stauter]

looking for feedback from attendees

curious about what went down, any new gear, was it worth it, etc

[jakemoore]

Was and still is. I haven't had nearly enough time to try out everything out but I will have some more free time later this week. Saturday was nuclear so a little tough to try new gear. Today was nice. The weeks forecast looks good. There is a good turnout in manufacturers and riders.

Jake

[zDad]

Awesome! Sat windy and very gusty up till 35knts I think, I had a blast with 6.5m and 9m, but not the best condition for my taste. Nice the big jump competition. Sunday much better wind condition, more stabile, I had a blast with 12m. Yesterday I have tried the North flats, much better wind, lots of space... 15$ fee for only 1 day entrance (worth a month though), the little man at the entrance is a stubborn idiot (I'm sorry but is like that) otherwise super nice spot! It would have been great if the e-vent round up would have been there.

The demo... some (no names) seems to do not care much…, are difficult to find and gave me the impression to be less reactive unless you are a local or a pre-pro but I might be wrong since it is only my initial experience (maybe I am spoiled to the demo-people in my local spot where instead they push you to try their gears as much as possible. Others were instead just as great, friendly and helpful in let you try, giving assistance and info. Can't be just pimping or?

My impression with the local organizer was excellent, nice people.

South Padre is a great place for kiting, within waking distance you get waves and flat at your service.

That is what I can say after 2 days.

Aloha from South Padre

zDad

[jwoodunlv]

I was there Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was nuclear bitchy wind and gusty as hell. Sunday started good but got light and the direction shifted a bit so it was ok. The demos were really cool but some of the people were not very friendly. The coolest people by far were Lightwave Dave and the Eclipse guy. They would let you try anything and they were really flexible on how much time you spent out there. The Best demo people required ID when nobody else did. Liquid Force guy was really cool too. By the way, Lightwave's new boards with the sandal bindings kick ass!!! Definitely going to save my pennies for one. I tried the 132 and 136 and they were fast, turned really nicely and had great pop.

[RM3001]

So were you able to test most of the gear that you wanted or was the wait too long to try a bunch of stuff? We are going on the weekend and I'm just wondering how much we are actually going to get to try. What were some of the most difficult things to get a hold of? I wanted to check out some 14/15m lightwind kites - is there any special time of the day when the winds are lighter to try this stuff out?

Any recomendation on a decent place to stay on the water that has a beach you can kite from?

Thanks!

[papasmerf]

i was at the la ventana kite demo last year.

Dimitri from Eclipse was without a doubt the best guy to go see. I am just joe average kiter and Dimitri went above and beyond getting me a kite and making sure it was set to his specifications. the freak dog guys were also super helpful, especially warren.

I know this is about SPI but I had to chip in.

[zDad]

Day 3, wind didn't show up today until late afternoon when some breeze kicked in. However, I had an enjoyable session in light wind under the sunset!
I agree with jwoodunlv some of the demo folk sounded like the sooner they get ride of you the better is. I thought that the demo days are made for pimping their gears but sometimes it felt like asking for a favour and eventually get it. I thought that the $ paied and the yellow string on our arm was to be able to demo as much as we could. Certainly was not matter of waiting in cue.

On the contrary I rented a board in a nice shop and I could change it as much as I want it! super cool people at shop! Thanks!

tomorrow unfortunately is my last day but looks nice and windy, hope for a blast downwind!

[720sports]

I've been here since before the event started and will be here for the whole thing- I don't think there was nearly as many people as they were expecting but this is only the first year- next year its bound to get bigger, My experiance with the demoes has been great- where else can you go from kite to kite and board to board? All the people involved with that end of the event have been very friendly and professional- Sonny with RRD and Mystic was great and really helped me get the right fit with a new harness- Damien Leroy with Cabrina, Lisa from Best and Tekko with Liquid Force were all nothing but friendly and helpful, And I never waited to try anything- if soemthing was in use then I just went and tried something else till it came back- All in all a great time with with lots of very laid back folks

[jjjlaudenslager]

I live here and am really enjoying the chance to try many kites in a short period of time. Of course sometimes the model and size I wanted to try was out on the water with somebody else. Not a problem if, like me, you can check again later or another day. I was surprised the Best people require you leave an ID while trying something; a minor nuisance.

Airush was here only two days before they took their stuff to a competition 130 miles away. Too bad, there was one kite I really wanted to try in the surf or at least ride once more.

So far tried 8-9 kites, some a couple times, and looking forward to more tomorrow.

GOOD DEMO!

John

[zDad]

My experience at The SPI roundup is over. I really enjoyed a lot . After the first day impression about demo, maybe due to my jetlag or maybe not, I must say that the next days were smooth with demos, all nice and sweet. so somehow I almost take it back my only downside. Maybe was the wrong day, the wrong person or the wrong chemistry, who knows and after all who cares.

Wonderful kite sessions at the sunset with light wind on the north flats! Enjoyed a lot riding Eclipse kite, especially the thruster which is a fast jump monster, and the RPM, sweet and cool. Eclipse bar gets high score.

One of the best thing of all in terms of instructionals was the outstanding jump clinic with Dimitri
Maramenides, which was a blast!! Thank you for the show and all the useful tips Dimitri, I already practiced some of them and I can say you made a difference with only 2 hrs (worth a year training).

I hope I could be back next year, worth the trip.

Keep going at SPI!