Postby exuma kitesurfing » Sun Jun 23, 2013 9:24 pm
Windrider - 1) the kite was rigged and given to me to demo by an OR employee that was working for me as an instructor during christmas/new years ... he works closely with the design team so i'm assuming he knows how to rig OR kites. as i mentioned, i contacted my friend from OR and he gave me the 'neutral' rigging setup of which i'd figured out before he got back to me. of course, i was able to adjust my riding style to fly the kite, but i didn't like that i couldn't fly the kite agressivley coming out of a jibe/transition.
Kite2Heaven - 2) i started kiting in 2001 and i'm an IKO and PASA level 2 instructor since 2007. i can hold my own in high winds, waves, unhooked etc ... i know how to rig and fine tune a kite, if you actually read my post, you'll see that i did contact OR.
yes, i do like SS kites but always try my customer's kites when ever possible to have an idea on what other kite brands ride like - so far ozone kites have the best 'out of the box' feel to me.
to your second post, i know this.
Starsky - 3) see response 2.
Kamikuza - 4) see response 1
Beachboy - 5) see response 1 and 2. also, in the case of the flite, what good is a low wind kite if you've got to lose low end power in order to trim the kite to fly efficiently ... defeats the purpose.
any kite will fly ok in it's sweet spot, wind range. if this sweet spot is very narrow, as i found with the razor and flite, the kite in not that user friendly, in my opinion.
when i unhook on a fuel, rally or rpm i don't have to optimize my trim, i can just go for it!, unless i'm waaay overpowered ... a wide range.
when i test a kite, i always test the kite in low winds and high winds for it's given size ... any kite designed halfway decent will fly ok in optimal winds for it's size ... so will a bed sheet.
keep in mind the average kiteboarder is just jumping and riding toeside and have basic kite setup knowledge, so the more user friendly out of the box, the better.
to be honest, i was really hoping i'd like the OR kites, they have good price points, build and warranty ... dealing directly with my friend at OR would have been great!, but they did not work for me.