Best massive air kite for 30 + knots? old Raven lover...

[vilaprea]

Hey guys,
I'm looking for a high-jumping, great hangtime kite that will handle nicely in 30 to 35 knots

I loved my 2006, 8m Naish Raven, it got me nice and high and stayed there for quite some time, favorite all-time kite. Only issue is that after crashing it a few times in the waves, no-one in Brazil wanted to get close to the bladders, the octopus system being the major issue, and buying spares here is just not an option. So after a few repairs I had to ditch it.

Since 2008 I've been riding RPM's, a 7m and then 8m (better), I love the bomb-proof quality and it's pretty decent in terms of height and hangtime but I'm wondering if it is worth trying something different.

I've been thinking about the Draft, but it's either a 7 or a 9m and I would have to get a full replacement kit of bladders...

Has anyone tried both the older Raven's and the Draft?

Any other suggestion is welcome

[tautologies]

Hey guys,
I'm looking for a high-jumping, great hangtime kite that will handle nicely in 30 to 35 knots

I loved my 2006, 8m Naish Raven, it got me nice and high and stayed there for quite some time, favorite all-time kite. Only issue is that after crashing it a few times in the waves, no-one in Brazil wanted to get close to the bladders, the octopus system being the major issue, and buying spares here is just not an option. So after a few repairs I had to ditch it.

Since 2008 I've been riding RPM's, a 7m and then 8m (better), I love the bomb-proof quality and it's pretty decent in terms of height and hangtime but I'm wondering if it is worth trying something different.

I've been thinking about the Draft, but it's either a 7 or a 9m and I would have to get a full replacement kit of bladders...

Has anyone tried both the older Raven's and the Draft?

Any other suggestion is welcome

I have. Used the ravens. And drafts. Ravens are bit more aggressive going up, but the hangtime and range you get out of the draft is unreal. You can go super loaded on the drafts...it is easier to jump that kite loaded. Ravens had the gutwrenching jumping..the drafts when loaded goes up hard as well, but you can jump more ways with the draft and still be successful. Ravens were to me just full on or nothing.

Why would you get replacement for bladders? I mean

[Dirk]

Used to ride the Raven a lot as well and really loved the 2007 version. Now on Parks. I have not ridden it but I would imagine that the Torch gives you a similar feeling concerning lift compared to the Raven. But obviously not a hangtime kite (unless you are powered like the guys in KOTA).

[longwhitecloud]

a friend found n old raven last year and took it for a session - ended up getting lofted on beach and ejected at about 25ft into soft sand before going up and over huge dune - was about a half a m deep in it - saved his ass! couldnt walk well for a couple of days but turned out all good.

[gmb13]

You may want to try the Peter Lynn Fury 9 or 7. Great quality and best of all, huge lift and hang time.

Thats the 7 in the picture.



--
Gunnar

[Fatfish98]

If you like the RPM then the Rally 2014 jumps higher (on average) but down here there is one stand out 7m for height and hangtime.........2014 RRD Obsession 7m

[vilaprea]

thanks for the input guys

Taut: I was mentioning a set of replacement bladders because no-one here wants to repair an octopus system (my issue was popped leading edge on the Raven).

Gunnar: nice boosting on that 7! thanks for the tip, I'll take a look at the Fury also

Dirk: Kevin was on a 10 m Torch at KOTA! in 30+ knots serious boosting!

Fatfish: good call on the Obsession, hadn't thought about it

I remember reading a post by fdvj mentioning the Draft looking 'unstable' at KOTA, maybe it was a larger size (9 or 10.5) in really strong and gusty winds?

Have you tried mega-looping these kites?

[nikalaitzian]

Epic screamer 9m.check Dimitris videos .for megaloops ???exploding forward draft and sure "catching"

[Dimitri M]

vilaprea
The best thing to do if you get a chance, is to demo some of the kites people are mentioning in this thread and see which one you like.
This is one of the reason I made this video bellow in order to help some of the kiters go BIG.

[vilaprea]

Hey DImitri, thanks for the input and the video, I wish I had seen that like 10 years ago, it would have avoided a lot of bad landings, particularly step 4

Also,I noticed that if you push out the bar about 3 meters before landing, and pull it in again all the way about 1 meter before landing, it helps with the nice gentle landing.


Taut: have you tried the 2015 Draft vs the 2014, do you think it's worth forking out an extra $250 for the new model? It's the difference in price I have found so far...