Ocean Rodeo Gen 5 Flite Review

[F27Corsair]

Its been awhile since i've updated my kite quiver. So when my OR Gen 5 12m Flite showed up on the door to replace my aging 12m Rise (2012), I was super stoked. I've had it on the water twice in flat water gusty/not ideal conditions, but regardless the stoke has not disappeared. Ocean Rodeo has a real winner here. I am an intermediate rider- far from the abilities of those rocking insane youtube videos. But I think my skills represent the vast majority of normal kiteboard riders out there so hopefully some of you find this of use.
This 12m Flite flies like a 9 or 10m; it is so responsive for a larger kite. I have found myself accidentally oversending the kite multiple times on jumps as the Flite sends me much higher than I am used to- so much so that I initiate a massive swing under the kite. The result is I end up travelling in the opposite direction for several meters on landing, solely from the swing. I have not experienced that before on any of my older kites and had to have a good laugh over it. Luckily the kite is so flexible to inputs, I'm able to do what I need to and continue in my original direction without much effort.



Pros:
-Flies superbly in light air and does well with gusts
-Easily pulls me higher than I am used to going in similar conditions
-Enough bar pressure where you know what's going on, but not overwhelming/fatiguing

Cons:
-Due to being faster, it is not as 'set it and forget it' friendly as some slower kites. It will move on you and bring you with it if you are not paying attention, but not as much as a Razor does.
-It is taking some time to get used to, due to the big differences from my previous 12m Rise. I'm still able to launch big, but I can tell I'm not able to take full advantage of what the kite has to offer.

I have not unhooked or looped the kite on jumps yet but will update this thread on subsequent outings when I knock those out. My sense is that although it is not a freestyle kite, it will perform really well- this is based off of some on the water loops and how the kite has been sitting well even despite the large wind gusts. I'll post back soon! Thanks for looking, fire away if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Travis

[ORSales]

Thanks Travis! I'm here to help too if people want to arrange a demo. JZ

[walter592]

Hi JZ,
Could you summarize the changes that were made from the previous generation?

Thanks

[ORSales]

Thanks Walter,

Each of our kites in the line up go through minor iterative changes each year. No major jumps forward as we try to keep the "feel" or the essence of the kite the same from year to year, none more so than with the Flite which is a hugely popular light wind kite and which many riders have asked us not to mess with it!

That being said, this year's Flite now features a new high flow valve head that has the ability to directly connect to your pump hose end and not need a nozzle. We also worked hard to reduce the weight of the kite (again) which allowed us to jazz up the graphics a bit this season vs the very slim / basic graphics we used last year to reduce weight.

One really key update is our price. For 2017 we dropped our prices on all models of kites by close to 10%, the 17m is currently $180 less than last year....

[SparD]

It's been a few weeks since I received my new Flite Gen5 12m².

This edit was filmed on my first sesh with it :



Almost everything was said by F27Corsair.

What I can add :

- Bar pressure is perfect. It's very light (almost as light as on a foil kite) but still enought to feel the position of the kite. I come from Swichblades and Nitros and really enjoy the lighter bar pressure !

- Windrange is huge ! The low end is amazing, the kite hangs in the air in 5-6 knots but as I am not the thinnest or the lightest I need at least 8-9 knots to get going on the hydrofoil. Top end is also really great, I hadn't the occasion of testing this 12m² in strong wing wind but with the twintip I can easily hold my Gen4 10m² in 30 knots gusting 35 where it's a boosting machine !

- I really love this kite and think it's far superior to the strutless or 1-strut kites (at least the Voyager and Mono that I could demo). You get the great low end because it's very light and hangs very well but you also get the great top end because it's rigid with 3 struts whereas strutless kites are flapping as soon as they get too powered.


PS : I'm sure PMU will notice that the Flite is far superior than the foil kite seen in my edit

[SENDIT!]

Nice video, SparD! Looks like a beautiful location to ride. And yes, the new Flites are more of the same magic that they've been. I'm certainly one of those asking that they don't monkey with it too much!

[Regis-de-giens]

Wonderful video Spard. Hoping to see you at spring on this wonderful spot of Almanarre (South of France). Nice kite really.

[BillyKP]

Love this Video. No whitecaps anywhere in sight. In our group we call this Magic Kite because it is mind boggling how it flys and stays in the air with almost no wind. I used to have foils for light wind, but ditched them when the Flite arrived on the scene. Agree that I hope they dont change or modify the design, because I don't know if they can make it much better.

[BrunoC]

Love this Video. No whitecaps anywhere in sight. In our group we call this Magic Kite because it is mind boggling how it flys and stays in the air with almost no wind. I used to have foils for light wind, but ditched them when the Flite arrived on the scene. Agree that I hope they dont change or modify the design, because I don't know if they can make it much better.

Granted, I am a light weight (140lbs) but I can ride a 12m gen4 flite in 10-12 kts no trouble o a regular (non-light wind) directional and still go upwind. It is kind of a crazy sensation once you develop the apparent wind because after a while you think it suddenly got windier and then you go to transition and realize there's still no wind. Great kite

[nothing2seehere]

Got my new 12m Flite this week. For those interested in weight, it was showing 3.06kg out of the bag (including strap and attached cardboard labels on the inflate valve).

Looking forwards to getting it out on the water. I decided to go for all Flites this year as it was taking me half a session to adjust between kites when I had a mixed brand quiver.