2013 Ocean Rodeo Flite 17.5
Posted: Thu Mar 07, 2013 2:47 pm
My light-wind kites are 2011 Crossbow 16 and Flysurfer Speed3 21 or Psycho4 19, depending how I'm feeling. I've demoed the Naish Fly for a session too...
Rider weight is Clydesdale class
Started out on my Flydoor XL but was easily going upwind, so then switched to the Flyradical L - also went upwind just fine.
Wind was reported by the wind station as 7 to 10 knots, gusts to 16 but I call BS on that - felt more like a solid 15 knots, with brief lulls to 10 MAYBE... steady winter wind from the north with small whitecaps on a the lake... FWIW
The construction is kind of like Slingshot RPMs - kite is light but well made with Dacron (Kevlar?) strips on the bends in the LE, reinforced areas in the TE... looks solid.
If you're flown a Fly, it handles similar - responsive, good pull in turns, builds apparent wind well and is just bloody good fun to huck around... turns like a 13 meter (Crossbow)
but pulls better in a loop.
Upwind is better than the Fly (I thought it pulled downwind a lot and needed a lot of leg work to get upwind) or maybe it's just easier to get upwind out of the kite; on a par with the Crossbows.
Not an aggressive vertical pull on jumps but great float and hang time! Better than the XB to jump with...
Bar pressure is about the same as the Crossbow too. I'd call it medium for sheeting, light-med for turning. Consider the Speed3 light for sheeting, light-med for turning...
Things I particularly noticed...
Looping it and sending it loaded, fast across the window was just fun... do that with the XB and the LE might buckle. The FSers would take off like a rocket and you'd be fighting to edge against it and get control...
Setting up for a jump - I missed the lips of some 'kickers' cos the kite is quick; I had to pop before the wave arrived
Sheeting right out would have the XBs fluttering and falling. The Flite doesn't do that. In fact, the canopy never fluttered - guess the Venturi system works!
The bag is nice and big; chunky plastic zipper (no more salt seizure?); mesh windows on both sides; back-straps can be unbuckled and tucked away; 'hidden' zipped pocket/layer on the inside of the lid; and a long zipped pocket for the bar.
Gripes...
Old school valves
yikes, give me Swift or Max-Flow please!!! I might buy an electric pump...
I prefer the pretty collars Cabrinha uses for the one-pump LE-to-struts...
Need an external pump attachment system on the bag - I like the Epic bungy cords.
So, if I was buying a kite and had demoed a Fly, a 16m XB, a Speed3 and a Flite on the same day, I'd choose the Flite again. Because:
it's as much fun as the Fly but easier to get upwind,
it's more agile than the XB and Speed3,
it's lighter than the XB (travel),
it's cheaper than the Speed3 and
it's easy to use so it inspires confidence to progress!
Yes I have logorrhea
any questions?
Rider weight is Clydesdale class
Started out on my Flydoor XL but was easily going upwind, so then switched to the Flyradical L - also went upwind just fine.
Wind was reported by the wind station as 7 to 10 knots, gusts to 16 but I call BS on that - felt more like a solid 15 knots, with brief lulls to 10 MAYBE... steady winter wind from the north with small whitecaps on a the lake... FWIW
The construction is kind of like Slingshot RPMs - kite is light but well made with Dacron (Kevlar?) strips on the bends in the LE, reinforced areas in the TE... looks solid.
If you're flown a Fly, it handles similar - responsive, good pull in turns, builds apparent wind well and is just bloody good fun to huck around... turns like a 13 meter (Crossbow)
but pulls better in a loop.Upwind is better than the Fly (I thought it pulled downwind a lot and needed a lot of leg work to get upwind) or maybe it's just easier to get upwind out of the kite; on a par with the Crossbows.
Not an aggressive vertical pull on jumps but great float and hang time! Better than the XB to jump with...
Bar pressure is about the same as the Crossbow too. I'd call it medium for sheeting, light-med for turning. Consider the Speed3 light for sheeting, light-med for turning...
Things I particularly noticed...
Looping it and sending it loaded, fast across the window was just fun... do that with the XB and the LE might buckle. The FSers would take off like a rocket and you'd be fighting to edge against it and get control...
Setting up for a jump - I missed the lips of some 'kickers' cos the kite is quick; I had to pop before the wave arrived
Sheeting right out would have the XBs fluttering and falling. The Flite doesn't do that. In fact, the canopy never fluttered - guess the Venturi system works!
The bag is nice and big; chunky plastic zipper (no more salt seizure?); mesh windows on both sides; back-straps can be unbuckled and tucked away; 'hidden' zipped pocket/layer on the inside of the lid; and a long zipped pocket for the bar.
Gripes...
Old school valves
yikes, give me Swift or Max-Flow please!!! I might buy an electric pump...I prefer the pretty collars Cabrinha uses for the one-pump LE-to-struts...
Need an external pump attachment system on the bag - I like the Epic bungy cords.
So, if I was buying a kite and had demoed a Fly, a 16m XB, a Speed3 and a Flite on the same day, I'd choose the Flite again. Because:
it's as much fun as the Fly but easier to get upwind,
it's more agile than the XB and Speed3,
it's lighter than the XB (travel),
it's cheaper than the Speed3 and
it's easy to use so it inspires confidence to progress!
Yes I have logorrhea
any questions?