Strutless kite in development on Maui

[Dirk]

I think you are right on the range. Had my 17 out two days ago, but in less nice weather. 1C water, 1C air (hooray for the Ocean Rodeo SurfDry), Wind 7-10 knots, gusting to 14knots. My weight is 75kg. Although my trim was not perfect yet, I had a similar experience in the low to mid range. Instant power, nice speed, nice turning. I jumped it but need more time to fully dial into the kite. Nice combo with a North Nugget.

[windfreak74]

good morning and happy easter!!
sorry for my crude english writting skills its not my first languange.
i really didnt have time to judge jumping and looping and transitioning.
To me the upwind was average but i wasnt worried about it at the moment. the wind got to strong and i got overpowered and headed back to beach to rig down.on the way i tried a wave and i messed up.
Its true that the kite has little range compared to normal struted sle kites canopy deformation is severe in the wind i was riding but kite was not intended to ride those conditions. i was fully depowered on strap and shetted out and i was still getting pulled.
too me bar presure was average to médium compared to my best nemesis but no problema to my taste.
like i said before it got in at 10 to 12 knots and started gusting 20 knots.
im on my 9 m usualy and my 135x 34.
My comments were only about my first impressions.
when i meant powerful I meant i got ovepower very easily.
im light weight.150 lbs.
i think it was too much kite for the ocasión.
i think the 13 would have done the job but i cannot say.
ill be looking for more light wind to juice this kite out!
I normally dont like to compare kites to other kite that are not the same design.
its like comparing Apple to orange.

Best regards,
pedro

[windfreak74]

In all fairness,
Greg warned me before getting a 17m and suggested me to get a 13m because of the all around range.
He commented that the sweet spot for the BRM17m would be between 8 and 12 knot for my weight.i have a mint 2006 waroo 16m which i have used verry Little for that and its no comparision.
2006 warro 16 hindemburgs constantly and 17 brm floats without imput.
I bought this kite to cruise and get more wáter time were my 12 wont be fun.
i live 1h 30 min away from the beach, so this is my insurance kite so i wont get skunked.
ive never jumped in 12 knots or less so no sense commenting on jumping .
My experience:
7 years riding
i cruise i bump and jump and my biggest acomplisment is landing back rol with kiteloop.
im intermediate kiter with no intention or skills to do handle passes. im all hoked in.
i love to go fast and jump.
thats abou it!!

[stringy]

been on maui for the past week. great to hang out with greg and his brother scott, two of the nicest guys you'll run into on and off the water. I've had an opportunity to fly my 13 cloud in all conditions. I caught this shot of the clouds in flight in maui with the valley in the background.
I love that you not only can demo a kite from greg, but he welcomes your feedback and is really cool to chat with
keep the aloha spirit going boys!

[windfreak74]

http://www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/04/t ... less-kite/

[tautologies]

http://www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/04/t ... less-kite/

Great little writeup. Maybe people that are doubting the concept will believe more now?
I think the turning speed of these kites are related to their light weight, and lower drag perhaps?

It is a little stressful when chatting with people on this forum that have not even ridden the kites...and they still tell you it doesn't work.

[marlboroughman]

Have you guys try to set up these kites on five lines? The reason I am asking is that from my experience it is much better to reduce the fluttering effect with five lines. Since the fifth is in the front of front ones the two front lines hold the kite sort of like the back ones until stronger gust opens the kite. The bridles suppose to hold the kite in similar way but it is never quite the same. I think you should give it a try. The less struts the more lines you need and not the other way around.

[eree]

http://www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/04/t ... less-kite/

wow!
first time i see kite magazine review with more than half a dozen lines in "con" section.
usually it is all blue sky and sunshine with only a couple of rain drops.

in addition they create whole new paragraph - "tips", as the test team was obviously embarrassed by the over-sized "con" paragraph?

i never believed magazines kite reviews anyway, so i'll wait for more riders reviews when first emotions calm down a bit.

and since we have self-proclaimed chatting-people-that-have-not-even-ridden-the-kites police now i have to shut up

[tautologies]

I've had my Paipo out now. I pus some 2in fins on it. I think I will use this board quite a lot. It feel light on your feet, easy to throw around, and do all sorts of flatwater stuff.

I tried it in knee high waves works well.

I do need more time on it, but I think this board was a lot of fun.

[tautologies]

http://www.thekiteboarder.com/2013/04/t ... less-kite/

wow!
first time i see kite magazine review with more than half a dozen lines in "con" section.

Did we read different reviews?

Here are the pros and cons from the article. :
Pros:

Great low end power.
The Clouds are very lightweight and take up about half the space of a traditional kite when packed.
Extremely stable in the sky with quick, direct, and predictable handling.

Cons:

The Cloud is a different kind of kite that takes a bit of time to get used to.
This kite must be very heavily sanded or tied to a solid object to keep it from being blown off a windy beach. It’s a good idea to fill the kite bag with sand and tie it to the kite so it stays put.
The canopy flutters a lot when riding this kite at the top of it’s wind range. Riders who like to ride overpowered may find it hard to get used to.