New Brand: Epic Kites

[Soleas]

very cool video Dimitri, people can get an idea about the Screamer from it. The jumps over the windsurfers were awesome! And the pull from the kiteloops.........brutal
Nice work D

[piedroporto]

hi everyone.

I've been reading about the epic kites for about 2months.
I was quite curious in the beggining with so many positive
posts about them. So i decided i should talk to Dimitri.
after a few emails here and there, i made up my mind
and ordered a renegade 9m. I'm a pure freestyle rider.
The more wakeboard moves, the better. Dimitri advised
me to go for the Renegade, because if i wanted to go for
an all around kite that would fit my needs, the Renegade
would be it. Honestly, my first thought was "ok, nice...
but then when i want to boost some big airs, i'll be
stuck on the ground and sometimes i feel like doing them
for a change". This was my first mistake... clearly!

The wind wasn't strong enough when the kite arrived
but today it finally picked up and it is here to stay.
so i decided to write my REVIEW on it.

The one thing i could not understand when i came daily to
this post, was - everybody is so stoked with the Screamer,
but why the hell can't i find a good review on the renegade?
there's a few nice opinions here and there, but NOTHING on
freestyle about it. this is the main reason why i'm posting.

ok, now the real deal. the review.

Renegade 9m

My weight - 67kgs
Wind - 18/21knots, a bit gusty at times.
board - Balance 133*40
sea with 1m waves and some chop

I won't say a lot about the bar for obvious reasons... it's the same
as the screamer and people have talked enough about it so i'll leave
it at that. The one thing i have to say about it is that being a short
guy, i had no problems reaching for the depower like i've heard some
people say in here. my old 9m (Waroo), i had to struggle and bent forward
to reach it. in this one, i can reach it without a problem.

quality of the kite and overall construction details have been spoken
a lot already so no need to keep repeating it.

first impression - oh shit, the bar is feeling heavy i don't like this...
i'll be dead in 15mins... why? well, simple... both my older kites (waroo
and Switchblade) have very light feeling on the bar and i'm used to it.
Is the bar to heavy? no, not really... just not what i had imagined. it
is lighter then the LF Hi-Fi and i like the hi-fi feeling for Freestyle.
so basicly 5mins after thinking it was to heavy, i had completely forgotten it.

First time i jumped, i went like 15-18ft. the next ones where probably even
higher. Bare in mind that this wasn't the mega windy conditions
for huge jumps!
this made me smile... people have been saying so much about the
insane hang-time on the screamer, which i haven't tried,
but this kite jumps good! I was jumping higher then my
previous 9m... so don't let yourself be mistaken. This kite CAN jump high!

After a few jumps i went onto the freestyle. And here's why the kite is
good. it has the right feeling unhooked and it isn't SUPER fast. Some people
might not like this, i however, love it! I can feel where the kite is
and i have time to react. another huge plus, and this is what i was most
impressed with - it is the most stable kite i have EVER tried! is it the
fastest? no. Is it the most powerfull? no. but it sure is damn stable.
The power given to you is the same throughout the entire move, and you
never lose the feeling of where the kite is. do i want anything else for
freestyle? no! this is what makes me evolve as a rider. What makes me
have fun in the water! the predictability of the kite helps you in everyway for freestyle.

Kitelooping - it isn't the biggest kick i've felt, but it's a nice stable
one. And with the 9m, it just loops exactly what you want for a nice landing
while you can keep on riding. didn't feel any flaws midway through like with
some other kites.

Overall, i am as happy as i can be for the kite i got. I wanted a kite
for freestyle and that i what i got. How does it feel in the waves?
sorry, i'm not the right person for that review, i simply don't care.
By the way, the below the bar swivel worked perfectly everytime. quite nice!

Positive -
unhook performance
stability
feeling
details of construction
hang-time - maybe the screamer is better, but for a freestyle fan, this is
damn good enough and it is jumping more then my previous kite, so yes, it is positive for me.

Negative -
speed of the kite. it isn't super fast to fly around.
depower doesn't feel like it goes all the way to 100%

what i did not test yet :

kite in the waves
upwind ability - didn't force it very much so no idea.
safety system - just opened it without connection to the kite to know how it works
water relaunch - usually when i fall i loop it until it points to 12o'clock so haven't tested it yet

Tomorrow i will have better conditions as i will go to this super flat water spot.

and i'll "go pro HD" the session and then post the video in here so everybody can have a
better idea.

windy regards to everyone, and feel free to comment or make any questions,

Pedro

[xray]

Still have to try an Epic, wind is good, now just get my hands on a kite. Hey Geronimo, when and where?

@pedro
Where is it in Portugal? Have a trip planned in June and this spot looks very promising...

[piedroporto]

xray, yes it is in portugal.
the spot is called esposende. 50kms north of Oporto.
good spot in the summer with constant N and NW winds.

space available to ride depends on the tides so you need to check it before you go. if it is to low, it is better to go on the other side, to the sea.

look for Esposende Locals in kiteforum.tv or youtube and you should find a video from Rui Duarte Silva. It will give you an idea of the spot.
and feel free to try the Renegade when you get here. The kite's purpose is for people to test it as well

[Sandwichislander]

Great kites, I'm building my quiver of Renegades for the surf, that's 4 sure. Have had some really good jumps at the top end of the 9 Renegade, I can imagine the boosts on the Screamer 9/10 ltd.
And my Screamer 14 is perfect for light winds. Actually the Screamer 14 without the line extensions in lighter winds work in the surf, too.

Fine work by everyone at Epic Kites, Looking forward to the years to come.Thanks Dimitri!

[Soleas]

piedroporto

I'm a Screamer fan and i got a 10 and 7m but one day I tried the 9m Renegade in 20kn to check it out/compare it with the Screamer and I was totally surprised with the jumps. Every jump was a big one starting with the very first one. The Screamer for sure jumps more agressively and hangs more but the Renegade jumps big too. I got some huge airs with minimal effort.
Yeah the flying speed is balanced compared to the accelerating Screamer. Screamer likes to shoot from on side to the other and the Renegade turns smoothly with balanced speed and pull.

[Geronimo79]

Funny, i ride screamer to, and tried the renegade 11 next to the screamer 12m.
The screamer just boosted me up every time. Was a bit overpowered with the 12m. The Renegade seemed to have even more power, but that could be the barpressure which isnt light. Not as much as the bandit 1. The feeling of the kite reminded me a lot about Delta kites. Only it moves faster then the delta kite's i've flown. And it simply flies really nice.

But jumping.. somehow i couldnt really get it on the kites. Atleast it didnt feel high as i did on the screamer. Probably the boost part thats missing, since on one or two jumps i was pretty high in the air but i simply didnt feel it the same way. But i think its more me that cant jump that well then its the kite obviously. Gonna ride a bit more with the renegade too, since its pretty nice.

Yesterday i had a great session on my 12m screamer, actually riding towards a sundown. Almost no chop, and really well powered. Dimtir told me how i should jump with the kites. Well.. that sure works good...
Basicly its doing a real good pop movement. Slowing down a bit, by going a bit downwind (making the kite drop a bit back) Meanwhile steer the kite back, and as soon as you feel the tearing you from the water just edge a bit more and at a certain point pop that board back and pull that bar. well it worked nicely.
Hangtime became longer aswell. And i already found the hangtime pretty good.

Tried a backloop transition... well.. turn the kite slowly...my try was a bit to fas and ended up in the kite going straight down.

Well Xray lets make appointment then ^^

[dbaber]

Epic bar: The Epic bar is a pretty good combination of the North, Eclipse and Cabrinha bars. I rode North for 08 and 09 and Cabrinha for 2010.

The Epic bar has the floater stop ball which is adjustable, like the North bar. However, its designed to be a four line system. It only lets out about four feet of line. Many times I have tried to recover my North Rebels off my fifth line. Trying to retrieve 20or 30 feet of line underwater is a bear. The Epic bar pays out about four feet of line, like the Cabrinha IDS. This is the perfect amount for experienced kiters. Enough to flag the kite but not so much as to make the kite difficult to recover. The IDS system is really good. However, the lawyers got involved. The IDS stopper ball does not stop. You have to reach way up to retrieve it and it does not stop the bar even when you want it to. It's annoying.

The Epic bar is much better than either North orCabrinha. It's only fault as I see it is that there is not a swivel for the power lines. Cabrinha has this. When you do alot of kiteloops in one direction, the powerlines get wrapped. You can loop the kite the other direction or fix it on the beach. A swivel would be nice.

[Dimitri M]

Hello "dbader",
The Swivel is on top of the CL. Check the latest video from EPIC called "Solo Kiting" and you will see how it works.

[K3rM1t]

I have a brother-in-law and some friends in Israel that just sent me this pic of Dimitri on an unlabeled kite! I know he's out there testing out the 2011s perhaps this is the future of Epic kites?!

Looks a bit like the Screamer in profile, but only 3 struts like the Renegade. New model maybe?