Ocean Rodeo 8M Razor - Amazing Low End Power

[tommeltot]

I had an amazing session last night. Other folk were looking at me like I was insane pumping up an 8m in what felt like a light breeze. I'm only 65 kilos and I wanted to test the low end.

It felt good the moment I launched and I was not to be disappointed. My mate pumped up a 9m North Rebel but went back in after 10 minutes for his 12. Two other riders were present and they were riding a 12 Vegas and what looked like a big Naish ‘C’

Below are the stats. from http://www.weather-file.com for the time that I was out. The wind picked up a bit after 17:00. Not a lot but I’d have been lit judging by the power I had during my ride. See the stats below:

On the water I didn’t feel the minimums save for one occasion after a botched rotation resulting in some line slack and the kite falling. I think this may also have been a bit of wind shadow caused by a nearby spit of land. Re-launch was a piece of cake despite it doing a pirouette the kind of which would have seen a 5 line kite 'bow tied' or 'garroted'. The kite was just so eager to get back into the air with v. little bar input or rear line pulling -awesome trouble free and confidence boosting re-launch..

I’m totally blown away by this size Razor and would’nt hesitate to recommend it to any rider weighing in at my ‘lack of puddings.’ True, sometimes I was just free riding but with a simple dive of the kite into the power zone the power was always there. I was able to boost some pretty impressive jumps on demand and rotations were a breeze. Pretty confident that my riding will improve at a much faster rate now that I have this beaut!

I don’t think I’ll be in any hurry to purchase anything bigger that’s a cert!

I was riding a 2006 Nobile 666 132x40 twintip. Others out there were on similar sized boards.

With a surfboard my low end would improve even further.

Date Time Wind direction Min Ave Max (in knots)
2011/06/10 16:50.00 196 219 238 3.17 10.30 18.84
2011/06/10 16:40.00 191 220 236 3.09 10.34 18.15
2011/06/10 16:30.00 202 219 234 4.89 11.93 18.05
2011/06/10 16:20.00 186 218 240 2.28 11.05 1942
2011/06/10 16:10.00 193 219 241 2.64 12.18 20.59
2011/06/10 16:00.00 190 217 235 5.15 11.24 16.35
2011/06/10 15:50.00 197 226 239 3.44 13.25 18
2011/06/10 15:40.00 194 224 234 5.48 13.56 17.89
2011/06/10 15:30.00 194 217 236 5.01 10.51 17.88

[Starsky]

Going with the 10 as my big kite this year. As soon as its actually decent, I'm good to go on that kite. I have more fun burning around with it on a fast surfboard than I did for years just barely holding my line on bigger slower kites in boots. My TT is pretty power hungry and I'm not into big efficient TT's so a fun floaty little fish is pretty key to why I like the 10m razor so much. In boots the same kite is golden until its small kite weather. Pretty wacky there is so much overlap between me on my set up and my buddy on a 19m flysurfer. He can definitely start with the cruising first, but once he's throwing up spray and it starts to look tempting, I can burn upwind on my gear.

The big kites around these days really do work so much better than just a few years ago. I may break down and get one someday, but for now, my wind threshold is pretty much the same as it always has been, I'm just on way smaller kites. Many people around here still think of a 9m as a high wind kite!

[blowhard]

yup low wind MAVENS

My 8.0 Diablo has taken it's last hit ,so I replaced it with 6.0 Razor
could easily keep up with my pal on his 8.0 Rise and he's at least 75lbs lighter than me

gonna get and 8.0 Razor for my light wind work

[adamj2281]

Yeah my 8m Razor is definitely a fun once the wind picks up over 18 knots (I'm 185 lbs and have a 12m Rise right now). I'm going to start using it for low-wind downwinders on the surfboard, it feels so light in the air, and is so much fun to whip around, I'm sure it will work great with the surfboard.

I'm thinking about getting the 12m Razor, I'm probably going to use it as a replacement for my 12m Rise. I've read some reviews on the OR site, and gotten one day of riding it in marginal conditions.

Anyone else with opinions on the 12m Razor?

[Starsky]

I weight the same.. 185. Should probably get that down to 180 but I have a love/love relationship with beer!

Of course the 12 has more low end, but its funny how the difference in bottom end for a 12 and a 10 of the same model kite is probably smaller than between any other two sizes in the range. At our weight, the 10m has the biggest wind range and all things considered is just a way better fit for me than the 12. I'm happy on it in something like 13 steady knots on the right surfboard to way up into the high 20's locked down in boots. 15-25 knots is golden. Survived a few minutes up in the mid 30's on it the other day. Not fun, but didn't get dummied. A 6m razor covers my high end and works well in anything up over 20 knots. If I break down and get a bigger kite it won't be the 12. I'd go straight to one of the new light wind monsters like the 15m Rise. For now I'm happy to mooch off a few buddies with big flysurfers. At my weight, you need a monster to ride down in the 10-12 knot range.

[rodeoclown]

The overlap between the 15m Rise LW and the 10m Razor is very generous.
Heard a lot of good things about the range of the 6m Razor too, but I want to try the new Rise
before I spring for my small kite.

[tommeltot]

I'm thinking about getting the 12m Razor, I'm probably going to use it as a replacement for my 12m Rise. I've read some reviews on the OR site, and gotten one day of riding it in marginal conditions.

Anyone else with opinions on the 12m Razor?

Are you also considering the 10m Razor to replace your 12m Rise? The Razor is supposed to have the low end approaching that of the Rise...Just a thought

[adamj2281]

I'm thinking about getting the 12m Razor, I'm probably going to use it as a replacement for my 12m Rise. I've read some reviews on the OR site, and gotten one day of riding it in marginal conditions.

Anyone else with opinions on the 12m Razor?

Are you also considering the 10m Razor to replace your 12m Rise? The Razor is supposed to have the low end approaching that of the Rise...Just a thought

Na, I like to have more power, the 10m Razor would probably be plenty for any days that I actually ride, but the 12m Razor feels pretty solid and I like how it turns better than the Rise. I haven't tried it unhooked or anything else yet.

[eag]

6,8,10 razor quiver is all i need at 185lbs. If I can't ride the 10m with a surfboard it's too light for anything but "light wind gear" and that's not my thing.

I love that kite.

[tommeltot]

yup low wind MAVENS

My 8.0 Diablo has taken it's last hit ,so I replaced it with 6.0 Razor
could easily keep up with my pal on his 8.0 Rise and he's at least 75lbs lighter than me

gonna get and 8.0 Razor for my light wind work

Will you be using the 8m Razor as your smallest kite too? What board or combination of boards are you using to make this work?