Switch Kites any real reviews??

[Hansen Design]

C Johnson:
Interesting you have mentioned this and I think it is instructive.

It seems 'jellyfish,' which originally meant constant (and irritating) oscillation under load (typical of some early 4-line C kites) has evolved today into describing wiggling and flexing for bridled kites when de-powered. To me, this is an unfair way to judge a bridled kite because when de-powered it is basically outside of it's intended flight range. The Nitro is a high-aspect SLE C-kite with a very long LE tube which is 135mm ( 5.3") in diameter in the center and 98mm (3.85") at the 3rd strut (where the wingtip starts.) By any measure, this is small in comparison to many other kites of similar size with the reason being improved speed and efficiency - particularly power-building turns and upwind angle. We have done substantial testing on the Nitros with an aggressive 110kg (240 lbs) heavyweight in Hawaii for a full year in many wind conditions. Pic attached. A portion of that testing included underinflated bridle 'tweaking' to check for kinking or folding under high loads. But, when a bridled kite is de-powered or underpowered, the bridle tensions are reduced and the kite becomes relatively more free to flex depending on it's level of structure. If a kite does not flex with an unloaded bridle, it likely has an overly large leading edge with increased weight and drag. In the end, the Nitro LE tube is finely tuned with a bit of flexibility for smoother input response and pushes the limits in diameter to produce a high level of performance in terms of power and upwind VMG.
Cheers!

I've flown a lot of kites behind that point including foils, SLE's and C kites. bottom line is most of them jellyfish behind there. the only ones that I haven't really seen do this are kites that have big fat leading edges or 5th lines, even then they still do a little bit. I was talking to pearse a bit more today about it and it could have been that he had the kite underinflated too since it was a day where the temperature dropped significantly during the time we had been out riding.

[BWD]

I like the color on the proto!

[TomW]

Bill, I can confirm 100% your comments.
Today i was out on the Nitro 14 in conditions with wind for my 9m kite. So i was over powered on a strapless surfboard. It was up to 22knts

When depowered the kite loses shape- but important to note is that the kite does not surge back and forward, or jerk around- if i dont look at it it pulls along- yes i can feel it in the barends, but its not pulling me off the surfboard. If i look up the tips are pulsing and the LE is moving around.

Also note that i had put 2 double square knots in the transfer bridle as an experiment. It was highly likely contributing to the destability in depower- as Bill warned me, about doing this tweek. I took the knots out.

As soon as the kite is powered and the bridles under tension the kite is rock solid.

I can compare this to the 2008 Eclipse Thruster 12 and 10 that i had. They jellyfished even when powered with bridle tension. The Thruster 14 did not ( go figure).

The Park 14 and Spitfire 13 i tested do not do this- the canopy flutters and luffs, but the LE shape is stable. They have much bigger LEs and as Bill points out they trade off this stability -less upwind, agility and power in sines, turns.

C Johnson:
Interesting you have mentioned this and I think it is instructive.

It seems 'jellyfish,' which originally meant constant (and irritating) oscillation under load (typical of some early 4-line C kites) has evolved today into describing wiggling and flexing for bridled kites when de-powered. To me, this is an unfair way to judge a bridled kite because when de-powered it is basically outside of it's intended flight range. The Nitro is a high-aspect SLE C-kite with a very long LE tube which is 135mm ( 5.3") in diameter in the center and 98mm (3.85") at the 3rd strut (where the wingtip starts.) By any measure, this is small in comparison to many other kites of similar size with the reason being improved speed and efficiency - particularly power-building turns and upwind angle. We have done substantial testing on the Nitros with an aggressive 110kg (240 lbs) heavyweight in Hawaii for a full year in many wind conditions. Pic attached. A portion of that testing included underinflated bridle 'tweaking' to check for kinking or folding under high loads. But, when a bridled kite is de-powered or underpowered, the bridle tensions are reduced and the kite becomes relatively more free to flex depending on it's level of structure. If a kite does not flex with an unloaded bridle, it likely has an overly large leading edge with increased weight and drag. In the end, the Nitro LE tube is finely tuned with a bit of flexibility for smoother input response and pushes the limits in diameter to produce a high level of performance in terms of power and upwind VMG.
Cheers!

I've flown a lot of kites behind that point including foils, SLE's and C kites. bottom line is most of them jellyfish behind there. the only ones that I haven't really seen do this are kites that have big fat leading edges or 5th lines, even then they still do a little bit. I was talking to pearse a bit more today about it and it could have been that he had the kite underinflated too since it was a day where the temperature dropped significantly during the time we had been out riding.

N12-ProtoSean1a.jpg

[C Johnson]

I think I would like the Combat better then the Nitro.

I've never liked big flat race style kites.

Hope to try a Combat some day

[felixp]

M.J taking the Nitro 10m for a spin

[TomW]

The kite.
videos of the kite.
not videos of the riders.

[Tony]

That is a GREAT video ... he is lit!
Like it.

[screwfootsc]

The kite.
videos of the kite.
not videos of the riders.

What a boring video that would be. Just fly the damn thing and see for yourself.

Cheers!

[MUDSUX]

What a boring video that would be. Just fly the damn thing and see for yourself.

Cheers!

Easy for you to say, you have access to any Switch kite you want

As for the rest of us who is willing to spend our hard-earned cash but just looking for more information than subjective review, Switch may sell more kites if you showcase them more. I'm just sayin

[Cray]

The kite.
videos of the kite.
not videos of the riders.

What a boring video that would be. Just fly the damn thing and see for yourself.

Cheers!

I also appreciate the videos of kites... The shape, the turns, the colours... Vendors like to say they demo their equipment without problems... reality is different. It's actually pretty hard to get equipment to demo.