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Naish Park 2014 review

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briansuntrax
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Naish Park 2014 review

Postby briansuntrax » Tue Oct 01, 2013 5:28 pm

Veteran Naish South Africa team rider Steve Bertie Roberts reviews the 2014 7.0 Park:

Tested at Table View Cape Town in good 20 to 26 knot cross shore winds with sometimes heavy 5’ plus waves on a Naish Global 5’8”.

As usual the quality of the bag, bar, lines and of course kite are excellent. Not to mention the awesome graphics. The 2014 Park is a real looker with the best color combinations so far.

For 2014 the changes are an evolutionary jump compared to the usual annual tweaking we are used too.

One of the first sensations when heading out for your first session is just how smooth this kite feels to fly. Every move the kite makes is seamless and intuitive. (The 11.0 felt exactly the same). The new bar with softer grip and redesigned centre hole with frictionless action, presumably also added to the overall smooth feel.

The biggest technical change is the new fixed bridle which has had the most noticeable effect; finally the best of that legendary ‘C kite feel’ has been engineered into a bridled kite. Bar input is no longer muted by the action of pulleys and the kite responds instantly, turning is snappier, and the power ramps up much more quickly than before over the full travel of the bar. This means a lot more instant power when you need it. Extra pop and boost are the result. Pre jumping even the most daunting close outs can now be done confidently with a massive margin of safety.

The fixed bridle also gives the kite a more stable solid feel, as the front line attachment points are no longer variable. This presumably means less distortion of the wing when turning and adds to the responsive feel and efficiency of the kite.

Low end power is also much better giving the kite a wider wind range. In lulls the kite just keeps on pulling. There is also no tendency to back stall when the bar pulled in to the max. This is a major improvement over last years Park, plus the new kite definitely accelerates further forward into the window compared to last year. This is probably partly due to the new narrower struts.

Too much C kite DNA would of course be a disaster, as typically C kites have very limited depower especially when accelerating down a wave. Fortunately Naish only took just enough to liven the Park up without losing the forgiving attributes of an SLE. On a sizeable wave the 2014 kite does however gain slightly more dynamic lift when accelerating down the face than last year’s, but this can only be felt in strong conditions. A few cm of depower, and control is regained, thankfully not at the cost of turning response. Handling is smooth and easy and there is plenty of depower to initiate a tight bottom turn. The direct response of the fixed bridle means that minimal bar input needed to keep the kite ahead of your turns. Even at maximum depower for bottom turns, bar all the way out with slack steering lines, a quick flick of the bar brings the Park around facing down the wave instantly in time for your next turn.
Almost forgot to mention how well this kite jumps; higher altitudes can be reached than before due to the C kite like vertical acceleration, plus excellent hang time and control with improved glide. Never got to do any tricks and kite loops etc but there is no doubt the kite will be brilliant in this regard.

One of the better attributes of C kites is the consistent glide even with the bar at full depower. SLE’s on the other hand, tend to unceremoniously drop you out of the sky if your bar is fully extended. Naish’s sliding bar stopper (optional on the Park for 2014) sits above the bar on the double center lines, and can be engaged instantly in any position when needed. Maximum bar travel is controlled, and the rider can keep the kite properly powered for complicated freestyle tricks where hands and concentration are needed elsewhere for grabs or board offs etc.

Summary; the 2014 Park is an excellent all terrain kite excelling in all disciplines. Easy wave riding manners do not come at the cost of freeride performance. Handling is intuitive and forgiving enough for any level of rider and there is more than enough boost and top end excitement added to the mix to take any rider to the next level.

Steve Bertie Roberts
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Osprey1
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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby Osprey1 » Wed Oct 02, 2013 12:17 am

I just ordered the new 10m Park. How's unhooked freestyle on it? I've heard from another guy here in the PNW that is much improved as the kite doesn't backstall after making the pass. (The 2012's even with proper sheeting had this issue)

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby stevebart » Wed Oct 02, 2013 6:45 pm

The 2014 Park has zero tendency to backstall. With the lines in their standard setting the kite always flies forward no matter how much power you demand. The previous Park needed some depower trim to maintain forward flying under certain conditions, especially if the front lines had stretched. I have only used the these kites in the waves on my surfboard, the 7.0 in strong 26 knot conditions and 11.0 in very light 8 to 12 knot conditions, so did not try unhooked, but you can be certain that this kite will be awesome for unhooked.

This kite is a big step forward. You are going to really enjoy that 10.0.

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby tautologies » Wed Oct 02, 2013 6:59 pm

Yup I'm also really liking it. Ive been a fan of the park for some time but the kite seen some significant changes...but has retained the park Dna. In addition to the bridle I think the thinner struts has made a huge difference. I have not unhooked it so I cant speak to that but the kite did did not backstall...but I didn't notice much of that before..

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby kiteiwi » Thu Oct 03, 2013 11:36 am

Thanks for the review i am looking forward to flying the new 10m :thumb:

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby Dr Makani » Thu Oct 03, 2013 2:01 pm

Sorry guys, that's not a 'review', that's UN-paid advertising. 80% of this 'review' is just hot marketing steam and rather appalling for me as a Naish rider.

peace

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby tautologies » Thu Oct 03, 2013 6:53 pm

Dr Makani wrote:Sorry guys, that's not a 'review', that's UN-paid advertising. 80% of this 'review' is just hot marketing steam and rather appalling for me as a Naish rider.

peace
I think most reviews are like this anyway. It doesn't mean there is no valuable info there tho. I mostly use kf as a way to extend my sessions...and the article does a nice job of that. Personally I think it is key to not take everything super serious. :)

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby Dr Makani » Thu Oct 03, 2013 7:54 pm

tautologies wrote:Personally I think it is key to not take everything super serious. :)
I do agree. I am just tired of this 'team-rider-gear-pipping'. It doesn't any good to a company unless it is real grass-roots like the 'strutless Maui' thread. Here are real people real involved in a real development and it is fun to follow the development.

Unless Roby himself shows up here and writes something about his products it's just plain advertisement penny saver style.
Maybe you can remember the 'Caution Kite' thread a few months ago. Paul (the owner of Caution) chimed in and in his honest opinion clarified the 'review'. Made Caution suddenly WAY believable and is top in my gear consideration for 2014. I spend a couple of thousand dollars into my gear every year and so do my friends and kite buddies.
On the other hand these 'paid-in-gear' team rider are trolling the interweb with their 'reviews. to sponge off some brownie points. Don't get me wrong, I like Naish and some of my kites in my quiver are Naish. I just don't think that a good company needs to send out these kind of gear pimps with their reviews.

peace

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby tautologies » Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:49 pm

Dr Makani wrote: I do agree. I am just tired of this 'team-rider-gear-pipping'. It doesn't any good to a company unless it is real grass-roots like the 'strutless Maui' thread. Here are real people real involved in a real development and it is fun to follow the development.

Unless Roby himself shows up here and writes something about his products it's just plain advertisement penny saver style.
Maybe you can remember the 'Caution Kite' thread a few months ago. Paul (the owner of Caution) chimed in and in his honest opinion clarified the 'review'. Made Caution suddenly WAY believable and is top in my gear consideration for 2014. I spend a couple of thousand dollars into my gear every year and so do my friends and kite buddies.
On the other hand these 'paid-in-gear' team rider are trolling the interweb with their 'reviews. to sponge off some brownie points. Don't get me wrong, I like Naish and some of my kites in my quiver are Naish. I just don't think that a good company needs to send out these kind of gear pimps with their reviews.

peace
Yeah different companies have different approaches. I've been blamed for what you say..so with that in mind..
I know riders from different companies, and my experience is that though they get salaries they are genuinely interested in products and product development. Sure they could probably make many kites look decent, but they definitely have preferences. If I talk with one of them, and they tell me about a kite and then if I have a different experience then well I have a different experience, but I do not think they are lying to me. What I read from the review is that the guy like the kite for unhooked stuff and that he is stoked about the kite.

In terms of who comes to play on KF..I think the bigger names in the industry have some reservations because of all the trolling on this site. I do not mind people discussing, but some people just think they can be outright rude. I'm guessing those are the same people that show people on the road the middle finger before they go home and get beat up by their wife ;-)

I enjoyed the review mostly because I like the kite a lot. I am more interested in its wave riding ability tho :-)

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Re: Naish Park 2014 review

Postby Dr Makani » Fri Oct 04, 2013 12:40 am

Well, you kinda' proof my point. And I don't mean this in any condescending way. If we spend 1000+ bucks for a kite we don't want to hear it sucks ...
I.E I fly a Bolt. Love that thing. One of the greatest things happen to mankind after canned beer and sliced bread. But I don't need a 'kite pimp' to tell me, what a great decision I made. I need a peer. The credibility of these pimps is less than 1%. It's worse than a car dealer. And unfortunately I met plenty of both. And these pimps are staining my beloved product. :lol: I truly don't even want to be associated with people like them, and neither my friends, peeps and peers. And here's where these companies hurt themselves. We spent $$$ in gear and suddenly all their 'marketing effort' is burnt up. I am sure I am not the only one, I am just more outspoken.

It's probably kinda' like with you. Yes, you obviously like Naish and that's good. You are a real person (presumably :lol: ) and voice your opinion. But your are not a low score poster who's just showing up in forums to pollute them with insignificant marketing BS. Yes, you are right, every company has a different approach to it. But it comes with ramifications. This unavailing 'review' was just 'worth' 5 grands to another company.

My lines are not against you - more directed towards these companies. Plain face time in social media just doesn't cut it anymore - you gotta' be genuine

So, let's still be friends. Nothing against you. Just tired of marketing pollution.

peace


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