Epic kites and after-sales service

[Westozzy]

Ha ha I know that valve well. You have to clean the sand off the rubber seal every now and then but honestly no probs and we fly a lot. We are not weekend warriors.

Good luck on your search mate.

Will track down that ltd and let ya know how she goes.

[Caesar]

Good point Westozzy about the "High Flow Valve". I have been testing these on all my prototypes for 2 years now to see their performance. In few words I am not very happy with them, especially in places where you have very thin sand and lots of wind. You get more problems with these valves compare to the simple ones. So once again I am doing my best but I have to be happy with the end result, and so far I am not.
So far I have tested 6 different "High Flow Valves" from different kite companies and all of them gave me problems after a certain period. Bellow is a picture of one of these valves.

You are misleading the public again!

Those high flow valves other companies use work like a charm and work perfectly. There is nothing better than those valves.
The only reason you can't use them on your kites is that they will pop since your "epic" Screamer kites need to be pumped up to the max (at least 11PSI) in order to fly ok and none of those valves will withstand that pressure.
Design kites properly and then you can use those valves too.

[kiterjames]

Last night, I flicked Dimitri an email to get his objective / un-biaised view on the main differences between the Fat Lady and Infinity v3.
I have seen the FL and Infinity v3 in action at the same time but with my intermediate level, could not tell the difference, especially in terms of performance.
I emailed the man as I saw in a post that Dimitri also tried the Fat Lady, and also because there is not much other literature, comparisons on kiteboarding forums. I asked him for a genuine favour in taking his Epic kites hat off and give me a honest feedback.

Dude, seriously. You phoned the owner of a kite company to ask what brand of kite you should buy? What kite did you end up with out of interest?

As for the max flow valve, I believe that like the upgraded D2 type canopy material the max flow style valve is a more expensive option so don't expect to see it on an Epic kite any time soon.

Excellent customer service though from all accounts.

[Westozzy]

Come on guys just giving some useful feedback here.

Pumped up a trigger today, was weird not having high flow...lol!! But it pumps up, that's all that counts.

Obviously Dimitri sees value in it and will find a suitable one eventually.

Its just an inflation valve, seriously chill out...lol!!!

[windsuks]

Last night, I flicked Dimitri an email to get his objective / un-biaised view on the main differences between the Fat Lady and Infinity v3.
I have seen the FL and Infinity v3 in action at the same time but with my intermediate level, could not tell the difference, especially in terms of performance.
I emailed the man as I saw in a post that Dimitri also tried the Fat Lady, and also because there is not much other literature, comparisons on kiteboarding forums. I asked him for a genuine favour in taking his Epic kites hat off and give me a honest feedback.

Dude, seriously. You phoned the owner of a kite company to ask what brand of kite you should buy? What kite did you end up with out of interest?

As for the max flow valve, I believe that like the upgraded D2 type canopy material the max flow style valve is a more expensive option so don't expect to see it on an Epic kite any time soon.

Excellent customer service though from all accounts.

It's not simply about the costs though, if it was why would Epic supply 2 x Bags and 2 x sets of lines?

Personally and I know Dimitri is of the same opinion (at the moment) I'd rather the simple valves...no problems with them and if there is it takes a moment to fix.

Out three year old 6m Renegade is still going well in our school...the most used kite we have and will be used again next season for sure.

[kiterjames]

The cost of an extra bag (more of a sack I think) and a few meters of lines is a lot cheaper than supplying the kite in D2 rip stop.

[Dimitri M]

You are a funny guy kiterjames. Obviously you have no idea about material cost and the way the factories operate. Believe me, I am not interested in saving money by taking short cuts like most companies do when it comes to quality. I want the best of the best. I am interested in bringing the best quality to the customers. And this takes time and a lot of R&D.
These are some of the response I get from some factories when I am building the EPIC kites: "Don't use this material use this, don't use this thread use this, don't sew it that way because it cost more money and it takes too long. Most companies use this method or this material.".....and the list goes on....
So once again if you are going to post something, please address something knowledgeable that can help us improving our EPIC product.
Thank you.

[kiterjames]

Hi Dimitri. It is true that I have no first hand experience of cost of kite material, maybe you could inform us then. What kind of canopy material is on the Epic kite range? Is the upgraded D2 material from Teijin that North claim to be much stiffer and stronger than standard Teijin ripstop cheaper of more expensive than standard Teijin ripstop?

Your comment about "not taking short cuts like most companies do when it comes to quality" would suggest that you place the quality of Epic kites above most companies, now who is the funny guy?

[soul19]

Really James? You make accusations and than you admitted to speaking out your ass! You have no first hand knowledge of the process that Dimitri follows to get his product made yet you speak with such arrogance. Epic kites are well made and have people that enjoy using these products... obviously you don't so move on. Why people feel the need to bash products is beyond me! Most folks buy what they like and just avoid what they don't. A special breed feel they need to be as destructive as possible. Nobody cares about your opinion as you have a vested interest in trolling. It takes very little effort to not go onto epic threads but you go to great lengths to show hate. Me thinks you have a man crush princess!

James

[alexeyga]

You are a funny guy kiterjames. Obviously you have no idea about material cost and the way the factories operate. Believe me, I am not interested in saving money by taking short cuts like most companies do when it comes to quality. I want the best of the best. I am interested in bringing the best quality to the customers.

Sorry Dimitri, but your actions go sideways with your words. Otherwise I wouldn't have turned my back on you because you were using the crappiest trimmer on the market to date. Otherwise your kites would come with the same (or better) bridle material that Cabrinha, Core and others are using and which withstands a lot better to wear from pulleys than that grey piece of fake Chinese Nike laces you're currently using. Otherwise you would've taken care of that folding 9m Renegade i've contacted you about, which at the end was easier to unload than to keep playing with you the "you're the only one with that problem"-game.

How's that for first-hand experience with Epic's customer service and quality?

Regarding the "extra bag and extra 15m-lines" question. Although the bag is a nice touch, I can't help wondering how many Renegade owners are actually using these 15m linesets? And what happens at the end with all these unused sets? Dimitri, does your environmental ethics ring any bells?