North Dice 2014 10m issue

[marlboroughman]

The new ripstop is a nightmare to repair. Maybe it is harder to rip but if you have a hole in canopy that you didn't see and now you slam the kite against the water it will still go from seam to seam. The only improvement for repair guy would be regular thickness repair tape backed with 3M adhesive instead of thin crap backed by a glue that runs with the heat. The good tape could be used on inside only leaving the outside original. This is the only freaking little thing we need to keep the kites flying and look good after the repair and we can't get it. The new fabric... well when it blows up ask your distributor what to do.

[L0KI]

The two North kites I had with D2 material felt like good stuff.
But the standard 9600 ripstop has also been working pretty well for a lot of kites, for some time.

[Westozzy]

The bridle can only try to emulate what the fifth line is doing, if you don't test this kind of kite on 5th (we are talking about company which went trough the trouble to patenting Wipika invention called 5th line) you don't even know the full potential of the kite. Fifth line locks the nose in place so it can't move upward while pulling in the bar. This is next to impossible to accomplish with bridle. The pulley bridle is even worst in addition to be a safety hazard. My personal opinion about the pulleys is that it looks like the guys tried but couldn't make it work so they stick the pulley in there, problem solved. I am glad the market is shifting away from them. As long as Ozone is frying everybodys ass using fixed bridles if you want to make a claim prove it on the racecourse first.

We are not talking about a race kite here, nor should the superiority of the edge bare any resemblance to extrapolate to this market. Why don't you spend a day or two riding the catalyst back to back with the dice, rpm and park, then get back to me about the superiority of static bridles. Then if you have the capability go and take the airush wave on a surfboard into some serious waves back to back against some static bridled wave kites.

Sorry man you need to ride more kites back to back with a crew and theorise a lot less...

[marlboroughman]

Offshore wave kite actually benefits from pulley bridle where it has to be on and off and then you use the wave more. Any other scenario racing kitelooping gusty winds onshore wave 5th line is #1 in my book followed by fixed bridle. I stay away from pulleys all together. You are lucky to kite in conditions that you have.

[Westozzy]

We get the same onshore gusty frontal winds for 4 months of the year.

Look I get your position regarding five lines, no bridles, etc etc

But mate your position seems extremely simplified. No pulleys, no bridles, five lines is best.

Yet companies like north, cabrihna, airush, naish have been developing wings, bars, bridles etc etc for years, with large R and D input both in money and man hours and the best riders in the world to test these developments...in all disciplines of kiting.


This whole 'these large companies are forgetting, don't care, bla bla bla' is just utter bullshit. The industry is still so small they al want to produce the best product available.

Then we start bashing the strong canopy material they use...like we know what the f*** we are talking about!

Just ride, if ya don't like it, move on but don't claim to have the edge on design, construction, wing dynamics, production marketing...etc etc

It's all talk and no walk, some others have built successful international companies for a reason. Not us.

Static bridles, pulleys, double rip stop, no bridals, fifth lines...high Y, low Y, single line, double flag rararararara..bla bla

It all depends on the particular kite...there is not one hard and fast rule. You ride enough kite over enough years you get that.

It all depends...and yet here we have yet again a post on kite were all the fucken experts are trying to make out there is something inherently wrong with the dice.

There isn't, move on if ya don't like it.

[Hansen Design]

@ Westozzy:

[marlboroughman]

Hey, Switch was just on my mind. I checked your website the other day and there are spare parts ready to be ordered. Bladders, bridles for every kite you sold, I think. I got to say this is really good business sense. Throw in fifth line for free with the 9m Element and I am sold.

[No Idea]

@No Idea (and anyone else who sees the issue he describes with their kite) Ralf also noted that some early prototypes had issues such as you're describing due to errors on the production side, so if you continue to see problems with your kite deforming while in its normal windrange, please get photos to your retailer that shows the problems. Just to reiterate, though, as with any three strut kite, if you're way overpowered and have your depower pulled but are still lit, you are pushing the upper limits of the kite and some deformation is to be expected (even 5-strut kites will start deforming a bit in these conditions). This is not what we're talking about here.


-Dan

Hi Dan

Thanks for the Bridle Length info, I will check them. Just for your info, my kite came from the first batch delivered into our country, however, other locals who also purchased their kites at same time have not experienced this at all.

I agree that flying a 3 strut kite outside it's intended wind range will cause some sort of deformation. However, I have been riding an 11m/12m Fuels for the past 12 years and and recently 12m RPM's and often in 25 plus knots and I am aware of the kind deformation to expect. This was occurring well within it's intended wind range.

However, I have had some success since I last posted by moving the rear attachment pigtails to the A position and by shortening the rear lines so it is bordering on being over sheeted and stalling. So much so that it will stall in light winds (15knots) when landing some unhooked tricks off the wind (heading slightly downwind) like landing blind. So far it has held its shape but have yet to have it in anything over 20 knots. However, I will use my 8m when the wind is up over 20 knots but every now and then I enjoy a simple overpowered boosting session on a bigger kite trying to jump as high as you can.

From my experience, my kite in particular does not like winds in its upper range of it's intended wind range with the rear lines on the B pigtail setting and not having the bar sheeted all the way in. As soon as the kite flew predominately on the front lines (bar sheeted out or depower line trimmed) in the strongish winds the kite would deform.

Again, I have yet to experience this with my 8m Dice on the same bar and lines but I had always had the 8m on the A rear pigtail setting.

Still, I purchased the kite for unhooking and every now and then riding the surfboard in our sloppy little waves and it has delivered on all aspects. Extremely happy with the way it performs when unhooking but hopefully I can now enjoy a hooked in jump session when powered up with the changes with the pigtail and rear lines.

Again, thanks for the replies.

[Westozzy]

Hey, Switch was just on my mind. I checked your website the other day and there are spare parts ready to be ordered. Bladders, bridles for every kite you sold, I think. I got to say this is really good business sense. Throw in fifth line for free with the 9m Element and I am sold.

Yeh agreed they are making some great kites man, I use their latest bar, it's a bloody good unit.

[fdvj]

I have a 9 m dice which I bought used of a team rider. It is a sample so is about as old and used as they get. I can say that I have had no issues with it as mentioned above. I am around 90kgs
Wet and have used it in 35 knots gusting to 40, boosting and riding waves without fault.
I am no north fan boy and still think that north gear is over engineered for the sake of it but the kite flys just how I want it to and is rock solid and confidence inspiring well outside it's stated wind range.