Liquid Force 2015 Envy vs HIFIx 2

[Yaksman]

Sorry can't comment on the HiFiX but in relation to KiteCulture's question, there are similarities but also some significant difference between 2014 & 15 Envy's. I own a 2014 10.5 & 15m Envy and have just demoed the 2015 and already put my order in for a 12 & 15 (my son has the 6 and 9m on order, life is good when the fam kites). Main difference is speed of the kite, the kite is much lighter with much thinner leading edge and struts and i guess therefore flies through the window quicker. It's more responsive, no delay in turning this year. The kite IMO sits a little more forward in the window and has a little more hang time in a boost. For my style which is not wake or freestyle it's a great kite and i'm stoked about the changes. I have friends who ride wake/freestyle and they're not worries by the changes as they will simply adjust the settings to suit (slow down the turn of the kite and add some more bar pressure).

Hope that helps some.

[Giorgio]

Hi guys, many thanks to all

A few days ago I opted for the HIFIx, I had to enter a pre-order and was time to make my mind up.
Why i picked it:

-I do not do waves (there aren't any around here)
-Between hooked air-style and unhook freestyle i definitely wanna go down with the second, i like it more
-HIFIx might be a tricky kite to handle but i take the challenge and at least i am sure i have a kite that wants to go freestyle.

Let's see, hopefully i won't regret it.

See you out there

[kitenico]

Has anyone tried the 15m envy as a light wind kite ????

[Giorgio]

i tried the 2014 and was horrible :/// but 2015 should be faster (=less horrible)

[Dr_Rosen]

Tried the HifiX yesterday at a demo. Never ridden a LF before.
Very nice kite also for a weekend warrior like me - doing unhooked stuff at the raley2blind level (which is not much I know)

[Mike27]

Im a Liquid Force dealer and you want the envy. The new HiFi is designed for a small group of riders that are doing crazy un-hooked tricks. The envy is still a top class wake style kite that boosts. The Hifi is a performance kite that is really for the pros or guys who are close to it...my suggestion is once your throwing KGBs and F-16s then you will want the HiFi but for the time being hone in tour skills on the Envy.. We will have ours in stock early next week at www.AtlanticKiteboarding.com and are taking pre-orders now...

Really ? F16 is a very easy unhooked move......nothing to compare with KGB !

[flipper231]

Ok and now some shops have crazy prices on HiFiX 2013... any toughest... Really not PKRA level, getting hold of the backs, will try the fronts within this lifetime.

The Envy is really the go for me...I love the RPM as a fun kite and I see the Envy as being a fun kite with more boost than the RPM... But why not throwing One HiFiX 2013 in the back of the car for the sake of playing a round with it and who knows, it might be a revelation.

I am thinking about a big one like 13m so I will be playing around with it in around 15knots (or less)... Was there any issue with the 2013 when compared to the 2014 (hell I want to ride Tack's kite)...

So RPM for the DRE steeze (I need a Tona I guess), Envy's for the Brandon's triple S re-enactment and an HiFiX for the heck of it... Maybe I should just put the cash in my son's education fund... and keep throwing my kites around in the sky to get the basics covered... But if 2013 was a good year, Why not... HiFiX are impossible to get now, and when ready, in a year or 10...it will still be there, ready to rock and roll.

[Giorgio]

haha! nice one flipper!
In Europe education for kids is for free so we can buy as many kites as we want

I have now been riding the new envy for a few months and i am pretty happy with it. I also tested the HIFIx (I was overpowered both time) but i found it a bit to fast to progress from basic unhook tricks. Envy feels better. Another down on the HIFIx was the water relaunch, not that is difficult but it is certainly different from struts kite. If you get a HIFIx in low wind and you drop it on water you might get stock for a while.

Back to the Envy what i don't like to so far is the water relaunch (although they say it is a good one), coming from F-one bandits the relaunch with them was just super easy no matter where the kite was in the window...with the envy you wanna drag it to the edge before you can water relaunch properly. Another question mark is the max flow. Cool that you pump your kite in half a time but i smash my kite quite often between one kite loop and the other and it happened on a 7m and 10m that the kite loss pressure. The 7m seems to be alright now but the 10m has gone down in pressure a few times after re-pumping so i ought to get it checked.

What i like is that the Envy is fast i have 7m, 10,5m and 13,5 and with the right bar the kite move really fast, Boost is great def better than bandit and unhook with perhaps a bit of trimming is also great. I got these kite in October and since then i fixed my unhook raleys and moved to S-bend fairly quickly, so perhaps it says something about their stability/predictability.

I have been out also with the response bar a couple of time. It feels good. It is nice to have one bar for all your kites and the depower + manual swivel to keep line free is soooo much a step forward compared to previous CPR bar. I am just a bit concerned about the mechanism that makes the bar change length, will it last? it is pretty hard to move and when you're kiting with 2 degree Celsius outside and your hands are frozen, changing the bar length can be tricky.

all in all so far so good!...

[posty]

i agree, they are fast and go upwind really well.
and that hangtime!

[flipper231]

So what about the big Envys... 12, 13.5, 15m...more pop and raw power than a solo 12? Turning speed? Far from an hifi 13? I would expect an Hifix 13 to have the same range as an Envy 12... What about Envy 15, HiFiX 13, Envy 10.5, envy 7m...