Ocean Rodeo Roam feedback wanted

[Greenturtle]

Any feedback from those of you riding Roams would be appreciated.

Im thinking about replacing my Solos (9 & 6.5) with Roams in order to gain some flutter free top end, keeping good drift..

I adore my 12m Flite and am leaning towards Ocean Rodeo for my surf oriented kites as well because of that, but I have never used any of thier kites other than Flite.
I have read/viewed the marketing and what reviews are available, but would appreciate hearing some real world experience from regular people.

I welcome any and all comments, but specifically:

-How does the kite behave in strong gusty conditions?
-How is it for foiling in medium to light wind?
-How is the upwind performance? (I assume the downwind performance is great)
And please:
-What is the weight of Gen 2 Roam (in any size)?

Thank you

[juandesooka]

I have a 9m and 12m Roam, both Gen 1. I am really happy with them, replacing my BWS Noise Pros. I find they fly very similar to the BWS. I use them for surf and for foiling. Low bar pressure, excellent drift, stable in gusts. Upwind is good. Haven't done much jumping on them, doubt they are big air machines, but I see friends boosting pretty decent.

For surf, the wind range is typical of most other kites at the beach. For foil, I am usually 1 size smaller, sometimes two -- I use 12m starting about 8-10kt up to maybe 15ish. I use 8m roughly 18-24kt.

[flyingcamel]

I got the 9.5 and 7m. At 210 lbs I use the 9.5 fro. 18 to 23 kts in the surf and up to 25 when going for airs. It boosts ok when ur lit but not much other than that. Has good hang time. 7m I havent found the top end but fine in cold upper 30kt gusts. Decent upwind performance for a surf Kite. Top of the line downwind drift, I've yet to luff the kite over even when going at it quickly with no Kite power down the line and sits well when parking it for some turns and loops tight for a redirect with little power. You can make the loop a little bigger for more power if your trying to catch the next set b4 it closes out in your face. Quick relaunch and short bridles so they don't catch the wing tips on self launching or if it gets tumbled in the waves. It's on a surf foil I can take the 7m down to 12 kts and still has decent drift till it drops less than that. Don't like it on faster foils that much though. Perfer the flite for that. It's built tough but not heavy. If your more into strappless freestyle, boosting, and twintip riding then the prodigy would be better. It's a better all-rounder and does everything else a little bit better except for drift and relaunch.

[Greenturtle]

Hey thanks guys. Much appreciated!
Any chance you could weigh your 9.5 for me? just the kite folded up, balanced on a kitchen scale

[matth]

ocean rodeo.jpg (18.01 KiB) Viewed 2860 times

Anyone else notice something new on the Prodigy and Roam kites in this photo? I am assuming these are next Gen prototypes.

[Obe_1]

ocean rodeo.jpg

Anyone else notice something new on the Prodigy and Roam kites in this photo? I am assuming these are next Gen prototypes.

Looks like the FST on the wingtips, like on the Razor

[matth]

Exactly!! Maybe looking for quicker turning on these kites.

[adamj2281]

Any feedback from those of you riding Roams would be appreciated.

Im thinking about replacing my Solos (9 & 6.5) with Roams in order to gain some flutter free top end, keeping good drift..

I adore my 12m Flite and am leaning towards Ocean Rodeo for my surf oriented kites as well because of that, but I have never used any of thier kites other than Flite.
I have read/viewed the marketing and what reviews are available, but would appreciate hearing some real world experience from regular people.

I welcome any and all comments, but specifically:

-How does the kite behave in strong gusty conditions?
-How is it for foiling in medium to light wind?
-How is the upwind performance? (I assume the downwind performance is great)
And please:
-What is the weight of Gen 2 Roam (in any size)?

Thank you

I have a full quiver of the Roams 7/9.5/12m - ride probably 90% of the time strapless surfboard, 10% twintip (no foiling yet, so I can't comment on that). I'm 170 lbs for reference.


-How does the kite behave in strong gusty conditions? Excellent, the 7m Roam is a blast to fly and has pretty good low end, it handles gusts extremely well. I've had OR Razors, Flites and Prodigies in the past, and the Roam is more akin to the Prodigy in terms of handling gusts, smooth and no stall.

-Foiling - no comment, maybe in the Spring.

-Upwind: It's pretty good, I would say the Razor/Flite excels in this category, especially the Flite. Whereas the Roam is hands-down the winner on drift, it really opened up my surfing as it drifts far superior to anything else I've flown. It's a joy on a wave, even a bit underpowered it drifts and stays with you as you work down a wave. I love it for surfing.

-Weight: not sure.

All in all, I'll say that between the Flite you are sacrificing power/upwind for drift. I'm a big fan of tailoring your quiver to what you do in each particular wind range. So......I would if you want to lightwind foil, keep the Flite for your largest size, and use the Roam for your lower/mid range for when the waves are on. You will really enjoy the improved drift over the Flite. My next quiver of kites will probably go 12 or 14.5 m Flite, 9.5/7 Roam.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have any other questions.

[matth]

How is the turning speed of the 12m ROAM ?.. I am thinking of getting a 12m for light wind wave riding and skimming.....I have a 12m flite and Prodigy and love them both, but they still feel like 12s....is the Roam noticeably faster turning??

[randycasburn]

Matt - have you locked the bridles out on your 12 Flite yet? If not you should…it is more direct. You should like it.