I hear Pat Goodman and Pete Cabrinha are leaving and starting there own brand.
Going to name it “Cabriman”. Making one kite, the “Excellent Model” flys perfectly on their new bar “Dreamy Rod”.
Should be pretty rad.
Will they also have a special confectionary related ladies edition? Purple with a white swirl?
(The Cadbury Man is a UK thing. Tagline:- 'because the ladies love....')
Yes, that's why there are so many Switchblades in KOTA and winning it (other than Nick's year when there was no wind)?
Pat burnt out at North. He had full control of all kite/TT/surf/wing/foil designs and had no time to do any of them. Imagine trying to update 4 kites, wing, 7 TTs, 3 surfboards, and various foils - all in various sizes. It was impossible for one person. It's why they replaced him with a large team of designers.
The Kites who will win KOTA are the ones with financial backing and can throw top riders at it like Kevin and Nick. At the moment the company throwing money around is North and Duotone so of course they will get a podium spot.
Goodman made North, they exist because of what he designed. So all the hard work done, he could have rested on his laurels and just cruised on, something happened.
Goodman never designed boards, EVER. Where did you dream up your information? They poached a board designer from Cabrinha but if you watch the videos its a New Zealander who's in charge of twin tip design.
Yup, you're right. I had the idea that Pat was doing the TTs it due to an interview he gave before North officially launched. Yes, it's Dave Kay. He worked with Pat at Cabrinha, then moved to Airush and did the initial design work for North. I'm fairly sure he does design work for other brands as well.
However...let's not kid ourselves that the Switchblade is anything like the looping machine the Orbit is. The Orbit is purpose built to win KOTA. There's a reason people used the FX and not the Switchblade for looping (except the KOTA where there was no wind). I forget, did people use the Rebel for KOTA for all those years before they redesigned it? What about the XR before the XR6?
Its annoying when someone says one kite is a lot better than another, because they're all basically the same. Just because you spent all your money on North you got to pimp it.
In this interview Goodman says the KOTA kites Nick and Jessie used had pulleys on them. So their not even stock kites.
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Sun (Fri Nov 18, 2022 3:01 am) • madis_and_kite (Fri Nov 18, 2022 4:13 pm)
Its annoying when someone says one kite is a lot better than another, because they're all basically the same. Just because you spent all your money on North you got to pimp it.
In this interview Goodman says the KOTA kites Nick and Jessie used had pulleys on them. So their not even stock kites.
I spent money on many different brands over the years and currently own different brands. I've tried multiple different brands in the past 3 years and every kite is different. If you've read any of my other posts on this forum, I've suggested multiple brands and multiple kites for different purposes and skill levels. Perhaps your skill level doesn't allow you to notice the differences and that's why you think they're basically the same?
Yes, the bridles hadn't been finalised in the 2019 KOTA. These were pre-production models. The ones used in the 2020 KOTA were the production models everyone is able to ride. I don't know what point you're trying to make though?
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Tom Herbert was probably riding Evo because that's the kite he is paid to ride? Plus he didn't do too well unfortunately. So I wouldn't call it a trend starter.
Kevin with the Pivot is another matter, when did he switch from the Torch? In any case it seems like the Pivot "just happened" to loop well and wasn't designed for it, was it? Wasn't it was a wave kite originally, with old links to its page show it as freeride/wave kite? Nowadays the Naish site list it as high performance/big air, I wonder how much it actually changed in practice rather than just the marketing changing. In any case I guess he was probably the first to compete like that, but he was just one guy. Did the actual trend start before 2020, with the release of the North Orbit?
As for the switchblade, I wonder how the 2023 fares in comparison to kites like the 2023 Orbit and Rebel. The older ones seem to have been no match, but the kite was changed since.
He switched in 2018. In his Kevlog he was using his Torch/Slash during 2017. Yup, the kite didn't change much, just the marketing. I think they reduced the size of the leading edge in 2017 and changed out the dacron trailing edge in 2018 when it won KOTA. In 2019 they used some super thread to recommend 12psi. That's about it.
"Big Air" was a term people used prior to that, but it mainly meant big jumps. Not sure when it made it into marketing, but could've been North in 2020. Although I think I remember Cabrinha labeling the Ace as a big air board a while ago?
Regarding Kevin choosing the Pivot over the Torch, I've read somewhere that it was Damien Girardin who persuaded Kevin to try the Pivot for the KOTA. Kevin was riding the Torch and was happy with it and was not willing to change because he had to adapt and change his riding style. But Damien was convincing enough and Kevin chose the Pivot for the KOTA since 2018.
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He switched in 2018. In his Kevlog he was using his Torch/Slash during 2017. Yup, the kite didn't change much, just the marketing. I think they reduced the size of the leading edge in 2017 and changed out the dacron trailing edge in 2018 when it won KOTA. In 2019 they used some super thread to recommend 12psi. That's about it.
"Big Air" was a term people used prior to that, but it mainly meant big jumps. Not sure when it made it into marketing, but could've been North in 2020. Although I think I remember Cabrinha labeling the Ace as a big air board a while ago?
I was more referring to a brand making a non-C kite designated mainly for jumping big and looping it. If the Pivot was designed with megalooping in mind, then that makes it the first. Otherwise I think the Orbit is the first one actually designed for it, and everyone else followed with loop-friendly 5-struters in one way or another.
He switched in 2018. In his Kevlog he was using his Torch/Slash during 2017. Yup, the kite didn't change much, just the marketing. I think they reduced the size of the leading edge in 2017 and changed out the dacron trailing edge in 2018 when it won KOTA. In 2019 they used some super thread to recommend 12psi. That's about it.
"Big Air" was a term people used prior to that, but it mainly meant big jumps. Not sure when it made it into marketing, but could've been North in 2020. Although I think I remember Cabrinha labeling the Ace as a big air board a while ago?
I was more referring to a brand making a non-C kite designated mainly for jumping big and looping it. If the Pivot was designed with megalooping in mind, then that makes it the first. Otherwise I think the Orbit is the first one actually designed for it, and everyone else followed with loop-friendly 5-struters in one way or another.
Ah, then yes. You're correct in saying the Orbit was the first kite designed specifically for megalooping / KOTA.
