Been looking for a good light wind kite in the 14m range. use to have a 2006 North vegas 14m but its beat to death now and I'm looking to up grade. All my other kites are also vegas's and I like the way they fly. Ive tried other kites but just havent liked them nearly as much. I tend to like heavier bar pressure. And all the others i've tried seem light. any ways I've found some good end of the season kites on sale here in CA (USA). and wanted some feed back. one is a 14m RRD Addiction and the other is an 14m Ocean Rodeo Rise. Another problem is since the wind here is pretty much shut off I cant really demo them so I might have to buy one with out riding it first. Remember Looking for the kite with the most lowend. I weight 150 lbs, and I ride a132 twin tip and a surfboard.
I've been using a Switchblade 12m for the past several years and it has excellent low end. I don't know about the Vegas but the SB has far better low end than the Rebel. I weigh 180 lbs. I can be riding and going upwind while a similarly experienced rider on a Rebel cannot get off the beach.
I have recently switched to Crossbow 13 and it has better low end than the SB but is more technical to fly. It pivots through turns.
If you want to go really light wind then get a light wind TT. A flat, wide TT is like adding an extra 2m onto your kite. Mine is custom built 135x48cm and will beat anything except a race board in light wind. It will go a lot earlier than your surfboard because of the flat rocker and no fins.
You can make a perfectly good lightwind TT by bolting some straps onto a sheet of plywood.
ya I have a slingshot glide 149 that I ride when it get really light, but I hate that board, rides like crap, I'm asking for peaple to respond with RRD or OR thoughts because those are the kite that I found locally for cheap right now.
Favorite Beaches: Crandon Beach, Hobbie Beach, Keys, St. Lucia, St. Marteen,
Style: Old School
Gear: Flysurfer15m and 21m Speed3 DLX RealWind Mutant 148 X 40 and Directional 190 X 48, F-One TT 128 X35, Dereck Semi Directional 143 X 38 and 177 X 46.
If you really want to go low there are 2 ways with your weight.
Go for the Flysurfer's Speed3 15m Delux,
or the recently famous 17m Zephyr if you like only inflatables.
Alldepends on what you call light wind
if youare looking a t really light wind 10k then you will need 6.ft 2 in wave board and the f one bandit dos kite 14m of 2009 and not the bandit 3[cant comment havent tried b3}
i have no affiliation with f1 i prefer small kites andstill use naish shock wave 7m. but this f1 dos i havebeen useing for i year and it moves fast for a big kite it generates a lot of power and best of all it doesnt fall out of the sky if you keep moveing it.
yesterday i used it with a fun board 9ft and about 7knots and was surfing downwind slightly but the most amazing thing was that the water was as smooth as glass was kind of like glideing.
i cant stand a slow kite usually all kites above12 are slow. thisf1 14m is slow but its bearable
well thats my 2 cents
DrLightWind wrote:If you really want to go low there are 2 ways with your weight.
Go for the Flysurfer's Speed3 15m Delux,
or the recently famous 17m Zephyr if you like only inflatables.
DrLW
Well ... I've got to say first of all I am a teamrider of Flysurfer so that nobody is pissing around after my post.
Before the Speed 3 came out I was always sceptic with the Speed 2 in the bigger sizes (15m + 19m) because for my taste they weren't fast enough and I didn't like the handling and the feeling on the bar too much compared to the Psycho 4.
(I know, compared to inflatables I really ride on a low bar pressure and steering power - system but what I care about isn't how strong the forces are BUT how direct the feeling is and most importantly if there's a progressive feeling on the bar, which means that the forces increase the more I steer or the more I power up the kite).
When I got the new Speed 3 in my hands for the first time I actually couldn't walk up to Armin and say that he should finally care more about what I want in a kite and not about his lightwind - dream.
It's simple ... the turning of the Speed 3 has increased, the stability of the tips is no issue anymore and the lightwind - performance is even better. But what I liked most was the feeling on the bar. It's not too soft (when you're coming from an inflatable it'll take time to get used to it for sure) and it's progressive, and that's what I love about it. You don't need to check where your kite is and what it's doing, you can feel it better than ever before on the bar.
Now let's stop the sweettalking and I know it's a hell lot of money those kites ... but if you can get your hands on one, just give it a try. Don't care about what PMU or others talk, give it a try and judge by yourself. If you like it, great, call your bank. If you dislike it, also fine.
To cut a long story short - I think it's obvious that there's no way to get on the water earlier than with a Speed 3.
kingfisher wrote:ya I have a slingshot glide 149 that I ride when it get really light, but I hate that board, rides like crap, I'm asking for peaple to respond with RRD or OR thoughts because those are the kite that I found locally for cheap right now.
Hi Kingfisher.
If you are looking at discounted last years LEIs you are obviously in a different budget range to a
new Flysurfer. However you are a very light rider so you should be able to do quite well with a less powerfull and efficient LEI. You will need to keep relaunch in mind though.
I have seen sevral light guys do quite well on RRD kites. There is one guy in particular that is your weight that often rides in the maliu area. I think his name is Jamie. I think he's around less these days becasue his wife was pregnant last time I saw them.
Try getting intouch with the RRD distributor. See if they can hook you up with a local rider.
I could suggest a used Flysurfer, but I think fire sale LEIs will be cheaper.
I always seen to have a line of people waiting to by my flysurfers (the low wind one's at least) when I'm ready to sell.
Sebastian Bubmann wrote:
Before the Speed 3 came out I was always sceptic with the Speed 2 in the bigger sizes (15m + 19m) because for my taste they weren't fast enough and I didn't like the handling and the feeling on the bar too much compared to the Psycho 4.
Kingfisher... sorry if I hijack your thread a bit here..... don't see Sebastian on the forum often...
Sebastian....
Are you saying that the new Speed feels more like a Psycho 4?
That would be bloody great! When I saw th first photos it looked to me somewhat like a higher aspect ratio Psycho.