Epic Kites 2011

[Dimitri M]

Hello TuckerM,
I am sorry but I can't give you too much info right now because we are still working on the prototypes as we speak, but I can tell you the size for the JUDGE will be 8 &11 meter C kite and will be using the same XTEND bar with a new CL.
I am sorry but that is all I can say right now about the new C kite from EPIC. Once we are getting close will post more info and pictures about THE JUDGE.

[Dj A-Ron]

I finally got to ride my new Infinity....WOW this kite has some balls!!! It was blowing between 12-16mph, maybe gusts up to 20-22mph. The wind was dropping the entire session and by the end it was probably only about 8-15mph and was still holding ground well on my small board. I was also doing some nice boosts.

I was riding up wind with my small board 137x41 Liquid Force Recoil and I weigh 210lbs plus all the gear.... and I was wearing all my cold weather gear. The air temp was 45 degrees and the water temp...well, the ice just thawed two days ago...it was cold!

I only got to ride for about 45 minutes so I didn't get completely comfortable with it. It flies so much different than my old 16 Havoc! Way more power, much faster turning and feels much lighter in the air. The only thing that I may need to get used to is that the Infinity seems to have a lot more bar pressure. But again, I didn't get to ride for very long to get used to it.

My local spot is a inland lake in Michigan. A west wind, like yesterday, is side off shore so its very dramatically up and down gust and lulls. 7-20mph. This was the type of wind that I struggled with on my 16m Havoc. It was much easier to just park the kite and ride with the Infinity. SW or S wind is much more consistent here and I should be able to ride in the light wind with my light wind board that the kite was designed for.

I bought this kite to replace my 16m Havoc and I am very happy with my purchase so far.

[grantman54]

I bought this kite to replace my 16m Havoc and I am very happy with my purchase so far.

Man the more you ride it the more your gonna be stoked on it.

Not bashing on the Havoc here, I actually really like that kite, but the 16m Havoc has got to be a kite only for heavy riders. It just doesn't even compare to a kite like the Infinity. The Infinity beats kites like the havoc in quickness, low-end, lightness in the air, and relaunch. Most noticeable feature is that it will stay in the air with even a breath of air.

I would have never thought I would want a kite bigger than a 12m until I tried the Infinity.

[oldkiter]

Disclaimer - I am an Epic team member in Orange County, California. While I did get discounts on my Epic kites I did pay for them. I have the 2010 Screamer 14m, Renegade 11m and 9m.

I have not submitted reports earlier due to limited riding/demos during the summer of 2010, the lack of wind from the fall until recently, and because there have been many postings concerning the good and not-so-good about the kites.

My experiences have been similar to most postings. Basically the kites perform very well, relaunch easily, and are generally well-made. I have had some of the problems noted with the earlier productions. Epic has replaced bladders when required due to the problems documented with the earliest bladders. And I realized as soon as I first flew each kite that I had to extend the knots on the kites' rear leaders (move knots further from the kite) to maximize performance.

I am submitting this post because of an interesting occurence a couple of days ago. I got to a local beach with a friend. I pumped the 14m (I use a mutant board) and my friend pumped his 11m and found it had a leak - so I let him use my 11m Renegade.

My friend is a very good and efficient kiter, has kited 150 plus sessions a year for many years, is almost exclusively a wave kiter (currently uses a 5'8" Underground surf board). He also gets to kite just about any kite brand/style available. He does most of the repairs locally, tests some of his repairs to be sure the repairs work, and demos new kites from local retailers.

So it was significant that he was very impressed with the performance of the 11m Renegade- and he used his own bar with 20m lines and with no adjustments. The wind was primarily 12-18mph, side-on, and with 2-5 foot waves/shorebreak. He kited for about 1 1/2 hours and stated that the kite depowered just right when he wanted, and that it rode excellently when going upwind on waves and, in general, was a pleasure to ride.

I think that these impartial comments warranted this posting.

[Dimitri M]

These are some pictures of Cameron Maramenides 8 year old kid kiting in front of his house after school on his Renegade 9. But he had to finish his homework first before kiting. It was blowing 13 to 18 knots.

[oldkiter]

The 9m Renegade was GREAT yesterday.

For the first time I had a significant session with my 2010 9m Renegade - about an hour and a half.

Wind range of 18-30 mph and sustained of about 22-28 mph. Waves/shorebreak of 2-4 feet, on my mutant.

The kite performed VERY well - no fluttering, no backstalling, handled lulls and gusts without any problems. The one time I put it in the water the kite immediately popped onto a wing-tip and relaunched.

I seldom get to use anything smaller than the 11m locally - our wind is typically 10-18 mph so my 14m is my usual kite size. I get to use a 9m and smaller only on my Maui trips - about 100 sessions in Maui over a 5-6 years period.

I've used smaller kites from Airush, Best, Eclipse, and Naish over the years - sure, most kites have improved over those years. But it is a testimony to the Epic 9m Renegade that I was able to have such a wonderful session in those unusual conditions, and with a kite size that I haven't experienced in almost 2 years.

OK, call me a pimp!

AAOOOHH!!

Pray for wind - and enjoy the ride!!!

[grantman54]

[grantman54]

Epic beach day! I got to give the new boards a try the other day and here are my thoughts.

I tried the Oxygen in about 12mph with the Infinity. Works good. I am sure if you were in relatively flat water that this thing would be a blast in that little wind. But with shore break waves, kiting in 12mph requires a lot of attention and I wasn't able to push this board to its full ability.

The Droid! This is the first board that I have ridden that I haven't had to adjust to. Felt like it was built for me. I could list all the things that it does well, but it does them all well. I need to ride it more to find the star characteristics of this board tho.

The pads/straps. Everyone agrees that these are very comfy and were very well liked. They have a great toe grip bump and are easy to set up. I thought that they are a tad slippery but everyone else thought they gripped fine and I was imagining things.

Anyways, lots of people tried them and we all agreed that these boards are pretty sick! Enjoy the pics...

[loco4viento]

You guys move pretty fast out there!

[Chungmu]

Had a short session last Friday on my new Renegade 11m and have to say so far I am very happy with it. Set it up on my 2010 bar with 24m lines to see how much I could get out of it. I bought this kite primarily for a light wind wave kite. Wind was blowing from 15 to 21 mph and was on my twin tip as well as my surfboard. I am a solid 205-210 lbs with gear on and hope this kite will work in the waves at 15 mph.

Biggest thing that surprised me was how well this kite jumps for what it is. It is not a Screamer but is a close 2nd. Considering the other kites I have owned for wave riding this one has the best jumping ability of any of them. Hang time was way beyond what I expected for this type of kite.

The crucial thing was turning speed. On 24m lines the kite turned well but I think for wave riding I might go with 20m or even 15m if there is enough wind. It easily turned as well as my previous 12m kite on 24m lines. I am still tuning the lines for this kite and one thing I did notice is the kite is sensitive to back line settings. In other words if the wind is light and you have to much tension on the back lines the kite will stall and fall back. Happened twice to me on hard turns when the wind was light. A little more tension on the front lines corrected it though. As I said I am still playing with where I want the knots set on the kite, but something to keep an eye on. Overall though turns very nice and was very smooth through the turns with consistent pull from the kite. I suppose it could move a little bit faster through the wind window on turns but I think I say that about every kite I own.

Next was relaunching the kite. I dropped the kite once and let it drift on the water so it was directly downwind of my position. Then proceeded to relaunch the kite. I have to say in decent wind this thing jumps off the water. I would say it took all of 5 to 10 seconds to relaunch.

Bottom line I think this is going to be a good kite for what I was looking for. Is rock solid in the air and has a very consistent feel to it. The jumping and hang time are a bonus really. Construction is on par with other companies out there so should be fine in a few dumps in the waves under normal conditions. Looks like I can easily wave ride with this kite up to low 20's. Still have to do some more testing to find the low end but I think it will be close to my goal of 14 to 15 on a surfboard.