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Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

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ronik
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Kiting since: 2014
Weight: 154lbs/70kg
Local Beach: Sobieszewo, Gdansk-Stogi, Rewa, Hel Peninsula, Poland
Favorite Beaches: Gdansk Gulf, Poland
Style: wave/freeride
Gear: Duotone SLS Neo various / Shinn Ronson, Shinnster, Superking
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Location: Gdansk, Poland
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Re: Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

Postby ronik » Fri Mar 29, 2019 7:57 pm

Is it mean that the Best has returned? Still waiting for my Best board! Do you know who should I contact now in Europe?

Best-Kiteboarding
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Re: Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

Postby Best-Kiteboarding » Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:27 pm

We would love to tell you how great the new Roca is but we guess you would not take it from us. We don't pay for reviews, yet we encourage anyone who got a Roca in the last few weeks to share their honest opinion here.

There has been some sort of a review on our FB page:
https://business.facebook.com/watch/?v=516110202245592

You have to click on view comments and then look at the replies to the comments to get to the review.

There have also some reviews on a german forum

http://forum.oase.com/showthread.php?t=174945

Use google translate to make sense out of it if you don't happen to speak German.

betonklinker
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Style: freeride, oldschool
Gear: TS 2017 10m, 2015 12m, 2015 8m, Roca v3 14m
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Re: Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

Postby betonklinker » Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:14 am

Received Roca v3 last week, it took 10 days for delivery. So, this weekend i tested Roca 14m and 12m. I already own TS 8 10 and 12. Owned the Kahoonas before. Not affiliated with Best, i just ride their kites.

First impressions:

Not much canopy fluttering in the air.
Build quality looks good.
Notably higher bar pressure than TS
Tighter (pivot) turning circle than TS
Better low end on 12 Roca than 12 TS
Flies forward in wind window.
Could upwind on 14m in 10-11knots @68kg
Tried couple of jumps and jump transitions, didn't do loops yet.

I will further test TS 12 and Roca 12 and then decide which one to keep/sell.

obojarski
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Re: Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

Postby obojarski » Mon Jun 17, 2019 10:02 pm

Any other reviews on the Roca V3 by chance?

richrips
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Re: Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

Postby richrips » Thu Jul 11, 2019 2:08 pm

betonklinker wrote:
Thu Apr 25, 2019 10:14 am
Received Roca v3 last week, it took 10 days for delivery. So, this weekend i tested Roca 14m and 12m. I already own TS 8 10 and 12. Owned the Kahoonas before. Not affiliated with Best, i just ride their kites.

First impressions:

Not much canopy fluttering in the air.
Build quality looks good.
Notably higher bar pressure than TS
Tighter (pivot) turning circle than TS
Better low end on 12 Roca than 12 TS
Flies forward in wind window.
Could upwind on 14m in 10-11knots @68kg
Tried couple of jumps and jump transitions, didn't do loops yet.

I will further test TS 12 and Roca 12 and then decide which one to keep/sell.
How did you get on with all your Best kites? Particularly interested in the 12m sizes. Any more feedback would be great!

Many thanks, R

betonklinker
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Re: Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

Postby betonklinker » Sun Sep 15, 2019 2:19 pm

So,

after summer season, I have to say that i really love Rocas. Had about 40 days on water mostly in lighter winds (10-18 knots) and rode both kites a lot. The decision is that I will keep the Rocas and sell TS. This is mostly because i prefer old school tricks and Rocas work much much better for me in this regard. If you prefer boost instead of float then TS could be better choice.
If i would have to choose quiver of two kites i would pick 14 and 10 sizes for myself. Nothing wrong with 12m :), but there is not much difference in turning speed between 12 and 14, and 14m gives you that extra bit of power on the low end.
For the high-end, I did find myself in 25kt with the 14m, was a bit overpowered, but still had some depower left.

guiski
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Favorite Beaches: Praia da Taiba (Ceará, Brasil)
Guajiru (Ceará, Brasil)
Dolphin beach (Cape Town, South Africa)
Gear: BEST kites TS & ROCA
NOBILE boards NHP & 50/FIFTY
Brand Affiliation: BEST
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Re: Best Gear 2019 - any experiences?

Postby guiski » Sun Sep 22, 2019 11:11 am

richrips wrote:
Thu Jul 11, 2019 2:08 pm

How did you get on with all your Best kites? Particularly interested in the 12m sizes. Any more feedback would be great!

Many thanks, R
Hi, last week I finally got my TS 12 V8 and I tried it with 13-18 knots so I report my first impression hoping it could be useful to someone.
As known, the TS V8 uses for the first time only 3 struts instead of 5 and I confess that I was a little worried about this important change.
Actually I was very happy to realize that TS V8 maintains the same feeling of the previous versions with fast turning and powerful loops, gaining at same time a little more speed and lightness. Despite the two fewer struts I also had the impression that there was a slight improvement on the hang time.

I therefore confirm what was reported by betonklinker regarding the differences between TS and Roca, especially on different pivot turning and low end.
Generally speaking Roca is a more forgiving kite while TS is targeting slightly more advanced kiters.
Bar pressure on the bar is obviously customizable on both kites by changing the attachment points of the back lines on the tips of the kite.

I conclude by specifying that I have always used BEST material since 2006, passing through waroo taboo ts and so on and only few months ago I was affiliated to the brand.
So for any question on Best products I'll be happy to help :D


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