Lightest bar pressure 11m kite for old school tricks

[edt]

Are you flying each kite with their brand's bars or are you mixing bars? The XR's have to be flown on the Core Sensor bar to be properly evaluated.

Is there something magical about the core sensor bar? As far as I know the properties of the bar that influence the feel of the kite are 1) the springiness of the lines, 2) the width of the control bar, 3) whether it has a low V or high Y, 4) line length, that's it those four things. Is there something else? Let me know tks.

[SMJ]

Are you flying each kite with their brand's bars or are you mixing bars? The XR's have to be flown on the Core Sensor bar to be properly evaluated.

Is there something magical about the core sensor bar? As far as I know the properties of the bar that influence the feel of the kite are 1) the springiness of the lines, 2) the width of the control bar, 3) whether it has a low V or high Y, 4) line length, that's it those four things. Is there something else? Let me know tks.

Hi edt,
Well, I wouldn't call it "magical," but unfortunately there are several things unique to Core Sensor bars. I will try to order these in what I think make the biggest difference in flying characteristics:
1. They are, of course, High-Y bars vice Low-V split. But the unique part is neither the safety line nor the stationary line run all the way to the kite. These lines terminate at the High-Y split at 2 slide rings, and the safety ring only slides so far. The attached picture explains it much better than words. This allows for a fluid running of the center power lines through the split rings.
2. The High-Y split location is unique to core. On the stock 24m lines, the split is 4.75 meters (15.5 feet) from bar. So if you're flying a Core kite on another brand's High-Y bar (e.g. Duotone Click bar), try and get the split at that same location. But don't expect it to fly like a Core bar due to #1 above.
3. [doesn't matter much for flying characteristics] The trim / de-power is 4x compared to many bars which are 2x. Makes trimming buttery smooth and easy.
3. [doesn't matter for flying characteristics, but significantly different than many bars] The safety loads both front lines when flagging the kite (safety line gets loaded 100% and stationary line gets loaded about 50% depending on kite size). Refer to the attached picture again.
4. There are other differences that also don't matter much: hidden line winders, adjustable bar length, non-stretch Tectanium lines,etc.

Hope this helps,
-SMJ

[edt]

Thanks! Yeah, definitely looks like you need that core bar for a core kite which is somewhat unfortuante and you also need to replace the old core lines with new core lines I hate doing that, I always mix and match.

[Toby]

Why do you want low bar pressure ?

For Airstyle you need to know exactly where your kite is. With low bar pressure you won't feel your kite.

[alford]

Very entertaining reading through all this. It really confirms what we already know... everyone has their own take on gear and what's best and the well worn adage of 'try it before buying it' rings annoyingly true.

[fernmanus]

. Very entertaining reading through all this. It really confirms what we already know... everyone has their own take on gear and what's best and the well worn adage of 'try it before buying it' rings annoyingly true

Or you could just watch the video posted by Jaime Overbeek. Watch the last jump 20 meters high and 18 seconds of hang-time. That says it all, foil kites are your best option for light bar pressure and long hang-time.

[Indulang]

Why do you want low bar pressure ?

For Airstyle you need to know exactly where your kite is. With low bar pressure you won't feel your kite.

You're right that you need reasonable bar pressure to feel the kite location. It was just that when I first started taking a hand off the bar mid-jump, the pressure felt too much. Now I don't feel so much pressure with the same kite. My guess is during the learning stage I was probably too tense and gripping the bar very hard and with experience, I learned to relax more.

[PullStrings]

For ZERO bar pressure get a wing

People get into winging often from peer pressure

Whooooo whooooo !!!

[edt]

Low pressure is great. I don't have a micro hook so my arms get really tired if the bar pressure is too high. I always hear people say you "cant' feel" where the kite is in the sky, but I think you get used to low bar pressure after a few sessions and can still feel where the kite is. For old school you want float and a kite that doesn't move around too much. Best kite by far right now for old school tricks is the flysurfer soul. Will you sometimes swim in with your kite in a bow tie? Yes. But it's worth it.

[cor]

Or you could just watch the video posted by Jaime Overbeek. Watch the last jump 20 meters high and 18 seconds of hang-time. That says it all, foil kites are your best option for light bar pressure and long hang-time.

I really disagree that foil kites are the best options to learn board offs. In fact, they will even slow your progress down because they are harder to jump as they require better timing, especially in choppy conditions. Also, for board offs, you actually want long hang-time and medium bar pressure for better feedback. You won´t have that with a foil kite because bar pressure is usually too light. I therefore fully agree with what Toby wrote.

Overbeek is a pro and uses foil kites because he already knows what the is doing (And I bet he often uses an Edge for learning!). Don´t use him as an example for someone who is just starting to learn board offs.

I own Rebels, a Sonic and a Soul so I have the direct comparison. Rebel is by far the easiest to board off (and rotations), because you always feel the kite very well, although the others have more hangtime, especially the Sonic.