hello hello..
been kiteing 2 seasons now with second hand gear and wanting to FINALLY but some new gear
..
at the moment flying a 07 flow,mostly into flat water freestlye kiteing but have been getting out in the waves lately and loving it,as for my ?,wat kite would be best for unhooked freestyle/wave rideing??im leaning towards slingy,cabs??def want a bridled kite,any feed back would be great as i have rushed into all my past kite purchese
cheers
bridled kite - core combat - fast powerful and pretty sweet
unbridled - airush vapor - sweet in the waves and falls back real nice and adjustable bar pressure is a real bonus
most 07/08/09 kites are pretty damn good regardless - not sure why you want bridles, pulleys and what not are just things that can go wrong or cause bigger issues in the surf.
try em all and see what fits best
what makes you want a bridled kite?
good kites for freestyle and waves... rev, fuel? the LF Hifi is pretty good for both unhooked flat water and surf aswell, heaps of depower on tap, no bridle, direct feel and fast, in the new range youd b looking at the comp though as the normal is slowed down for wakestyle... havocs are good aswell for both unhooked and waves if you want something with bridles but personally i prefer 5 line hybrids as they just perform soo much better with more feeling at the bar and predictable power delivery, you'll find most c kites or hybrids depower JUST as much as bridled kites now and they also have the benefit of added 5th line safety, dont narrow your window soo much by specifying you want JUST bridled kites.. go out and demo what ever you can get your hands on!!!
go see jason at Westozkiteboarding for any LF, royal or Ocean Rodeo demos
or choice if you want to try some slingys
or kite addiction if you want to try any north or cab kites..
but i really do suggest to not just limit yourself to bridled kites, there are many better kites available that are bridle free and with the exception of the switchblade and havoc there really isnt much available that is good for unhooked riding.
maybe i was a bit quick to say i just want bridled kites,there are alot of times that i kite by myself and the bridled kites are super easy to self launch/land,others kites may also be the same??i just dont know..was a case of just sticking to wat i know,i love the super easy relaunch of my flow tho i have not got much to compare that too,its just easy,pull on 1 string and it flips..but i have been told that other kites are alot smoother unhooking,just want some advice to point my riding in the direction i want it to go,if that means ditching the bridle so be it
Hey Graceful,
We will have the new Flow and also have the Ozone Instincts for demo if you want to grab a ride on something different. The Instincts are 5 line hybrid and have all the good attributes of the bridled kites, but also has the bonus of a nice direct feel which is absent in many of the bridled kites as well as super easy relaunch and self land and launch, just often different techniques.
Give me a call to grab a demo of any of the kites we have anytime. Demo's cost nothing and you have only experience to gain.
Good winds,
hi graceful
i tried the new Flexifoil Ion3 for the first time this weekend and it blew my mind away it was even better than i was expecting!! i dont know who has demos in perth at the moment cos i have been out of town for awhile but if you can get your hands on one def give it a go!! you can set it up as a 5 or 4 line kite. i only tried it in 4 line mode tho and i was out in the waves but i did unhook alot and it felt bloody awesome!! i'll try and write a review later after i have tried it some more. you should check it out cos its a sick ass kite!! i love it
How soon are you lookiing for a kite as new year models are not far away..
In which case my suggestion is to get in touch with your local dealer and go try a few differnet models pick which one suits your individual riding style..
Take the time to try a few..
look for a Cab SB3, they are going at good prices now, will do everything you want.
And look out for SB2 & CB2
They should make a nice boat cover when they self destruct
take a look a the blade vertigo mate i bought one last week and stoked with it, and they are under 900
Hey Graceful
Why not try the ultimate bridled Kite, Ian Young has just test flown the new Flysurfer Psycho 4, check out his review at www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=39771
Cheers
Mark
I had a quick spin on a 09 Bandit Dos on the weekend, amazing kite for pretty much everything that I could foresee my self doing, super smooth turning, great de-power blah blah blah...
it's also great to self launch and self land (the 08 bandit is aswell btw)
like others have said your best to wait a few months and check out the 09 kites, the 09 flow prototype looked prety sick too and might be worth a look if your already on a flow (i love my 08 flow as an alround kite)
thanks for the feedback guys have been very helpful,i have been leaning towards the sb3??,good reviews,sounds like a great kite...def will demo as many as possible
thanks again
graceful
also very keen to try the new flow kitehard!!!
has the bar setup changed???
i really hate the depower system below the bar and it always releases and powers up which can be fun
other than that i do really like the kite(tho i have not flown many at all to compare)
yeah SB3 will give you everything you want unhooked and wave riding, a very solidly built kite, second hand SB3's are still looking like new
Hey Graceful
I went from 07 Flows to 08 Bandits (7.5,9 and 13) and have been stoked with them, they have above the bar depower that never hardly ever let's go, they also self launch and relaunch better than 07 flows (not that I had a problem with the flows though). They drift back better and are more stable for wave riding and have a better below the bar safety also. I am thinking of replacing my most used bandit (the 9) with a 10mtr 09 Bandit DOS this year as it will fit in better with the 7.5 and 13 that I will keep but am definetly going to try a few other kites first. The top of my list to try will be the new Revs and Ozones, I have ridden the 08 Flows and they were better than 07 so I suppose the 09 will be better again.
Decisions, decisions..... but I don't think you can go wrong with just about any of the kites mentioned on this thread, they all just keep getting better.
