hey
the local shop here has just got these new kites in for the season and there cheap, so i thought i might try one out before thinking of purchasing some new kites.
1st impression:
Bag is a nice backpack, few pokerts for keys etc
Pump is large alloy sharft, perfect
Bar and lines, Bar is light, has bumps on back for finger grips(different), strong safety, lines appear to be of good quality.
Kite, sle style, lots of art work, solid construction, 1 pump, neopreem covers over all bladder attachments, looks as good as any other new kite from leeding manufactures
So time to begin, I Pumped this baby up and took it for a fly.
The kite is set up with 5 lines, the 5th acts only as a safety, it was not needed for relauching as the kite is on a bridal. The local bloke in the shop said the 5th line can be removed if wanted as their was a 2nd option of safety system. I did not investigate this.
The wind was originally light and i was having to really work the kite for momentum. The kite turned great, did not stall, etc and generated considerable power through its turns.
Eventually the wind came stronger and the kite kept performing, The depower worked great, by adusting the strap a cm or two i noticed large depower. I tried a verity of moves and the kite felt idential to the previous kite i have been riding, an 08 Liquid force Havoc. Bar presure was slightly above light wich gave a great feeling of the location of the kite and put no stain on your forarms after a solid 2 hour session
At times when i crashed and dropped the bar, the 5th line setup removed power from the kite instantly, I simply pulled the bar back, hooked in, pulled hard on a side line, and the kite rotated on the water and i flew it off. (Bridal relaunch system worked as good as the LF Havoc & Cabrinha Switchblade.)
ALL up this kite perfoms as well as any 08 kite on the market, to date i have tried, full range of LF, Cabrinha Switchblade & Flexifoil Ion. The kite is set up for freestlye riding, unhooked, powered, wave riding,etc however the size of the chicklen loop is not ideal and an upgrade in size would be nice. From one session i was impresesed. The kite passes for light and ideal wind strenghts, further testing will see the range of depower avalable in strong breezes.
"the chicklen loop is not ideal and an upgrade in size would be nice"
Jarradm,
Larger sizes are available. I agree tho.
Hey Jarradm,
great report,
I flew the 12m Vertigo a couple of times now and it suits my style perfectly.
I am not big on unhooking just yet, so the chickenloop size doesent bother me at present. The whole set up gels with me really good.
I used the kite in light and strong wind. Personaly i find not to have heaps of bottom grunt in lighter winds, I am 80kgs, and compared with the Ozone Edge(13m) the Blade Vertigo(12m) has definatly less grunt in lighter winds.
From 20 knots on it performs the treat for my liking, its stable but still fast turning with plenty of boost and nice hang time.
We are lucky, this days you can go to the shop and buy pretty much any brand and you will end up with a great performing kite.
It basicly comes down to personel preference.
Most shops got all theyre kites, brands, for a demo available for you, which is another big plus for the time we live in.
Find what you like most and ride the style that makes you happy!
Enjoy!
I would like to say we took out the 08 Blade vertigo 10 yesterday in wind starting at 18 knots and then getting to around 28 knots. The kite was set up straight out of the bag. We had the 5 line set up and 4 different riders starting at beginner right through to very experienced. The outcome was a very good kite stable with minimal bar pressure all through the wind range excellent upwind performance and hang time for the more experienced riders these kites turn on a dime. I would highly recommend these kites get to your local dealer and take a demo for a ride.The kite was supplied by Glascraft marine in Adelaide and retails for a 10 meter kite at $1225.00 a bargain.
