Just wondering if anyone had tried the new 2009 Griffin Kites? If someone has could they please post a reply as soon as possible.. Also if anyone had pictues..
THANKS!!!
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Jaimie-Lee
I for one would be in the market for a kite company that could make me a kite that looked like an inflatable pelican for my fish and chips company.
Advertising stuff sounds cool, just make sure it flies.
had a 12 sent up for testing a couple of weeks ago after seeing them down at our snow week in Sept .
I thought that this kite had come with some kind of curse because since it got here we've had NO WIND ( seems to be the new norm around here over the last 2 years)
Build ,yep good like everything else ,bar yep suits me
Anyway finally got to go on the water with it. I had had a bit of a play with it in the light stuff we had been having and put a slight tweak on the rear bridle (shortened it by 2 cm ) this moves the turning effect further back and gives slightly faster turns (i am a renowned tweaker ,sorry cant help myself i put this in the best guruu with great results ) We had also used all the other settings and found the setting that it comes with works best
SMOOTH SMOOTH SMOOTH is how i describe this kite and yes the claims it is a good wave kite are true .Yesterday winds were light 12-15 kts through to about 18-20 it started quite on shore and moved round to cross on so a good range of wind and angles .I have found that as wind strength and angles changed i didn't have to make huge adjustments in my technique .The thing I really like about this kite is that you can put heaps of backline pressure so that the kite stalls and it redirects really nicely (its kind of like flying a bridled open cell foil ) there is no nasty tendency to start racing backwards and collapse .then sheet out and its away and its nice and smooth .It takes a while to find the right amount of trim for you so if your trying give this a bit of time
I am not into unhooking in the waves so can't report on that .did a bit of jumping and it was fine in that dept .
If you want to save some serious $$ on a new kite and support an Oz brand then its worth a look 4 sure .(no thy're not made in Oz ,if one more person asks me that i'll ****in strangle em ,if they were made here you'd need a home loan to buy one ) I'm not sending the one I got back
I'll preface this post by saying that I both fly and teach on Griffins. I've been flying them for over 2 years.
I took a few 2009's for demo a few months ago. They fly as well as the 2008 and have the benefit of having a one pump system. I haven't investigated the "C shape style" settings enough to comment at this point.
I agree with the previous poster, the kite does have to be tuned/ tweaked properly to get the best out of it (no pun intended!) - especially with the huge range in the depower. I suggest, especially before unhooking, that you depower the kite just enough that it doesn't stall/ flare when you have the bar fully pulled into the chicken loop. I have a 10.5M on the way from the East coast for a demo so looking forward to that.
Hope this info helps,
Sean Webb, WA.
Well more use of this kite in various conditions . Again worth a look in 4 sure .if you like big floaty jumps and outrageous upwind ability and all round great performance (what a horrendous string of cliches ) this kite will impress
Just bought a 10.5 yesterday and was out on the water in gusty conditions (wind was blowing over Kapiti Island (in NZ) and was blowing 15 then gusting 30 frequently and the kite just took it and gave a smooth ride. Depower was awesome and I was flying in 34 knot gusts (advertised wind range 11-31 knots) and just starting to feel uncomfortable but kite flies beautifully. The kite is responsive and the bar setup is safe and has a good feel. I used to get into the situation with my last brand where the stopper ball would still move the bar past arms reach in a gust - if I let go...there's no danger of that with this bar setup and the stopper is much more effective. Kite has quick turn speed and heaps more lift and feels really nice. I am a relatively newbee kiter and changed brands because my 10m shreaded itself last week - the price of these kites is great for the quality of kite and I need to feel safe (my last brand didn't fly as easily as the Griffin and I didn't trust the depower as the rope kept popping out of the cleat which was scary when a gust hit and pulled the rope clear). The kite has a huge wind range and seems to be sturdy and is just a beautifully made kite - especially for the price. I payed NZ$1300 (because the guy had ridin it once to try it out the day before or it would have been 1500 - it's brand new) and my 14m Airush cost me nearly twice as much and secondhand 2008 10m Airush cost me 1200. It's a nice ride and not hard to do a cost/benefit analysis on this. Every kiter I meet now has drummed in the 'try before you buy' message and it's a must. Try your friends kite brands to see what feels best to you. At the moment I'll be on Griffins if they hold up to their claim on toughness and don't tear on me without good reason.
