looking for some feedback... looks promising, great range 10 to 20 knots, light as an ozone but faster turning 3 strut construction...
anyone owns the new model? cheers
@eppo: could not find the thread...
@shop: will be happy to hear or even see photos of the new zephyr...
dafrog i have flown both models (last years and this years), Blade claim a few more knots lower end on the new Fat lady. After flying both there is not too much difference, there could be a slight improvement on the low end but at that end of usable breeze its hard to say how much unless you fly the old and new back to back.
The Fat lady is definitely the funnest big kite out there and is very nimble for a large kite, there are a few foil exponents at my local beach who had a snigger at the name and the kite when i first pumped it up. They were laughing on the other side of their faces when they saw how fast the kite was and how easily it stayed in the sky.
Construction wise it has 3 VERY narrow struts and small dia leading edge which gives it a very light weight for an inflatable. Its design is based off the Trigger with a few teaks so it comes from a good idea that has been made better for lightwind.
Like the Trigger the Fat lady is do it all kite, cruising, jumping, looping and even unhooking in lightwind is all possible and even fun on this kite!
if you are looking for a good alternative try the Naish Fly or Liquid Force NRG for another good lightwind wing :)
This is my 2013 Fat Lady in green, it also comes in red. I've flown it 5 times now and I'm constantly impressed with her. She turns better than I could have imagine, getting it to loop and load up against it for pop tricks. I can't wait to test it on waves as I believe the drifting capabilities will be great.
I was very hesitant when I first rode this kite as my previous experience of large kites where less than impressing and pretty my hard work. This kite has a lot of grunt and with a little tweaking of the depower at times I find it easier in going up wind. I was also worried about it only having a small bar but the bar pressure is great and as I stated above the turning ability is amazing.
I've attached a photo of my kite as you'll see the silhouette of the struts and the leading edge is the same size as a 12m Trigger. I just pump the kite up hard and it rides amazing. The kite is light and water relaunches with ease.
At the end of the day it gets me out on the water putting a huge smile on my face when most of my mates are watching!
I totally agree with all of the above. I recently bought one of these kites because I have always had a interest in light wind kitesurfing and over here in my local spot, we seem to get many days where it's not quite enough for a 12, but may be fun on a large kite. So far it has exceeded my expectations and has given me many more sessions on the water, whereas previously I would not have bothered with my 12m Rebel. Using it on a twin tip in 10-14 kts is like being on a 12m in 16-18 kts. I have had it out in onshore 12-14 kts head high surf at a local spot called Middleton and only came in after 3 hours, because it was getting dark! These pics were taken by my good mate Deano with his new camera, and the wind was around 12 kts, with virtually no white caps.I was having a ball, thinking to myself, how can I be doing this, and there is hardly any wind? Air temp was 36c.
nice pics coastflyer!
good to see true pics of a kite in lightwind that is onshore not offshore, too many people only take LW shots on a lake or offshore spot giving a false impression of how strong the wind is.
what size board are you riding in the pics? i find my normal board is fine in the light stuff with the Fat lady.
yo... I think you guys are confusing the Windsurf gear review with the kite gear reviews... Don't think too many people would be able to give some meaning full input to your question.
I posted this in the kitesurfing part of the site or so I thought... It was in there yesterday??? Admin?
It's amazing how many kite related posts find their way into the windsurf part of these forums. Ha Ha! ROFL.
I clicked on the windsurfing gear review the other day accidently and didn't know it..it was on light wind sailing...
read about 5 posts, getting more confused, started to freak out, then someone had posted a picture and realised the error of my ways... was a weird experience
thing is I had a dream last night I was windsurfing...felt alright actually, kind of like my latent homosexual dreams...
hmmm new zephyr been launched... from looking at it: it's an edge made lighter. Not convinced but it looks heavy, 5 struts. Obviously not tried but the looks and R&D decisions make me wonder how good it can be... I kite Ozone but I wonder for heavier riders like me at 90kgs if this will work...
I think the fat lady's design profile make a lot of bloody sense that's what I think.
and the zephyr...well I'm probably too light to consider buying one myself at 75kg, I will be getting a 14m Cat...on my skim I can get out is stupid winds even on the 11m edge.
But I still am interested in keeping abreast of what's going on.
Fat lady looks great but I'd have to fly it.
Zephyr with some edge built in ...if still kept light makes sense. Light winds needs efficient kites...and boards I think. Not enough power over even a big ass canopy for decent TT riding...on a good sized SB though works as I found out the other day. Ability to develop apparent wind through an efficient foil is also needed, although the more swell and current the lower the aspect should be.
My Murray Bourton quad has become my fourth kite board!
Yep you have a good point dafrog.
So wheres the video i see nothing on my screen?
Where'd you get the info about the edgey dna in the zephyr, can't find a thing!
According to the Blade dealer the fat one is 4kgs... you divide by 17M and you get 250 gms per square meter... Now this is impressive, still trying to get the numbers from Ozone, I suspect it's heavier...
see where your coming from but a bad designed light kite wont perform as a heavier well designed kite, i can name a few so called lw kites which look and feel a lot lighter than my zephyr but dont fly as good, im talking through personal exsperience here but what you have to do is set a wind strength and what you want from that wind strength it makes your decission a lot easier