Found this online, its a prototype, this colourway will not be in the lineup. I've seen the 2013 pics Ozone have released, you can go to any dealer and check them out, we just can't put the real ones online yet.
Kites are looking really good, Robbie Whittall has worked hard to tweak the design to keep its performance ahead of all the brands that have blatantly copied it.
Not good news for the bank balance, any suggestions on how to hide transactions from the missus would be appreciated, on the subject of blatant copies is the any way that a kite company can protect their design, if so I reckon Mr whitall would be in court with Mr cabrinha
Was it not Mr Bruno Legainoux that holds the patent for the SLE shape and Mr Salles that holds the Delta Patent.....I believe most other brands pay some kind of royalty for the use of the designs and then build on it?
Interestingly I read an article about how all the kite manufactures who use factories in Asia would have their lasts Kites all made under the same roof and would regularly make visits partly to check out what the other brands were doing and get ideas!!!
Wonder if it as bad as Cabs to the left Ozone to the right, i guess if they all getting made by the same workers you would hope the workmanship would at least be the same between brands which should be a good thing?
I've heard the new chicken loop will be approx 10 weeks away , new bar still not sure, Yeh I know some people like the push away system, but the bar is still a great bit of kit, clean , and simple and superbly made, with ozones they won't bring out somethin that they arnt 100% happy with.
I hope this year is the year of the chicken loop.....for all brands I don't think Slingshot have made any changes, north is clean as ever only the trim cleat is new and looks like bar ends maybe....think Ozone, Fone, Best and especially Switch although all systems are clean and work would be nice for a redesign hopefully for the better........
Back in October I was going to hang on until the 2013 Reo with the new bar, but jeez I'm glad I didn't. As everyone has said, it is still a great bar.
Just thinking out loud...
Theres a few pics floating around on the web atm......heres one I found with a quick google search
Ive got a 2013 11m on order..........cant wait to send it!!!
^^^ Not a fan of that colour scheme. I, for one, liked their simple classy designs. It seems that every year they're trying to make it a little cooler and just making it a bit more messy and losing a bit of the timeless classic design.
KP, there was a 10 page spread about North's Sri Lanka factory in a kiteworld a year or two ago. They must have hidden all the other brands for the pics, sure looked and sounded like it was North's flagship. I stand corrected.
So what's the small town gossip on the edge this year apart from the thinner aramid bridle?
Any major tweeks or changes?
What length are the lines this year?
Also very interested to see the first (p)reviews of the 2013 Edge. Still flying the 2011's, love these btw, and since there were no major changes last year I did not upgrade to the 2012 models. So let the reviews coming so I can (or can not) open my wallet to start spreading some benjamins
@ walshd - The Bridle is not aramid, it is unsheathed dyneema. The bridle is very thin and low drag, the kite has been considerably lightened, and this alone will give a significant improvement over last your for racing.
@kitelordtgb - Unfortunately no-one up here in Sydney has ridden them yet as far as I know. They will be finding their way on the water asap though and I'm sure the owners will report here on their findings.
@ walshd - The Bridle is not aramid, it is unsheathed dyneema. The bridle is very thin and low drag, the kite has been considerably lightened, and this alone will give a significant improvement over last your for racing.
@kitelordtgb - Unfortunately no-one up here in Sydney has ridden them yet as far as I know. They will be finding their way on the water asap though and I'm sure the owners will report here on their findings.
@ eppo - No delta, definitely not thats just a photo angle thing, but I can't see it? The turn rate has been improved a bit (so I'm told), but it is a high aspect kite, still the 2012's turn plenty quick IMO.