I am surprised no one has mentioned the Slingshot Rally.
By all accounts it seems to be stable, drifts well, goes upwind well and boosts great. The 2013 is reported a little slower than the 2012 though.
I havent demo'd one but will try and do so in the next week or two subject to wind. I dont believe it will drift as well as the Reo but it will give you a little more play and if the waves arent great I think the 'play aspect is a slightly better option.'
I also want to test a North Evo, although I believe the upwind ability is a little weak and in the shore break I ride there is a lot of downwind sweep from the current, which would make it hard work.
Having said that I dont think you could go wrong with any of the kites mentioned above. I have mentioned it in another post but we are spoilt for choice which is a good thing but makes choosing the right kite confusing.
heres some thing for you to consider.
the performance of the kite is directly linked to apsect ratio. long and thin is high aspect, short and fat is low aspect.
high aspect kites, go upwind the best, boost and glide the best and produce the fastest board. They generally create more power for their size. They turn the slowest, relaunch the worst and go down wind/drift the worst and generally have less depower at the bar.
Low aspect kites have the most depower at the bar, turn the fasted, relaunch the best, drift and down wind the best. They go upwind the worst, boost and glide less.
Aspect ratio is to the only factor that influences kite performance. The shape and style do also. C, Hybrid C, Delta, Sle, foil.... alll give different perfomance.
Wave kites are firmly in the low aspect camp. They need to be to drift and down wind well. none of them will boost or go upwind aswell as there higher aspect brothers....
What i'm trying to say is there is no magicall kite that does it all. you have to choose a compromise between the variables i listed above
I have been looking far and wide for my new wave kite, the park and ride kite just didnt do it for me in the end.
My kite has to be fast and have grunt and feel like a C kite,
Impossible you say?
I think I have found it, by coinsidece and a bit of luck.
Im probably the only one in Australia riding this brand, and I do have a slight afilliation.
Theres a few little things about it that dont make sense, but I can work around, like its got no stopper ball in the inlet valve, and the safety is a fifth that goes to the centre and just dangles there, I have attached to a front pig tail instead.
But Im stoked, cause this thing feels like the long lost brother.
Anyone else riding with a Peter Lynn ? i'm using a 9 -11 Escape and for myself i find the kite does everthing from park and ride to wangin around fully powered , these kites do everthing with ease.
The kite wasn't aimed at the surf but jeez it works well in it
I was using a BWS 8 ,i did like the kite for surfing but felt it restrictive with anything else, even trying to boost over a wave getting out the back felt like someone had the handbrake on,the Escape will boost with a twitch of the bar and not move from it's path,it turns fast or will pivot,seems to drift really well,bloody excellent wind range,looks nice, good build,,,give one a try,, i think anyone would be impressed
When I first got my Reo,s I used a 2011 North 4 line bar a few times, then got the Ozone bar.
The main problem is that the safety,s are not compatible- North flag to both front & Ozone flag to only one front. Have also heard that the way the front lines split on the North bar can affect the kites performance.
Kiting with out a safety isn't much fun - wouldn't recommenced it.
I am in the same situation as you General. I wanted a all rounder.. I have had rebels in the past and a bloody fantastic kite...
In the same vain as the REO is the Ozone Catalyst. I have to say I have used the Reo and in the surf they are amazing. For a all rounder the Catalyst is better.
I have also used the BWS Noise. Great in the waves but you have to really turn it but boy it has grunt.
I have also been on The Bandit. Bloody good allrounder and was my second choice to the Catalyst.
All of the shops want you to demo and try them. Its the best form of marketing for them.. I generally will buy from them and sometimes they even sell you the demo kite at a reduced price... my 2 cents
bottom end of my 8m cat for my 82 pie weight 20 knots. top end 40 knots. the sweet zone 25-35.
Flying High, Yes the Bandit did have more grunt than the Ozone but the kites have a different feel.
Just to confuse you more I LOVE my old rebels but the price point is insane at the moment...
I have not purchased any Ozone kites I have ridden a lot of mates kites 2012 models and have made my comparisons based on that.
Christ if I had the money North and Naish are great oh the Naish Park is really worth a demo little ripper...
I will be buying a small rebel for surf soon to adjust the quiver.
Cheers
I have the new Core GTS (size8) that i find to be great for my wave riding.
I weigh 94 kg and ride a 6' directional. Having flown the previous models (GT, and GTS1) this kite is faster and goes upwind better. The sweet spot for the 8 square meter (with me) lies between 17-30 knots(I can get going in 15 knots but have to work it hard and over 30 knots becomes like a "jellyfish" ). I mostly ride onshore (wind direction) waves and cannot really comment to much on the "drifting" type down the line riding as I have not flown other brands to compare it to. It seems fine to me when I do ride it down the line though.
My comments are purely compared to the previous Core models.
O yes, and the kite loops like a dream (yes with a strapped directional)
Hey General,
I got to try the 9m 2012 drifter off a mate in 1.5' short period waves on a sunny 18 kt day (on my 136 TT) In a word - AMAZING - Where my octane drifts nice and pulls hard, it doesn't turn that sharp so I get hoisted off the back of tons of nice sections into the 'slow' water behind the wave if I mis-time a carve or just cause the darn thing won't turn fast enough.
The drifter turns on a dime when you ask it. Smacking lips is so easy - bottom turn - next section - repeat - - - - Could hardly feel it in the sky and didn't yank the hell outta me when I sent it.
The 'Surf' kites puppet was talking about probably aren't applicable in Perth, as I imagine it's more bash & dash style wave style required there, probably similar to our summer onshore slop here.
Also in straight sideshore conditions the 'Surf' style park and slash kites tend to pull you off waves way more upwind or downwind as they're less responsive to correction. I think they must come into they're own for larger cross onshore days or point breaks. But even then once you've used a kite that you can send to help generate a little extra power and balance for your turns - I reckon for the waves, you'll never want to bother with a boring old park and tank kite again.
Have you tried any of the kites mentioned in this post? How'd you like 'em?
^^^ Yes not just the 6m, but even the 10m Reo is so workable yet still sits and drifts if you want.
Hey guys,
Thanks for all the input. It is really helpful.
I suffer from the usual illness of wanting it all, but don't want compromised performance!!!
I have found this so useful, and think others reading this will as well. I didn't expect someone to say "GD you want kite xxx", I was hoping to generate the discussion I have seen, so I understood the compromises out there.
I think, when I get down to things, I kite 99% in Perth metro so a wave kite (puppet's definition) is probably what I need.
I will be teeing up some demos.
I have found this so useful - so thanks heaps all for great input.
Thanks also for no hardcore sales crap (which I think is generally counterproductive) and not too much trolling.
Thanks heaps-
general_dude.
I have been demoing the 9m Airush Wave for the last two days and I am stoked.
Brilliant kite, rides a little different to my current quiver of kites. Loves to stay in the sky, feels really easy and responsive in light conditions and generates power easily.
You can park and ride it or go turn for turn. Seams a little smaller than my 9 but could be due to the more C shape. I have a 10m RPM (older model) and I reckon the Wave out performs it any day
Really great kite, you got to try it - returning it back to Airborne tomorrow ( which is a bit of a bummer).
Rich
so how would you compare the wave vs the reo pezza? Looks like it might have a bit more punch for bigger riders, I hope it doesn't have a 5th line for your sake.
