C-kites and slack time

[adamrod]

dpca10-

Thanks for the note. I love my havocs, instant relaunch, tons of pop, lots of range...it was all that stuff that made them perfect for learning freestyle. So, it's going to take a pretty killer kite to make me switch. I picked up a set of hifi comps just to see if I notice a difference, and I'll let ya'll know what I find out. I tend to think it's the rider not the kite, but I'm at a point in my riding where a miniscule difference could actually mean the difference between landing that slim and just crashing all season.

So, I'll keep both sets around for a few weeks, and unless the hifi comp is unbelievably awesome, I'll probably stick with the simplicity and range of the havoc.

the "slack time" i'm talking about is what happens after you pop. Does the kite continue to pull you or does it drop you like a rock? In theory, a bridled kite should continue to pull more than a C (as per the previous posts). In order to get huge pop, it's crucial that your kite doesn't shoot forward in the window, which my havocs and your rises are very good at. (they are very similar kites, both lower aspect and grunty). But the next part, the slack in the lines you need to complete passes, that's 99% rider and 1% kite, but i'm still curious to see if I can notice that 1% I might get from switching to the hifi comp.

with regards to advanced lessons, yah, i've gotten so close to signing up for one of those....we'll see how the progression goes, if I get stuck, maybe that'll put me over the hump!

[EvanOR]

For the " traditionalist ", freestyle expert (or wannabe), or those who don't mind a little pain with their pleasure....all new Diablo and bar coming shortly. Sorry for the advert - I don't have another photo available at this time.

[cakemonsterkite]

I asked this question repeatedly to folks in Brazil when we were down there for a few months to see if I could use the fact I was on an SLE to get over the fact that I still could not do a kite low powered mobe. I asked it specifically related to kite low, wakestyle, load and pop tricks where you pass the handle, not dangle passes etc that others have mentioned here, I don't think it matters for that.

The answers I got from designers and people that build kites are similar to what Mr. Hansen wrote. C's are less efficent at regaining forward motion and shape after being distorted and if you load and pop against them hard they initially yank hard but then stop pulling more completely. They also only function well across a narrow AOA (angle of attack) which makes them more reliable in terms of the pop you get. The end result is that it is being simpler to get and keep the bar close, which seems to be the key to all powered HPs. Or that was the explanation for the difference in feel that was apparent to riders as below.

I thought I could feel this as well, but it didn't help me much in terms of getting passes to switch to a C. In watching and asking riders much better than me was that yes, this is true, but the difference is getting smaller every year. If you take a Fuel or a 06 Yarga etc, and do a really powered raley and look at your lines they is more slack and a softer pull at the bar with a C kite. Folks like Alvaro Onieva load and pop and kill the power of the kite so dramatically that he can do a mobe with his kite 4 ft off the water and almost come down on the depower strap and have to push it away, while the rest of us struggle to just get the bar anywhere close to us.

That said, the new SLEs can still do this, especially in their sweet spot of depower. I decided it was just that I sucked after I saw Joe Ruscito, Alvaro, and Shannon Best doing KGBs, mobes, you name it, on SLEs(waroos/HPs). C's are probably a little better, but SLEs keep getting better and the margin is narrowing. Alvaro seemd to think he couldn't do a KL Double HP on a SLE or that was the story...but I don't think most people will ever get a single. The original SLEs sucked, but now that they have gotten so much better IMO there are quite a few SLEs that will work for this. Still for pure wakestyle HP etc, it seems pretty clear the kids of the PKRA woundn't use C's unless there is a reason, although that might change at some point. For us mortals not clear it matters as much. Moe Gould and Slezak ride Havocs from what I understand and Andre Philip doesn't seem to suffer too much on the Cabrinhas.

Here is Joe Ruscito on an SLE getting plenty of slack in his lines. He swore by 06 Yargas, but now Best doesn't make a C kite, and he seems to do OK on an HP 09.

http://www.bestkiteboarding.com/Videos?p=1&v=39

Still fun to watch Rubens kite deform when he loads and pops for his stuff on a Fuel...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vfrmx5igrDk&fmt=18

Or for high qual (recommended)

http://www.wakayamaent.com/adam/SLINGSH ... V_720p.mp4

In the end I decided get used to one kind of kite that works and make no further excuses. I never did land a really solid mobe for the record. New years resolution, but getting old.

[SSC]

you wanna see slack?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0hk0hXkLxM

nuff said.

[S I LOCAL]

Slack On FO SHO!!! :!:

[sloughslut]

that does not look like a c kite, maybe the white one, is that a lou model? when do they come out?

[Greg]

kids these days- :shock:
must be made out of rubber.. =D>
L.M.G.

[kitenaked]

The black kite is one of the Rabbits. The white - proto..

Lou "c" kite should be 2 or 3 months.

Boards 2 months (surf and blunts)..

Will have the Blunts (twintips) for demo at La Ventana Kite Expo..125, 130 and 135

[EvanOR]

A couple of pics of the real deal in flight - note these were taken in 3-5 knots, with just enough wind to fill the canopy. Diablos will be in shops in about 8 weeks, and we'll have some at Pismo and in the Bay area for demo purposes.

This is an all-new, dedicated fixed 5 line kite (with compensator to adjust for changes in trim strap tension). This keeps the bar super clean and simple!

[EvanOR]

Some photos from Crissy today - 2009, 10m Diablo, in " old school " four line mode, Nothing hybrid at all about this C. :evil:

Ships with five line bar, easily convertible to 4 for the core. Demos available at Crissy this week and at Pismo!