Steve, I would be very interested to hear a comparison of the North 06 v Crossbow. In particular I wonder which will be the ultimate jumping machine. I think the crossbow has appeal if you ride waves or want the safety of huge de-power. But for a person who rides flat water and loves boosting I wonder if the new North will be better, with potentially better bottom end allowing a smaller and faster kite to be used? I enjoy the power of current C kites and find that their range is ample to cover the majority of winds.

Can you post your thoughts once you receive the North Kites, I am hoping that as you sell both you won’t have a reason to hype one more than the other…..time will tell

Just my 2c worth...
the cabrinha xbow jumps considerably higher than anything i've flown. Was out on the 9m in about 25knots a week ago and the jumps were ridiculous, i would say 5-10 foot higher consistantly. I could hear cat calls everytime i went up. I usually don't just go around sending it back anymore but with the xbow it made it new and exciting again. People on the beach were saying there were some 40 footers. I wouldn't think any traditional C shaper could compare at this time. Rich

sucks not being able to have the latest, huh spankmonkey!

rode them back to back yesterday. the crossbow felt better, rode faster but was VERY HEAVY on the arms in lighter winds. will be good to get the guns back like in the windsurf days.

yeah ive used a 12m bow, great hangtime, and was getting really nice pop unhooked, found the kite had good pull on the upstroke and didnt seem loose power like a lot of C kites on the upstroke, it sits at the edge of the window really well which is good for beginners. Overall id say its a very nice kite for a learner through to advanced. The bar definatley has a few issues that need sorting. Stopper ball with a mind of its own. Cant feel the kite properly through the bar but i suppose you'd get used to that. Anyway I think advanced riders who know how they like to ride would probably like a C kite more as an allround kite. If you have the money to buy a kite just for boosting big then maybe speand it on a bow. Otherwise IMO the Rhino 06 or SS Octane when they come out

if only cabrinha could say the same thing about their bar.

its like when x box released with those massive controllers except its just a massive thick chode of a bar.

Had a fly of a 16m Rhino 6 and an equivalent Crossbow this past weekend as well as a Gaastra Stealth 16m. First go was only about 12 knots where I flew them all in the same conditions so it's not a terribly great test -- Initial impressions: Crossbow is very heavy and requires a huge amount of bar pressure compared to the Rhino. Much slower turning than even my Rhino 4 16m. Stealth was OK but nothing remarkable. The Rhino 06 turns incredibly fast but very predictably, like all North kites I've flown. In the light winds I much preferred the Rhino by a huge margin. Found also that it was difficult to keep the Crossbow from falling when it was close to the water. It seemed to naturally want to keep going down where the Rhino just sits there. Yesterday had about 45m on the Rhino in about 14 knots. VERY stable, super light bar pressure to turn and definitely jumps higher than the 05 and 04 with plenty of float -- almost as much as the Rhino 2 but without the depower problems. Despite the 06 being a lower aspect kite than the 04 and 05 and having two fewer struts it turns noticably faster than the 04 and 05. I noticed also that when you pick it up it seem much lighter than the previous year kites. Strut design is different and it appears that North are using a slightly more robust fabric on the leading edge (about time!) The bar has some changes -- nothing terribly exciting, but they've changed the colour coding just to confuse everyone for some reason. Now the left side is YELLOW instead of red. Huh? And they dropped the curved bar and replaced it with a straight one. The new safety seems OK despite being a bit clunky and plastic. New center line trim consists of a cleat like we used to make up from boat shop parts three years ago and takes some getting used to. Nothing radical but a good kite and some noticable improvements over last year. Like to fly the Crossbow in some more wind to give it a better chance to show it's stuff.

My thoughts are if you want to jump higher and longer, have a slower turning kite, have fewer kites with a larger wind range for each kite, be and look uncool, then go for the newer style kites. The Takoon Nova, Globerider Sonic, SS Turbo Diesel are a cheaper alternative to the Crossbow. Where I live on the Gold Coast there are nasty rumors going around thanks to our local shop SurfFX that the C style kites will be obsolete in another year. This is a scare tactic and is NOT the case as all kite companies still produce more C style kites in their ranges and pro riders are NOT choosing to use the new eliptical style kites except for photo shoots. Shops like FX which now import Cabrinha have to pay for their stock of crossbows upfront and they have to sell them asap because of their initial outlay but make a higher profit and hence the current push. Now these kites have their place in the market and I am not saying they are crap but this style of kite is NOT a very good wave riding kite or wake style kite. So beware and don't get talked into it just becasue its just a new thing, besides the 2nd model will be better as it always is. If you like North then I would go for the Rhino06 or the Vegas or any other quality proven brand of C style kite such as Naish, SS, LF etc. I have heard so much crap recently that I wanted to tell it like it is.

Rightio Timothy from the USA

hay tobe i am very inexperienced in the surf but its depower seemed really useful!!
Seems to be alot of emotion on this subject. Everyone is so threatened "watch out here comes the evil crossbow aaaaggghhh"

Also, hate to mention this but the boys from fx need no help to make a profit.[}:)][}:)] And there are no crossbows in stock[}:)] Oh yea you might find that alot of the profit from big surf shops actually comes from the clothing side. Although i have bought liquid force at whole sale prices so i can guess just how much they make. But ya know they have to gotta finance those bad habits somehow

did you get another ride on the srt? what did you think.

Thanks tobes, its good to see the knives outa my back and into someone elses for a change.

crossbows are gay, yadayadayada
everytime i look at one i can't help but thinking wat a gimmick

that must be it....
ppl claim guerillas are great, look at them thier peices of crap

can't polish a turd

Last year I had three north rhinos 05, 10 12 16
today I rode the north 06 12
I also rode the m80
from the m80 to the north 06 wow the north is so super stable and what grunt the bar is smaller then the old north bars and very well made right down to the handy egg cup holder built into the release on the chicken. also they have fixed the issue of rubbing from the leading edge on the batons on the ends of the kite by stitching the batons Velcro tie offs to the leading edge
great idea. this kite has so much power and it is usable power. this year the north kites are very well finished prob the best I have seen in any kite ever! However for me to get the full potential out of this kite I feel I need to have a six pack, arms like guns and legs of steel. I'm not saying it is like a rhino two. what I am saying is this kite is a thorough bred kite and and needs the same to run at its full potential
the crossbow um lets say the twelve for this, I find allows me a desk jockey to go out smash through the waves that would other wise stop me as my weight is 85 kilo on a north 05 12 so I would need use the 16 on those days, then out the back when it is choppy a 16 would always have to much grunt so I back foot weight the board so really just dragging me through the water so as to not pick up to much speed and get out of control and crash out.

with the crossbow 12 I can crash through the waves with heaps of grunt then when out the back with gust chop all over the place just pick a speed and cruise whilst may I ad smiling at one of my pro rider mates who was looking at me up wind of him on many a occasion. this is really like having I believe about a 15 and a 12 and a 10 all in one kite. I also feel very safe because I don't get so tired in the legs and back.
the is heaps more to this but that is one of my majors
I had the choice I have opt for the crossbow at this point in time who knows what will come out later in the year I don't care I always want the kite at the beginning of our season not half way through it
If I was fitter I would take the Norths as I do love the feeling of being like a chicken leg in the hand of a fat kid being ripped from the rest of the chicken lol seriously I do like the jag hook feeling you can get from a c shaped kite But I can only do that for a about 1 hour It just takes to much out of me I am nearing mid thirties, where the crossbow I can kite for hours
really enjoy myself then go home and take care of my kids and go to work and so forth
I can just do more on them that's it

P.s I have been self launching the crossbow kite heaps I never used to ride by myself now I don't give a **** I just feel so safe compared to how i used to feel on a c shape kite relaunch is awesome anyway I digress.
p.s.s c shape wise that north rhino 06 is damn hot for a c shape I dont think for a c it can be beat I think its the nizzle!

Ahh Greenboss,

You and your hang-ups about anonymity.

This is a sly user forum, not another episode from 'This Is Your Life'.
We don't do the full expose here.

And by the way, Tim Leary is Rockstar on Kiteforum.
He's a cool dude.

resume??

Yea big jumps are cool but my landings as many have witnessed are not really enjoyed the waves. That wake boarding stuff looks pretty difficuilt and deadly for an old horse like myself. Going to hang in the waves till one of my knees goes (anytime). Look foward to seeing you in action tobes goin ta take notes