i have a 10 and 14. Both awesome kites, but have had a few octopus related problems with the 14m (which is really the only thing I would consider a con on these kites).

Great unhooked, loops awesome, depower is good. Relaunch takes a bit of getting used to, but if the wind is decent then it usually pops up pretty easily.

If you like below the bar depower, then you'll like the bar, its a good compact and clean system.

if you have any questions, shoot.

Octopusssy system is a big enough reason not to buy a kite if you ask me..... You would have to be an idiot to put that crap on your kite, so god knows what else they f@cked up.

Rowdy maybe they stuffed up the bar aswell like slingshot have year after year

benefits: weaker kiteloops, less power in the turns than a normal C, seeing its dependant on a tensioned 5th line it pivots around it a bit and makes the turning more pivotal than power turns. octopus inflation because it likes getting sandy and sucking a big floppy dildo as well as when you crash it hard the valve pops out of the strut and it takes u 3 hours to put back in instead of the 5 minutes putting a external hose (like slingy and all normal companies) back on IF they even pop off that is (once again normal kites).


cons: has a fair bit of depower, its a C kite those things will kill ya

Charl dv said...

benefits: weaker kiteloops, less power in the turns than a normal C, seeing its dependant on a tensioned 5th line it pivots around it a bit and makes the turning more pivotal than power turns. octopus inflation because it likes getting sandy and sucking a big floppy dildo as well as when you crash it hard the valve pops out of the strut and it takes u 3 hours to put back in instead of the 5 minutes putting a external hose (like slingy and all normal companies) back on IF they even pop off that is (once again normal kites).


cons: has a fair bit of depower, its a C kite those things will kill ya

but of course we cant take anything this guy says seriously as hes just a wannabe wakeboarder, deadset on dishing out as much **** as he can on anything that is not his 'style'.

seriously some people on here....

skiddz said...

Charl dv said...

benefits: weaker kiteloops, less power in the turns than a normal C, seeing its dependant on a tensioned 5th line it pivots around it a bit and makes the turning more pivotal than power turns. octopus inflation because it likes getting sandy and sucking a big floppy dildo as well as when you crash it hard the valve pops out of the strut and it takes u 3 hours to put back in instead of the 5 minutes putting a external hose (like slingy and all normal companies) back on IF they even pop off that is (once again normal kites).


cons: has a fair bit of depower, its a C kite those things will kill ya

but of course we cant take anything this guy says seriously as hes just a wannabe wakeboarder, deadset on dishing out as much **** as he can on anything that is not his 'style'.

seriously some people on here....

i think you should take ur finger out ya behind and calm down.. 2 knuckles in is a bit deep dont you think? seems to me from judging your profile you might have some naish affiliation? there for having a biased opinion. verdict is yes me thinks?

Grom Wars, gotta love em

Now to answer the question. Most C kites will run a 5th line as it is still the best way to relaunch them. The simple reason people ride Torch is it's a fun kite that performs and still has an awesome wind range for a C.

Wassaby, there you go... a bow kite doesn't need the 5th line so thats why it doesn't have one and why you have no problems with your 4 line kite. Just be warned if you go and buy any C kite, that the way you launch it on the beach, and the way you relaunch it in the water is different to how a 4 line bow works. I did my kite lessons on 5 line Cs in 06 but bought an SLE the next season new (UK) and it was pretty obvious to me what the differences were.

Sounds to me like you just need to go out and try a few different kites before you buy mate. The reality is the differences between current day kites for most of us is that it makes little difference to our riding ability and what we do. In that someone riding a bow well will get more out of it than someone riding a C poorly.

Someone told me some good advice and said "most of the improvements the manufacturers make and the performance differences between kites make squat difference, unless you are a Hadlow or Lenten and are pushing the performance of the kite to the limit, so just get out there and get as much time in as you can and stop looking for excuses to buy new gear" Kind of stuck with me pretty well...

not really lostinlondon most C kites of today can launch the same way as SLE's can. I launch my C like that all the time and it works fine.

sir ROWDY said...

If you think Octopussy is an easy fix or a good system... you never worked fixing kites in a kiteshop. Or you don't have regular sized hands...

I'm sure a Ferrari isn't easy to fix either but that doesn't stop people buying them. I bet if you asked all the Naish users out there how many times they had to deal with Octopus issues very few say they have had problems with it. And if they did, we can afford a premium brand, so we can afford to have you scream in frustration as you replace our bladders and valves for us kite bitch!

lostinlondon said...

sir ROWDY said...

If you think Octopussy is an easy fix or a good system... you never worked fixing kites in a kiteshop. Or you don't have regular sized hands...

I'm sure a Ferrari isn't easy to fix either but that doesn't stop people buying them. I bet if you asked all the Naish users out there how many times they had to deal with Octopus issues very few say they have had problems with it. And if they did, we can afford a premium brand, so we can afford to have you scream in frustration as you replace our bladders and valves for us kite bitch!

Righto hero......
I don't work in a kitestore, and i dont fix kites... Hell I don't even fix my own kites, I just get a new one.

I had Torches for a few years, 2006 and 2007 models.

No Octopus or construction issues..... ever

Period.

lostinlondon said...

OK, so now you are saying you don't fix kites and you have never worked fixing kites in a kiteshop... so how do you know it is hard to fix?

Because I don't live under a rock.
You haven't climbed Everest i'm guessing... But I bet you know it's hard though.

lostinlondon said...
Oh and by the way... before I was just having a laugh... lighten up dude...

How can you tell I'm not lightened up? is there a lightswitch emoticon im missing somewhere? haha.

Oh no here we go again, I'll operate the merrygo pimpround lever

Just flew my NEW 12m torch, have been using a '05 12m for the last couple of years. I dont know if Ive been lucky but I have never had a problem with any valves blowing out or the octopus system giving me the ****s.
I am very hard on my equipment, (if your kite isnt in the water at least 4-5 times a session your not going hard enough or progressing)

As ive found the 2010 torch is designed for unhooked riding. I had a few issues with the loops but as soon as I un hooked I had no problem in landing the loops.
It also seems to perform well even when oversheeted, my old kite used to flare and almost sail backwards, but the new version seems to handle it if not love it.

The pop is amazing but hang time is still a little short but this expected with type of kite.

A complete improvement on old tech love it!

relaunch in under 30 sec

It has alot of depower if not to much, I like to ride with out pulling on the bar for a bit of power, but this is to do with fine tuning.

not a bad kite, you will pay a little extra for this kite but having a good look at its construction you can see they are made even tougher

Is this a balanced review?