jan said...
ah cmon i gave enough for someone to throw out some ideas ;)
2 kite quiver at those sizes covers a pretty wide wind range
but for the pedantic:
weight = 80ish
experience = plenty
where = pretty much anything goes (WA)
style = lean towards flats+freestyle
wind range = 15-20 on a bigger kite, 20+ on a smaller kite. i find the atom around say 17-22 and not quite right, and the octane a touch too much when its blowing
board = medium to small tt, ill be trying a surf oriented boards tho
Thanks jan,
Sorry to be so pedantic that's just me
, but the more info you give, the more accurate the response is gonna be and I like to feel I give advice that is pretty much on the money.
Of course being a retailer I am only going to speak of what I know best which is the gear we ride, test and know well. So please take all this with a pinch of salt.
As soon as you start speaking about flat water and freestyle, that immediately narrows the possibilities significantly. From our range, we have three kites I would recommend you demo and I will write a short blurb about each.
Ozone C4 - Firmly in the freestyle camp and freestyles as good as the best of them but still with all round user friendliness and freeride fun. Bar pressure is user adjustable from light to moderate, they are fast, go upwind well, boost pretty good, loop like a real "C" but have easy relaunch and are a fun freeride kite too. I kinda went off the C4 for a little while whilst I got into other models (I freestyle 25%) but in our recent holiday we took my wifes kites (2010 C4's) and I rode the 11m on my CB Tempo for a freestyle sesh of unhooking and kitelooping. I had an absolute blast and re-found my love of the C4. The 2011 is a better kite than the 2010 BTW.
North Vegas - The Vegas is a much more hard core "C" style kite than the C4 IMHO. It feels meatier, heavier on the bar with more pressure required for steering a bit like a car with no power steer, (very direct and a bit heavier and you feel every bump). It's fast and solid, loops great, relaunches almost as easy as C4 and is a worthy freeride kite too. I find it wears me out much faster than the C4 being a bit more physical to throw it around so I keep my freestyle sessions short on the Vegas (1 hr is plenty). Sweet kite none the less and it's pedigree is irrefutable. Most well suited to the more wake/new school riders.
Core GTS - The GTS is a semi-"C" Hybrid and doesn't have the directness of the other two due to the bridle, but still has good power, good feel, loops well, unhooks nicely and freestyles well. The beauty of the GTS is in it's ability to be more than one kite. The bridle adjustments take it from being pure wake in it's toughest settings and will work as a wave kite in the opposite settings. It suits a really aggressive rider as steering is more like the feel of Vegas ie more input required and the kite moves so quick. A timid rider wont like the GTS as you really need to be mean to it and it will respond accordingly [}:)].
Another kite, that we don't stock but may suit you is the North EVO. It's in that half way class between freestyle and wave and is probably most similar to the GTS than the other two. It will unhook nicely and has good punchy power.
The Core stuff has been given a new lease on life with the addition of the new Sensor bar which brings it up to date with the rest.
As always, these are my personal thoughts, based purely on my experience and I don't expect anyone to believe this advice or take it without question, but I do hope it opens your mind to alternate considerations worthy of a demo. Have fun looking for your new quiver.
DM
