Hi

Anyone have any merits demerits about the 04 North kites? (spesificly the rhino)

construction problem, preformance and so on

oooh yeah, i was watching an 05 rhino 14m today in the air and it looked to me like it flew totally diferent to the 04 model. I need to try one....

quote:

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I had the Rhino 04 14m and IMHO it was crap

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So long as you're honest about it ;o)
(Turns slowly? Are you mad? Or wasn't it tuned properly?)

Kris_E, the Rhino 04 has a very loyal fan base and I believe it's one of the best kites out there. People have been known to switch back to it after buying a new 05 kite. (Including the Rhino V)

It's very powerful for it's size, gives great air, points waaaay upwind and turns superfast. It's really an old school kite, good for big jumps and fun tricks. Probably not the best for waveriding or wake-style.

Problems? Well, the mark 1 models tended to have exploding leading edges!!!! Basically the seam on the middle of the LE would split under the strain. The newer models of the 04 had reinforcement on these points, but still had the problem although not as pronounced. If you're going to buy one, check the LE in the middle segments and see if it has 3 lines of stitching instead of 2. Also, at the connection points of the pigtails there tends to be some wearing of the LE from where the batons rub against it. Check for wear although some of the later models came with rubber reinforcements to stop this.

It's an excellent kite so long as you beware of the construction problems it may have. Check it thoroughly if you're buying a 2nd hand one, as it may be primed to "blow" (Still fixable)

(Ask Robbo2099 about this, he loves the kites but he's had several blow up on him)

Well that is interesting Trant - when considering buying an 04 Rhino I asked a local expert about the blowout problems reported on the web as it sounded pretty concerning, but I was told that they were just associated with one faulty early batch or something, and not a fault of the initial design. It is hard to know what to believe sometimes.
Anyway, I bought a 10m and was (and still am) stoked with it - though this should be qualified by saying that my only previous experience was with an 01 kite, and that I'm a total spastic at kiting...
Must go home and check my seams...

I have a 18R4 and it's a great kite. For an 18 it turns fast although the latest kites are probably a shade quicker and has V good boost and hang. Very easy to control, goes upwind well, and has a great range. The bar pressure is lighter than my 12. Only downside for me is relaunch can be a pig in marginal wind. Construction APPEARS to be excellent and I've never had a problem however many I know have had the exploding LE. Once they seem to have suffered a blowout it seems to happen a lot and in different places I don't know if this is related to the kite design/production or the way its used. Suspicious that repeated self launching and pulling the safety to land increases the chance of a blow out. I converted to a 5th line to aid relaunch and better control after pulling the safety (which works a treat) but don't use it to modify normal flight characteristics (which I think are excellent anyway) but the 5th causes as many headaches as it solves sometimes. I've flown the 14 quite a few times too and I liked it a lot. On the whole a brilliant kite but prudent to be on first name terms with your sailmaker.