Hello am trying to upgrade and a dealer here has either the 09' or 10' models but since am the only one as of now kiting here my level hasn't realy gone up and really don't get up to date with kite brands. weigh around 75kls, can jump, just cruising and a bit of speed if water is flat..no waves in our place just swells and chop. Can anyone give me their best opinion which one is an all-rounder best for firstly litewind pull, speed, turning, relaunch and boost? I read the airush manual and their ratings say Varga has better pts. than the Vapor however, why is it that the Vapor is being advertised like their top of the line?
thanks

Paradox said...

JP,

There is no such thing as an Airush Varga....and the Airush range (or any brand for that matter) will not rate thier kites better than another overall. Each model will have different attributes over others in specific areas, but that is as far as they go.

Why don't you tell us what you like in a kite and what the wind conditions you normally ride in are?

IMO you can't go past a vapor and if you regularly get 15kts or more a 10m would do you fine at 75kg's. They rock, but struggle a little in larger sizes/lighter wind as they lose thier fast turning ability and speed through the window. If you are going a 12 because of light wind issues a Varial would be better.

Paradox..what was i thinking about it is a Varial not a Varga ok i'd like to go cruising, and occasionally speed downwind, no maneuvers as there is no other better kiter to follow i.e.freeriding, and go upwind with the kite following fast upwind too. Wind conditions in our area are from 12-18ave. at times the cab switch 12 is a bit overpowered even when pigtails at loose and CAS strap at depower mode. Sea state is from flat to chop to swell...regards

I'm ~74 kgs and ride Vapor I's
10m is the kite that gets used the most, generally from 15kts up to 25 - 30
I have a 7m that I put up only if the wind is consistently above 25kt and a 14m that I haven't ridden yet.

The Vapor II is similar but canopy is a little less "fluttery" - haven't ridden a Vapor III

I ride in waves the most but they are also good of flat water and have a lot of "C" kite characteristics rather than SLE, really good boost, are fast turning and have good relaunch. In the surf you can put the kite at 12 o'clock and get virtually no pull on the bar.

The only criticism I have is that when they get overpowered they fly low and the rear lines slacken off, so rather than pushing the bar away like with most kites, you actually have to pull on more power to regain steering and fly the kite up to 12 o'clock to dump power.