anything with no or limited pullies.

Ozone,switch kites,,, ect ect

More pullies=less direct. IMHO

outside of the C kites, i would have to say the Fluid EGO and the most direct out of all the sizes is the 8 and 6m.

The Hadlow, or if you want some depower the Hadlow iD is direct, with medium to heavy bar pressure.

Hadlow Pro's in the smaller sizes (7 & 9m) were the most direct feeling 4-line kite i've flown.

It's probably worth mentioning what you mean by direct feeling as there are plenty of kites without pulleys that still have steering input lag and feel soft at the bar, and there are kites with pulleys that respond quickly and are sharp and communicative at the bar.

Do you want minimal / zero input lag?
+ Very quick to respond to input means fast loops and turns
- It'll slam itself into the water in the 1/2 a second whilst your passing

Do you want feedback / a communicative bar?
+ You'll know where the kite is and what it's doing without ever looking
- More bar pressure

+1 on the Hadlow ID. You don't get much more direct than that, but if you go with any C kite you will get that direct responsive feel. Bridled kites as I've found do tend vary. As an example Liquid Force Envy has bridles all round and great direct feeling at the bar, but with an input lag.

ozone edge would be my vote,25 to 30knts, edge 9mtr doesnt feel more direct than that,oh maybe my old wipika 10

Addikt said...

The other thing was the hadow and fuels get a menation every time was just curious as to why you don't see as many on the water anymore I know the relauch is always an issue but that aside even if you are not doing super technical tricks would a direct responsive kite would be more progressive once you are boosting over 15 feet and 27 knots is your comfort zone?

Plenty of Fuels where I ride (more cabs though!). Over the years only saw a few Hadlows.

I prefer a direct feeling kite and every time I have got onto a bridled kite I have been disappointed with the lack of "feel" and the lag. Have always ridden non bridled kites though (apart from my first 2 liner).

By the way - relaunch is not an issue on the 4 line Fuels from 2009 and on. Earlier ones relaunched better on 5 lines. And for the uninformed - 4 line C kites have heaps of depower these days.

axis said...
Plenty of Fuels where I ride (more cabs though!). Over the years only saw a few Hadlows.

A couple of Hadlows where i ride, one or two Fuels, a few Torches and a heap of Vegas's.
As Axis said, relaunch hasn't been an issue on any c-kite for a fair few years. No, they won't relaunch themselves but if you ride suicide most will sit on the edge of the window waiting for you to clear the water from your brain after most crashes.

Slow turning, not slow as they have a lot of pull. Ive seen people loop Zephers aswell and they aint that fast.

Disclaimer: just changed over to C4's from fuses and absolutely love them. Kept my 7 fuse as no kite ive ridden goes bigger.
Didnt like the slow feel of the 2011 edge goes big and floats big its all the kite, not they way your flying it.

When im boosting i like that acceleration as you take off, the edge doesn't give me the same rip as my fuse.

NickT said...

Slow turning, not slow as they have a lot of pull. Ive seen people loop Zephers aswell and they aint that fast.

Disclaimer: just changed over to C4's from fuses and absolutely love them. Kept my 7 fuse as no kite ive ridden goes bigger.
Didnt like the slow feel of the 2011 edge goes big and floats big its all the kite, not they way your flying it.

When im boosting i like that acceleration as you take off, the edge doesn't give me the same rip as my fuse.

What made you decide on the C4 over the Fuse?

I don't think the C4's go big either, that's why I kept my small fuse. The C4 is definitely a loop machine though, and so smooth. I went to C4's from fuses as fuses loop poorly and are not the best unhooked kite by a long way and that's where my riding is headed. Still think the edge turns slow though.

Chris_M said...

Peter Lynn C-Quad......... no wait they ain't on the market anymore

remember watching Kane Hartill rip on C Quads.

NickT said...

Fuse is a four line Rebel in that it boosts massive, relaunches easy and is super quick.
Its lighter on the bar due to the pulleys, and has lag between bar movement to kite movement, but once in motion it's lightening fast.

Edge might be direct but it's so slow, only good for cruising and big hang time. Although i'm still keen to try a 7 edge in 40 kts

Oh the fuse has pulleys, sorry.

Don't worry bout me dude, i can jump just fine on the C4. Just saying they wont go as big as a Fuse!

Didn't DM win the Big air contest at Kitestock on an Ozone C4 ? After knocking himself unconscious as well ?

'roast