stormriderkites: Latest Entries

Sunday, September 9, 2007

WiND-X Monsoonz 14m

WiND-X Monsoonz 14m First Ride

Spent some time on the 14m Monsoonz from WiND-X, so I thought I would provide a first ride review on the kite. This is by no means a comprehensive review, for I only spent about 40 minutes on the kite.

For the record I sell a few kites, weigh about 95kg, don't wear undies, I'm quite ugly and I am an average rider. I didn't get the chance to compare this kite to any others on the day. The last time I did that, a few people got upset and being the touchy feely fella I am...I don't want to hurt the feelings of any of those delicate little flowers or challenge their manhood.

Conditions were pretty ordinary, 10 to 15 knots on the gust, and sometimes nothing. Had someone give me a launch because of the lack of launch area, trees and not flown the kite before. The board I was riding was a WiND-X 142 x 42cm X-koi ....more on the board later.

First off you notice this kite moves a lot slower than the 10, but is stable and easy to fly. I flew it on the 10's bar with the pulley setup. The kite looks big in the sky and feels heavier, but the bar pressure is the same as the 10.

On the water this kite goes up wind.....and up and up. One dive and your off, then you park it at the side of the window pull in the bar and off you go. Its upwind ability is amazing. Keeping upwind becomes and after thought.

The kite does not thrive on speed as does for example a sonic and vapour. It has like a tractor type of pull....torquey type of feel.....if that makes sense? It allows you to plod along at a brisk walking pace and still be going up wind...I don't think this kite will set any speed records but it will provide you with an upwinding machine.

I had trouble getting my jumps together because of the combination of unfamiliar kite and board, some were ok and some were embarrassing...so no comment on that yet.

I was a bit worried about the relaunch on such a big, flat, high aspect kite. I dropped it a couple of times and the relaunch was easy as...

Turning speed was respectable for the size, not like a c kite of course, but good enough.

Overall first impressions were good and I think that it will be my most used kite this season. I don't think many people will need a bigger kite than this, with the right board I recon I could be kitting in 10 knots, but I will have to wait and see.

The X-koi board is made by a very popular manufacturer, and it's quality is second to none. It has early planning and works well with the Monsoonz. I found it hard to get used to a first because it felt totally different to what I was used to, but now I'm more in tune with it. It's a good board.

Cheers,

Barrie

http://www.stormriderkites.com.au/

Tags:
wind-x monsoonz 14m

Saturday, September 8, 2007

Airush Vapour 12 M

I got to spend an hour on the new Airush Vapour 12m today ...this is truly a great kite...it is one of those kites that you feel comfortable on straight away....from the moment you launch it.....you feel as though you are in total control....no nasty surprises...

Quality wise... this kite is excellent, the canopy feels nearly twice as thick as other kites...I don't know if it is, but it has a quality feel... The bar is nice along with the safety and Ronstan carbon/plastic composite trim cleat. Everything is neat and tidy ....and quality.

Setting up is a breeze with the one pump and the five lines present no problems at all, quick and easy...It says that you should inflate to 7 psi....it was not my kite, so we only inflated it to 4 psi...according to the gauge and that felt hard enough...

In the air the kite is very stable and does not do anything unexpected.....it's hard to put into words, but it does exactly what you want it to do....and it tempts you to go harder and makes you feel like you are better than you are...well for me anyway.

On the water with this kite, you feel as though you have been riding it all your life...it just feels rite....low bar pressure with the capability to be able to feel what the kite is doing...just awesome....it makes you feel like you have been gifted with ESP.

The conditions I was riding in was marginal and lighter blokes than me were walking back up wind...I was initially ridding a 147 stonker, then Peter from Caloundra Wind and Surf gave me a NXS board that he had made and I was able to stay up wind a lot easier with that....and it was 138...nice ridding board...quick planing and smooth.....

It hard to explain how this kite feels...it feels rite. It turns quick and smooth with what feels like plenty of depower. Did I mention how smooth it was....It jumps well without even having to think about it...but due to the lack of wind I had to use the wave faces as ramps....but it still ripped me off the water....however the decent was quite quick with 94kg hanging off it....but the board made the landings nice and smooth...

This kite likes speed to produce power and because you can just throw it around like a toy you can place it back in the rite spot with ease....but be careful how far you throw it back in the power zone because it will catch you unaware with a first-rate power spike...did I mention how smooth it was?

If you're after a five line kite....have a go on this puppy....it has something for everyone...quality, power and performance....can't ask for more than that...

Thanks to Peter Nitschke at http://www.caloundrawindandsurf.com.au/ . Peter is the local Airush dealer for the Sunshine Coast, so you can contact him on M.0419670913 if you want one...at the moment he has a 12 for demos....very nice kite....did I mention how smooth it was...?

Cheers,

Barrie

http://www.stormriderkites.com.au/

Tags:
vapour

Saturday, September 8, 2007

WiND-X Monsoonz V's Flysurfer Speed II

First off I must tell you that I was in for a **** day but at the time of pumping up a kite I did not know that.....What I knew at the time was I was going to ride the New WiND-X Monsoonz and Flysurfer Speed II ...both 10 meters and test them back to back. Yeah Baby!!!!Things went bad after a while. You know how it goes ...some days you rip...some days you are ****...this was one of the latter. I felt as clumsy as a teenager going for his first grope...and just as excited as well. Both were strange kites ...that didn't help....so in that afternoon I managed to break a bridle, snap a fin and lose my good sunnies under a wave....However I did enjoy flying both kites.The conditions were cross/onshore and the wind was averaging about 13 to 15 knots...sometimes down to 10 and up to about 17. Also the waves were up to head high on the sets and there was a strong sweep running the same way as the wind for the first 25 meters off the beach. Just your typical surf type conditions we get here. I'm just an average rider...very average...but I love kiting. I'm not into freestyle, what I really get off on is trying to ride the biggest wave I can find on the day....love it..My preferences in a kite are depower, upwind ability and wind range....this suits me for riding in the surf.

Ok to sum it up....a score out of 10 for each area I guess....

Quality...

Speed II 10/10
Monsoonz 7/10

Anybody who has looked at a recent Flysurfer can see that these kites are made real nice.....the Monsoonz's quality would be some where between a 06 and 07 sonic.

Value for money...

Speed II 9/10
Monsoonz 10/10

The speed II costs nearly $900 dollars more.

Power per dollar value....

Speed II 7/10
Monsoonz 10/10

You get more power for your dollar with the Monsoonz.

Depower...

Speed II 7/10
Monsoonz 10/10

The Monsoonz depowers more than the Speed II.

Usable Wind Range....

Speed II 8/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Not sure on the ultimate top ends of there kites yet, however the Monsoonz depowers more so this may allow a higher top end....this is just a guess..

Low End Power....

Speed II 10/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Both these kites have about the same bottom end....amazing kites for low end power.

Turning Speed....

Speed II 7/10
Monsoonz 8/10

Pretty evenly matched....the Monsoonz is a tad quicker...both quicker than I expected.

Upwind....

Speed II 10/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Both are awesome considering the conditions....everyone else were doing down winders.

Realunch....

Not Tested....yet.

Lift....

Speed II 9/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Both kites produce colossal amounts of lift. Stand on the beach and pull down the bar ...up you go. The Monsoonz was my favourite here for sure...pull in the bar and up I went...ooohhh baby!!...it was love at first flight... I guess this why they go up wind so well.

Stability....

Speed II 8/10
Monsoonz 8/10

Both very good...both will sit a zenith for a little while before they drift to the side and down to the ground. Both benit from resting against the stopper with some power left in the kite to help with stability. The Speed II does suffer from collapsing if there is a sudden change in wind direction...this is because it does not have any stiff structure...like an inflated leading edge. Saying that ..it is a awesome kite but not for a beginner. The Monsoonz is more beginner friendly.

Jumping.....

Wind conditions were not idea, so I'd rather not comment yet....I was still getting used to the kites....they both had plenty of pop...they just had a different feel.

These kites are very evenly matched on everything performance wise....price not so....one you have to pump and the other you don't.

I really like both these kites and your choice of purchase would depend on what you like....foil or LEI, but I don't reckon you could not go wrong with either. The Speed II is quicker to set up and pack down obviously.

I really like both of these kites....which would I choose...mmmm.. tough one...I think the Monsoonz offers better bang for your buck....but the down side is you have to pump it up.

Cheers,

Barrie Jenkins

http://www.stormriderkites.com.au/

PS. I'll probably add more when I think of it....any questions I'll try and answer.