10/09/2005 - Revolution? Innovation? Evolution?
It is generally this time of the year that as instructors we finally get to see the bits of kit for the next season that the manufacturers have been tight-lipped about for the last 6-8 months. Tight lipped other than the leaked bits of video of the kites flying, schematics of the kites supposedly on secure areas of their web sites etc. Well it is all part of the hype machine and hopefully most of you and certainly us are immune to all of that.
So here is the Transition run down of what is going on. We must stress that these are our own opinions and because we don't do retail and we aren't tied up with manufacturers [unlike shops and magazines] we can be as damning as we like!
So we started on 2-line kites back in the day. 4-liners quickly became defacto though they are a bit more dangerous and this year saw more or less all the manufacturers switch over to a 5-line system even though much of the safety testing hadn't been done before they went to market - after reports of kites ripped in half, twists in the 5th line causing it not to release and various people smashing their depower straps from pressure buildup hopefully next seasons bars will fare a little better.
Next season though we are seeing a split in design. All inflatable kites that we using for Kitesurfing have thus far been a direct descendent of Bruno's LEI design as seen on the Wipika Classics. Thin the struts and the leading edge down a bit, make the canopy bigger and wider [highewr aspect] and you have a North Rhino 05 in effect.
Revolution
Cabrinha Kiteboarding and Takoon are both coming to market next year with thin, foil style, LEIs. These in effect look like a cross between a Flexifoil Blade and any LEI on the market. They are thinner, faster through the air but where the Crossbow and the Nova differ from LEIs thus far is that they are actually Bridled!
So on the plus side, the Crossbow and the Nova have HUGE depower ranges - let go of the bar and you lose nearly all of the power of the kite for the first time ever - massive safety benefits there then. They also attest a wider wind range as well - so finally we may be getting to the two kite quiver which makes travelling infinitely easier.
A plus and a minus is bar pressure. Riders like Andrew, Daryl and James all agree that bar pressure is a good thing even if it does make your arm ache later on. All of us are wakeboarders though so we have that slant on kitesurfing. Drew, Sue and Lance however all like light, twitchy bars. The Nova and the Crossbow both fall into the latter category so for those of you that like grunty kites you should probably skip it as it won't feel like you are holding on to anything. Those of you that like a light bar though will love these kites indeed.
On the minus side - expense is the big one. A new Cabrinha Crossbow [if you can even get hold of one] will set you back a cool £1000. We haven't seen kite prices break the £1K barrier for a lot of year now. Because of this we will not see the safety benefits so much because the price tag will put them in the realms of pro riders and the "All the Gear and No Idea" brigade - not much use for those of us that get hit by one of the latter or one that doesn't know how to fire the safety system.
The other big problem you'll have with these kites are spares. Out in the tropics we've all botched something together to make it work when some bit of kit fails. To be honest you haven't got much chance with one of these kites - think an old Ford Escort with no computer systems etc versus a brand new state of the art Audi or Saab - you have no chance. Kill your kite when you are away or snap a bridle line and you better hope you have spares in the bag or else you are going to be spending the week looking after the kids as your kiting holiday turns into your partner's scuba diving holiday!
So a massive thumbs up for trying Cabrinha and Takoon - huge amounts of kudos for breaking the mould, but lets see them a bit simpler, with spares that don't cose a packet, and a bit more affordable then we can all have one.
Evolution
So more or less everyone else is falling into this category. Slingshot and Naish as well as the other product lines Takoon develop are all competent products and for next year's kite surfing kites we aren't going to see massive changes. Struts are still getting a bit thinner, leading edges are getting a bit more elongated in profile to cause less drag and it seems like Naish are finally using some decent materials in their kites so maybe they won't be destroyed so quickly.
Hats off in part to Slingshot who were always a small player until this year when they changed tack slightly and decided to make good kites, but design them in such a way that they would work on everyone else's bar system! 7m Slignshot Fuels were always widely respected but they would often be the 2nd or third kite someone bought. Make a system that works with a Cabrinha Recon or a a North 5th Element bar and you have a winner for those of us that just want one bar for all kites. People quickly realised that they were solid little kites of their own and the one line system has seen huge improvements for the 06 season as well so expect to see loads more Fuels and Machines around next summer.
Innovation
North are the only ones this year who have innovated on the basic LEI design. To think that only three years ago they were the smallest of the big manufacturers and now they are widely regarded as number one they know their strengths and are definitely playing to them for next season.
The company that bought you the original Scepter Bar, 5th Line systems, Kook Proof Connectors and Ballistic Snakeskin to take all of your battering have decided that you have too many struts on your average Rhino kite.
Exit stage right 2 struts on most of the size range and you end up with drastically less drag, though your kite tends to flap in the breeze like a flag. Countering this particular problem, the boys and girls over at North decided to place small fibre battens along the leading edge in order to hold the shape of the leading edge and put more pressure on the canopy between the struts. This allows for a much greater aerodynamic profile than previously possible on a standard LEI and the best thing is that if you were really desperate for a spare, a bit of fibreglass or carbon fibre should be easy to get at most destinations.
Killing off a pair of struts have huge cost benefits as well and for the first time we will see North kites being much more in line with everyone else rather than being one of the more expensive brands.
On the minus side, it doesn't appear as though they have changed their bar, however North do have a tendency to release Rhinos in September and then Vegas' / Toros in April so we may see a bar change then as they do their R&D over the winter.
Conclusion
It is definitely an interesting time to be getting into the sport or continuing with it and certainly an agonising time for anyone with some cash in their pocket pre-christmas. The choice isn't simple but like most things that have happened in kite surfing todays "must have" bit of kit will be tomorrows "useless gimmick".
The general round up from the instructors was:
Drew - Sticking with his 12m Rhino 05 and 16m Vegas 05
Andrew - Upgrading his Rhino 2s to Rhino 06s
Daryl - Sticking with his Rhino 05s
Susan - Sticking with her Vegas 04s
James - Continue on with his Blade IIIs
As can be seen there hasn't been so much innovation that all the instructors are leaping to trade in their kit. It is worth noting as well that all of the instructors have more or less bastardised their bars that came with the kites and made them safer or easier to use as none of them were completely right, out of the bag.
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