First Ride - Slingshot 17 m Turbine (on water)

[johnz]

Thanks, Tighe, for letting me give your new toy a go!

All I can say is wow! That does not feel like a 17 meter kite - more like a 12 or a 13! I've flown the 17 m T3, the 17.5 Machine, and other big kites and this kite just doesn't have the lethargy of those monsters - which I thought was just par for the course.

Yesterday at White Bear I spent most of the day on my Glide and my 14 m T3. At the end of the day, the wind died down to maybe 8 - 12 mph and Tighe hooked me up with the Turbine.

The Turbine and the Glide are a pretty awesome combination - struggled a bit in the lulls if I wasn't carrying speed into them, but with just the slightest puff, I was fine.

Very smooth kite. Pulls like a truck. Very nimble. Very light bar pressure.

It's fun to be the only one out on the water! Time to have a garage sale and raise some funds...

Nice job, Slingshot!

[Tighe]

Yeah I loved that ride too. Light air riding is so different than the high wind stuff. I sorta went into my session looking for the same experience. The more I rode the more I started to discover how to enjoy those light wind rides. I saw Maximiliano riding toeside and gave it a go....oh yeah I remember that from winter. The solid pull of the Turbine allows endless carves off the wind....then rips back upwind when requested. Nice

The pull is steady and constant even when you take the kite up and over head in a transition, plenty to hang from, spin on your palm or discover some new move.

I'm sure I'm going to continue to discover aspects of this kite as I dial it in.

I may get a Glide to get the most from it.

tighe

[Lee_Uptown]

Bla bla bla... I was watching enviously in tears of your light wind achievements. What's the bar pressure like Johnz? I'm also curious to try other LW kites like the Zephyr, Big MaMa, and the Lithium LW. I think I'm caving... thought I'd never own anything bigger than a 12 :-\

[DAN B]

Thanks for affirming my thoughts the Turbine would be a blast. Just got mine in from Mike K. Cant wait !!!!!

[Barry P]

Having a BIG kite in your quiver is a real sanity saver. They are never going to be a fun as a 9 or 12, but those floaty jumps and being able to get out and dance when there is only textured water is worth something - or maybe it's worth a lot in July when the last 15mph day you had was 2 weeks away.

My measure of a big kite is
1) how well it hauls in winds 10mph and less
2) how it behaves in 20 mph or more (if it gets evil in the gusts - which is common around here then you will be hesitant to ride it)
3) does it down loop well? In light winds this is pretty nice to be able to do through your turns.

My first big kite was a 2006 16M Crossbow. It did #1 very well, but got pretty evil over 15mph (a problem with #2). The bar depower didn't go far enough. Yes, you could set up the bridle attachments to handle the 15+ when rigging, but once you left shore you are committed. From high enough in the window it could do #3, but if you have to go high before coming down then what's the point? And of course on a down loop the spiky power curve would make a down loop pretty crazy anyhow. One thing I really liked though was that I could reverse launch it when there was not enough wind for it to roll to the side.

My next was an 2008 18M Caution Mayhem. #1 - well done. With a Spleene Door on my feet I could get going in 10 and cruise through 5-7 pretty well. #2 - Beautiful. Very smooth power curve and plenty of depower. I was still comfortable in 25 mph gusts. #3 - Nice I could downloop from only 1.5 kite widths above the water, and the smooth power curve made it a move I enjoyed using.

Next kite? I just got a 2011 16M Caution Spitfire. #1 - don't know yet, I haven't had a really good light wind day yet. #2 - still exploring, handles 12-20mph nicely & jumps way better than my the 18M and very nice float #3 - Beautiful. Raps the turn quicker but still smooth and very controlled. Still exploring #3.

I like what I hear about the Turbine. I hope I can try it on water sometime.

[RobH]

Ah the big kite debate, always interesting to demo whats new, then again Jerry seems to do light wind magic with the old 2006 Waroo. Looking forward to hearing more about the new big kites. I like Barry's thinking in just because a kite gets you going sooner does not make it a great kite for light wind. In 2008 Cabrinha put out a 17M contra that pulled like a truck but just wasnt much fun to fly as it was Park and ride, very slow to turn but it did get you up and riding. Many of the new big kites have gone race oriented as they continue to push the race boards and hope for racing as olympic event. Cabrinha this year made both the Crossbow and Switchblade in 16m, Crossbow is the race oriented kite while Switchblade continues in the freestyle. Really enjoying the 16 SB for the reasons Barry pointed out, look me up for a quick Demo ride if your interested in the big kites. WOuld also like to compare with the other brands given the chance -
Bring on the wind,
Rob

[Kevinousdigian]

I have nothing but rave reviews for the 2011 Ozone Zephyr which also is a 17m kite. I bought one barely used for a little over 1K and my first day was on skis in March. 4-8 mph wind was enough to have fun rides. My first day on water was at Clear Lake opener. Winds started 8-14 mph which again was plenty to take me whereever I wanted to go on the lake. By the time we were done it was blowing 18-25+ mph and I felt completely comfortable.

I've now had 14 water sessions on the Z and love it's:
1) Speed and power for low wind (8-12 mph). I've been out 3 days at Ramsey where each time 6-12 other kiters had to stop kiting due to wind under 10 mph but the Z just keeps going. Fast in the sky like a smaller kite so you can keep it going.

2) Incredible high end: I've been out two days where the winds went from 10-15 to 20-30+ mph. The Z is very comfortable in 20-25 mph winds and over 25 is rideable but when it's sustained over 25 it's time to rig down.

3) Jumping capabilities - both the height and float are awesome. Fast to generate the lift and it really feels like you have a parachute letting you down.

The Z guarantees you can ride in a huge % of days around here and don't need to change kites which is super because time windows are often limited and we can't predict if the winds are going to stay 10-15 or go to 15-25 from one minute to the next.

The only downsides to the Z are a lot of bridle lines (no issues yet but could get tangled) and the relaunch is hard in the real light winds. I'm guessing I need >10 mph to get it up but it could be my poor technique.

I'm riding my 17m down to my TD3 11m and I'm finding there is still plenty of overlap - like yesterday I was on 11 but easily could have been on 17. I'll bet those two kites cover 95% of days around here. A 7-8m is also needed for those few nukin days.

One other thing is the board - a few people talked me into a spleene 54 last year and that is an incredible board - you were all right. Planes early, goes upwind awesome and is so light. The Z and Spleene make a great pair.

Kevin

[johnz]

I gotta like anything with a 'Z' in it!!!

Eu Han, the bar pressure was pretty light - but maybe that's the trend with these new-fangled contraptions - all my stuff is getting pretty old so I'm used to more bar pressure.

- the Z man

[Mike W]

My Zephyr arrives in the mail tomorrow. After watching Kevin and seeing the range of this kite, I am a believer. Very fast for a 17.

[peterrib]

Got my big Z last summer and love it. Handles 20+ and keeps me going under 10 on my Door. Fast or floaty it
shines. I was a little concerned about the long bridles at first but haven't been an issue. Relaunch is good.
Looking forward to a comparison ride with the Turbine.
Peter

[Tighe]

I tried the two kites back to back last winter in about 14mph. Very similar in the air. The bar setup was the biggest difference. Couldn't compare ranges.

I'll tell you though if it's blown 20mph, or even 18mph I'm not going to be riding the Turbine. For the 5 minutes it takes to rig another kite, I'll switch. I don't care how well the turbine does in 20-25mph I'll be on my 12 rally.

[Barry P]

Yes, on a 20-25 day I too would prefer my 11M.

On a 6-20 day (like we can get) I appreciate a big kite that doesn't get evil in 15+, or 20+. It's great to be able to go bigger and still be confident.

[nickfastswim]

For very light winds (6-12kts) F-One offers a 2 line kite called the Source SUP kite. Of course they recommend using big stand up paddle boards so you don't sink. http://vimeo.com/16544532
On the bright side you can give ladies free rides...
I am not sure if this is a new idea to use 2 lines on a kite to optimize it for light wind, but it looks interesting.

[Jason_L]

That sounds pretty sweet! So what is so different about the Turbine and Zephyr construction that make them work in light wind? They come with a pretty hefty price tag but would be nice to be able to ride on almost any given day.