No Luke, I am your father....
 

after many moons of internal debate I finally took the dive, went with my initial gut feelings, and bought two Dimitri Pro Skywalker boards.

I bought myself a 2007 Pro 130 x 41 and Dan's wife went in an we got him a Pro 135 x 48 Lightwind.

I was torn between getting a BEST chubby 140x47 and a 133 Float or perhaps a couple of Agression boards or even the Nobile boards look amazing (not cheap tho)...but I had been interested in the Skywalkers ever since they came out with their 2006 line and all the reviews have been very positive.

I did a lot of digging around.. few people in the states have these and I've never seen one in person.. they are very popular overseas and on a number of UK forums they simply rave and rave about them.

Finally I went to the man himself and gave Dimitri a call .. we talked for a while about what I wanted in a board and conditions we ride in.. he gave me a great deal on the two boards.. saved quite a bit of $$$ buying directly from him.. and thats all it took for me to be sold on em..

So... I figured not only are they going to be good quality product.. it might be cool to have a couple in our local area for others to take a test drive on to weigh it into consideration for any future board purchases.

I've been able to take test drives on a number of boards from local riders.. now its time to repay the favor (you will have to ask Dan for a spin on his board of course.. ) .. but my 130 can be enjoyed by anyone that would like to give it a go .. as long as I am not riding it .. hahha..

I also picked up a couple used boards.. a BEST 125 drive and a Squall 140x49 lightwind... so .. our days of being Ply-Boarder are over..

These Skywalker boards are beautiful.. soooo damn light and solid.

Now I just need some f**king wind!!!! yee haw!

here is a site w/ some good pics of the Skywalker boards..
http://emeraldcoastkiteboarding.com/...hp?cPath=21_55

Re: No Luke, I am your father....
 

Sounds like you've gotten yourself a complete quiver of sticks now :wink:

Will be curious to see either of us can stay upwind on the drive in less than 25mph ... it's 125x38. I almost bought one but opted for the float instead since I am a fatty.

ya.. the drive will be my nukin board.. I am very curious to see how it rides with moderate power. I expect it to need to be overpowered to really shine.. but I am hoping to be surprised.

the 130 skywalker has a small rocker.. i think its going to perform well for most conditions around here.. wide stance too..

The Squall custom is light as a feather and looks solid. its wide and looks like its going to be a lightwind dream.

Again.. just need some wind!

Toby Wan Kenobi says...'use the force, Luke'...I just need to dye my beard and hair white now...

I am getting one of those super wide skywalkers too, Brian.
I got to ride all of last year's models and they seem quite nice, especially at the price.

I can't believe how much you guys spend on this stuff. I'm freaking out just trying to buy a 16m waroo. You bought 3 boards???? The skywalker looked aroun $600!! Where'd you get 'em? I want to be just like you when I grow up luke. lol

He might have paid a little less than retail.
All those other boards were used at a great price.
I wish I beat you to that Squall board!!

What shop/online site did he purchase them from?...for future reference

I saw the squall (or similar) on Ikite.

yeah I'll keep that site in mind. I threw one of the kite forums mentioned from chicago in my fav's, they had quite a bit for sale. I noticed bryan said they went "in". So I assumed it was some local shop or something.

I think that meant Dan's wife "went in" on the money :wink:

good point, i didn't think about that. GEEZ.....IDIOT!! I quit. :D

You're no idiot. I am outta here too!!

Noob..

i bought 4 boards :lol:

Dan's wife is splitting the cost of Dan's boards (xmas gift we got for him)

everyone in the area knows that Dan and I have been riding homemade plywood boards for over a year and a half. We have spent a total of about 200$ max on 6 to 8 boards in that time for plywood and supplies and used footpads and stuff..

We got by on the CHEAP.

performance of a ply board is fine for riding in flat/slight chop..etc... they are fine for learning and fine for cruising..

its to the point now where we both need some performance rides..

we spent very little $$$ on kites for our first year and just recently went out and bought 4 waroos to cover both of us and the various wind ranges..

works out that he and i are a size apart so if i am on one kite, he is on one larger, etc... same for boards..

I bought my new boards from Dimitri and he gave me a good deal on the two.. I am sure he will do the same for anyone else that calls him.. you can find his personal info on kiteforum.com.. he is active on those boards... just PM him and he will reply..

This was a long process for me to lay down the $$$.. ask Scott how many times I talked his ear off trying to get all the info i could on various boards, etc etc etc..

So I finally made the decision and hopefully these boards are all that and the bag of chips I expect them to be!

boo ya!

Noob, I buy all of my stuff used or on sale... except for my FIRST kite, I have never since spent more than $400 on a kite (including my new 16m waroo). I've never spent more than $350 on a board... and that was new.

The trick is to be patient and seek out a good deal, or make friends with someone who can get you stuff at cost or well below retail.

Failing that, the next best solution is wait for sales on extreme kites since they buy in bulk and sell a ton of gear, they can give gear away at really good prices when they need to make space for new gear. Heck I bet those guys will even let you haggle with them.

I bought a new aaron hadlow board from there last year... it was an $800 board and I got it for $329 (or something rediculous like that). Apparently they bought 20 of them at a time or something.

The best tip I can give you is to use Q-Line for your next set of lines. It will outlast standard lines by about 3-4 years. When they break, you just cut them a foot shorter and re-tie the loops.

Standard line sucks eggs. It stretches, blows itself into knots in the wind, catches on every little twig, wears and fades quickly, breaks easily, and untangling it can take an hour if it's in a ball, or especially if you get a small knot in the middle of a line. I will also remove fingers and toes easily if you get one tangled in it when the kite relaunches. Q-line is stiff and doesnt wrap easily in tight loops so it's less likely to wrap around a toe. I've broken 3 sets of standard lines in the past 2 years but have yet to break a q-line.

yeah wise guy, how 'bout when it breaks in the middle, do you ride 'em half the original length minus a foot??? :shock:


At least now you have two sets of half length line sets :lol: :lol: :lol:

What does the Q in Q-line stand for?

dunno, first time I used the stuff was 10 years ago , I got it from Jeff Howard ( national kite buggy champ ) who also sold me my first kite and also sold me my first spool of 500' q-line. the kite was a quad foil or quadrifoil ( four line ) so I assume it means quadrifoil line??? :? :? :?


Obviously it was used exclusively by land traction kiters back then and the company's name also just happened to be quadrifoil

With a company name that long I'd just call it Q line too!!!

Nice try, BigR! :lol: My lines always broke just below the knot on the kite end. I think it's because they collect the most sand from launching (which grinds away at them internally).

Do you guys buy a spool and roll your own, or do you get them made up?

Bob

Good question. I'm thinking it would be much cheaper to just buy a spool of the stuff since you're buying bulk.

Bryan/Tom--
Thanks for the info, I guess what it boils down to is who/what you know. So most people avoid retail by buying used or clearanced gear. Well, now I just have to keep an eye out for another 16m Waroo...hopefully I can find it for under $400 like you tom! Time will tell. I just know as of this point, I am missing too many sessions due to my lack of gear.

ya noob.. you have to weigh that into consideration..

i bought my 12 and 9 kites brand new.. full retail.. bought my 16 new but with a good discount and got the 14 used for dirt cheap.

i had a number of sessions where i could have more fun if i had the 14 or 16 earlier this past spring.. but i cant complain too much. the 12 got me by when i needed it ..

if you take care of your gear it can last for many seasons.. tho as you get better you will want higher quality stuff.. so that will come into play soon.

its not a cheap sport.. but you can take advantage of some great cheap C kites these days that is for certain!!

i know that if i was in a bind financially i could prob pick up 4 or 5 quality used C kites for the price of brand new 16m waroo.. you might have to re-rig more often than if you were on a SLE but thats a small price to pay i think..

It's true. I just sold off THREE C kites (15M, 18M, and 21M) for a grand total of $450. But, I replaced them all with one 16M Waroo.

Qline is good stuff. I still have two spools of it.

It's not cheap by the spool, necessarily. In addition, you need to buy 2 spools of Qline, unless you want to pay alot and make 1.5 line sets. If you get 2 spools you can make 3 line sets. I have an orange and a yellow spool. That way, I make the outside lines orange and inside yellow.
Ozone and Flexi make stuff that is even stronger (800 pounds for Ozone) and their lines sets are color coded.

In the long run, it might just be easier to get the Ozone or Flexifoil line sets and stay away from the spool idea. Call around for prices.

All line has some give (very little for Qline and above mentioned) while under load, but some lines literally change in length for good after a session and don't return. To me give and permanent stretch are two different issues.

I recently had to put new lines on a stock bar with lines after only one use because one of the lines stretched (for good) 2 whole inches. I threw the other 3 lines in the trash (in a container for environmental reasons).
It's kind of hard to believe that this can still happen, but some line is obviously better than others.

http://www.fksa.org/viewtopic.php?t=...r=asc&start=15

Yeah I see what you're saying. I'm torn between the two types of kites though. I have a c-kite, but, a guy down at east beach told me the best advise I can give you is buy a bow kite. So, I'm not really sure what to do. I feel that since I'm just coming in, I should come in with updated gear. My budget can't really handle buying bow kites though. So what does a guy like me do in this situation? Save for a bow kite that can cover the wind range of 2-3 c-kites?? Or buy a bunch of c-kites and cover the wind spectrum?? Decisions...decisions.

Buy a used 14m-16m waroo for around $400 and one small C kite, or buy a couple of C kites. Do not under any circumstances pay more than $200 for a complete C kite with bar and lines. I woulld opt for one 14m-16m waroo over 3 C kites. Watch the ikitesurf classifieds and ebay.

Here's what I sold my kites for:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...5659&rd=1&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...3908&rd=1&rd=1
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...2174&rd=1&rd=1

That's funny, I just sold my 2003 11M GTO for $134 plus $35 shipping on Ebay. This is a 4 A YEAR OLD KITE!!! You are selling Best kites that you paid $300 for new 2 or 3 years ago Tom. Yeah you CAN find deals out there noob but beware of the condition, try and buy from a local (not me, mine are mostly all sold and the remaining ones sound like they are out of budget for you) but that way you can at least take a look at them. Also, look for people who are getting out of the sport because a lot of times they are much more willing to bargain just to get rid of all the gear just sitting in their garage. Finally, my opinion is that when buying a used kite, you may want to go with a little bit stronger made kite. The Best kites of today are great but the old ones were definitely pretty thin and stretched out MUCH easier than say a Cabrinha, Flexifoil or Slingshot. You can still find good deals on those brand kites, you just have to look a little harder...

I made that mistake with my car. I bought a KIA and now I'm paying for it. I have a part that is on backorder for 2 months and am now having to probably buy a new car just so I have a vehicle to drive. Hopefully this time I'll buy a Toyota or Honda...you get what you pay for.

As far as learning on a C kite, it will make you better in the long run Noob. If you can ride a C kite, you can ride a bow or a hybrid kite with ease. This isn't necessarily true vice-versa. Flat kite riders have to learn all over when they start dealing with the grunt of a C kite, especially at the kites upper end. Learning to depower by edging the power out of the kite is important in my opinion and is not being learned by today's newbies on flat kites. You may even find that you prefer C kites (I do) once you try a bow. Just my opinion.

In the long run a new rider will make much faster progress on a bow. There are only so many opportunities to ride in a given year. There is no sense saving $100 on a buying a used SS Fuel over a year old Waroo. If you’re tough enough you’ll learn eventually on the C-kite, but it will likely take over a year. On a bow if you put your mind to it three months! Once you have some skills you could migrate backwards to a C if you need the explosive jerk you out of your booties uncontrollable power. I bet you’ll stay with the bows. There is nothing wrong with Best quality it is just bull that haters throw to explain the ridiculous prices they paid for over priced hype.

Bob
With flame suit on!

all kites rock.
IMHO

Not the old f one foils :oops:

the old f one foils and cabby's are of course the exception but all other kites definatley rock. :P

Ok, well anyway, C kites are quickly becoming history no doubting that.

I'll quote you on that a year from now Tom... :D

And Bob, I said that Best kites are great now. But if you have ever flown any of the older ones, they are definitely not made as soundly as some of the more expensive ones from a few years back. Do you really think that all things are equal and some kite companies are just greedy? Just feel the fabric of an older Best vs. an older Cabby or SS or Flexi. There is a definite difference. They were good for what they were, value buys.

I agree with Bayflite, all kites rock. Some are just made differently than others. Different price ranges, durability, styles, etc are needed to cover all rider preferences. I personally think that the Waroo is a better all around kite than say my Slingshot Turbo Diesel. But if you told me I was being given a C kite and could have my choice of a used Slingshot Fuel or a Best Yarga...well you tell me what you would choose...

I agree with Bayflite's sentiment that it's better to have a kite (with lines that flies) than none at all and that kiting ROCKS.
But, not all kites truly rock, at least not in the same fashion for each rider.
When choosing among several kites that are of the same price range, it can be a shame to have purchased the inferior kite or the one not suited well to your style. Lots of decisions can be based on what you read or hear as opposed to a demo.

All riders have different riding styles, so it's seems reasonable that different riders would want different things from their gear.
In terms of equipment, one kiter's heaven might be another's hell.

Toby, you said one of your cars wasn't as good as some others you mentioned. Obviously some some people want different things from different cars/trucks. I don't care if mine looks glorious as long as it lasts a long time, for instance.
Still, in the long run, some vehicles are lemons, right?

I wish we had a consumer reports type of mag which was totally non bias (will never happen) or a totally non biased place to get information on kites. It still amazes me when I read these kiting mags (hardly ever) that every kite mentioned is the best jumper, most range...blah blah. It gets annoying reading it, so I don't.

Wouldn't it be cool if in each state their was a test or demo facility to try a bunch of stuff before a purchase? I know I would pay (if windy all day) 150 bucks to try every kite and board I could to match what felt good to me. If at the end of the day I made an informed purchase, it would have been worth it. Really cool would be if you filled out a "report" and gave feedback on the gear. I know I am dreaming and this won't happen, but that'd be cool. The thing is, for beginners (a huge fraction of the market) this wouldn't be of much use.

Another cool thing would be if more demoes occured.
If each company had travelling reps covering territories and demoing out of a van on a regular basis, that'd be cool. I know of a couple "tours" going on right now and others that have occurred in the past. I have always been very impressed with these. Neil, Best, Cab. and others have done this.
The difficulty here is the cooperation of the wind, but it's still cool to try.
I don't think anything is more powerful than a demo for a consumer.

Tampa bay has oodles of riders now. Hopefully that will warrant more demos and more reps coming to us in their vans :)
More brands being sold locally would also be cool.
With so many kites and boards out there and so many riders in St. Pete, it still amazes me how homogenous (relatively) the area is when I look around at the launch spots. It's not that way on the road in terms of the car brands I see. I bet more access to demo more gear would make for more heterogeneity.

Anyway, basically just wishing I could demo cool '07 gear here and make an informed decision as opposed to reading some write up in kitermagnificent before a purchase.
I am glad we share equipment here, but who is gonna buy the first ___________________ and let us demo it? (BLeighty?)

Toby, this topic might keep you busy for a little while. :wink:

good post Scott.

I think most everyone in the area will let people demo their gear for a bit so they can get a feel for the equipment. Considerations need to be kept in place depending on the riders ability.. but I know that I got a few sessions on Eric's Waroo before I bought mine.

Maybe if Eric had been riding his IONs at the time I might be with a different quiver of kites.. hard to say.

But the area is saturated with only a few kite brands and there are TONS more options out there.

Just that for me, if the ones here are tried and true and provide the fun that people want, its difficult to dive into something that is untested and hope that its all the marketing hypes it to be.

that being said.. i just put down 1000$ on something i have never rode before.. just read about..

so..

we will see.

And you cant dismiss a kite product based on how much it hypes itself... thats called MARKETING 101.. get that name out any way possible.
BEST just was the first company to saturate the name and hype products up to the point of unbelievability.. (HELLFISH!) and caused a huge stir.

They were on the brink of extinction when they hit the jackpot w/ the waroo.

Tho, BEST folks still say the Hellfish was the best C kite ever.. just that it was horrendous construction flaws.. who the f**k knows..
(that debate can go on forever)

Fly it before you buy it. Even a great kite might not feel good in your hands, depending on your tastes.

Thats interesting toby considering how many bladder failures and torn leading edges you had with those kites.

I have never had a seam fail on my best kites. I have 6 of them and have had only ONE bladder leak from when I self landed on an oyster.

Don't buy into that hype. It's B.S.

My friend has a REAL EXPENSIVE brand new North kite which has blown LEADING EDGE AND ALL STRUTS 2-3 TIMES in the past 6 months. That kite was far more expensive than any of my best kites and we are planning to burn it as not to put anyone else through that grief.... I am not kidding.

Meanwhile I have been flying all of my best kites, one of them from 2004, for the past year and a half... and when I started I rode those kites every single time it blew, even if it was twice a day, morning and afternoon. Now out of 6 kites I should expect some sort of failure due to that cheap fabric right? A blowout? A tear?

No leaks, no tears, no nuthin. How many best kites do you own Toby?

A toyota will run longer and more trouble free than many more expensive cars with nicer rims and better bodywork... there is a lot to be said for simplicity...

Sounds you me like you are just sore about taking a big loss on the C kites. Arent we all!

ya..

im am going to have to completely side w/ Tom on this one ..

I have all 2004 Best C kites and never had a single issue with them.. and god knows i have beat a couple of those kites to SH!T many times..

I am not saying they are better than other brands.. just that I have seen nothing that would imply they are worse in any way at all.

they have many many many hours of use.. and all are in perfect shape.

I have heard stories that some of the 06 Waroos suffered from some issues with their leading edge seams and some w/ some issues on the wear of their bridles / pulleys.

I have 4 06 waroos and I inflate them with an insane amout of PSI and never had an issue... also i clean the pulleys before every lauch and all has been well with them.

Tho my 12m does seem to find comfort by flying itself into trees (actually same tree, twice).. I guess we can probably blame that on pilot error ..

ho hum.