So whats everyone going to be riding this upcoming season??

[toby wilson]

8M, 12M and 16M 2008 Eclipse Thrusters. I saw some of what Eclipse has in store for 2008 when I was up in Hatteras riding with Dimitri and both Eclipse and Skywalker are looking great in 2008!!! All will be welcome to demo my kites and boards and if you are interested in getting Eclipse or Skywalker products, let me know!

I never would have guessed that, Toby. Man, life is really throwing curve balls lately.

I will still be on my (nearly) one kite quiver for 14 knots to 35. That kite is still in great shape.
Going to make the 15m Hyper last as long as possible (until it falls to pieces or explodes) and get a replacement for it.

2 different kites. Both sold out before the end of the season and thwarted my attempts to buy them "new" and sell mine used.
Yeah Brian, if the Hyper explodes or something, my current idea is either a Royal or an Ion2.

This is slightly off topic, but related. How much better do you guys think the kites of 08 will be than the 07 kites? A lot? A little? Enough to really want to hop on it?

[bryanleighty]

I dont know man.. i think in the end a kite is a kite is a kite..
i think the move to keep the shape in the kite, keep tweaking the shape and working on getting as much depower as possible while minimizing the hindenburgs and/or inverting is the right thing..

But reviews are worthless in my opinion beyond hearing what local folks have to say. You guys ride in the same conditions I do and thats where the best info will come from. I read kiteboarding magazines and all they typically demo is a 9 or 10 meter kite in 20+ knots. And for the most part they same the exact same thing.. fast kite, good depower, good for unhooking, good upwind... etc... means nothing for us.. i think everyone here rides their 12 or above most of the year..

oh well..

i think its just a matter of budget and taste .. for the most part.

For me personally.. i want a big kite with tons of low end..
i want a med kite.. that has a great range to handle the upper teens to the high 20s..
and i want a small kite to handle above that..

[Erick]

Yeah !!!! I just became a Senior Member ....Whoa!!!

I gotta agree with a lot of your points B. Leighty.
I never read magazines in terms of getting any value out of the reviews either.

I also agree, different areas have different needs from a kite quiver.
Do we EVER get solid 20 in St. Pete for 3 hours straight? NOT!
Also, we get a lot of days in the 13 to 17 knot range, while also getting some really strong NWs commonly going past 30, so we can't really just buy a 12 and say "done". We also have a lot of flat water specialists here, so some aspects of kiting don't apply to some.

I have to disagree with "a kite is a kite is a kite" though. Every kite has different attributes. I am not convinced one kite is better, but they are definitely different.
Especially the larger, light wind kites that we ride a lot.
The variability in performance of the larger kites blows my mind. That's where I personally noticed a lot of improvement with some of last year's kites.

Because we do live somewhere where so many of our days hover around 15, I am hopeful that the light wind kites will keep getting better. If they just stay where they are at I will be happy.
Please, don't let them go backwards to 2003.

[Unimog Bob]

My Current quiver is my 06 12M waroo and a 07 7M roo. I love my roos and would have probabley added a 15M this year. I want to ride more powered up this year, but I was really disappointed how slow the 16M roo is, the 15m is a bit better but not quite there. I'm impressed by the range and power Scott gets from his 15M hyper and since they are next to impossible to find, I'm going to give the new 14M Royal a shot. I hope it will have the magic I'm hoping for. I can't wait to be ripping it at DP at the SW and screaming I'm freaking LITTTTTTT!

Bob

I'm at the mouth of the Cape Fear river, doing a delivery on a 46' Post sport fish. winds are dead ass calm. I'm glad I didn't drag my gear through the airport again.

[inferno]

my 2007 16m torch 3 is on its way

[bryanleighty]

Originally Posted by Unimog Bob

ott gets from his 15M hyper and since they are next to impossible to find, I'm going to give the new 14M Royal a shot.

I was at extreme kites 2 days ago and talked with Daryl about the Royal. He had only insanely good things to say about the 10m he demo'd. Told me it boosted higher than any kite he has been on before.

My waroo 12m is on its last legs.. I am thinking a 12m Era might be my next purchase.

Its the low end on the kite that will be the selling point for me. Seems that when I am on my 12 I am typically in the that gray area where I could also be riding my 16 powered up.

Less often I am in the situation where I am on my 12 and overpowered to the point that I am thinking to rig the 9m kite.

We will see.. I am excited about the selection of quality kites in what I consider to be reasonable prices.