Here is Matt (Sol-flyer)Thames our Pacific NW team rider who is in La Ventana for the next 30 days, if your there look him up and demo the new kites!

Had a quick sesh on the 10m Ltd. Screamer today, Winds were light (10-13knts) but the kite has more low end than i expected. I did not get enough time to give a review, But i really like this kite so far.

If anyone is in La Ventana during the month of january come flag me down and try it out.

What people are saying!

From the Kite Forum:

I haven't dealt with every kiteco out there by any means, but a few now.

So far, I could not have asked for more from EPIC. Under-promise and over-deliver is my motto and it seems to be theirs as well. Prompt, polite email responses to technical and other questions. Timely notices about shipping and delivery and a most importantly (after other experiences in recent years); product delivered as projected and promised. No excuses or stories.

I realize that they may not be the only company out there that behave like this but count them among the ones that do.

p.s. And yes I'm affiliated and glad to say I am.

To read more of what people are saying go to:

http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2360987

Epic has landed in Australia!
Thanks to Tony from Ral Kiteboarding for getting the kites to Sydney before Christmas.
No thanks to the weather for a miserable Christmas with no wind and new kites !

Well yesterday was my first chance to try the Epic Ltd Ed Screamer. I was only able to get out for a short afternoon session in light wind conditions. (11-14kts) Hence this will be a brief report only.

First impressions, the 10m Ltd Ed is definitely a powerful kite for it's size.
I was able to jump with some good height and was also able to easily going upwind in the sketchy conditions on my 129x38 Nobile 666.
There were only 5 of us at our local as the conditions were not great. Most had 12 or 13 metre kites and bigger boards. I was only able to ride for 1 hour from 6pm.

I can confim the following about the Screamer:
* Bomber construction with well thought out features
* So many points of protection and reinforcements without making the kite heavy
* Stable and predictable flight
* Light to medium Bar Pressure on the factory settings.
* Lofty jumps and good hangtime even in the light conditions.
* Kite felt familiar and allowed me to feel comfortable on my first flight.

First impressions are good and I hope to report more back soon.
A fellow rider who initially questioned my choice of size when I arrived was impressed enough with the flight characteristics from shore that he approached me to confirm the kite size. His comments "I was suprised at how powerful your 10 was". So was I.

I should have more to report in the next few days as conditions improve.

Rider - 75kgs wet with 129x38 board

From the OBX via the Kite Forum:

I recently had a chance to test the Renegade 11m in what I had hoped would be a low end test. I am about 210 lbs with gear on and the wind was blowing 15-17mph when I rigged up. Unfortunately I ended up testing the high end wind range. As soon as I got on the water the wind increased to a solid 22+ mph with gust up to upper 20's low 30's. Honestly I did not know the wind was blowing this hard while on the water. The kite handled the high winds beautifully and all I needed to do was depower the kite slightly. Had some very nice jumps on the kite in the high winds and was pleasantly surprised at the height and hang time. Kite remained very stable with the gusts coming through and bar pressure never felt like it was to much. A little flutter in the kite when I dived it but this was probably from the fact that I had the kite depowered. Overall was impressed that this kite could easily handle winds into the upper 20's for me. Now if I can ride it in 14-16mph winds and it works this could be an amazing kite for me. One kite that covers 14 to 28 mph comfortably would be a huge plus to my quiver.

Nice job Dimitri and company!

More feedback:

WOW Dimitri..the Screamer 10 LTD is a powerful kite! Had it out in 14-17N , hell of a pull. Took a little time to tune @ first because bar was set up for the 14, @ least I thought it need tuned , shorted bar, sheeted in the center lines. What is stock on the bar for that kite?

We had the 14 Screamer up first and we liked it a lot!

Going to hopefully get another day around the 1st..Then get them back to you

Also do you have a Renegade you could send me to try?

Would the Renegade be a better teaching kite? More stabile?

Description of competitions for the 3rd Annual Georgetown Lake Open (GTO III)

1. Freestyle competition – Riders can choose between rails, kickers, or just plain big air to showcase their talents for the judges. Judges will be within the spectators and riders and will watch contestants throughout the day for the best overall freestyle rider they see.
2. Capture the flag relay race – 2 person teams, one rider for team races to get flag and return with 1st flag then 2nd rider races to get 2nd flag and return with it, all teams race at once, first team to collect both flags and return wins. This will be a longer race between 2-4 miles for each racer. 4-8miles total.
3. GPS Distance competition – Racer needs to have a GPS for this event. Each day the rider will log his total distance traveled with the judges. On Sunday afternoon the person with the farthest total distance rode over the weekend wins.
4. GPS Speed competition – Racer needs to have GPS for this event. Each day riders will log their fastest speed of the day. On Sunday afternoon the rider with the fastest time over the weekend wins.
5. Big Air Hangtime competition – Riders will jump and attempt to carry themselves through the air for as long as possible. Height is not a factor. Total time in air is what matters.

GTO III featuring demos by EPIC Kites

The GTO III is coming up fast. Located in Montana at Georgetown Lake the GTO III is one of the premier snowkite events of the season. We will have demos of the new EPIC kites for all to try. Come out and enjoy a great time. After party will follow on each day at The Brown Derby Bar. Live bands, raffles, kite clinics, demos, and comps.
January 8th - 10th call 406-546-2709 f0r more details or goto www.undergroundkitesports.com or https://event-manager.compete-at.com/Manager/event/home.do?eid=1801

From the Kite Forum:

WOW...What can I say...Our School was sent 4 kites to try out, 14m,12m,10m (ltd) Screamers, 9m Renegade, to see if We wanted to use them for teaching...Well I have to say that I was a little concerned about the Kites, hearing all the "This and That" about another kite company on the scene. We took out the 9 Renegade for it's test run the minute We got it. We started out doing a 12 mile downwinder in the Ocean with the kite right out of the bag. The wind was blowing 15 to 20, with some gust up to 25. To tell you the truth, the kite did not preform the way that We thought it would. We pulled the "Trim Strap" on the way down, and the kite still had to much power. We rode it all the way downwind like that, and it was pulling Us off the waves, and just setting to deep into the power zone for wave riding. So We decide to give it another try, and We are glad that We did. Here is what We did to make the Kite fly the way the Rider wanted it, not the way the Factory had it set-up.We took the inside lines, and moved them all the way down to the top of the Mickey Mouse ears, which meant down to the bottom knot. We did nothing to the outside lines, which would turn the kite. We did another 15 mile downwinder, and man, the ride was out of this World. The Kite set perfectly in the power zone, it turned with very little bar pressure, and it pulled Us down the line, like a Surfer would ride a Wave.After the second downwinder, We decide to do one more, to be on the safe side, to make sure that the set-up was right. Waves were 5 to 7ft, wind was still blowing 15 to 20 plus, and it was out of the Northeast. Now I can say without a dought, that We had an EPIC SESSION.....Now some of the Riders did not like the light bar pressure on the way that We had it set-up, so they decided to bring the outside lines down one knot, on the bar end. Now on the kite end, We put all the lines on the last knots, fatherest away from the kite.We have not had a chance to Ride/Fly the other three kites, and when We do, We will be back to tell everyone, Our True Findings....BTW, one of the Riders did drop the 9m into the surf/shore pound, and I was about to call someone to come and repair the kite. I was shocked to see that the kite took the hits over and over until the Rider re-launched the kite. The kite was in the impacked zone for a few minutes, until it uprided itself, and went to the side of the window, to be re-launched. We were all impressed on how it held up, and how quick it went over to the side, to be launched...We feel like this 9m Renegade is going to be Our All-Round kite for the Students and for Us when We go riding in the Ocean. The kite has great lift, turns very easy, and fast, re-launching the kite is So Simple. This kite will be very easy for everyone to just pick it up and Go Ride. On a scale of 1 to 5, We give it a 31/2, because We all know that there is not a perfect kite on the market, and there is some room for making things better on this kite, not much, but some.

Feedback from Florida:

Hi, Dimitri, this is Linda in Panama City. I love my new kite. I got to ride it in very light winds, and it showed me that this can be my biggest kite in the quiver!! I was on my tiny board (125x41) and riding upwind in 10-14 mph. Tomorrow, we are to have 15-30 mph conditions. I will then be able to get a feel for the top end of the kite. I wish I had my 7M!! Anyway, I wanted to say, "Thank you," I am very excited about these kites. The graphics and color schemes are great! Simple and clean and built tough. Do you think that a 9M Renegade would be a good one to fit between the 10M and 7M? I figured it may be a good kite for gusty conditions, when I feel overpowered on the 10M, but a little underpowered on the 7M.......would like your opinion...Thank you again. I love the T-shirts and tank tops. Great design, great colors, fantastic job!!

Seasons greeting:

Greetings,
I’ve had a chance to fly both the Renegade and the screamer and I love them.
I’m quite impressed with the fine construction detail.
You’ve done a nice job. You should be proud!
Happy Holidays to both of you.
Warmest regards,
Phil

10m Screamer vs. 11m Nano on snow in Montana

What an amazing 2 days in the snow. I was able to get out and try the new EPIC 10m limited edition Screamer and I was impressed to say the least. With winds 4mph-14mph on Friday I was amazed at the fact that I was able to ride, boost, and make it up wind with ease. Rhett had the Eclipse 11m Nano and I wanted to put the two to the test side by side.

In the light winds the 10m Screamer was able to relaunch easier than the Nano which I wasn’t expecting. The power of the 10m Screamer in the light winds amazed both Rhett and me. I was still able to easily throw 10ft+ boosts on the Screamer while barely being able to leave the ground on the Nano. I expected the Screamer to be a bigger booster but not in such light winds. The reverse launch was a day saver for sure, working in such low winds. Anyone who snowkites with LEI’s knows that reverse launching is an amazing development in kiting, and the Screamer worked better than any kite I have used to date. After a while Rhett broke out his 16m North Rhino since the 11m Nano just didn’t have the power to ride and have fun. With the 10m Screamer I was able to still rock as well or better than Rhett on the 16m. This blew my mind. If it would have been any other kite I would have flown a 12m – 16m but was blow away by the 10m Screamer’s power.

On Saturday the winds picked up ranging from 14mph – 29mph. This gave us the chance to really get out and try the 10m Screamer in higher winds. The power it creates as a 10m is absolutely amazing. With just a slight flick of the wrist up I went. I was surprised at how long of a hangtime that the 10m had. I was expecting just a quick up and down and that wasn’t the case. I went up glided for a bit and then came down. It definitely had more power on the 10m Screamer than on any other 10m I have ever flown. After I was done trying it out for a while Rhett took it out and was throwing down some great boosts. Also the speed of the 10m was amazing while not being too twitchy. I have more Screamers on the way and I can’t wait to get out and try the other sizes. If they have the power of the 10m then I know some big air is the future.

Just got the new EPIC SCREAMER 14. Great kite, awesome graphics and design. Dimitri's new company is looking great, wish him, his family and the Epic team with good luck in future success.

www.vpkiteboarding.com

Steve

Post subject: Taken from the KITEFORUM: New Brand: Epic Kites

“Generous Dimitri sent me a screamer 12 for demo here in NY..got to try it yesterday in rather light but steady conditions. Winds were 10-15 mph..as light as i like to kite in colder weather.

I found this kite powerful, stable and very smooth in lighter conditions and feels like it should get more fun in higher winds but have not gone there yet..will report when i do.

Kite is plenty fast (for its size and power), nicely responsive to bar inputs, perfect bar pressure, at least for what i like.
Great relaunch and great recovery from extreme wind lulls, the kite is very well balanced.
Loved the loops, power remains very steady thru the loop and won't jank you off your straps...
I also noticed you don't need to move the bar much to go from fully power to depower, nice short throw and very effective.
I have no doubts that people who enjoy higher aspect and performing kites will dig the screamer..for my weight (170 lbs) this size is perfect as my light wind kite..i doubt i'd want anything bigger.
I would reccomend this kite for intermediate/expert kiters who enojoy a fast performing kite, loops, unhook...it's not a wave kite.
Good jumper, hang time is up there. Very good construction...tried to abuse the thing as much as i could, it held real well and noticed all the reinforcements are in the right place. Nice small, simple bridal, clean 1 pump system.
As for me, I'm a local instructor here in the NY area and have known Dimitri longer than i like to admit...in fact he was windsurfing back then... i'm glad to see him making such a nice product and i'm ever so impressed at his enthusiasm for the sport !
Thanks for sending the kite Dimitri, you and Momi did a very nice job.

Enzo.”

Here is a letter from the Epic Mail box.

Dear Dimitri, Sorry for intruding in your email box. I am not sure you can remember me; I met you in May 2009 at the South Padre round up. I attend your clinic on the beach and on the water. I was the only European (Italian) in the crew. It was a tremendous experience for an intermediate kiter like me and I practiced many of your suggestions even if only partially succeeding. A lot to learn in front of me. However the progression I have made after just those 2 hours is unbelievable, really. There are many things beside how to close a spectacular trick that fascinated me and that I have learnt from you that day. Those are now part of my kiting. Thank you!Now I see that you came up with another challenge (followed a bit), that’s great and I wish you all the best with Epic!I am happy with the kite I ride which are quite new expensive and great for waves. My old 12m that I use in light wind as a tractor (cab sb 08) has done is job and I was thinking about the Screamer 10m limited edition, the all black- I love that thing! Do you mind if I ask you where I could buy it? Are there any left?
Corrado
Corrado M. Cilio, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics

Well Epic kites is now fully operational, The first load of Production kites arrived in Oregon for distribution!. Epic Kites shipping and receiving is up and running!

Amazingly the first shipment is sold out! But do not despair; the second shipment is on the way!

Many thanks to all that have made this company become a reality!