Hey guys.
I've got a busy day ahead but I just wanted to drop you both a quick note
to talk about first impressions. I posted a
review on a local site (www.thechickenloop.com) will it was late and I'll
give it further thought before I post on
kiteforum and others.
I tested the 10 Limited and 9 Renegade (thanks Terrie). The 10 has balls
and I can see why this will be a favorite with
racers. On the snow I got moving pretty fast, so I was always speed
checking. The snow had hard ice under it, so I
wasn't willing to test my body that hard if I messed up. I didn't boost the
kite for that reason as well. Gimmie a
couple sessions and I'll get more comfortable on it and push things. Easy
to set up, easy to launch (the LTD is as
easy to self launch as the Nano was). I was flying this depowered as the
wind was pretty light (8 or 9 knots). But it
picked up quickly to 12 knots or so and I felt pretty juiced for the snow.
Someone made a comment about having to
walk downwind... .I can confirm this. This baby drives upwind hard. I had
to loop the kite once or twice to get back
to the set-up area. Very nice kite, very impressive. Oh... stability
wise... I was able to fly the kite and get in my
ratchet bindings with realative ease. If you've never done this... it's
REALLY hard with a twitchy kite. The LTD
handled it pretty easily.
It got windy, so I put up the Renegade. Hands down this will be my favorite
kite this year. Way too easy relaunch,
unbelievable stability, smooth power delivery, forgiving kite, nice load
and pop moves, excellent wind range. Both
kites made me feel safe, but the LTD was more responsive in the gusts,
where the Renedage ate them up at the bar
and didn't want to pull me off edge.
THings that could be improved> Just a thought. Small pump isn't too bad,
but it's harder on the back. The leash
came unhooked from the safety line.. not sure what I did, but I looked down
and it was off. The leash QR is a really
tight fit. So very little to comment on.
Nice gear and I look forward to the next session. With some powder I'll be
able to drive the LTD a little harder. For
the packed stuff, the 9 meter was the ticket.
Also, the Renegade will be the ultimate
teaching tool.
take care
brian
