Tuesday, April 26, 2011

I just spent the last month living with the Infinity in mostly summer like light winds- say 6 to 15kts.
Here are my observations, noting first I am 180lbs and use a Mako King board when its light and in waves. I also own '11 Renegades 6, 9, 11 and '10 14 Screamer. If the R11m had a bigger orifice on it I'd probably do something unnatural to it- I love that kite so much it hurts. Its perfect.

First off this kite is bigger than I thought. Looks around 14m in size- I forget what the actual measurement is tho. That said its light and very well built.

Cutting to the chase, it does go in in very light winds- guys with their little anemometers show as little as 9 kts (actually 10mph which is 8-9) and I am staying upwind without sining the kite. In 9-11kts I am able to jump the kite at will. In 12+ I am putting on depower. In 14/15kts it feels too powerful to the point where I wanted to get off it- which is fine because the 11m will go for me in 13kts.

Others who have tried it say pretty much the same incl one 210 pounder who could not stay up wind on his 14m but stepped on the Inf (and Mako) and was going upwind, riding toeside, kite parked etc, in about 10-11kts I'd say. He's getting both apparently. The Mako + Infinity are great together but points out how important the kite/board combo to be. IMHO the Inf needs a bigger stable platform to operate from. I'll try with smaller boards but in +8 knots its hard to plane out when you are plowing water. By comparison the S14m for me, will only really stay up wind in 11kts but its been a while and I need to do a head to head. I'm guessing the S14 is a better 11-18 kt kite and the Inf a better 8-15kt choice (especially in waves- see below).

I love the turning speed of the new R11m and the Inf doesn't match it but its pretty good for a kite this size- and better than the S14 from memory. Note it seems to pivot better when the bar is not fully sheeted in. Bar pressure btw is just right- not too light/not too heavy.

Jumping. At first I had trouble. The Mako with its concave has to be jumped off the rail, but for me, the faster I went the poorer I jumped (huh?) but when I slowed board speed down it jumps incredibly well in about 11kts .

I had a chance to try it a couple of times in light conditions with small (2') waves. This kite actually made those conds fun (if not epic). I used to hate the S14m when the wind was lite and there was swell (bigger than 2' even ). Now I can't wait for real swell, when before it was too light to go out, the Inf will be a gas, making it not only doable but epic (big swell + light winds = less chop) . I'll still hope for 13kts+ to be on the 11m, but I won't sweat it if it doesn't happen. With a surfboard the possibilities are tremendous.

SUMMARY

If you live in hi winds- gawd bless you. Or if you are a lightweight or cherry-picker who will only out if its 15+ kts, this kite may not be for you. But if you like to kite- a lot- and it spends too much time in the 8-12kt range, you should try this kite. It should mean more time on the water (during the summer in Nassau that could be 15-30 more days easy) and not just mowing the lawn either. There may very well be better kites in this category out there, but I haven't tried them. I do know this one works- and well.

At the outset I said I was dubious about sub-10kt claims but I stand convinced. As always, YMMV.