Tuesday, July 19, 2011
chippi's post
The infinity is ridiculous. Dimitri better have an ironclad patent on this kite. Yesterday in CT, I was standing on the beach watching my girlfriend (5'7", 1**lbs) having fun kiting with my 16m LF havoc (no depower) in 13-14mph winds. Then Phil Burke from Kitewise.com was kind enough to let me try out the infinity. I went out when the 14m's and 16m's were coming back in. I was kiting 95% depowered for the whole session on a crazyfly allround 138cm and I'm 210lbs. It took some time to get used to a kite moving that fast and pulling so hard at 12 o'clock in light wind, but I got over that when my first boost with the infinity was easily twice as high as I expected. After that, I was sold and I'm currently trying to pick up the first infinity I can find. Is it too powerful? I can think about the answer to that the next time I'm the only one out on the water.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Taken from the French KITEFORUM
Bon, je vais essayer de vous faire un p'tit topo de mon test de screamer 9 hier
Ca vaut pas grand chose je suis pas expert mais y'a deja de quoi se faire plaisir!
Au déballage, classe, un shape sympa, des renforts un peu partout, cela semble bien costaud.
La barre, bon hormis les couleurs (le vert c'est moyen mon truc^^), elle est vraiment pas mal, forme des doigts moulée sur le milieu de la barre, c'est bien ergonomique. Largueur qui fonctionne bien et qui est vraiment archi easy à remettre, le tout assez intuitif, il est basé sur le même principe que les North que beaucoup connaissent. On regrettera seulement l'asence de dévrilleur, mais cela reste une broutille!
Les réglages, simples et efficaces, 2 positions fast & slow sur l'aile, un trim assez précis qui fonctionne bien, rien à dire quoi!
Conditions 22 à 29 noeuds apparemment hier vent side on, plan d'eau dégeu qui s'est assagit après.
Première impression, ca tourne vite!!
La présence en barre est bien adaptée pour moi, c'est juste assez présent pour savoir où elle est à chaque instant sans qu'elle soit fatiguante(+ que les Vegas mais bien moins que les Bandit 3 par exemple)
J'ai pas trouvé le bon timing pour monter bien haut, mais je pense que ca a du gros gros potentiel, en tout cas ca plane énormément sur la descente ca c'est clair!
L'aile reste bien stable dans les claques et on a de la puissance assez constante, bref, c'est prévisible quoi!
Niveau vagues, les vagues étaient pas bien formées et je suis une brelle, j'ai essayé de titiller 3-4 fois mais je suis loin d'avoir du niveau la dedans alors ca vaudra ce que ca vaudra, l'aile se déplace vite et garde une traction constante, elle va donc plutôt bien pour ca, même si les puristes vont surement s'orienter vers d'autrres modèles moins typés "freestyle freeride"
J'ai pas essayé de dehooker hier c'était un poil fort pour un débutant comme moi, donc ca je pourrais pas dire, mais au ressenti, avec un peu moins de vent je vais le faire sans me poser de question...
Au final bilan bien positif, je pense même troquer mes Vegas vieillisantes pour passer en LTD 10 m et screamer 7m...
Ca vaut pas grand chose je suis pas expert mais y'a deja de quoi se faire plaisir!
Au déballage, classe, un shape sympa, des renforts un peu partout, cela semble bien costaud.
La barre, bon hormis les couleurs (le vert c'est moyen mon truc^^), elle est vraiment pas mal, forme des doigts moulée sur le milieu de la barre, c'est bien ergonomique. Largueur qui fonctionne bien et qui est vraiment archi easy à remettre, le tout assez intuitif, il est basé sur le même principe que les North que beaucoup connaissent. On regrettera seulement l'asence de dévrilleur, mais cela reste une broutille!
Les réglages, simples et efficaces, 2 positions fast & slow sur l'aile, un trim assez précis qui fonctionne bien, rien à dire quoi!
Conditions 22 à 29 noeuds apparemment hier vent side on, plan d'eau dégeu qui s'est assagit après.
Première impression, ca tourne vite!!
La présence en barre est bien adaptée pour moi, c'est juste assez présent pour savoir où elle est à chaque instant sans qu'elle soit fatiguante(+ que les Vegas mais bien moins que les Bandit 3 par exemple)
J'ai pas trouvé le bon timing pour monter bien haut, mais je pense que ca a du gros gros potentiel, en tout cas ca plane énormément sur la descente ca c'est clair!
L'aile reste bien stable dans les claques et on a de la puissance assez constante, bref, c'est prévisible quoi!
Niveau vagues, les vagues étaient pas bien formées et je suis une brelle, j'ai essayé de titiller 3-4 fois mais je suis loin d'avoir du niveau la dedans alors ca vaudra ce que ca vaudra, l'aile se déplace vite et garde une traction constante, elle va donc plutôt bien pour ca, même si les puristes vont surement s'orienter vers d'autrres modèles moins typés "freestyle freeride"
J'ai pas essayé de dehooker hier c'était un poil fort pour un débutant comme moi, donc ca je pourrais pas dire, mais au ressenti, avec un peu moins de vent je vais le faire sans me poser de question...
Au final bilan bien positif, je pense même troquer mes Vegas vieillisantes pour passer en LTD 10 m et screamer 7m...
Monday, July 11, 2011
Renegade "Infinity" light wind machine
After 4 months of reading and demoing big kites I have decided to purchase an Epic Infinity.
I have been kiting about 1.5 years, weigh 215lbs/6ft tall 42yrs old. I share my kites with my wonderful and understanding wife. Although she needed some help understanding why our current quiver of Switchblades 8,10,12 are not enough. I had to explain that my fat ass needed a bit more canopy to get going when things are light. Light for me is 10-12 mph and up, I am not trying to get out and walk on water, just do some waves in lighter winds and maybe a bit of grass mowing on our slick.
After reading all the pimping posts and the hater posts I didn't want to like the Infinity, I wanted life to be easy so I was thinking 16M Switchblade but this is not a light-wind kite and it was not a kite i enjoyed in lighter winds. No love there.
I tried a Flysurfer speed 2 and 3 19m and both pulled like trains but ultimate low end was not my primary goal. I could like a Flysurfer 21 some day for but for my needs today and the cost it was a pass.
I tried the North Dyno 18M and my first impression of this kite was positive, at times it pulled like a Flysurfer but it could not get me going in lower wind than an the Infinity, maybe 1mph but it was not enough to move me to purchase. I tried the Dyno with the stock lines and line extensions.
I also tried the Slingshot Turbine 17M, this kite has a very clean and large bar. I really liked the under the bar adjustment until I tried to use it under load and could not move it at all. This would be a no go for my wife if she wanted to try it. This kite also needed to be pumped up rock hard or it would jellyfish, it also would fall out of the sky a lot when the wind was up and down. The other kites I tried did not do this.
So back to the Infinity, I contacted Dimitri earlier this year and he sent his demo kite to our local shop for demos. I was not able to try it out and keep looking at other kites. I contacted Dimitri again and this time he sent me a kite to try, I was able to fly the Dyno and the Infinity within minutes of each other. I made my choice and could not be more pleased with the kite or customer service from Epic.
Dimitri could just rest on his personal abilities but instead he is out building great products and promoting his brand. IMO he is a real asset to our sport as he is approachable and thoughtful on a personal level. He never asked me for anything except honest feedback about his product after my demo. My wife says he can come to dinner any time.
good winds Greg Fowler, Winter Park, FL
I have been kiting about 1.5 years, weigh 215lbs/6ft tall 42yrs old. I share my kites with my wonderful and understanding wife. Although she needed some help understanding why our current quiver of Switchblades 8,10,12 are not enough. I had to explain that my fat ass needed a bit more canopy to get going when things are light. Light for me is 10-12 mph and up, I am not trying to get out and walk on water, just do some waves in lighter winds and maybe a bit of grass mowing on our slick.
After reading all the pimping posts and the hater posts I didn't want to like the Infinity, I wanted life to be easy so I was thinking 16M Switchblade but this is not a light-wind kite and it was not a kite i enjoyed in lighter winds. No love there.
I tried a Flysurfer speed 2 and 3 19m and both pulled like trains but ultimate low end was not my primary goal. I could like a Flysurfer 21 some day for but for my needs today and the cost it was a pass.
I tried the North Dyno 18M and my first impression of this kite was positive, at times it pulled like a Flysurfer but it could not get me going in lower wind than an the Infinity, maybe 1mph but it was not enough to move me to purchase. I tried the Dyno with the stock lines and line extensions.
I also tried the Slingshot Turbine 17M, this kite has a very clean and large bar. I really liked the under the bar adjustment until I tried to use it under load and could not move it at all. This would be a no go for my wife if she wanted to try it. This kite also needed to be pumped up rock hard or it would jellyfish, it also would fall out of the sky a lot when the wind was up and down. The other kites I tried did not do this.
So back to the Infinity, I contacted Dimitri earlier this year and he sent his demo kite to our local shop for demos. I was not able to try it out and keep looking at other kites. I contacted Dimitri again and this time he sent me a kite to try, I was able to fly the Dyno and the Infinity within minutes of each other. I made my choice and could not be more pleased with the kite or customer service from Epic.
Dimitri could just rest on his personal abilities but instead he is out building great products and promoting his brand. IMO he is a real asset to our sport as he is approachable and thoughtful on a personal level. He never asked me for anything except honest feedback about his product after my demo. My wife says he can come to dinner any time.
good winds Greg Fowler, Winter Park, FL
Friday, July 8, 2011
Shoe post
Good call on customer support! I purchased a used EPIC online and love it! It came with an incomplete bar system and Dimitri hooked me up with a great deal on a new, complete system. I was so impressed with how I was handled(being a used kite and all) that I purchased another. I said it before, Dimitri has his hand on the pulse of the market better than anyone else I have seen. With customer service like this, I will always see if EPIC has the kite I need before I shop elsewhere. So far, they have!
Cheers!
Cheers!
manuelli post
Just want to let you know about a great experience I recently had with Epic's customer service and Dmitri in particular. I am pretty new to kiting and needed to replace the chicken loop lines as they were quite worn. I posted on the forum (see it here viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2370761) about replacing the lines. Dmitri got back to me within a couple days and recommended I save some money by buying 6mm spectra line from any marine store and doing it myself. It turned out the line I got was too thick to fit through the topmost stopper (although it was 6mm) since it was not pre-stressed. I posted on the forum again and Dmitri offered that I contact him directly. He was super nice and helpful and sent me a brand new chicken loop line direct from Epic free of charge.
Bottom line is Dmitri is a super nice guy and takes care of his customers. This is the second time he has helped me with my kiting issues Just email him and he will get back to you quickly and sort out whatever problems you are having. I for one really appreciate the individual attention that Epic gives to their customers. It has the small company feel and I get the sense that I will be taken care of. I will definitely be going back to Epic for my next kite.
Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to let people know about the good experience I had with Epic kites as I suspect that not everyone knows that they truly take care of their customers.
-Lucas
Bottom line is Dmitri is a super nice guy and takes care of his customers. This is the second time he has helped me with my kiting issues Just email him and he will get back to you quickly and sort out whatever problems you are having. I for one really appreciate the individual attention that Epic gives to their customers. It has the small company feel and I get the sense that I will be taken care of. I will definitely be going back to Epic for my next kite.
Sorry for the long post but I just wanted to let people know about the good experience I had with Epic kites as I suspect that not everyone knows that they truly take care of their customers.
-Lucas
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Mark, a happy customer
Dimitri,
I wanted to send you a quick thank you for the use of your 9 and 10 meter kits on Monday. Your kites were incredible and my 12 year old son had his first 4 mile downwinder yesterday. It was his first real kitting experience and your Epic kite gear was wonderful. I was quickly sold on your gear from Jeff in Naples but using your kites made me a believer. We hope to make it back down again in September.
Best wishes for wind and a great season.
Sincerely,
MARK R.
I wanted to send you a quick thank you for the use of your 9 and 10 meter kits on Monday. Your kites were incredible and my 12 year old son had his first 4 mile downwinder yesterday. It was his first real kitting experience and your Epic kite gear was wonderful. I was quickly sold on your gear from Jeff in Naples but using your kites made me a believer. We hope to make it back down again in September.
Best wishes for wind and a great season.
Sincerely,
MARK R.
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