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
