Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Texas Screamer

Sorry to hear about the surgery Dimitri. Hope it heals up ok.
Warning - Don't try a Epic kite unless you're looking for a new one.
I made that mistake last weekend. Dimitri was nice enough to send my buddy a handful of kites to demo. He offered me up a 9m Screamer to go out on. I said sure not really looking for "another" 9m. From the get-go I was friggin amazed with that kite. My buddy knows me pretty well and I'm sure he saw the look on my face every time I cruised by. That kite is fast, has amazing lift, and fit right into my riding style. I'm usually a pretty mellow kiter even after 6 years but I was sending that kite and getting some of the biggest jumps and smoothest landings ever. Totally Stoked!!
I'm hooked! Told my buddy I want the demo kite to add to my quiver even though I had no intentions of getting another 9m.
So a word of warning, stay away from Epics kites if you're not looking to buy a new kite. You'll be hooked like me to.

For more testimonials from different riders world wide please check this link: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2371920&start=360

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Infinity Testimonial

I had the occasion to try the Infinity V2 two times for now, once with 20m lines and once with 24m lines as I did to yet received my 5m extension to test with 27m lines which should give slightly more power.

As with all the Epic kites (I own a Screamer 12m and my wife got a Renegade 7m) the quality of the construction is top notch and on pair with the best kites on the market. The kite is beautiful, i really like this color. The kite is light weight even if it is well reinforced with good protection pad, etc. Three small struts only, one pump system. I personally don't like the valves on it, i much prefer the larger Cabrinha type valve mainly for our winter season here. The quality of the lines seem quite good, the bar too but the CL look cheap but is well functional and super easy to re-activate on the water which is the most important thing. The two power/depower strap are easy to reach and use, I like the large handle to grab them.

The depower is not as good as other kites like Cabrinha for example. I mean if you release the bar, the kite still pull and even if you pull on the depower strap you still have a light amount of depower compare to some other kites. So the high end is not as high as other kites of similar size. In fact, I can hold my Speed3 21m longer than this Infinity! But normally you will not take this kite when it's blowing above 14 knots but take care if you have gusty wind or remove the extension. If you activate the QR, the kite will go on either side of the wind window with a light residual force, nothing to worry. I was able to safely activate my QR on my Screamer 12m in 25 knots and the kite was standing on the side with little pull.

I did my test ride in snowkite with 164cm skis and I weight 192lbs. The wind was between 8-10 knots with a 30min peak at 12 during my test. The kite is super stable, very fast for such a big kite, very impressive. Nervous, good feedback when you ride make it for a really fun ride. The kite pull a little bit downwind so going upwind is not as easy as my Speed3. The power is impressive, this kite deliver a lot of power when you move it. Not as much as my 21m but a fair amount. My guess is I could loss 1-2 knots with it compare to the 21m S3. The relaunch is very easy for a LEI. I did good jump, maybe 2/3 of the height I can get on my 21 but only half the hangtime but I think this is just realistic numbers as I compare a much smaller projected area kite but I wanted to compare it to the 21m because for me it is the reference for LW performance. In term of stability, it can't be better than it is now, anywhere in the wind windows it is super stable.
The turning speed in my 9 knots average was very good, similar to most 12m kites. The bar pressure is medium.

Conclusion : I really like kiting with this Infinity, the fast turning, easy relaunch and great stability are his most positive points while the little depower is the main drawback. It is not as good as the 21m S3 in term of kiting in the lightest wind possible bit it is more fun to kite except if you are a big fan of huge hangtime and big air where it's the Flysurfer speciality. I honestly beleive that this Infinity is the best LEI LW kite and certainly a great option for anyone that want to kite in 8+ knots and have fun.

View more about other people testimonials: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2372410&start=110