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

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

Amazed at Renegade 13 LTD

Hi Dimitri,
Just wanted to tell how amazed I am with your Renegade 13 kite, I managed to get some time off today and try it out.
Not the best conditions, 12 - 20 knots, with 2,5m waves.

But the kite was fast, responsive, thought it might stall when the wind dropped and the waves where pushing
me in, but no problems at all, didn't touch the water once.

Thanks
Ps: I now have to sell my Naish 10.5 to get another 9 or 11 renegade! and you need to promote more in Spain, some of the locals have never heard of epic kites, and they don't know what they are missing!

Review of the Infinity V2

Interesting afternoon. Kited from 2pm-5pm. The wind chart does not
reflect what I know the conditions were so I cannot completely
substantiate my claims, I think conditions were 8-18. What I do know
was the when I arrived at the beach Mike Boxer and Evan were there and
neither would go out. Evan was doing an airush video (don't be
surprised if the v2 shows up in the background of an airush vid) and
had his kite in the air while they were shooting for the first 1/2
later when the wind picked up he did some demo stuff in the water
having to walk back upwind every time. This was partially because he
was pulling tricks that required that he use up the little wind power
that was there.

The changes I noticed with the kite which may or may not be correct are:

leading edge curves back more on the tips
deeper canopy
thinner leading edge
thinner struts
foam covering strut clips

The low wind beach flying of the kite seemed the same as V1. Launch
was the same. I even made a flying mistake that I know from V1 in
really low wind results in all 4 lines going slack and having to run
backwards to keep the kite from falling out. In the beginning 8-10mph
I took the v2 out with the light wave wing. Stayed upwind no problem
and I could feel more grunt and bottom end. I even made some small
jumps and getting the wing off the water is no small feat. I was
surprised I felt so much of a difference. The kite seemed a little
slower, more on this later.

Then it went to 10-12mph and I went to the LF concept DLX. Still
staying upwind no problem but now I started testing the jumping more,
no question it wanted to jump more and higher. Moved up to 15+ and I
depowered the kite and kept riding. It was very clear to me that doing
the same things I do with the v1 this kite jumps higher and has more
power. I let Mike boxer demo the kite and he did same as I - small
jumps over every wave when normally it would just be choosing one wave
to jump off. Wind chart shows gusts over 20mph but I would be
surprised if that was accurate, I didn't feel that. I have used the v1
over 20 many times and it requires that I depower the kite one step
more than what I did today.

Now on turning speed. I was not as excited about doing rotational
tricks with kite loops. I have gotten to where that is what I am
working on with the v1 on 10-15mph days and I was not excited about
doing it with v2. Maybe that was just not being used to the kite. I
have a theory though that something has been happening with my v1 that
happened so slowly that I did not realize it. I think it is possible
that the leading edge now twists more than it did when it was new
making my older v1 faster than the new v2. It is also possible that
the new leading edge is more stable and the kite does not twist as
much and is just slower.

Also on the subject of kite stability, I pumped the kite less than I
do my v1 and the tips did not bend under extreme wind and pressures.
On the v1 the only way I can keep this from happening is to pump the
kite very hard. It is also possible that the leading edge on this v2
will soften over time and the tips will bend unless pumped very hard,
however the way the leading edge curves back harder may be making it
more stable.

If I go on the assumption that my used v1 and this new v2 will always
operate as they fly now then I would recommend the v2 for anyone that
wants to ride in lower wind and jump as much and as high as possible.
I would recommend v1 for someone wanting to do tricks involving kite
loops in low wind. If Dimitri can verify that the leading edge will
break in and the kite will turn faster v2 is superior in every way,
unless you don't like to jump.

Thanks for the opportunity to check out the kite I had a great
afternoon and tried to let as many people as possible check it out.
The kite is a winner in my opinion. I probably used v1 for 80% of my
kiting days since I purchased it.

Brokite approves!

Hey, Dimitri,
Jerry Hartung here, the guy behind Brokite kiteboards, just got off the water here in Corpus Christi and wanted to tell you how much I liked your Screamer. I have been looking for a kite that I could really feel good about and I just found it. The construction and design is of such quality that I couldn’t find anything that I did not like, and the same goes for the bar. That is unusual because I can usually always find something to complain about.
I also want to mention that the hook-up with you and Rocky is a great fit; he’ll rock your new C kites.
Thanks, Jerry

a long winded one

This is long winded but I rarely get the advice or impressions I'm looking for from these pages, so I wanted to provide my impressions in detail for those that look for depth. Hope someone finds these thoughts useful.

I’ve got about 25 sessions ticked with the Infinity since I purchased it for travel insurance. Because I travel out of Alaska a few times a year just for kiting, I want to ensure everyday of a vacation is spent on the water with a kite. So light wind riding has become a core component of my riding days and the Epic Infinity my insurance for fun.

My light wind quiver includes a 16M Crossbow, 13M EH Eze, and now the Infinity. In addition, I’ve spent enough time with 15M Naish Cult, 17M Ozone Zephyr, and 17M Slingshot Turbine to form some impressions between all these kites in light wind. Light wind to me is less than 11mph. Any of these kites will stay in the air above 8mph if flown properly and tow me around on my light wind board, in winds of 10mph most will upwind. I weigh 165lbs and consider myself an intermediate kiter.

My biggest challenge on light wind days is keeping the kite in the air when the sub 8mph lulls occur. Once a kite hits the water, my light wind sessions can turn into big swims--especially in varying conditions where the wind gods are teasing and plying me with gusts into 15mph while I’m standing onshore. Issues usually arise with the larger relatively faster kites that allow me to jump around 12mph, which the Infinity does exceptionally well compared to other big kites. Generally 12 mph on any of the aforementioned kites allows me small jumps, glides, rolls, and to play around without thinking about keeping a BAK (big a** kite) in the air to a point. As my confidence in the wind and kite grows, I inevitably over fly the kite to watch many BAKs fall out of the sky and in some cases twist the lines up. The wind drops a bit, and the fun is over while I’m wondering if the ride was really worth it.

What sets the Infinity apart from all the BAKs I’ve flow previously is its ability to stay in the air and relaunch in sub 8mph wind. I don’t want to slam any manufacturers because all these kites have strengths and weaknesses per design; but, of the kites I’m familiar with, the Infinity has the best all around characteristics or balance of what I need for light wind fun. It is very powerful (not the most powerful). It is very fast for its size (possibly the fastest), which gives it superior handling characteristics in tricky wind. When it does fall out of the sky, I have not experienced line wrap or twists--it flies/falls straight down, and can be relaunched without incident (so far).

To me, the ability to keep a kite in the air during lulls and relaunch in the lightest winds during a session are the the most important qualities given that the kite does generate enough power to get a rider on step. (A 7M will stay in the air at 3mph, but I ain’t getting off the beach.) For me BAKs are a balancing act between power, speed, and float--how well does it hang in the air--and most manufacturers lean towards the power generation leg of the triangle--grab on to the Eze or the Turbine--I have to put those kites down at 15mph and the Eze is only 13M--Eric H did something very right with that design--until I drop it.

I’ve ridden the Infinity in all sorts of conditions and pretty much call it quits above 20 mph--it’s doable but not comfortable for my skills and weight. A friend and I had a good time with the Infinity and a skim board in sub 9mph conditions. I believe we were staying up wind but it was hard to judge because I kept falling off the board--no strapless skills here yet… That session has got me hooked for a skim board and will turn ultra light wind sessions (5-7mph?) into a lot of fun for quite a while. 5-7mph is a whole new perspective for me. Unhooked light wind on a skim board is even more of a blast; however, I’ve got to be able to relaunch the kite with confidence, hence the priority given to that characteristic.

At the other end of the spectrum I recently rode in mountainous terrain where the winds vacillated between less than 5 to 25mph. The wind would build behind a ridge and then unload down the valley across Tangle Lakes providing good riding for around 20 minutes with lulls for about 3-5 minutes in between. The lulls were so light, I would just sit in the water trying to keep the Infinity moving back and forth--think horizontal figure 8s with a trainer… When the wind returned it would build to full-on allowing jumps, up wind recovery, etc. I dropped the kite several times in high and low winds and it was amazing to see it relaunch at the low end of the extremes.

When the wind is 12-17mph this kite is very fun and forgiving as well. I normally ride a 14M Screamer in that range, but if I want to slow things down and get a lot of glide without worrying about timing, the Infinity is my new go to kite--it makes 720 back rolls a no brainer move. Many kites do things well in this range, so I’m not going to spend time on impressions but did want to mention that Infinity fun does not stop at 12mph.

My experiences with light wind kites have been a ton of fun, frustration, and a great learning experience. Light wind riding requires a lot of patience, skill, and specialized equipment--good BAK, various boards, line extensions. Like sailing, there are numerous subtleties that forge a line between fun and boredom or frustration. The Infinity has really changed my thoughts and confidence in just going out and trying things because of its ability to generate power, stay in the air, and relaunch in stupidly low wind. With line extensions to 30-35M the kite has allowed me to try some really light days and get back to shore without swimming. I’d recommend this kite to anyone with light wind skills or those that want to build light wind skill and especially for playing on skim boards in 8mph and less. Like riding on a lunch tray or flying a two line trainer on a surfboard, light wind unhooked on a skim board is another aspect of kiting I really want to experience and attempt to master. The Infinity makes it more fun and forgiving than any other BAK I’ve flown to date. It’s always about the fun and experiences…

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.