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Warning – random ramblings may be present - long post
After trying a Waroo 12m at Delray Beach a few weeks ago, I was able to test the 14m at my home grounds today at Crandon Park during the 3rd Kite for Girls Day. The only other bow kite I tested before was SS TurboDiesel 12m. This review is from a perspective of an intermediate rider, 147 lbs (67kg), done on a Slingshot Misfit 128. The wind was 16-20kts from South according to NDBC/NOAA.
There is a lot of info from highly seasoned riders and instructors out there, so I decided to post my review as experienced by a guy that (until today) was not even doing backrolls . I believe that there are plenty of riders who are at my level, either due to experience, age, or health, who are just looking for fun and not necessarily extreme moves (What I saw today was pretty extreme in my book, way to go Clinton!) After today’s test I am convinced that riding a bow kite of your choice will increase your fun out there.
Here are some impressions about my bow kite choice:
Waroo 14m review
– Speed of turning –
I could not see a significant difference in the speed between the 12 and the 14. I am sure that there is a difference, technically speaking, but to me they felt the same (also, I was not testing back-to-back). I am not throwing kiteloops or anything like that, so please keep that in mind. But for me, the kite was turning fast enough and I was not even being extreme with the bar. On a couple of occasions I steered it hard to the maximum (the other bar end pointing to the kite) and the turning speed was more than I could effectively use (I would bleed off the generated power by sheeting out).
I didn’t have the chance to play in the waves much as they were really not too good (1-2 feet) but from the time I spent out there on the reef I’d say that my lack of technique was the most limiting factor. The kite’s turning speed was able to correct my miscalculations in turns across the waves, so when I found myself stalled out a quick yank on the bar would send the kite into the power zone and I was powered again in an instant.
Before today, my main concern when considering the 14 was its turning speed as I wasn’t sure how it compared to the 12 which I loved. I am not worried anymore.
– Bar pressure –
Absolutely the same wonderfully light bar as with the 12m. I understand that bar pressure is an issue of personal preference and I prefer it feather light. Compared to the 12m TurboDiesel, the 14m is fantastic if you like it light. The bridle was rigged on middle knots, by the way. I was doing a fair amount of one-hand riding too, no problems there.
The feel of power/depower is also very light, you don’t feel like you’re doing pull ups when sheeting in. The kite feedback was good despite the light pressure. Without looking at it, I knew where the kite was, where it was going, and how fast. Lastly, I don’t know the size of the bar used, someone from Best could answer that. Whatever it was, it was adequate for the 14m.
– Power delivery –
The only thing I can compare this to is stick-shift driving and letting out the clutch. You can go from nothing to full power in a gradual and civilized manner in any time span you desire. This is not specific to the 14m so I won’t elaborate but it is worth noting that the 14m was very well behaved in this department.
At about 20 kts wind speed, going from ‘ just comfortably cruising’ to ‘bang bang bang ’ through the chop is an exhilarating experience. I’ve never felt such a fast transition on my big C. The acceleration is the fun factor, and the key is being able to have a large 14m down low sheeted out and waiting until you drop that clutch. Suddenly, no turning from the edge to power zone is necessary, the kite is there already. Just pull in the bar and you’re a human catapult. (you can pull in with one hand, it’s that light, but I usually need to grab the bar with both hands just to hold on).
– Relaunchability –
As I was having more and more fun, I dropped my guard and sure enough, I crashed and dropped the kite when its wingtip was caught by a wave as I steered it way too low. So there I was in deep water and it was not looking well.
The bridle was caught on a wingtip as far as I could tell but I wasn’t even sure which side, I was mostly going by feel than sight. The sea was a confused chop, the lines were under water, the kite was rolling in the waves, and the bar was twisted. I couldn’t get any visual on the lines at all. Now, I don’t know anything about relaunching the bows, all I know is how you do it with the good old C’s. After several attempts to get the tips untangled by pulling on the outside lines, the kite was still tumbling in the water in a configuration that made me think it"s not going to come up on its own.
Then I think the magic happened as I stopped pulling on the outside lines and I created some slack by letting go of the bar. A few seconds later I felt the shock waves through the chicken loop as the wingtips freed themselves from the bridle and with a bit of board resistance the rest was a textbook relaunch: kite floated on its back to the window edge and then up it went. The inside/outside lines were twisted a few times but no big deal.
Lessons learned:
1. Obvious but easily overlooked in the excitement of testing new stuff – know how to relaunch – duh.
2. Be ready for a bridle tangle. Going from straight C style to bridle on front and back can catch people by surprise – not as much in terms of how it works or how to set it up – that’s pretty easy – but more in terms of feel when the kite is down.
On a C I know what line I am pulling by the reaction from the kite, by how it twists, by what it wants to do, without looking at the bar. Today I found myself in a completely unknown territory, no matter what I pulled, the kite didn’t respond in a way that was familiar to me. Every tug felt like I pulled on one big tangle with a kite at the end of it. Arguably, lack of experience with the setup, I admit.
3. Finally, how about orange lines instead of the grey/dark red combination so one could actually see them? Anyone?
– Color options –
I know that it’s been said here before that having a waroo of any color now is better than your favorite color in 2 more months but to me the color is important. After looking at various photos of waroos here on the forum I realized that color choice by on-line reference is no easy matter.
I would say that the most color-accurate images are in the press r
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