I am looking for a lightwind kite to compliment my 12m Aero II. I want a higher aspect kite around the 16m size. I am looking at the North Rhino, Naish x4 or Cabrinha Contra. The Contra looks to be the go, has anybody had any experience on this kite, or the others? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Dont go high aspect ... go mediun....e.g. vegas , matrix , Co2/contra or fuel. heaps more grunt and better for new school moves than that
high aspect shit.

hey but thats just my 2 cents. :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

Medium aspect??? That's so last year
Go High aspect, get a kite that is really solid, grunty and really fast.

Big kite: gotta have high aspect, fast moving and turning, big lofty jumps!!
Why would you want a slow moving bus.

I am very keen on the Cabrinha Contra, as the world wide forums have nothing but awesome reviews. Still havent seen one in NZ yet, does anyone have any experience on this particular kite?

gotta go high aspect....if nothing else but the greater range. Even the old x2 and x3's still are prety good....

Saw it at orewa today but i'm not gonna print what he had to say about his kite.

Bladder problems were driving the guy nuts... as they did in Fiji.....

I don't think the bladders will be as bad as they used to be on early models, they have learned that lesson by now. But the new fabric on the leading edge on the kite I saw was so light there could be issues with the tube unseating itself. Then causing headaches...
But checking the international forums is a good idea...
Kiteforum.com
kiteboarding.be

Get your hands on the X4 the Best Nemesis and the Contra and try them for yourself. North probably have somthing new too.

Have fun shopping around.

PS, Orewa was fun today, Friday looks even better.

If you want to have a look at the new Contra go down to Jamie at WSP in Barrys Point Rd. They are the importer for Cabrina and very helpful. I have not had a chance at using one my self, so I dont want to pass comment.

I can tell you that my first kite was a 12 meter North
North in my opinion, have always produced awesome kites.
If you are not worried about price, then they are a good kite to go for.

I had a read of Lees comments on his website and totally agree with what he had to say about media propaganda. Dont worry your self too much about all the new gimmicks each product has to offer.

Chat to guys on the beach and try a few different kites..

What are you smoking? He asked about a light wind kite! I'm afraid there's nothing wrong with the x2, x3's but they don't work for average size riders in the big sizes, I had a 18, and it was very well behaved, but I needed a pretty special lightwind wide tray to go in the light stuff. And you needed to ride real fast to get the power..
With a wavetray 147 it started around 10-12 knots (about the same as a 12 x2).
Anyway, the aspect ratio isn't the definition of light wind performance, lots of other factors, which are hard to see in a kite make any particular kite good in light wind. depth of foil, draft, ridigity, centre of effort etc.
Prime example North Rhino 2 18/20 - medium - high aspect, and super grunty, medium aspect 16 C02 - very middle of the road, X2/X3 - definite high aspect - low grunt.
I think Lee is pimping for the Best kites maybe? Having said that, they are medium- high aspect, and are reported to have a good low end.. bit like the North R4?

check out www.kite-surf.com
has some interesting reviews of lots of kites (lots ive never even heard of). some worth a read, others im not so sure about.....

check out www.kite-surf.com
has some interesting reviews of lots of kites (lots ive never even heard of). some worth a read, others im not so sure about.....

Hi Aklbob, sorry i thought most guys know me... yes I own Anabatic Kiteboarding and we are the NZ agents for BEST kites in NZ.
And yep their big size kites rock in light winds.

I agree with your findings on those other models you mentioned. I have found similar results and I get to ride so many different kites.
I have heard the new X4 from Naish is supposed to be a big improvement on last years X3. But Naish will be pushing the TORCH mid aspect kite harder this season than the X4.

The North kites are looking pretty nice too. (no I don't sell them).

....Almost forgot!

tune into the Sports Cafe tonight

Hi Aklbob, sorry i thought most guys know me... yes I own Anabatic Kiteboarding and we are the NZ agents for BEST kites in NZ.
And yep their big size kites rock in light winds.

I agree with your findings on those other models you mentioned. I have found similar results and I get to ride so many different kites.
I have heard the new X4 from Naish is supposed to be a big improvement on last years X3. But Naish will be pushing the TORCH mid aspect kite harder this season than the X4.

The North kites are looking pretty nice too. (no I don't sell them).

....Almost forgot!

tune into the Sports Cafe tonight

Seems my new web server is now so secure at www.anabatic.co.nz even I have been locked out. So I can't publish this breaking news on my own web site.

Tune into the Sports Cafe TV show tonight.
Local Kiter Armie Armstrong is going to be giving the whole sport a bit of a plug while being interviewed tonight.

We cut together some local Orewa footage I had and he also took some great stuff from NAISH.
So lets hope he get more than his 15 sec of fame.
((( Good on Ya! Earl and Armie for getting the sport back on the telly)))

...ooh yeah if you thought the weekend was good.. it was.
Orewa went off. So many riders had an epic weekend.
9am Saturday was my best session with a few mates out before I had to go and open the shop. Rich, Jered, Stu and I were out there early. And it just got better from there.
Lets hope we get more weekends like that.

Monday morning was insane too... real 12m weather and great surf.
Armie, Earl, Mike and I had a fantastic session before the front arrived.
Afer six days in a row of Kiting Tuesday was a nice day to recover and re-hydrate.

hey I missed the kitesurf stuff last night on Sports Cafe, any thing interesting? :twisted:

hey I missed the kitesurf stuff last night on Sports Cafe, any thing interesting? :twisted:

I missed Sports Cafe was it worth seeing...what I miss??
:twisted:

I didnt see Sports Cafe...what I miss??
:twisted:

The high AR kites that i've used in light winds have all been gutless. I've used the 16m R2 and not even that impressed... goes great in 15-20 knots though.

Obviously it depends if you want a kite for 10 knots or for 15. Either way i have yet to find a kite that beats my 20m AERO (the first one). I'd go for low AR or med AR, then you also get the bonus of being able to relaunch if you crash.

Hey Lee is the 21m Nemisis the most powerful kite you've used?

hehe , I know who you are Still lurking around let's not tell Shann!

hello Mr thrasher,

Watch out there seems to be an echo, echo, echo....
so i will post this only once, once, once...

I don't have a 21m kite but it sounds pretty darn good if you read the review JK posted here a while back on a different thread. i am very tempted to get one.

I am riding a 16m kite for the light winds, it is a Best Nemesis.
Real nice too.
Jered is riding the 18m version and is charging on it.
Might have to bump my kite size up to that, or keep the 16 and add in a 21m.

Given its blowing 30knots all week i am in no hurry to change my quiver just yet. But I am weak when it comes to buying myself new kites, its an addiction of sorts.

The new high aspect kites are going really well for power in the light winds. My 16m has more low end grunt than my X3 18m.
really am finding that i like the feeling of high aspect over low aspect.
That is a really big change in design in just 12 months.

A lot of it comes down to weight and board size , speed etc.
And then personal preference.
Plus you really can trim kites and squeak a lot more out of them if you know what your doing.

That's it, it's personal preference, and what's the current flavour of the month with manufacturers..
From overseas, the latest push is to 6' strapless surfboards and 12m kites for light wind, surfing the waves, I would imagine that would be the best fun out at Orewa in summer.. (no pun intended !)

(Quite funny, I actually learned to kitesurf on my 6'6" surfboard with no straps ! I was ahead of my time

Best this, Best that.... have they fixed their issues with the struts ripping off in 2 knots over the recommended wind strength?

Lee, please I'm a little over the 'Best' kite thing!!! We know they are OK

Regards

The spokes person for the masses

Billy Boy, where did you hear that, or are you full of shite just like the masses?

PS.... Thrasher, shouldn't you be at work. If you haven't got the time to kite then you shouldn't have the time to post here about that old red flag of yours. Has it turned yet or are you still waiting for it?
Having ridden yours and the 16m Best I now what I would rather fly in 10knts.... 18m Best!

Billy Boy, you are a little shy for a spokes person who ever you are?
And more than a little off topic..... so "your fired".
This topic is mostly about what light wind kites are out there and what experiences riders have to share. like the High or mid aspect debate.

Akl Bob hits it on the head with the surfboard idea.
I have a 7'2" big wave gun I'm riding when its 10knots with my 16m.
Plenty of guys out there think riding surfbords is a bit lame, but if you can surf its great to get the old board out and give it a go strapless. Especially if there are a few waves to knock you around.

Its a real challange and lets face it when its only 10knots and you don't have an out going river current to play with the surf board is heaps of fun.

Heaps of differnt rider styles taking the sport many different directions.
I just added a NAISH MTX (mutant style) board into my quiver with my Slingshot 139 cm SX Twintip. So it is a lot of fun jumping between the two and trying different styles of boards as well as kites.

... oh shit i forgot to mention "that brand" in this post.
Suppose I'm in trouble for mentioning NAISH and SLINGSHOT.

aklbob the best kite size suited to a 6ft surfboard at orewa during summer is no kite at all.. doesn't a kite need wind to fly? i'm sure the rumoured 25 knot NE winds at orewa will return one day but they tend to take a long vacation as of late.

I think you mite need to get that 21m Best Lee or you'll get into strife once the river dries out. Last La Nina was 98/99 summer so if La Nina is this summer as well then hopefully we won't be needing the 21m Best and Orewa will be reunited with it's sorely missed Noreasta ans we'll be thinkin about 4m and 6m kites instead... heres hopin.

Hey JK you still got that 18m Best on ya? I'm keen on givin it a blam in a steady 15 knots over da summa, unless i'm workin of course. What da heck.... letz just go for the 21 or my 141LT gathers cobwebs over the summer otherwise.

The best super light wind ride is on a wakeboard behind a wakeboard boat loaded down with lots of scantily clad, big breasted chicks. Well then I guess that would be two light wind rides...

What's this JK? Are you flying a Best flag now?? What happened to the slingy? I agree, thrashers red flag is not getting any newer, but it always seems to be getting more and more powerful

Even thrasher says he'd rather be on his 12 once the wind gets over 12-14 knots..

But I'm a fan of a big kite that can give a quick whipback, its the power spike that's important with a big kite, that's what gives you the pop, makes it easier to edge for a jump, especially when overpowered..
--------------
You should try a yarga JK, I've heard good things about them too, and there is a new cheaper BEST kite coming out, called the GRUNT, lower aspect by the looks of it.. and I've heard they are bringing out a kite harness too!

Agreed, but an even better lightwind ride can be had with a g/f....
No petrol required, and water is optional
I saw some pics at the kite expo of BEST merchandise, they sell those teenie weenie black bikini bottoms and white tops with the flying fish on them, just the perfect christmas gift for the g/f
Make ya own best girl

No still on my SS AklBob but if I were after a lite wind kite (well might be as Summer comes on) then Best would be up there in the runnings.

However, the only issue I have is now that I've been on the one pump for a while, I just can't be assed going back to all those valves!