Power Kite Forum

No longer on the dARCside...

zero gee - 7-9-2012 at 06:09 PM

After 13 years of kiting, 11 of those flying Peter Lynn ARC's I have taken possession of my first ever quiver of LEI's. :wow: :o :puzzled: :shocked2:

I spent all last week demoing some Core kites. I decided on the 6m, 9m, 13.5m CORE Riot XR2's in white and yellow. Best ever LEI's, everyone should get one (or few). :wee: But, don't get the white and yellow ones. ;-)

My Synergies have had it and it was time to replace them. But, with no new 2012 (2013) ARC replacements in sight, I had to leave the dARCside behind. :sniff:

However, I have found a fresh stoke and are excited. :tumble:









http://corekites.com/us

flyjump - 7-9-2012 at 06:36 PM

I really dig the control system. the bar and safety looks like a very clearn set up

zero gee - 7-9-2012 at 07:26 PM

It is by far the lightest bar I have seen. Very clean setup that works very well. The feature that untwists the lines is slick and is effortless.

The winders don't seem deep enough if you wind the trim /virtual 5th line on them too. It gets worse if you also have the 24m lines+4m extensions. The elastic loops will be stretched to their limits to keep it all together. I wind the heavy stuff around the bar and lines on the winders. The safety is a bit cumbersome to reset and requires both hands.

Kamikuza - 7-9-2012 at 07:29 PM

Nice! :bigok:

I'm pretty impressed with the 7m GT I have (just in case!) but it has the old style Infinity QR... you say the Sensor is 2-handed reset?

Do those kites flag to both front lines or just one?

zero gee - 7-9-2012 at 07:55 PM

Ya, the loop is very springy (a good thing for for a very positive release). You have to feed a hinged pin through a small loop at the end of the CL, fold it all into a tight slot and rotate the collar to close it. The springyness wants to open it quicker than you can close it. You have to hold your finger over it while closing. Possible pinch point (but hasn't happened yet). It is getting easier though. The Zeeko is nicer to reload, one of the best.

Both.

kitedelight - 7-9-2012 at 08:27 PM

looks like a good unit,
'intelligent arc'...I didn't know this tech was in LEI kites.
http://corekites.com/us/riot-xr2

did you get to try out their other model, the GTs?

zero gee - 7-9-2012 at 08:39 PM

The Riot is the smoothest LEI that I have tried. I think there might be something to that concept. They have also done a super awesome job making all sizes feel similar on the default setting (everything on the middle knot). The 5m was the friendliest small kite ever.

I did not try the GTS2. From the CORE description of the Riots, reviews from local riders and the local dealer, plus online reviews I felt the Riot was better suited to my conditions and style of riding. So, i concentrated on the Riot only. Guys here that ride /tried the GTS2 are really impressed with it too.

zero gee - 7-9-2012 at 08:47 PM

This is Daniel, one of my local riders, a National Team Rider for CORE (and the local dealers son). He used to ride for Cabrinha up until last year.


kitedelight - 7-9-2012 at 10:22 PM

cool video,

ya, haven't really tried too many kites, but for what it's worth...I really appreciate smooth power after getting my LF 10m envy.

I'm sure you'll have a blast on them. Probably a very different feel than the synergies.

AD72 - 7-9-2012 at 10:44 PM

One of my friends rides Core religiously. I have to give it a go sometime. Still hanging on to my V13.

Kamikuza - 8-9-2012 at 02:45 AM

So if I buy a Core I'll be able to ride like that? ;)

Quote:
...I felt the Riot was better suited to my conditions and style of riding. So, i concentrated on the Riot only. Guys here that ride /tried the GTS2 are really impressed with it too.

What's your style? And what was the difference?

kitedelight - 8-9-2012 at 03:05 PM

speaking of the v13...passed mine onto a beginning kiter recently. After being super excited to pick up the v13, it's a pretty weird feeling being arcless.

isn't the GTS2 a hybrid with very strong c-roots, almost like ozone's c4?
still need to try a c4 out, or now, the GTS2 for that matter. Just learned recently there is a core team rider 2 hours from here. maybe I can get a test ride one day.

PHREERIDER - 9-9-2012 at 08:10 AM

it happens , but hard to replace esp. for ease of use, durability and versatility.

tridude - 9-9-2012 at 08:40 AM

Nice but hard pressed to let go of my Griffin Argo and Ozone Zephyr...........2 kite quiv from 10 to 30 knudos..............:lol::lol::duh::duh:

zero gee - 9-9-2012 at 07:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kamikuza
So if I buy a Core I'll be able to ride like that? ;)

Quote:
...I felt the Riot was better suited to my conditions and style of riding. So, i concentrated on the Riot only. Guys here that ride /tried the GTS2 are really impressed with it too.

What's your style? And what was the difference?


Ha ha, but he actually started riding like that with Cabrinha. :smilegrin:

I've been told I look smooth and relaxed when riding. I like to surf, boost big air, and do some simple old school moves (i.e. double forward with a grab). I am not into those spazzy looking wakestyle moves. I can appreciate the level of difficulty but they mostly look ugly and not for me. So, I don't like a "lively" feeling kite either. Smooth is what I like and that was tough to find in an LEI for me.

Like kitedelight says , the GTS2 is a hybrid-C. Riders talking about why they chose to ride one or the other...
http://corenation.net/article/en/Riot-XR2-vs--GTS2/setlang/e...

zero gee - 9-9-2012 at 07:49 PM

So, Saturday I get to the beach and guys are on 6's and 7's, buddy is on a 5m Riot all day. I rig my 6m. I get someone to launch me. He asks me how the kite feels and I tell him awesome (just thinking he was interested in the kite). Once on the water, I have to almost fully depower to get comfy. This dissapointed me because I could see others flying their (bigger) kites at full power. It had me thinking I would not be able to get the desired wind range from my quiver selection (maybe I should have went for a 5, 8, 12 quiver). 2 hours later guys are beginning to pack it in. I head in to see if anyone would be around to help me land. Being so powered and new to LEI worried me a bit to land it solo. A few guys just arrived so there would be some assistance. Buddy that was leaving asks me what size I am on and I told him 6 and he told me 9, I insisted it was a 6m. I headed back into the water, at this point buddy could read the size on my kite and yells at me that it is the 9m. Do'h, what a dumass. Funny how a 9 can look like a 6 sometimes. :roll: I enjoyed another hour in the waves. I really wanted to fly that 6 too. Turns out my launchers question was of concern.

It is an awesome surf kite! It took a couple sessions to adjust my riding to it. What a blast!

Kamikuza - 9-9-2012 at 07:56 PM

LOL :karate:

lives2fly - 10-9-2012 at 03:53 AM

What windspeed was it?

I was just holding onto my 9m on Saturday in 25 - 30mph and thinking it would be nice to have a 7 or something but I'm a beginner on the water and figured that once my edging & stance get a bit more refined I could probably hold it fine in 30mph.

What windspeed would an average kiter drop to a 6 or 7?

tridude - 10-9-2012 at 01:09 PM

Great story ZG..........you were stoked and in the moment.........it happens and great that you can laugh at yourself............:lol::lol::duh::duh:

How's the delta design for low end and grunt............nice looking sail

zero gee - 10-9-2012 at 05:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lives2fly
What windspeed was it?

What windspeed would an average kiter drop to a 6 or 7?


Two local stations were reporting gusts to 30 knots during my session. It had been reporting gusts to 35 and 40 knots earlier.

Usually, I would have been on my 10m Syn when guys are on their 7's to 9's. CORE states that the 6m is good at 20-38 knots, 9m at 13-30 knots, 13,5m at 9-22 knots. So far, looks accurate, but not tested fully yet.

zero gee - 10-9-2012 at 05:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by tridude
Great story ZG..........you were stoked and in the moment.........it happens and great that you can laugh at yourself............:lol::lol::duh::duh:

How's the delta design for low end and grunt............nice looking sail


From my limited experience, low end seems very good. My buddy was on a 5m when most were on 6's and 7's, there was even one dumbass on a 9m ;-) I tried the 5m on a demo when others were on 6's and 7 as well and I was blowing past most everyone.

The 13.5 appears to be a great light wind engine too. Steers fast for a 13.5. Fun to fly and has pretty good pop.

All are amazing upwinders.

I like the clean design too. But when this place becomes CORE town you better have your #@%$#! marked. :yes:

Still giddy from some awesome waves we had yesterday.

tridude - 10-9-2012 at 06:44 PM

Very clean bar too.............tips are shaped for auto relaunch as well which is great in swell you you eat it...........keep us posted as you gain more time on them........how much water time left in your season?

zero gee - 10-9-2012 at 08:00 PM

As long as there is enough wind hitting the kite when it's down, the relaunch is a snap.

Depending how warm a fall we get, our water season can go until mid November. But that's extreme conditions. More typical would be mid to late October. There have been years when we were done by the end of September.

tridude - 10-9-2012 at 08:12 PM

Nice so you've got some aqua time before it gets to cold............yeah they look like auto relaunch..........nice thing too is fly her to the edge, set her on a tip and forget it........I call it ground auto zenith......go for a water, beer or just take a couple minutes to catch your breath........all you needs anchor point and caribiner.......

kitedelight - 10-9-2012 at 08:13 PM

great story...
you must have been pretty confused when getting out there the first time and being so powered! a 6m that pulls like a 9m! :)

9M GTS 2012 on iKitesurf

AD72 - 10-9-2012 at 10:49 PM

FYI - My friend is selling his 9M GTS. Good seller.

http://www.ikitesurf.com/classifieds.iws?db=kiteboards

lives2fly - 11-9-2012 at 02:06 AM

Thanks Zero Gee. The wind's only going to get stronger for the next couple of months here so I am looking for a smaller kite but realistically once its gusting over 35kts I am probably not going to be out riding. I need to build up some skills in less hardcore conditions first!

I'm thinking something around 7m would probably suit

Suds after thuds - 27-12-2013 at 11:17 AM

Core GT Kite 10,5m

Do you think this would be a good first tube to add to the quiver? Last summer I flew Ozone Caltalyst 6m & 8m

I weigh about 145lbs or 66kg