Ocean Rodeo Flite 17.5

http://oceanrodeo.com/products/flite

Picked one up a while back, been waiting for the bar - back-ordered, but the factory still had to take a couple of weeks off for Chinese New Year

Ocean Rodeo do their pigtails opposite my other kites, so it wasn't till I remembered that I have some pigtails from Slingshot that'll do the trick and let me use my Cabrinha bar...

Forecast looked the same as the day before, and I was happy on the Psycho4 19 so it should be good for the big LEI.

What a fabulous kite! It's 4-struts and low AR with big wide tips (FST) so I was expecting it to pull me downwind like the Naish Fly did... nope! Whips upwind like a Crossbow 16, turns like a 10, I swear! Turns and loops make nice power - easily... it's fast in the sky but not a handful, responsive but not twitchy. Poised and stable but ready to rocS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-n'roll when you want to whip it around...

Ok I'm gushing, but I had one of the best sessions I've had for a very long time! :wee:

... anyone want to buy a bunch of 2011 Crossbows :D

Funny you should mention the Psycho4 19

Took the P4 19 out on Tuesday in what I consider identical conditions to Wednesday... keep in mind:
> I've only used the P4 a dozen times or so, and the Flite just once still dialing them in, as it were. (And I find the P4 different to the S3s... the latter are easier to fly than the former IMO.)
> Was using the Cabrinha bar on the Ocean Rodeo kite... it may have been over-sheeted.
> I'm a fat bastard and am probably using both kites in higher-than-usual wind ranges.
> The mixer is probably not set right :D

• I think the P4 boosts a little higher, sooner, and it's a more aggressive YOINK straight up. The Flite floats just as nicely though and reminds me of the Flysurfers in its hang time. There's not much in it... I'd tip the P4 for aggressive yank and air time BUT the Flite is easier to handle and more reactive so there's more wiggle-room to play with sending and redirecting... both give great views of the tops of people's head :D

• Power and upwind ability... I think the P4 has more power. The Flite goes upwind very easy too - I was surprised by how easily, given the other low AR kites I've tried eg. Epic Infinity and Naish Fly, both of which pulled nicely in low wind - downwind. Again, not much in it either way. Might be a mixer thing... Flite builds apparent wind nicely too, I was impressed with that.

• Low wind ability... dunno yet. The weather report of what we had both days didn't make any sense for how it felt.

• Flite has more bar pressure. Not crippling, but tiring - I was wearing 5mm gloves though. It's about the same as my 16m Crossbow. The turning pressure is the same but you gotta hold the P4 in the turn longer... it's a different kind of tiring.

• Speed of turning, Flite wins. Same for diameter of turn - you can really whip it around quickly when you fish-pole it... sheet out some and it'll almost pivot :o

• Power from a loop - probably the P4, especially if you let it run across the window... I was also impressed with the Flite that you could loop it and let it totally rip across the window - do that on the P4 you get an aggressive pull, do that on the Crossbow and you risk tucking the LE :o whiplash, anyone?

• Stability and gust-handling... I think Flite has it here. Less to worry about in lulls, not so brutal in gusts. The Flite drifts nicely if you play with waves and ride at it... so does the P4.

While you can compare these sorts of 'abilities', it's a totally different experience between the two kites.

The P4 is fun but you have to be a little more careful with it, to avoid stalls etc (typical foil issues) and it's a less dynamic kite, in that it takes more time to react to the bar. You use it more like a cable park :D

The Flite, you can really chuck around and it's dynamic to fly - it more a part of what you're doing. For me, now, I'm going to love the Flite :D

More review...

Construction:
Kite is light but as well put together as any; looks as bomb-proof as the Cabrinha's. The LE is protected with Dacron at the 'bends' and has bumper pads at contact areas.
The valves... OMG freakin' old school! I miss the Cab Swift system - wide, high volume jobbies with no back pressure... they work fine though... just a little more work.
One pump system is good - I'd like to see a little more attention to detail on the connectors: a cable tie under the neoprene bootie, which itself needs a hem on the ends! My OCD is twitching... The Cab system is a little more bling-bling but probably adds $300 to the price :o
Bridle is unsheathed Dyneema... dunno how I feel about that - looks cheap compared to FSer or Cab but... is it necessary?

Design:
4-strut is different and stylish :D The 2 main struts have a deep curve on them, making a real wing shape - like the Infinity. I credit that for the great upwind. Big ol' smooth middles section of the canopy is probably responsible for the great power and float but it's all white... I'm sure I can see all the dusty smudges from the beach and my OCD is going into hyperdrive
FST - Forward Swept Tips - really seems to work to improve the turning!
Venturi - like the Jet Flaps on the FSers. Also really seems to work - never had the canopy flap once, and the kite never stalled!

Visuals:
Nice - simple and uncluttered! Love the rising sun pattern... got green cos I wasn't sure how the locals'd take it but I want orange now to match my bike :D

Bag:
Nice and big; zipper is big'n'chunky so shouldn't jam, and it's plastic so it should get salty-seized. Back straps can be unbuckled and tucked away, making the bag uncluttered and tidy - you could check it in if you were traveling. There's a long zippered bar pocket on one side, and mesh on both sides for sand to drain out... hopefully, before you put the bag in your car :D There's a second zippered pocket inside the 'lid' for spare parts etc.
I think it's missing some external way to secure the pump though - I like to take two boards to the beach so need both hands free :D I like the Epic bag - bungy cords.

Bar:
Still waiting for it :o

Did I miss anything?

Quote:

Originally posted by Kober Nice .... Thanks .... Like to read you reviews .... ..... Do you have 21m FS too ????

Yup. Be interesting to see how close they get on the low end... the Flite has self-rescue handles on the wing-tips too - I know which one I'd rather tow in when the wind drops :D

There's nothing like the boost and float of a Speed - seriously, I take the 15 out in over-powered conditions and unlike the tubes, I can hold an edge and freakin' boost to the moon. A few times I've been looking down on other rider's kites :wee: all that hang time, floaty float and butter smooth landings... can't be beat.

Maybe I want an OR Razor 12 now too :D

Yeah, I nearly got one of those ages ago but went with the Speed3 21.

Something I didn't want to say initially in case I jinxed it... when I finished my session and was driving home, I was thinking "The only thing that'd make today perfect would be coming home to a job offer."

And whaddya know? I did although I only got the official papers today. Woohoo! Gonna get some new kites :D

Finally tested the kite with the OR Freeride bar today...

The world's longest depower line it's about 3m, I swear! It's integral to the safety system so you don't have to have a "mini 5th" - leash goes to one side, so when you pull the QR it feeds through the CL and the kite rolls onto its back. It's a simple and clean system - I like it! I especially like the orange - matches my bike :D

Reckon it was about 15 knots average today, but I was riding my 'small' board, Flyradical L and although I had to occasionally spend one tack just riding back upwind, I could play silly buggers with impunity. Great kite, I love it!

Relaunch is excellent - dunked it a few times; let go the bar, kite goes LE down, rolls onto it's back but there's still a touch of tension in the rear lines so the kite pulls off to one side then gets up on it's tip and is ready to go! Pull in the bar, the kite hovers just off the water and gets going with steering input. Almost automatic!

Re-ride... well hmm. Kite goes totally onto its back, completely depowered, and the depower line goes all the way through the CL/QR body and goes up to the swivel. I hauled the bar back in, reassembled the QR (easy!) then expected the depower line just to feed out till the kite was in 'normal' configuration. Didn't happen so I manually fed the line through the swivel... kite stayed on it's back, despite me pulling on the rear lines. Oh noes! it's going to be a C-kite launch. I was too lazy to swim so I just kept pulling the lines until... I tangle it all up :D manage to invert the kite and relaunch it but now the rear lines are through the fronts - OMG it's actually an arc!!! Got to the beach and sorted it...

I can see I'll have to work on that :D

Great session; really is an outstanding kite for fatties and light wind!