Dom's Kiting Pages

Been a bit slow with the updates the last week or so – thick in the midst of a heinous Kitesurf Magazine deadline, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Either that or a P45 is looking for me with a torch.

Ahem.

You know how the Windguru forecast can sometimes look ‘off the scale’ a week or so ahead, but when the day rolls up, you sometimes struggle to even get on the water because it’s so light? Do you think this is because:

a) ‘Windguru’ make forecasts look really great so you keep checking back, thus keeping their advertisers ready

or

b) Other forces are at work, such as blocking highs derailing the course of the wind and swell, or the original storm that’s creating the low blowing itself a bit earlier.

I’m pretty sure it’s b) since many other sources do the same thing. What’s not as easy to remember are the days when the wind springs up out of nowhere, or the swell arrives a day early, or bigger and better than it was supposed to be.

We’ll keep an eye on this one though – the 4m plus swell forecast for Friday 27th August – and I’ll post a picture up here so we can see what it was like.

Tags: big swell forecast, Windguru

Airush have impressed a lot of people this year with a volley of strong, well positioned kites. First we had the freeride Varial, then the wave orientated Lithium, recently the stunning Vapor X (after a good cross-shore wave session yesterday, I’m a big fan) and now the One.

“Why’s it called the One?” I asked UK Importer James from Storm Distribution.

“It’s got one strut”.

Fair enough, I’d have known that if I’d have unpacked it – and I would have unpacked it sooner if I’d have known that. I was keen to get the One to the beach to see if anyone would notice the peculiar one strut concept. Pumping up was a laugh; no one pump! It’s easy to get the One into a pleasingly stiff airframe since the strut and leading edge are so oversize, about 5 and 7psi respectively is all that’s required.

The bridle is super simple – a y piece each side with single pulley – and it’s clear that the kite maintains structural integrity in the sky via a combo of the impressive sweep of that large diameter leading edge, a very low aspect ratio and the subsequently long and thick strut at its centre chord.

I won’t feck about and waste your time with more words, here’s a bullet point list for now. Full review in the coming issue of Kitesurf Magazine – Issue 61.

- Super swept leading edge makes self launching and relaunching a piece of piddle

- Feels more compact and looks smaller in the air than a regular 12m. Plenty easy enough to throw around for a surf session. I didn’t even bother to adjust the Smart bar from 45cm to 55cm though of course this would make it even more nimble.

- Strong low wind performer with good upwind abilities. During the testing days, the only time I was beaten upwind by anyone was when Denzil Williams turned up with an 11m and a full on race board. I was using a surfboard and Denzil is about 4 stone (56lbs you Americans!) lighter than me.

- Flaps about a bit when you chuck it around on land, but on the water the canopy looks and feels tight. Stability when running downwind is inspiring.

- Good depower, big sweet spot, just about impossible to trim it wrong.

Conclusion: I’d be interested to know what the inflated volume of this 12m is because with those large tubes and long curved leading edge, it can’t be that much different to a regular 5 strut kite like the Vapor X.

However, the advantages of a one strut kite that become apparent after the first session are: set up is quick, pack down is easy and quick, relaunch is easy (no water wheel effect of extra struts), flies great and pulls well in light winds (improved aerodynamics I’m guessing).

The One is a simple, safe, un-intimidating kite that handles all the back office stuff (stability, launch, relaunch) easily. The concept clearly works and it should make the lives of instructors a lot simpler. I’ve no idea of price yet, but maintenance will surely be a lot easier with only two bladders to worry about. In the right hands though, the One is an impressively marginal wind kite with blistering upwind ability thanks to the huge forgiving sweet spot. Feels good in the waves too.

Look at the simplicity of that bridle. The Airush One 12m.

Nice and chunky leading edge on the Airush One

Marginal winds are perfectly acceptable with the One

Tags: Airush One, one strut kite

We don’t have many rules in KS Mag but what rules we do have we adhere to stric’ly, and the most strict one concerns the control of our lexicon.

To keep our lexicon pure and free from the can’t think for myself sheep, me too, all about me, first year uni student, lazy, follow the crowd drivel that passes for humour these days, we’ve established a list of words and phrases and classified them in order of how offensive they are, and thus how unlikely they are to appear in KS Mag.

Sentences you’ll never see in KS Mag

- That’s just the way I roll
- Go on, you know you want to
- If I told you I’d have to kill you
- I’m all over it!
- That’s sooo random
- Let’s do it like we planned it
- See what we did there?
- I’d hit it
- Tap that
- That’s what she said…swish!
- We on fiya
- Dude got owned!
- For the win
- You say that like it’s a bad thing
- Crazy MoFo

Outlawed words

- Pimped
- Bling
- Random
- Playa
- Biotch
- Legit
- Sick
- Legend
- Kudos
- Karma
- Any swear word in front of ‘yeah’
- Shizzle / bizzle and so on
- Amazing (overused nowadays)

Anyone caught using any of the above words / phrases is effectively wearing a ’support abortion’ sandwich board around their neck, and you should take it that you are being told in a sort of codespeak to remove them from the gene pool before they get the chance to do any real damage.

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Right, I’m about half a mile offshore, super light wind, chugging along on my surfboard powered by the revolutionary Airsush One one strut kite (what? Did I really say that?) when out of nowhere the grey phantom menace that is Denzil Williams swoops down and sabotages my tack!

We’ll, it’s to be expected really. Riding offshore in the light wind realm puts you squarely into Denzil’s domain. For those that haven’t encountered the Killer from Kernow, Denzilla excells in pretty much every kite discipline but recently he concentrates his Herculean efforts onto the course race. So, if you fancy chancing your arm on a light wind out-to-sea training session, it’s not the seals, sharks or seagulls you wanna watch out for, but the D-Man. See him here, sabotaging my efforts by trying to throw my surfboard out of whack.

T’were it not for that Uber stable and efficient Airush One ONE STRUT kite, I could have fallen foul of his tricks. Needles (yes I meant to say needles) to say (see), I remained on the plane. I dunno if I’m supposed to be mentioning the Airush One yet, if I’m asked to delete this I will, but lemme say it is without compare the most capable light wind 12m I’ve ever flown. And I’ve flown a few.

I mean that in the sense that it’s quick, light, relaunches well, flies without obvious compromise and has a huge sweet spot. Yes, the Flysurfer Speed 3 will develop a more impressive light wind grunt but you’re not gonna take it into the waves lest you are smoking crack. So yeah, that Airush One is gonna turn some heads – you hear that here first. Did I mention that it doesn’t come with one pump? Think about it…

Now I know how Andy Gratwick feels

Tags: Airush One, Denzil Williams, sabotage

I don’t know how many of you are aware, but I also edit SUP Magazine in my spare time and a new issue has hit the shelves this summer. However if you cannot wait till you are inside a good surf/kite shop to pick up a copy, you can view it online for free, here!

I’m not gonna tell you what’s in it, just click and read it!

Sup Issue #4 cover

Tags: SUP Magazine

I’ll keep it brief, and you didn’t hear this from me right, but the F-One Bandit 4 is nearing completion. It’s a little later this year; Raphaelle Salles and Silvan (boss and designer of F-One respectively) always make stacks of proto-types, and this year, they’ve surpassed even themselves.

I flew the 9m with a surfboard and twin tip in a good blow for about 1hour. I’ll be doing a full review in primo conditions this September on the F-One press trip in Mauritius, and the report will go into Kitesurf Magazine.

OK – so primary changes:

Design:

1. Thee struts

2. Different C-profile. Not more C, not less C, just curved in different spots

3. A new bar with a re-designed safety is in the offing, BUT the 4 still works perfectly with the 3 bar

4. Wingtips are much more squared off

5. Not so fat in the middle, fatter in the tips, but still a delta.

In flight:

1. More urgency to the steering – many will prefer the Bandit 4 handling to the Bandit 3. Put this lively feel down to the wider tips

2. Easier to hit the boost button with it

3. Same massive wind range as the Bandit 3

4. Even smoother and more forgiving when powered / in choppy conditions than the Bandit 3

5. Better kiteloops; the Bandit 3 was good, but the 4 flies up even faster to the zenith and gives you a nice lift on the way down

In the short time I had to fly it, the 4 feels to have all the versatility of the 3, but the last few remaining quirks that were putting off die hard hybrid or C fans have been ironed out. I was most impressed with the direct feel of the 4 over the 3. I personally anticipate it will be an even better kite in the waves for this.

Brief details over. Expect the same stellar build quality and Dacron Force Frame and Integrated Struts, oh and EVO bridle. Here are a few shots I grabbed, REMEMBER THESE ARE PROTOTYPES so there are no graphics and that’s why there are so many bridle connection points on them.

More volume in the tips and less in the centre on the Bandit 4

Three strut design

The EVO bridle is still in effect

Squared of B4 wing tips

It's a distant shot, but you can see the B4 on the left compared to the B3 towards the right

Tags: Bandit 4, F One, Prototype kite

OK so by now you should know that F-One are releasing a 2-line kite for use strictly with Stand Up Paddle boards. Click here if you need to be brought up to speed. I’ve got a few more shots of this clever bit of kit to share with you, so check ‘em out!

Pumping Up

F-One Source bar; a QR version will be released

Bridle saver to keep the cross-over tangle free in storage

The squared off tips of The Source

Dom Yule in about 6 knots

Fellow journo Soern from Kiteboarding.eu

F-One boss Raphaelle Salles

The F-One Source 13m canopy

Source bridle close up

And now a quick demonstration of the relaunch in pretty much bugger all wind; I mean, look at that sea state…

Relaunch in SUB 4knots: Stage 1

Relaunch in SUB 4knots: Stage 2

Relaunch in SUB 4knots: Stage 3

Tags: F-One Source, light wind kiting, pics

Funny how a short trip can leave you feeling more refreshed and like you’ve been away longer than a two week holiday.

I’m at home now, flicking through some shots I captured on the phone of our four days in France. I was out there with Rou Chater from IKSURF mag, Jim Gaunt from Kiteworld and Dom Yule, UK F-One rep. Jim, Rou and I travel together frequently to industry trips and meetings, and I think we’re in a bit of a golden age right now because let me tell you it’s always a lot of fun. Dom Yule’s seemingly a mutual friend of the entire world so never a dull moment when he’s about!

F-One once again looked after us in superb style. Our hotel was beautiful and tranquil and even had a robot cleaning the pool. The F-One crew structured the whole meeting perfectly so there was ample equipment to play on and lots of opportunities to chat with boss Raph and designer Silvan and the F-One team.

It’s the fourth year that I’ve been able to witness the evolution of this brand close-up, and each year their commitment and vision is very inspiring.

Below are some highlights as captured on the CrackBerry; no riding in these but look out for more content and reviews of The Source and other kitey stuff that went down in the next issue of Kitesurf Mag, out mid August.

Kept this stuff under control

The grounds of our digs in the Carmargue

This cake was surely made from clouds

This dog was able to hang by its teeth from that crunched up bottle

The Carmargue is the home of the white horse. And the mosquito.

Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

Here’s a simple quick video of myself and Dom Yule larking around with a couple of SUPs and an F-One Source kite. 4-6knots of wind or so and yer grinning…

Tags: F-One Source, tandem kiting

Here’s a quick video I shot on my BlackBerry of the F-One Source kite in action in clearly less than 4 knots of wind.

Check the kite canopies standing upright and lack of whitecapping on the water – it really was getting still. Granted, this type of session won’t satisfy those itching to land their latest handlepass combo, but bear in mind who SUBKiting is aimed at: people who don’t kitesurf.

SUBKiting stands to get a new lot of people into kiting, that’s a good thing. What’s even better is if those people learn with a two line kite and no depower – contrast that with those that rely on ditching the bar to slow down…

Tags: F-One Source, light wind kiting, SUB Kiting