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Tag Archive: Review

  1. Ocean Rodeo Prodigy review

    2 Comments

    Here we go, time for another one of my rare reviews of the kit that I in fact responsible for marketing :) But before you grow concerned that I might be spinning you a bit of a yarn, the fact that I represent Ocean Rodeo insulates you against any chance of me lying, for if I was to tell tall tales about the Prodigy kite, you would only need to fly it to rumble my ruse. Ergo, I am honour bound to be truthful and accurate in this report so as to maintain my integrity, which I hope I have some of.

    9.5m Prodigy, as do-it-all a kite as you’re likely to find

    About the Prodigy

    In 2012, the Ocean Rodeo kite line up was pretty well fleshed out, but there was one thing missing: a kite that didn’t cost (cue Dr Evil voice) One Billion Dollars! OR’s legacy kites like the Razor and Rise are premium products, not cheap, feature packed and constructed with meticulous attention to detail. Very nice, but not competitive in the burgeoning accessible / affordable freeride kite market. Also, the Razor is a ballistic kite, and the Rise required quite a deft touch to fly. Neither really suited the catch-all demographic that three strut kites were appealing to.

    So, the Prodigy has two clear aims to live up to: be competitive in price against the freeride offerings of other brands, and to be very easy to fly.

    Price

    Here’s what the 9.5m Prodigy complete with Freeride bar costs the consumer: £950 all in. Whew! That is 2009 prices. Get on. Get in! Say no more. Maybe click here to buy (he said cheekily).

    The 12m Prodigy has obvious low wind powers

    Performance

    I’ll do this part first, then talk a bit about build. Now, I’ve flown the Prodigy more than anyone else on the planet, save Richard and Ross at OR who designed the kite. But then again, I did have three weeks in Brazil where I rode every single day for many hours, so probably it is me that’s flown it more than anyone else, finished version at least.

    - General riding

    I think that one of the best indicators that a kite is good is how long you want to stay on the water for. If you find yourself coming in because you are exhausted, aching, or getting bored, I think you’re not flying the right kite. The Prodigy is one of those kites that keeps you trucking till sundown. It takes little physical and mental effort to fly. This is because it has a nice rolling turning motion and stays rather central to the power zone, meaning it’s easy to keep a good board speed up. So despite not punching way forward in the window like the Razor, upwind is very easily attained because the power is constant as you navigate lulls and peaks in the wind, lumps and bumps in the ocean. Flightier kites are more affected by shifting winds and that can cause the rider to drift downwind as they have to work it for power again. A kite that sits deeper and provides more constant pull gets round this problem, and since I often kite in gusty frontal winds, I like this aspect of the Prodigy.

    There is a stack of depower at the bar on this kite, and it has the usual Ocean Rodeo trick of remaining manoeuvrable with a load of slack in your rear lines, such as when you’ve sheeted in a lot because you’re flying a size to big. We all do it. I don’t mind this on the Prodigy, I can hold my 9.5m in a real blow; it doesn’t swing around and lurch you about when depowered, meaning you can still get your ripper top turns in!

    Fading into the bowl to set up for…

    - Surfing

    This is what I primarily use the Prodigy for. I’ve caught some whopping great waves on it, slashed up shorebreaks on it, reefbreaks, points, the lot. In big waves, it is a very dependable tow source; I will admit that I used to drop the Razor a bit when coming off a big off the lip as it went a bit slack in the lines a bit too early. The Prodigy is different, I’ve made some horrendously ambitious lip bashes, sometimes being pitched out into the flats, and even if the wind’s onshore, the Prodg will stay skyward. Most people find themselves kiting waves when it’s onshore (beats paddling!) so for the kite to float like a balloon whilst you rush towards it is a massive asset.

    Cross shore, you need to give the Prodigy a clear command at the bar to get it to turn tight – and it will. I know that the Prodigy allows for very tight turns of your board thanks to the compact turning radius which the kite will operate in. You should however know that the Prodigy’s steering is set to protect the rider from false moves at the bar; twitchy it is not. The Razor turns far quicker which really appeals to big hitting freestylers like Craig Smith, but these days I prefer a 4×4 truck to a turbocharged hot hatch. Very tight and fast turning kites tend so slow down through the air which in turn slows your board speed down and the effectiveness of your turn. The Prodigy is well paced to match a surfboard’s natural sweeps and carves as you go down the line and it’s plenty connected enough for a tight, compact smack of the lip.

    …one of these! Kapow. This is under the 9.5m Prodigy.

    I also think it’s a myth that kites need to be lightening quick. Progression does not come from having to constantly wonder about where your kite is; all modern tricks are rooted in edge and release which require no movement of the kite. Things need to be balanced.

    Board off evidence, and that’s the 12m up in the sky!

    - Jumping and stuff

    I don’t do a lot of this (that’s not to say I haven’t hit the launch button a million times over the years), but in Brazil I rediscovered my love of the twin tip on a particularly delicious lagoon. Stupidly I left my JT-Pro 140 at home thinking I would only ride my Surf Series 5’11, but a client kindly lent me their twin tip for a few sessions.

    I used the 12m every day till it got too dark to kite. The winds were light and fluffy in this lagoon, often there was only one or two riders out plus me. This is a good time to mention the low end potential of the Prodigy. I haven’t experimented with the 7m low wind ability and probably never will, but the 9.5m gets going like a good 10m or a crappy 11m (you know which ones I mean!). The 12m is as big as I’d need to go. After that, I’m going swimming, or playing outdoor table tennis.

    The 12m hangtime is generous, generous enough for me to land my first board off attempt in about five or six years. That’s that covered. Unhooking, yep, you can get a pretty satisfying kiteloop out of it and the kite retains its composure when you don’t trim it properly and choke it up a bit; it resists the tendency to ‘fold’. Not a facet that experienced flyers will really notice but novices, instructors and first time unhookers will be glad of it.

    When the freestyle mood takes me, the Prodigy will do all I require of it. If you want to go megalooping or boost skyscraping jumps, I’d suggest the Razor. If you want to throw low mobes, you could pick up a Cypher pretty cheaply from an OR dealer as that kite literally flies off the back lines.

    Pushing it in onshore winds

    Confidence

    That’s probably what the Prodigy promotes more than anything else. If I had to do a crossing this would be the kite I’d take. If I wanted to kitesurf the Cribbar again, I would use this kite. I’ve used the 12m in marginal winds at perfect, massive cross offshore Watergate (yes! I challenge you to try the 12m in waves and not like it, I challenge you!) – conditions I normally would have avoided; I put this down to the incredible drift characteristics, predictable turning pace, low wind grunt and high wind control. That’s quite a lot of pluses, but really that’s all I want from a kite.

    Conclusion

    My strapless riding has come on considerably since I took up arms with the Prodigy, and I would say that my love for kitesurfing has grown deeper. That’s really all I have to say about it, other than in my estimation, it’s one of the most practical and satisfying kites I’ve ever flown.

    Construction

    This is always a bit boring to write about, so can I just leave it at the fact that it’s built tough like everything else OR make? Cheers!

     

     

     

  2. Ocean Rodeo ‘Surf Series’ quad fin 5’11 review

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    Ocean Rodeo Surf Series review

    In October I recieved a pre-production Ocean Rodeo Surf Series quad fin 5’11. Since then, it’s the only board I’ve kitesurfed, mostly without straps (though a couple of times with when things were a bit mental), and I’ve even surfed it three times. This write up is me describing how the board goes after an Autumn and part of a Winter in the North Atlantic.

    Hacking away in the deep mid-winter on the 5'11 Surf Series

    Strength and Durability

    This is a tough board. Epoxy top and bottom coat, wood stringer, bamboo veneer – not unusual construction amongst high end kite-surfboards, but it’s passed all of my strength tests, and here they are in (a sort of) order:

    1. The squeeze test. I take a new board and squeeze it as hard as I can between thumb and forefinger. If it compresses, I am not happy, if it resists my vice like squeeze, I know I’m going to be enjoying a long relationship with that board.

    2. The fin test. I’ve done this on a couple of boards now; basically too much sideways pressure on the fins results in them breaking out of the bottom of the board, taking the fin box with them. The first time it happened I was landing powered after coming off the back of a wave, the second time it was just from riding a board hard for about forty minutes in good surf.

    3. Impact resistence test. More of an accident than a test, though it’s bound to happen at some point. Simply ride into a rock just under the surface of the water and see what becomes of your board.

    4. The wave snap test. This test has been the undoing of many a kitesurf board. Simply ride out powered over a huge line of white water and see if it breaks into two peices upon impact.

    The four fin cluser, bringer of joy

    These tests allow me to assign a board to four simple categories that describe  board strength.

    1. Disposable glass surf board, doesn’t even try to be tough.

    2. Badly designed kite board, supposed to stand up to the rigours, falls short very quickly.

    3. Well made kiteboard, will last well with proper use but don’t take the piss.

    4. Strong kiteboard, barring a bad accident (aircraft doors etc…), you should have a keeper on your hands.

    I can safely put the Surf Series in category 4, for yes, I did hit a rock and it’s merely dented the underside. Basically I feel very safe when riding this board and slamming around on it that it’s not going to blow a fin our or snap after a heavy landing. Sure, you can break any board if you treat it with total disregard, but after a few months of this particularly brutal winter and some solid surf under mega-powered kites, I can say this board is completely pressure ding free (except the rock impact).

    You will find the Surf Series heavier than your lighter built surfboard (really?!), personally I like a little extra weight when kiting; it smooths out chop and riding in strong winds more comfortable and certainly the extra ounces won’t mean you have to hold back from punting airs and so on.

     

    Built to take the rough n tumble play

    Nice expansive low rise deck pad

    Shape, template

    This board is made for dancing in tight, punchy snappy movements. The quad fin set up gives it a tighter turning radius than a thruster, and I’m pretty sure it gives you superior upwind advantage too. I’ve ridden plenty of thrusters, plenty of quads, and I reckon this is the case. Maybe it’s because you are able to ride the board flatter and quads inherently come with a wider tail.

    The tail width suggest this is a board for lively surfing in a good range of conditions; it’s not specialising as a trick board for sloppy wind-driven drivel, nor does it attempt to sell itself as a tow-board. What we have here is a tail shape that will drive out of turns with barely any loss of speed in surf from say, knee high to head high plus.

    The rocker is moderate, there’s enough lift in the tail to slam the board round in a tight pivotal carve without stuffing the nose, and plenty of nose entry to take some stomach lurching steep drops without pitching.

    There’s enough volume here to make the 5’11 useful in the lower end of its wind range, so naturally if you regularly ride in mantal winds I would suggest you take the 5’7. But for 15knots – 25knots, IMHO the sweet spot of kiting, this board is a good fit. You don’t need to rely on wind to move you around on the wave, this is a proper surfboard.

     

    Giving it a poke at Daymer Bay beach break

    Riding

    You can do pretty much anything you want on the Surf Series 5’11: full rail gouges, fast flashy snaps with the board much flatter, sharp stabbing pokes under the lip…I’d say the only thing you potentially might miss is the classic drawn out carve of a thruster’s three fin design, and maybe in huge surf with wide open faces a thruster would theoretically fit better but I find a lot of the arc of a board’s turning is dictated by the kite once the face opens up a bit.

    During the paddle surfs on this board, I’ve been surprised at how lively and maneouvreable it is, then again I am comparting to my regular 6’4 thruster. For typical rolling Cornish breach break swell I’d prefer a longer board, but as a one-board travel quiver and suckier faster waves (as can occur here at low tide) I think it would be fun.

    I like to ride this board strapless, the flat full EVA deck is grippy, comfy (no nasty foot arch cramp!) and wide and expansive to nail your gybes and tacks on. I enjoy it most when there’s a chance to poke it vertically up against a lip, or to slam a tight speed hack in the pocket – it seems to love high pressure situations! It really suits having your back foot situated between the fore and aft fins, like this, you can get an almighty satisfying WHACK! against the lip.

     

    Throwing in a little speed hack

    Conclusion

    I’ve passed this board around to a few mates and they’ve felt pretty much the same as me about it – they love it! It’s a smooth, quick, fun ride that shoots upwind and lets you get really creative in the surf. It cuts back really nicely and always seems to find its way back uderneath you, and this translates to drawing much more ‘surfy’ lines on the wave face rather than the typical and slightly unfulfilling kitey-drag lines.

    For ‘recreational’ surfing, Ocean Rodeo have got the shape spot on. For charging thunderous barrels, I’d pick up the Surf Series Thruster instead. But for competitions where you could encounter anything from slop to good surf, the Quad Fin is a perfect fit. It excels with snappy, pivotal turns and a willing loose feel but will shudder immense grip down through the fins on screaming bottom turns as you line up for the next whack.

    I predict I’ll be using this board for about 90% of my sessions throughout the year, regardless of where I travel to.

     

    Dealing with a closeout section

     

    Going up for a little floater

     

     

     

  3. Ocean Rodeo Razor 2012 – best yet.

    6 Comments

    I’m taking a breather from the sea today – got a proper cold and running a nice temperature so I’m forsaking the shrieking winds and rain outside till tomorrow when I intend to be back on top form.

    Stand by for my 2012 Ocean Rodeo Razor review

    With this downtime, I thought I’d give my thoughts on the Ocean Rodeo Razor 2012. I’m going to run through this as if I were testing it in Kitesurf Magazine. Now, you may have a little alarm bell sounding a warning of ‘bias review up ahead!’, but let me put this to you: If anything, this review will be even more accurate than a review in KS Mag as I have no advertiser to please and keep sweet.

    ‘Sure’, you say, ‘but you’re not going to stiff your own sales are you ?’

    Exactly. I’m going to tell you the truth about what’s new with the 2012 Razor, and my findings. There’s no point in me exaggerating since I’d be ‘found out’ when you test the kite for yourself and that would ruin my credibility and you won’t believe me in future. So here’s my take on the Razor, and here’s what you can expect:

    About the Razor:

    The Razor is a 4 strut SLE designed for hooked and unhooked powered freestyle, wave riding and all out blasting. It has the most power per square meter of all the Ocean Rodeo kites. This is the second version and features the ‘new for 2012′ FST ‘forward swept wingtips’. I prefer flying the Razor with the Fusion long throw bar to get the best out of the kite’s impressive range.

     

    Forward Swept Wingtips give more responsive, powerful turning and increase wind range

    Build

    Straight out of the bag it’s hard to find fault with the Razor. The tubes are slender and the single point inflation rams them full of air for a rigid, crinkle free air-frame.

    The canopy is made from a myriad of panels, more than the 2011 series. This is more expensive to manufacture, but it gives the kite a better look rather than just relying on printed graphics and the extra seams and stitching give a tighter, more stretch resistant canopy. There are some practical features unique to Ocean Rodeo on this kite:

    First up, the kink in the leading edge, this is the FST. The FST (forward swept wingtips) are designed to increase the surface area of the wingtips for better weighted and more reactive steering, and to bring the front line tow point forward which allows the Razor to depower further than before. FST achieves all the benefits of bigger wingtips without altering the aspect ratio of the Razor, so you still get that fast flying, forward punching performance. The kinked FST leading edge is mega-reinforced and uses a regular shaped leading edge bladder so right away any durability concerns are voided.

    And then there’s the Venturi technology. Venturi is simply a thin vent that runs across the lifting part of the canopy, a little way up from the trailing edge. It works by maintaining a fast low pressure flow over the outer surface of the kite even when you are ‘over sheeting’, so your stall point is reduced. In flying, you’ll feel this as more resistance to back stall and floatier jumps. Like the FST, the Venturi requires no adjustment in the way you fly to make it work – just crack on and let it do its thing.

    Elsewhere the Razor is a beautifully made kite and will pass close scrutiny. One particularly reassuring thing I noticed was the rear pigtail attachment panel – check it for yourself, why doesn’t everyone do it like that?

     

    Check the Venturi feature just above the Ocean Rodeo writing

    Rigging up

    There’s not too much to say here because the Razor flies great straight out of the bag with your rear lines attached one knot in on the kite’s pigtails, just as you would with any kite that flies straight from the factory. Leading edge bridles are short, unfussy. You’ve got a simple adjustment on the front bridles for more or less depower, and 3 faster / slower turning speeds on the rear pigtails.

     

    The Fusion Bar. Under bar trim, massive throw, push away safety, single line flag out.

    The Fusion Bar

    As said, I like the Fusion bar on the Razor. It packs in everything I’ve always felt necessary to make a top waveriding bar: Long bar throw – essential for hooked in waveriding where you need to control speed and not get yanked through turns. Really only possible with under-bar trim which the Fusion bar has, and happily it features a pulley so that it’s not the wrestling match it used to be.

    Push away safety – at some stage, you will need to get rid of the kite fast, usually after wiping out and you and the kite are about to get sent down to Davey Jones’ locker thanks to an incoming sneaker set. Push away safety has always felt more natural and reliable to me. There’s no ambiguity – slide the release forward and you’re free. The OR one is non-mechanical so when you wash up on the beach it’s easy to reset without worrying about sand ingress in moving parts.

    Single line flag out – OK so I know BKSA instructors would prefer this were on the front line, but having at least both rear lines able to flag the kite out is damn near essential when it comes to packing up in the water, such as when the kite is down for the count and you are being dragged into danger, or you are about to get picked up by a boat. Also comes in handy for emergency self landings. Basically I really need my kites to have a single line flag out function somewhere on the bar and the Fusion has it in two places – good work.

    Grip – All OR bars are shaped to give better turning leverage with your hand towards the end, and a more natural position for your wrists when you’re cruising with your hands toward the middle of the bar. The grip itself is mega-durable and the bar ends are soft and contoured; a good combo for when you’re unhooking and holding on through a kiteloop.

     

    Check the ergo bar shape and moulded bar ends :D

    Elsewhere, the chicken loop is self-locating when unhooking, the donkey dick is bolted into place so won’t be lost but is easily moved out of the way, the bar floats stay firm and the front line swivel keeps twists out though sometimes it may need a little coercion from the rider to get it to spin. No biggy.

    Performance!

    OK, this is what we’re here for!

    (Typically, I’ve only tested the Razor in waves, not yet with a twin tip).

    The 2012 Razor is appreciably a very large step forward from the 2011 Razor. Whether we can attribute all of this to the FST wingtips, or if its there is other magic at work I am not sure. What I can tell you are the differences in three key areas:

    Stability. The 2011 Razor was adequately stable considering how much performance potential the kite has. Still, I noticed on a few runs at it in large waves that slack lines would upset it. Not in the same way that some Deltas are affected, but still I could notice it. Next, you needed a bit of thought with the trim. Too much and you could choke it up. By contrast, the 2012 Razor will handle the most unforgiving downwind run at it, in three days I’ve only upset it once and then it was easily caught, could it be the bigger FST tips giving more weight where needed? Whatever it is, his kite will love you for slacklining it on your big off the lip downwind turns. Nice! Next, the 2012 is far more impervious to back stall; granted ALL kites can choke up but if you’re choking the 2012 Razor, you really are doing something fundamentally wrong.

    Turning. Turning speed is nothing without the right ‘weight’ and feedback at the bar. The 2012 Razor has a firmer, more positive feel when you steer it. The 2011 was stellar in this department, and the 2012 improves on it. Handling is snappy and quick; to me, the 10m flies like a very good 9m (but thankfully still pulls like a very powerful 10m!). Even when you’re way underpowered and kite should be gasping for air, the 2012 still maintains a tight, powered arc through turns. Loving it.

    Range. No question, the 2012 Razor is a very powerful kite. Size for size, it’s got the best low end in the OR line up. I think along with the crisp well weighted handling, this is the first thing you will notice when you try it. At the other end of the scale, the Razor is simply excellent (remember, I’m not over-hyping this as hopefully you’ll be trying one soon) and you can haul in loads of that power line and still keep close control over the canopy. No heavy wild swinging around here, the Razor has got top-end extended range handling sorted.

    The Venturi feature maintains a steady low pressure flow over the back of the canopy and reduces the stall point

    So where’s the compromise in all of this then? Well it’s hard to say what the Razor doesn’t do exceptionally well until you compare it with other kites in the OR range: The Rise will beat it for upwind angles and will give a floatier, less aggressive boosting experience, and the Cypher will sit a little deeper for unhooked riding and pressing sliders, but for me the compromises are in sensible areas and the Razor will be my most used wave kite for 2012.

    Conclusion

    The 2011 Razor came screaming out of the gates and won firm fans with those that got under it thanks to the rapid handling and grin-expanding jumps. Naturally no one expected such a kite to come with ‘zombie-like’ handling characteristics, but the 2012 Razor not only retains the high performance of its forebear, but improves upon it and says ‘yep, I’m even easier to fly than ever before’. And that’s some statement, for the  ’11 Razor has proven to be popular with instructors for teaching. So now, you’ve a got a kite with even more performance potential and it’s even easier to fly, or should I say, easier to control in the extreme situations that we like to put ourselves into.

    The ’12 Razor benefits hugely from the Venturi and FST features. Richard and Ross (OR designers and founders) have been designing kites for 12 years now and their motto is ‘performance over hype’; basically, they only add a feature if they can determine that it brings a noticeable performance benefit.

    Personally I am looking forward to exceeding my past waveriding efforts in all areas – only last night I managed to get three solid backhand hits in a SW at Watergate, famously a one-hit wonder wave! I’m totally confident this kite will take me into bigger, hollower and more critical situations than I have been in before.

    If I had to use one word to sum up the 2012 Razor, it would be ‘electric’. I hope this review has thrown some light (pun!) onto what the Razor is all about, but more so I hope you can get out and try one for yourself.

    Next

    I’ll be posting my thoughts on the Rise and Cypher kites after I get some more solid sessions in on them. I might also run a mini-review on the Razor’s freestyle potential too since that’s half of what this kite is all about. I’ll be drafting in a couple of other riders for these reviews, so get in touch if you want to get involved.

     

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