In my opinion C-kites work the best for me. If they are heavier (5 strut) it even seems to make them more stable and drift better. (Which is stark opposite of what most people think and what kites designed towards drifting down the line are designed around).
p.s. I guess this also depends a lot on what conditions you are talking about.
Ozone Reo and Cab Drifter are my 2 favourites, but same as any discipline, try as many as you can before you buy as everyone kites differently.....
Andy my new BWS kite is the best!! And all yours for 500!! You saw how much I loved that kite on Sunday!! Please come get it now!!!!
In the North range the NEO is designed for surf. I just bought one and will post review when i get a sesh
heres a question. is there anyone that makes a crappy wave kite these days?
ie a kite designed for waves thats **** in waves.
New 2013 Griffin TRX are worth a look.
I have a 9, 10.5 and 12 TRX which have performed better for me than anything in the past and will do what you want.
Like what...?
Change the oil in my car..?
feed my stupid housemate bleach...?
Clean up the dog poop
Shut my drunk ass neighbor up at 3am when he starts howling at the moon...?
Went out on my new 2013 park yesterday, drifts well and turns ok with slack lines, quite a bit more stable than the 2011 model I had and drifts substantially better. I like it anyway
I was in the market for a wave kite and below are all the kites i considered:
Full list in no order (or use search button for same thread a few weeks ago)
I ended up with North, good price and had bar already. Otherwise i was very close to getting Ozone Reo and Rally.
Drift riding i believe entails light weight design- typically 3 struts. Low aspect ratio, good fast looping and i would prefer 4 lines over 5.
Cabrinha drifter
North Neo
Slingshot Rally
Ozone Reo
Switch Method
BWS Noise
Waiman kites - not sure, think all of them.
(come to think of it the hadlow is only 4 strut) or maybe those old 7 strut high aspect kites were actually good at drifting
haha, No I was actually being serious for once. But as I said I think it depends a lot on wind strength and direction as well. Bt for how I ride (mostly unhooked down the line cross-shore/ cross on wind, not moving the kite much) I think that's best for me.
I'm yet to fly a kite that drifts better than a BWS... I have flown almost every other mainstream brands wave kites. As far as park and ride style goes I dont think you can beat it, if you want to use your kite a little more to pull you through turns, the Naish Park still drifts well but has a more responsive feel and better turning speed.
I have tried a lot of kites looking for the wave kite that suits me
Criteria: Fast, light on the bar, parks nicely and doesn't pull me off the wave. and quiet through the window once sent (not a brrr!!!! truck exhaust) just quick.
I bought a 7m and and a 10m Neo.
Absolutely beautiful wave kites.
i got the 6, 8 & 10 noise,
i now put the 6 & the 8 on the slower setting and the 10 on the fast setting and it suits me
the 6 has a much improved top end
the 10 pulls like a mothaf*****
the 8 is the go to for 15-25knots for me and used the most
im getting the technique down for unhooking going downwind on waves and they sit there nicely, if you put one hand in the centre of the bar. i started off using two hands while unhooked and that usually sent the kite the wrong way while surfing, now back to one hand, slower settings and much easier.
