Posts tagged with Dos


Nobile enter the Delta market; the new N62.

April 9th, 2009 by in Surfstore News

airush test

A bit of a big one this; Nobile’s new Delta oriented kite, the N62. Delta kites are getting very popular, and for the last year Mark has been working on his own Delta project, trying to incorporate as much of the higher end handling characteristics into the easy to use platform of the Delta kite. After a lot of work, here is the result, and it’s squarely aimed at being the best handling Delta kite on the market, as it’s been tested quantitatively against them all right through it’s development.

Here is a rough guide of Delta’s issues and the N62′s answers to sort them out;
- Deltas sitting back in the window makes for less vertical jumps and poorer upwind performance.
*Efficiency has been improved, so upwind and jumping is more like the traditional hybrids.

- Turning although fast is axial, or bowlike, so the kite will turn without developing power, so it’s of no use for freestyle, or any moves where power is needed through the turn (waveriding too!).
*Turning ability has been engineered with more forward speed, so while this is certainly no NHP it is possible to do unhooked moves on whist having the kite turn. The N62 is (as all delta kites are) low aspect, and with correct foiling only in need of three struts which makes for a far lighter, more precise and athletic kite.

- The steering input and bar feedback is vague. Just like the original Bows the front lines are compromised (tow points too close together) and the resultant bar feel is wishy – washy; you can’t really tell what the kite is doing unless you are looking at it!
*Steering input is far more direct with modifications to bridling and kite shape so that the front lines have much more feel. As a result the kite feels far more reactive.

- Some of the best selling Deltas are prone to backstalling; ie, when you sheet them in hard at the back of the window they slow, stall and can even fly backwards.
*The N62 profile has been specifically engineered NOT to backstall. All Nobile kites since their launch have been very resistant to backstalll, and this technology has been further enhanced in the N62.

Read more…