Posts tagged with Kitesurfing


Prices starting to increase… still some special offers left.. but the next 12 months is looking expensive!

April 9th, 2009 by in Surfstore News

exchangedollar

exchangeeuro

Since September 2008 there has been a huge fall in the value of Sterling on the international markets. While the Dollar and Euro remain strong the British pound’s value has plummeted on the international markets, to the point at which £100 of equipment bought into the country is now costing £145. Most importers hedge currency, buying currency ahead of time to minimise the volatility fluctuations and this helps keep the importers in business with steady trading conditions, ironing out the bumps and keeping retail prices constant. Most importers will only be able to hedge (or book currency) up to 12 months in advance, and now that they have used this all up since September they now have no choice but to pay the higher price.

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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.

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New Airush Vapor due in any day.

April 9th, 2009 by in Surfstore News

airush test

Airush’s new Vapor is about to land in Surfstore. For those of you who have had little experience of teh Vapor kites, it has been a sensation to the company, building one of the industries best handlin kites, with exceptional range and non aggressive but very capable flying characteristics.

For the 3rd incarnation Airush have taken thge gloves off. As part of a reviewed range to come in the next 6 months the Vapor has been raised to be as high performance as they can go with a mainstream hybrid and some of the test repors have been very impressive. Here are some of the snippits;

“A brilliant, modern freestyle kite that’s well-built, quick and direct, but the major thing to mention is the kites’ stability. It’s just so well behaved. The low end grunt is fantastic and matched at the other end by it’s top end capacity. Being able to comfortably use a 10 metre, between 15 and 30 knots is a great quality, making it a natural choice for many.”

Go to: http://www.airush.com/pdf/kwmag_airush_vapor3.pdf for the full test

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Kitebar bargains, surfstore has a good clearout!

March 12th, 2009 by in Surfstore News

pryde race

It been a week of clearing the decks at Surfstore…. we’ve been having a good look at our kitebar stocks and the good news is that there are some bargains to be had! We have found quite a few used bars, from C kite bars to hybrids, in varying conditions, and we’ve set prices from £15 upwards. The most expensive of the bars are coming in at £99 and they are nearly new, so when you consider that the new linesets are now retailing at £120+ from most companies they are excellent value. Details of the used kitebars can be found here

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Nobile 555 and 666 on clearance

January 23rd, 2009 by in Surfstore News

vapor II

With The new kite prices only a few months away it’s a good time to start thinking about next year. While the latest releases will be the latest technology they will also be more expensive due to the currency exchange. With that in mind we have managed to aquire some kite from Nobile that make an attractive alternative, and could well end up being around half the price of the new models.

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Vapor II kite on offer… beat the price rises before the season starts

January 22nd, 2009 by in Surfstore News

The price rises are coming…

vapor II

It’s happening in a lot of industries, as the UK sterling falls to an absolute low on the world markets. The Dollar is now worth an unbeliveable 1.37 this morning compared to the 2.02 high of last summer. The end result is that prices are set to rise. Cabrinha issued a new pricelist this morning and Naish tell me that a 12m torch will be around the £1250 region for 2009.

With this in mind it would be wise to invest in a quiver now with the stock that was bought last summer. Some of these kites are on offer, like the Vapor II and the Nobile kites. This means that unlike years previous, current or last years models are now half the retail price of their new alternatives.

The Vapor II is a much loved kite, one of the industries favourites from the last 2 years. With the press release of the Vapor III, the Vapor II is now 15% off, and the new price of the vapor III may well hit £1250. With this in mind it’s making the offer kites look very cheap at £765. It’s a cracking kite, precise, easy, versatile and well built, that will last you years…

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