Not TJ ripping it up. Photo: Cabrinha Kites

This was my first week-end out to the Oregon Coast, riding legitimate waves with one of my favorite kites for 2012. The 9m Drifter does exactly what the name reflects: Drifts down the line, even when lines get slack. Not only does the simplicity shine in this three strut kite, but the performance is instantly recognized once the kite is in the sky. Faster turning speeds allow for clean down-loops, and the medium bar pressure is sure to extend your session.

The 2012 Drifter has already proven itself here in the Gorge, for both hooked in and un-hooked swell riding, and incredible flatwater freestyle/wakestyle. The Drifter will be packed with me for any/every Oregon Coast mission. Come demo one this summer from Big Winds!

Available at Big Winds.

With plentiful volume, the Raven 10’6 was nice for staying high above the currents of the river, lending a sense of comfort and stability for navigating over the river eddy lines without tipping! Extra volume would allow you to carry gear on the nose under the conveniently included bungee system.

The Raven carries its speed well and tracked a very nice, straight line. I think most people looking for a board in this 10’6 to 12’6 category, with no intention of surfing it, might opt for the touring style boards with a canoe shaped nose and displacement hull. Come check them out at Big Winds!

-TJ

Cork is it! The limiting factor on the “epoxy chatter” may very well be the cork laminate. My initial hope on the 2012 Skillit 5’6 was that the new Eco Series cork construction would dampen the chop better than the pine veneer from last year, and did it ever. Light, lively and soft were the words pouring through my head after every pop, jump, and landing. Grippy, slashy, and flowing were the turns I was making on the swell, blown away in disbelief that I was loving on a Thruster board that was relatively short. Two straight hours of early Sunday morning bliss, all to myself, with the perfect set-up. Looking forward to more “Cork” boards (S-Quad review soon to come).

Check out the video of Big Winds’ Matt Elsasser ripping it up with the Skillet.
–TJ

Available at Big Winds.

May 5 Big Winds Beach Center (Event Site) opens. FREE SUP DEMOS 10-4
May 6 Big Winds Beach Center (Event Site) opens. FREE SUP DEMOS 10-4
May 13 Mothers’ Day FREE SUP DEMOS for Moms at BW Beach Center 10-4

May 19, 20, 21 Victoria Day Weekend
May 26, 27, 28 Memorial Day Weekend

June 9 An Evening with Gerry Lopez at Big Winds 5-7 pm

June 12 Ladies SUPper Club Kickoff Party at Big Winds 6-8pm

June 19 Ladies SUPper Club first night BW Beach Center 5-7 pm

June 30 Naish/ Big Winds Kite Demo at the Event Site
with the Naish Pro Team

July 7, 8 Windfest

July 7, 8 Gorge Blow Out
July 23-27 US National Windsurfing Championships, Event Site

August 18, 19 Naish Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge

Location:  Event Site, Hood River

Time:  1-2pm

Wind:  9-22mph

Today I had the chance to test the new Naish 10m Ride. It’s a two strut kite that comes in even sizes, 4m through 12m. This kite is geared for the beginner to intermediate free-ride kiter.

I tested the kite on the new Ride 4-line bar, which is a simplified Universal (no swivel/pully above the trim line), on 24m lines.

The center of the kite’s canopy is wide open, with a single batten adding a little structure.  The 10m Ride pumps up in no time, and once rigged and ready, self launches like a champ.

What makes a good beginner kite?  These three things:  1. Easy water relaunch.  2. Nice upwind ability.  3. Plenty of depower when flown through the power zone.

All of these factors are covered in a nice simple package.  I could swing the kite right downwind in front of me, let the bar out, and feel little to no pull.  The kite keeps a solid structure, amazingly, as one might think it to be lacking stability while lacking a center strut, but not once did I feel or sense anything structurally instable in this kite.

I would recommend the new Naish Ride to anyone looking for a simple, cost effective, entry level kite.

Both TJ and Suds have taken the 2012 North Fuse for a workout. TJ went first:

We have 2012 Fuses in stock, and I finally had a chance to put one to the test.  The wind was strong, gusty, and stormy, so the test was pretty short-lived, with more to come soon…

After unpacking the 7m Fuse, I pumped it up and overlapped it with an 8m Rebel.  Looking for any differences outside of the bridling vs. 5-line direct connect, I was unable to find any.  All angles and dimensions seem similar if not identical.

The Fuse utilizes the AC Bridle which is nice and compact, and has adaptive tip technology on the wing-tip (for soft or hard bar pressure).

I chose to take the setting for the rear pig-tail from the “soft” stock setting, and bumped it down to the “hard” setting.  Self launching was effortless, the kite came right off the beach with a slight tug on the outside line.  I like to take a broad reach to test the upwind and downwind performance on kites right off the bat.

The Fuse definitely shines on the upwind reach, and might have a slight upwind performance edge on the Rebel (slight.).  Like the Rebel, the Fuse also has the straight segment in the leading edge making it steer even when trimed at various levels of depower.  This is nice when the lines go temporarily slack, especially when chasing the kite down the line in swell or waves.

This kite looks and acts like a wing on strings!  There is absolutely zero deformation or flutter in this wing, as close to a 4-line Rebel as North has designed.  Now in generation 3, the Fuse is setting the benchmark for 4-line kite performance.

–TJ

Then Mat “Suds” Luchsinger got ahold of it:

Date: April 7th, 2012
Location: “The Ponds” Ft. Stevens, OR.
Kite: 2012 North Fuse 9m
Bar: 2012 North Quad w/ 24m lines
Wind: 20-25mph (steady!)

I got to demo the 2012 9m North Fuse this past week-end. The kite can be flown as a 4 or 5 line kite. This is a kite I’ve been wanting to try out for quite some time now. Best part is I got to try it out the Oregon Coast. East winds picked up on Saturday, so I headed out to “The Ponds” at Fort Stevens for a little fun. Couldn’t ask for much better conditions: I had decent swell on the outside and butter flat water on the inside with steady eddy wind averaging 20 to 25mph

Right out of the bag I loved the colors, bright and vivid. One thing I noticed was North kept the battens on the trailing edge of the kite (like the ’12 Rebel) which I liked seeing because I knew that this was going to be a rock sold kite in the air. Never at any point was there any flutter in this kite. I can also say if your looking for a kite that has some power the Fuse is for you. To me this 9 rides more like a 10. It’s a powerful kite, but yet it has a ton of range and depower. As soon as I put the kite in the air I had to pull that depower strap in a few inches.

I could see this kite being a dream in the waves as well because of how smooth and fast you could whip it through the turns, due to it being a direct connect on the rear lines. As for jumping this kite takes you too the moon and sets you down like a feather. I also liked how it looped on a dime with out pulling your arms off, making you feel safe and in control the whole time.

All in all, if you’re a beginner getting into the sport or an advanced rider that wants to tear apart some swell or jump to the moon this kite is for you!

Available at Big Winds.

And it is. After extensive collaboration, Candice Appleby and Joe Bark have come up with a race winning 12’6”. In Candice’s words: “Steve, I think you’re going to love my board. It’s great in the flats, in surf-style racing and catches bumps really well. Have fun testing it out. Aloha, Candice”.

I did have fun testing it out and I do love it!

Having won pretty much every SUP race the past couple of years, Candice knows what works and what wins. Her signature Appleby 12’6″ Race is awesome. Anyone (guy or girl!) looking for a truly competitive race board need look no further. This is it.

–Steve

Available at Big Winds.

I was joined by my older daughter, Erin and son in law, Rob, leaving behind my wife to her teaching job and my daughter Jodie to help hold down the fort at Big Winds. We were lucky enough to score a great spot at Camp One, with awesome windsurfing right off our lawn, very cool.

A couple of true highlights were the two big downwinders I enjoyed with my friend Bill Babcock. Bill lives for the Maui downwinders and he was kind enough to let Rob and me join him on a 10 mile run from Malaaea to Makena, on Maui’s South shore. It was fully cranking when we arrived at Malaaea, and unloading Bill’s two Unlimted SIC boards and one trusty 14′ Naish Glide was scary, but uneventful. Erin was a trooper and volunteered to drive down the coast to Makena and hang there till we arrived at the end of the run.

As soon as we launched, we were flying. The wind was a solid 30-40, with gusts hitting near 50. We were able to take almost a dead downwind tack, making the swell riding some of the best I’ve ever experienced. Long, long fast, smooth glides. So much fun!

Coming into a pod of whales in the middle of the bay was super cool. We all sat on our boards for a while, drifting while they rolled and frolicked 50 yards away. After we figured they had moved off, we stood back up and continued the run. Bill was following a little behind and witnessed a whale roll 10′ right behind Rob!

Two hours later, we arrived at Makena Landing, where Erin met us. We were all smiles…a memorable SUP experience in the books.

The following day Bill and I hooked up for my inaugural Maliko to Kahului downwinder. After hearing about this run for several years, I jumped at the opportunity when Bill offered to take me. We launched with a brisk 20 knot NE tradewind and a 5′ swell, pretty modest conditions as far as Malko runs go, but I wasn’t at all disappointed to have it mellow for my first one. Bill had already relayed stories of many runs that sounded pretty sketchy with huge open ocean swells breaking on the outer reefs. Small sounded just fine.

The Maliko run lives up to its reputation for awesome beauty and a good challenge. Even with a pretty mellow sea, the swells were well overhead and the bump on the water made for a serious leg workout. With the wind lightening a bit as we made our way down the coast, I found myself paddling pretty hard the entire run. But the spectacular scenery and the prospect of a rogue wave breaking out a bit beyond our line kept me alert to my surroundings. We arrived at the Canoe Hale at the Kahului Harbor some two hours later, having been in no particular rush to get it over with. With a nice atta boy from Bill, I felt initiated into some good company.

There were still a few hours of daylight and plenty of breeze when I got back to Camp One. Just in time for a sweet windsurfing session with Erin, Rob and the Quatro crew that came down from their shop in Haiku to join us. A really great day to wrap up our Maui visit!

I have had the fortunate opportunity to fly both of these kites, in almost all sizes, and have some answers to these questions. The new Drifter is a simple, lightweight, 3-strut design which is being marketed as the ultimate surf kite. If you are riding primarily a directional board, there is no doubt in my mind you will be impressed with the Drifter’s slack line drift ability. This is the kite’s ability to stay aloft even when the lines go slack from either depowering, or chasing the kite with speed down the line in both surf and swell. There are some advantages to a simple 3-strut design when talking about turning speed too. The Drifter will not disappoint the kiter who likes to pilot the kite aggressively, and certainly won’t disappoint the kite looper! Available in sizes 5.5m through 11m, the Drifter comes highly recommended by the Big Winds staff. Come demo one from us this summer, and see for yourself what the hype is all about.

Now let’s talk about the Switchblade, our number one selling Cabrinha kite over the past couple of years here at Big Winds. The Switchblade has passed the test of time, with the 2012 still shining as a wakestyle / free-ride kite. Up on the leading edge bridle, Cabrinha has added the option for tuning the kite between these two disciplines. The wakestyle setting really allows the kite to sit back a bit in the window for better unhooked performance, whereas the free-ride setting offers the ultimate depower and range. The Switchblade’s bow shape has a reliable and predictable feel to it either when riding in gusty conditions or jumping (and boy does it jump!). The 5-strut canopy not only offers wonderful lift when jumping, but also sets you down softly. We have found the smaller sizes to offer tremendous range in the gusty conditions, and the bigger kites to have a very satisfactory low-end to it. If you haven’t flown a Switchblade, come demo one from us here at Big Winds this summer!

Available at Big Winds: Drifter | Switchblade

–TJ

The Naish Chopper. I hadn’t even heard of it till we went to the Naish loft to pick up gear.

It’s a sail. It comes in four sizes: small, medium, large and extra large. All four sizes rig on a 370. A really refreshing concept in simplicity: it’s windy, I’ll rig my small sail; it’s pretty windy, I’ll rig my medium sail; it’s kinda light, I’ll rig my large sail.

Simplify windsurfing gear. Everyone’s been asking for that for years. But does it work? Yes, it does. The Chopper is arguably the most impressive sail Rob and I have ever tested. I spent all yesterday afternoon on the Small (it was windy), while Rob was on the medium. The first day at Kanaha was pretty light, so Rob sailed the Large. Two days ago he sailed at Kaua in mast high+ with raging conditions on a Small Chopper and said he never even thought about his gear, it was so totally dialed.

Yesterday while I was on the Chopper S, Neil (my new friend from the UK who sails here frequently and is ten pounds heavier than me) was on a 2012 Session 3.7. It was windy. We launched at the same time. After a few reaches, he came in and took a bunch more out haul as the wind had spiked up a notch. I was just loving life on the S. We zoomed around for quite a while, then the wind backed off and Neil took a break. I was still loving life. The Chopper didn’t seem to care that the wind was pulsing, it just stayed perfectly calm. The sail was blowing my mind by now. So solid, so stable, so light in my hands. No tugging or yanking. Awesome.

I finally came in and gave my setup to Neil. He absolutely couldn’t believe it. I had to wave him in after a while so I could go back out. He was having WAY too much fun. He’s going to buy a quiver to take back to the UK.

The Naish Chopper is simply amazing. I look forward to spending a lot more time on it.

–Steve

Coming soon to Big Winds!

Erin, Rob, Francisco & Lalo Goya, Keith Taboul with a pile of sweet new gear to test!

The next day, I got on it in windy conditions at Camp One. It pretty well blew my mind right off the bat. It seemed I could do no wrong. I’ve not had much love for twin fins in the past, they seemed too squirrelly, with not many redeeming feature sat least in the Gorge conditions I normally sail in. The Tempo, however, proved to be an entirely different animal and it was flat awesome: grippy yet loose, fast, quick and the turns were really, really nice.

I give the 2012 Tempo 76 rave reviews and my highest recommendation for anyone looking for a high performance ride.

–Steve

Coming soon to Big Winds!

I love the Eastern Gorge! Roosevelt/Arlington during the spring months are two of my favorite places to session as the average temperatures are much warmer out in the desert. What a great opportunity for putting the new 2012 North Whip to the test. First impression, the moment I picked up the board was, wow, this thing is light (7 lbs. w/ fin-set and footstraps!).

The footstraps are easy to adjust, even around my thick 6/5/4 boots. The Whip 5’6″ feels like a great size for boosting air and slashing swell, and just as was the 2011, super loose and skate-y. When the gusts would punch, the Whip can still lock down and grip, but once you lighten up your back foot, you can really allow the tail to slide, especially on the smooth swell faces on the Arlington side. Time to pick up a 5.5m Drifter for these nuclear Eastern Gorge days!

Available at Big Winds.

I had the opportunity to try something new today, and boy was I impressed!  The 2012 Naish Skater 4’8 I’ve ridden before, last summer, strapless. Naish is now offering an aftermarket front foot pad and jibe pad for the 2012 Skaters, along with straps. There’s something that builds confidence in my winter riding when riding with straps… I can jump, do most of my hooked in freestyle tricks (front roll, back roll, grabs, and kite loops), all without loosing my board and dunking  into the frigid waters of the Columbia. The Naish Skater now allows me this option. Super fun in small surf and swell and with the twin-fin set-up, it still grinds up wind, and throws heaps of spray, but when you want to break the tail free from the water, it does so effortlessly.  I’ve noticed one big difference between the small directional boards vs. a twin-tip. . .volume.  The volume of a foam board sure makes riding in various wind conditions (gusts and lulls) so much easier, as it really adds to the kites low end range. The Skater has more volume than most directionals, and you can feel it carry you through the lulls, even at only 4’8.  If I were to fly to a wind swell destination like La Ventana, or Los Barriles, I would consider putting a Naish 4’8 Skater into my golf bag along with a twin-tip.  Until that day comes, this is going to be a go to board for me in the Gorge:  strapped in the winter months, strap-less in the summer!  We are  demo-ing the Naish Skater 4’8 here at Big Winds, come give it a try!

–TJ

Available at Big Winds.

Today was a great day to test the new 2012 North Evo 9m here in the Gorge. Flown with the Quad Bar on 24m lines, the Evo really is everything North Kite describes: Powerful, stable and smooth.

The moment the kite went up into the sky I could feel how reactive it was, with a quick and predictable turning speed. The Adaptive Tips were set at the stock “Light Sheeting Force Setting” which may be an attributing factor for the faster turning impulse, and tighter turning. This “B” setting was by no means too light. As a matter of fact, there was a better feedback to steering impulse than most 4-line brindled kites I’ve flown.

After a few tacks to get the feel for the kite, the wind starting picking up so I decided to send it to see how it jumps. Wow, feels like a C-kite’s smooth up and down with a little forward flight. It definitely doesn’t lack in the air time category (I can only imagine if the Adaptive Tips were set at the “A” setting for even higher altitude!). After a few jumps it was time to loop it. With the Evo’s low aspect center and new square wing-tips, there is a lot of canopy to grab the wind and provide powerful, yet smooth kite loops! Again, feels kind of like a C-kite in this respect…I just wanted to loop this kite.
The one thing that was clear to me was how much low-end grunt it has. The Evo kept me plenty powered up through the holes. The high end of the Evo was a bit punchy, and I definitely found myself pushing farther forward on the line to achieve maximum depower (as compared to the 5-line Rebel).

All in all, I would put the Evo in the category of all-terrain versatility. If you are after a kite that performs well with a directional board, or twin-tip under your feet, the Evo is a good choice for both wave riding, and flat water freestyle.

Available at Big Winds.

Here’s a profile of the Big Winds Junior Elite Team. Read about the most talented and dedicated junior athletes in the Gorge.

Matt Elsasser, a mainstay in the Big Winds kite department for the last four years,gets his strapless game on in Maui this winter.

Just flew the 2012 8m Rebel for the first time today. It was cold and gusty, so it seemed appropriate to put one of the more trust-worthy kites to the test. Just as predicted, the 2012 Rebel stands out as a rock solid, high performance kite. With tremendous pull and a bit less bar pressure than in years past, the 2012 Rebel will be my “go-to” kite when the conditions become unpredictable and gnarly! What do I look for in a kite when it’s not ideal conditions? Stability, re-launchability, and range to get through the gusts and lulls. The 2012 Rebel has all of these qualities, along with one more solid peace of mind. . .5-line safety! When you need to get total, complete depower in half a second, nothing works as well as a 5th line.

The kite cranks up-wind, and pulls smoothly downwind. There is absolutely no luffing and fluttering in the side panels when turning aggressively. With the Rebel’s ability to de-power with 30% less throw than the standard 4-line bridled kite, it makes it nice for toe-side riding, ideal for wave/surf riding. People with short arms (ie: kids and women) will like this short throw de-power too! I had the Adaptive Tips set at the stock “A” position (that closest to the rider). It gives me positive feedback, with heavier bar pressure. If racing, or riding in an overpowered situation, I might move the knot up to the “B” position (closest to the kite) for lower bar pressure and easier turning. All in all, the North Rebel iss a fine tuned, polished kite for 2012.

Available at Big Winds.