Friday had no wind,just sweltering heat at the demo in the Hood, so we followed several locals and shop folks west towards Rooster Rock where gusty east wind awaited us. Started with 9m Sports and Edges and then threw up the 11m C4 to see how it performed in those conditions... we were lit on the 9's and still felt comfortable holding down this new 'C' kite. After that powered session I can say that the C4 is not a C kite, but an O kite for a new generation of riders. It looks like a C, but is bridled like an Instinct and has even more depower range than the current Sport and Edge Kites. Unlike the sweep turn that the Ozones are known for, the C4 pivots on the central axis of the kite, allowing it to turn quickly and react very responsively.
Personal thought on this kite... "the C4 is the most family friendly C kite ever, it has the fun feeling of a true C, but the forgiving nature of bow/SLE/Hybrids (man our industry needs better terminology) I felt this was the funnest Instinct I have ever flown, and likely this is what Ozone would have kicked out years ago, if the Bow craze hadn't taken off.
Rooster rock is also a nudist beach...nice kiting around boobies, that was fun...but scary rigging up while surrounded by Viet-Schlong. The best part was feeling confident in the strong easterly winds that the locals refereed to as the gustiest of Gorge winds this summer.
Spent Saturday at the Sand Bar and got better wind. While Patrick went out on the C4 I talked shop with industry peeps. Remi was in town with Nobile and he was as stoked for Snowkiting as ever... "Come to Norway this year" was his invite to all. Jason Slezak was raving about his previous winter in Utah, and says he's looking forward to returning this year and competing at the Snowkite Masters. SBC Kiteboard did a write up on Utah Kiting, following the LF team around last winter, and the editors say they feel that Snowkiting is just at the beginning and is still ripe to get bigger than the water scene.
Good news for some, is the industry had its worst year ever, and there are a lot of deals on 08 & 09 kites... bad news is that the deals are from companies that produced way too many kites and since they are dumping them, they have killed the value of used kites.
BTW - does not affect Ozones, as there are actually more sold world wide this year than previous years, and with a 99% sell thru, that means kites are in the hands of happy kiters and the value is still there!Sunday we rallied to the coast for a Jetty downwinder...the wind never came up so we went to a lagoon with flat water and 10mph winds that allowed us to share a perfect Zephyr session. Followed that up with an amazing landboard session at Sunset Beach that went till sunset.
On our way back we stopped in Boise for an AM session at Lucky Peak res. Catabatic winds started in the 18-22mph range and gradually stepped down to Zephyr winds. Got to try a Wainman (Jimmy Lewis shape) surf board and loved it, it was a fun combo with the Zephyr. If you are in Boise, the dawn Patrol is almost a daily guarantee.
Thats all folks, as I have a limited memory and a narrow point of view.
Windzup,
Brian Schenck
