Rapture 12m flying characteristics ?

[Mattdog]

I just tried the 12m rapture for the first time but it was only +/-8 knots of wind.

I could barely keep the kite in the air, it was back stalling and wouldn't park at zenith, staying very low back in the window. I'm sure my old kites would have "parked" in this wind.

I wonder what the low end kiteboarding range will be? I tried hot launching with TE in the water - that works great in very little wind, however the kite rarely lands in that position normally. I couldn't reverse launch it (too little wind) and I tried trad launching but the kite shape seems to not allow it. That dissapointed me since sometimes when the wind dies, I can just relaunch my kite and make it back to shore.

Maybe I should just not worry until Ive tried it in 12 knots. My 2004 Best nemesis 12m had great low(13-14 knots) end so I'm hoping the Rap is close to that as well. If not I might switch to the 12m rageII.

Any feedback would be great - Thanks

[bdawg]

Hey Matt,
Are you a feather weight guy? I am curious why you are trying to review an 12m kite in only 8 knots of wind? That seems a bit unfair. Fly the kite in some wind where you can actually go upwind and heck attempt a jump.

[OliverG]

I agree with Blair. I have very little opinion of kiting in 8 knots on *anything*. You would be disappointed with any kite in 8 knots unless you were content to just get up planing and veer downwind in fairly lackluster style.

"I could barely keep the kite in the air, it was back stalling and wouldn't park at zenith, staying very low back in the window. I'm sure my old kites would have "parked" in this wind. "

Again, 8 knots? You may have had lulls dropping below that.

Despite any hype claimed by the various different companies, kiting in very light wind is an exercise in frustration and optimism. My biggest kite is currently a 15, although I ride the 14 more. Unless you endure persistent light winds, my feedback would be to enjoy an afternoon off with your girlfirend, wife, other hobby, etc.! O:)

In not a whole lot more wind, try again and you will be pleased.

[Mattdog]

Okay I'm probably being a bit paranoid. Was just eager to try it out.
Looking forward to an awesome sophomore session. I'll let you know how it goes.

PS I can have a pretty good time in 9 knots with a 17m kite and skimboard. I weigh 170 lbs.

[kie]

A 17m and a skimboard in 9knots, and your comparing that to a 12m in 8 knots....am I missing something here.

[Guest]

Settle down kie and read the posts. There was no comparison made ...


:mrgreen:

[exsailor]

I've only had my Rap 12 for a couple of weeks, but I'll add my thoughts on it so far:

The Rap 12 is actually one of the most stable kites in the air I've ever had, even in light wind. One thing is if you're sheeted out too much in light wind (which the extra range on the CC bar allows you to do), it is pretty easy to have it fly forward in the window and hindenburg. If you sheet in a bit, it moves back in the window nicely. Play around with sheeting and also the pigtail attachments and figure out what works best for you.

Unfortunately, so far the Rap 12 hasn't been a fantastic low-wind kite. My other kites are a 17 and a 10, and the Rap 12 unfortunately makes my 10 completely unnecessary and leaves a little gap with the 17. It will work in lighter winds, but you need to move the kite around a lot to generate the power. In stronger wind, it becomes a completely different kite though :)

As far as relaunch goes, the reverse relaunch is fantastic. Even in very light wind, it's worked flawlessly for me and made relaunching the quite a very fast process. Now I just have to make sure I occassionally do it the old way too so I'm in practice when I use my other kites.

This kite is definitely different, and I feel like I'm learning more about it each time I use it. Stick with it and try it in various conditions before coming to a judgement.