When?

Soon(ish) for the final production samples (hoping to have one for the KiteXpo in Baja, but no guarantees yet).

Diablo PRO?

How is the bar development coming? Pics please.

Any idea of retail delivery?

Hope a couple make it to Mexico and we hear/see some feedback.

That Diablo’s looking great - I like the colours, and those zen board sizes look more ... ‘enlightened’

Have any Diablos made it to the expo?

Pics please, bar too.

Nope, sorry, not yet.  You can be sure that we will be promoting them heavily once we have them.

How about the bar? 

Throw me a bone here.

Same as the SLE?

The 09 Diablo bar has the new molded trim loop, conventional trim strap, dual O Sh@#$t handles, fixed length 5th line with compensator (to make up for trim strap adjustments), 24 m lines and a strong handle pass leash.

Ross Harrington - 26 January 2009 09:48 AM

fixed length 5th line with compensator (to make up for trim strap adjustments)

Like to see it when you boys get done with it. 

Can you still use the fifth to take some juice out of the kite when getting off and onto land and when the wind jumps up enough to make it hairy?

Thanks

I heard final samples of a black/white/gold beast have arrived…......

reveal the beast!

Yes, production samples are in (pics in the other thread). Approximate 8-10 weeks until production availability in NA.

Brent4336 - this is a fixed 5th line, full blown C kite for those that have the cajones for it and are longing for that ” old school ” C kite pull in a state of the art kite. Depower is activated using the trim strap, which affects the two front flying lines, and the compensator takes up the slack on the 5th so it remains under constant tension.  If you want a high depower kite then the Rise is your ticket. The Diablo offers solid range but with constant pull.

Cheers,

Evan

Thank Evan,

I’m really just talking about the moments on land where a 5th can be tensioned a bit to keep the lofting to a min.  We have some pretty treacherous entry/exit points and a pulling kite is no fun there.  One bit of tension on a 5th and its all good.  Doesn’t mean I want to opt for a rise, but it stands to reason that you should be able to shut down the “constant pull” on land.

Makes the occasional walk back up the beach a lot nicer.

I’m all in for the diablo and know what I’m getting (back) into.  I’m just curious how the “compensator” works.  Is this a mechanism or a fancy word for bungy?  Hopefully its dead simple.  I’m assuming the leash goes to the 5th.  Fixed length is great and much preferred, but I’d still like the ability to tame the kite when on land.  With a 5th line already there it seems a simple and safe function to preserve.  Would be kinda silly to have a newly designed state of the art orange safety “Hub” at the bottom of a bar that neglects the inherent safety of tensioning a 5th line to tame a pulling beast.

Not trying to be pesky, or testy, just curious, and a wee bit bummed I wont get to try one on snow.  Oh well just get em out by the time I head to Hatteras… Please

My guess would be that the 5th comes down to the swivel and is held constant with the fronts by a stopper that will let the line slide when its pulled, then a bungeed section below that goes through the bar to the leash.  But like I said, I’m often wrong.

Hi Brent.

Details and photos of the bar will come at a later date, but essentially there will be two ways to depower the kite. 1) The trim strap, and 2) sheeting out. This kite is not meant to compete with hybrids like the North Vegas etc. It is a full on C kite, and as such one of the goals was to set it up to appeal specifically to the hard core freestyle set, where simplicity rules - there is nothing there that doesn’t need to be!

Cheers,

Evan

Aaight,

Simple works for me.

Git em done, I’m needin em in hand for April 11

Thanks fer the word!

As the only unveiled piece, I’m obviously curious about the bar, but simple is def the way to go.

Looks like you’ve gone with a single front line up to a point.  Good move, makes for only 4 lines half the way up when walking lines and gives you a nice long lower portion of the 5th to go cleanly through the bar.  I’m once again gonna guess you went with a static 5th to the split and a bungeed section in the 5th from there down through the bar to take up slack from trimming.  Seems like the simplest way to “compensate” for the trim and its a good simple working system on many of the psuedo 5th kites out there.  Would make sense it run to the existing cleat to help with relaunch and perhaps a suicide option at the other spot on the “HUB” Where the depower line would end.  Hope thats close.