Next demo day is at Hunstanton on the 5th July during the third round of the BKSA freestyle event. The demo may be held at Old Hunstanton or Brancaster depending on weather conditions.
We have a couple of Primadonna2s, a Wildthing 2 and a DaVinci BAT in the demo fleet.
However, if there's something you especially want to try, let me know and I'll do our best to have a demo kite available.
Drop an email to info@leftfieldkitesports.co.uk to be kept up to date with demo days and locations.
PS. Demos also available at Hunstanton/Brancaster on 28/29th June. Email for details.
Thursday 19 June 2008
Thursday 5 June 2008
JN Online Shop
Leftfield Kitesports has now gone online offering the full range of JN Kites, Boards and Clothing.
www.leftfieldkitesports.co.uk
www.leftfieldkitesports.co.uk
Da Vinci Bat
Had the new Da Vinci to test recently. A 12m 'Bat' version, the unusual shape is optimsed for low wind use.
I'm not really a bow kite fan and wasn't expecting much from the new kite. How wrong I was!
More of a hybrid design than the Primadonna, it's still a 5line kite, but has double front line attachments (no pulleys) and a slightly flatter overall shape. The DV also comes with one-pump which is welcome on a large kite. Only 5 struts on this kite (as opposed to 7 for most JNs), but the canopy shape is very clean - not a wrinkle in sight.
In flight it felt similar to the 13m Primadonna on the turn, slightly more depower but retaining that linear feel. The 12m Bat has a better low end than the 13m Primadonna, and boosts very well indeed, even in light winds. It also pulls nice and cleanly in kiteloops although not quite as smooth and tidy as the Primadonna, but really not far off.
Sadly, I never got to try it fully lit to test the top end, but I'd imagine that you would get excellent range on this kite.
I lent the kite to a landboarder who usually flys Ions, and he was amazed at the low wind performance and boosting ability.. "easily better than the 12.5 Ion" and that's hardly a bad kite.
The Da Vinci has been quite a surprise. I think it's possibly the best kite in the range for the majority of riders. JN deserve to shift a lot of these this season.
Monday 2 June 2008
08 Switchcraft Bar
Been a while since I last posted and a lot has happened, so I'll attempt to catch up in rough chronological order!
Was lucky enough to be one of the first riders to get the new Switchcraft bar. This is JN's new 08 bar and a welcome upgrade to the CBS system which was starting to show it's age against some the latest bar/line sets on the market.
The 'alex' release of the previous JN bars is now a simpler affair that releases by pushing away from the body. This has two advantages - you can fire it without pull from the kite, and it's doesn't fire accidently if you pull it whilst hooking in.
The bar itself is thinner than the CBS and features 'horns' on the end enabling you to select effective bar length by switching between the two ends (there's a larkhead on the end of line connecting to a knotted stopper line that passes through the horn ends). You can also turn the horns through 180 giving you 4 sizes in total from one bar.
Other features include two sizes of chicken loop included, an anti-tangle fifth line and perhaps the best bit of all - an 'autolock' system which locks the chicken loop facing the right way when unhooking.
The bar is also very adjustable. It has a moveable stopper ball on the centre line and the depower trimmer can be very easily moved up or down too. It's very simple to set it up just how you want.
As you can probably tell, I'm pretty impressed by the Switchcraft. It was the one place where JN were lacking in comparison to their competitors and they've come up with a well thought out deisng.
Was lucky enough to be one of the first riders to get the new Switchcraft bar. This is JN's new 08 bar and a welcome upgrade to the CBS system which was starting to show it's age against some the latest bar/line sets on the market.
The 'alex' release of the previous JN bars is now a simpler affair that releases by pushing away from the body. This has two advantages - you can fire it without pull from the kite, and it's doesn't fire accidently if you pull it whilst hooking in.
The bar itself is thinner than the CBS and features 'horns' on the end enabling you to select effective bar length by switching between the two ends (there's a larkhead on the end of line connecting to a knotted stopper line that passes through the horn ends). You can also turn the horns through 180 giving you 4 sizes in total from one bar.
Other features include two sizes of chicken loop included, an anti-tangle fifth line and perhaps the best bit of all - an 'autolock' system which locks the chicken loop facing the right way when unhooking.
The bar is also very adjustable. It has a moveable stopper ball on the centre line and the depower trimmer can be very easily moved up or down too. It's very simple to set it up just how you want.
As you can probably tell, I'm pretty impressed by the Switchcraft. It was the one place where JN were lacking in comparison to their competitors and they've come up with a well thought out deisng.
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