The North Vegas 09 from just £560
THE Freestyle kite of 2009, unhooked heaven, kiteloop love!
Read our North Vegas 09 review here 2009 North Vegas
See the North Vegas 2009 video here North Vegas 2009 Video
See the North Vegas 2009 set up video here North Vegas 2009 Set up Video
For 2009 we have completely re-worked the Vegas to cover a wider range
of conditions and riding styles than ever before! A slightly lower aspect
ratio and wider wing tips means very constant pull, extremely tight kite
loops and improved low end grunt to please the C-kite lover in you. The
09 Vegas features our new 3 in one concept: Three different settings that
allow you to choose your desired feel for free-ride and new-school at it‘s
highest possible performance level. With a quick switch of the line connection
point, the 09 Vegas offers the following three setups:
- 5th line freestyle/free-ride setting: Plenty of de-power and the classic
Vegas feel you‘ve come to expect! This setting offers the most versatility
and is ideal for free/wave riding, jumping and un-hooking.
- 5th line new-school: Dedicated new-school feel, little to no de-power,
extremely steady when unhooked and less sensitive to bar input for loaded
power moves. All the safety and relaunch benefits of the 5th Element.
- 4 line new school. Dedicated new-school/competition setting. Little to
no de-power and less sensitive to steering for powered tricks. Four line
conversion kit available.
-Freeride setting: high depower
- New school setting: backstall resistant
and less sensitive to steering impulses
- 5-liner with 4-line conversion through a
support bridle
- Improved “Sheet and Go“
- Improved upwind capability
- 4 or 5 line
- Cam Battens
- 5 / 7 / 9 / 10 / 12 / 14
Check out the Vegas 09 info sheet from Ken Winner Vegas 2009 info from Ken(.pdf format)
No Pulleys, No Bridles, No Messing!
Tough construction, modern styling and fantastic for unhooked powered moves, just go for it!
Bar and lines for this kite? Click HERE
Vegas 2008 vs. Vegas 2009
The design plan for the ’09 Vegas called for maintaining the ’08 Vegas’s strong areas like big depower, low drag, direct and precise steering, stable power delivery when unhooked and lifty vertical jumping, while improving significantly in the areas of power development , smoother looping and versatility.
We wanted better power development because the ’08 Vegas, like all C kites till now, had to be moved a lot in order to maintain constant power in varying wind conditions. This is not normally considered to be a problem with C kites, as it’s part of their nature, but we felt that if we could make the ’09 Vegas more of a sheet-in-and-go type of kite, it would be easier to ride.
We wanted quicker, smoother looping because kite loops are so important in modern freestyle.
Finally, we wanted more versatility, and we wanted it in two respects. We wanted to offer the Vegas in a five-line configuration that would have less depower, and we wanted to offer a four-line configuration that also had less depower.
Granted, the number of riders who want less depower may be small, and their desire may seem like nostalgia for an older, more difficult era, but if less depower is what some freestylers want, who are we to say they can’t have it?
To achieve these goals we started with the ’08 Vegas and tweaked (1) the overall geometry, (2) provided extra flying line and bridle attachment options.
Overall Geometry
The main change in overall geometry is toward a more swept-back look – slightly more in the direction of a Rebel than the traditional no-sweep “C” kite of the past. This gives the ’09 Vegas more power overall and more linear power delivery. It provides softer bar feel in sizes 5, 7, 9 and 10, which makes these kites more comfortable to ride. It allowed us to tweak for slower turning in smaller sizes like 5 and 7. In all sizes it reduces any tendency to back stall, particularly during the upstroke of an unhooked kite loop, and it gives quicker, smoother, more precise kite looping capability.
Attachment Points
The ’09 Vegas can be flown in three different modes: (1) five-line high depower, (2) five line low depower, and (3) four line low depower.
Option #1 is the standard Vegas mode of operation, five lines huge depower. This is what 90% of riders will use. It involves the long front pigtail at the forward most pigtail anchor.
Option #2 involves shortening the front pigtail and moving it to the aft front pigtail anchor. It provides a feel much like that of the ’06 Vegas, which did not have quite as much depower as later models.
Option #3 involves removing the nose line, adding short bridle lines that attach to anchor points near the quarter ribs and putting the short front pigtail on the aft front pigtail anchor. This gives a four-line kite with very constant power, and mildly powerful loops.
Bottom Line
The new Vegas in five-line, high depower mode (#1 above) is much like the ’08, but easier to ride and loop.
In the two low-depower modes (#2 & #3 above) it provides more constant power, has less tendency to steer up or down out of a parked position during a trick, gives less of a power spike when looping, and avoids back stall in loops more consistently.
5th Element Bar and lines for this North 2009 Vegas kite? Click HERE
