Ocean Rodeo have been pumping innovative products out of Canada for pretty much as long as we can remember. Always a brand to come up with something different in the design and developments stakes; they are most recently famed for the invention of the Go Joe, a device to help riders get their boards back after a wipeout. Love it or hate it the idea has proved popular with many and it is these out of the box ideas that set Ocean Rodeo apart from the rest.
The Rise is no different and whilst it looks like a normal kitesurfing kite to the untrained eye closer inspection reveals the incorporation of the Venturi Technology. In layman’s terms this is a flap that spans the main arc of the kite and it allows air to spill through from the inside to the outside of the canopy when the kite is over sheeted. When a kite is over sheeted it produces turbulence on the outside of the canopy and laminar flow ceases and the kite can stall. The most noticeable effect of this on the kite is it dropping backwards out of the sky. The Venturi Technology allows air to spill through and fill the gap and help encourage laminar flow to prevent this. The Rise also features a very neat and tidy bridle system and one pump as standard. The build quality is as ever “Canadian Tough” and the whole kite is excellently put together.
The Bar
The bar set up on the Ocean Rodeo is a very simple affair, one of the cleanest bar set ups we have seen for a while. There is a below the bar depower, along with an effective stopper. Perhaps the bar is dominated by the chicken loop release, which we found a little bulky and rubbed on your hands while unhooking. It is a small grumble though for an otherwise excellent set up.
In The AirThe Rise is aimed at being the ultimate free ride kite surfing kite, and to be perfectly honest it isn’t far off. Instantly the kite feels at home in your hands, the bar pressure isn’t too hard or too soft, it feels comfortable, allowing you to know where the kite is at all times just from the feedback in the bar. Ocean Rodeo say that the Rise is the easiest kite in their range to fly, and they aren’t wrong on that either. It is one of the best jump on and ride kites we have ridden in a while. There is nothing surprising or untoward about the way it flies, it just feels natural. There is plenty of depower at your finger tips and the relaunch on the Rise is excellent. One thing that did impress though was the jumping capabilities of this kite. Hands down it is the most aggressive yank off the water we have had for a while.
In flight the kite is easy to control and it seems to keep pulling you up. We hit some of the biggest airs of the session on the Rise and for the kiter who enjoys going big this is definitely a weapon they should consider. The kite is also very fast through the air, we noticed a marked difference in board speed whenever this was used as the engine. The kite is keen and eager to seek out the edge of the window and just flies along at an impressive pace. Kite loops were fairly exciting although the speed of the kite made it easy to get the Rise round the full loop before your hit the deck at speed.
The last time we flew an Ocean Rodeo kite was way back in 2005 for a test for another magazine, to say the brand has moved on in those years would be an understatement. Unhooked the kite works well, we did find it back stalled on a couple of occasions, so the Venturi Tech hasn’t completely eliminated the problem, but a quick trim on the depower rope and the kite was flying unhooked perfectly.
Pros
A really impressive freeride kite that will blow you away when you send it back through the window. It is easy to fly and will appeal to a broad spectrum of riders.
Cons
We’d like to see a smaller chicken loop safety, we found the standard one a little tough on the hands when unhooking, it also released accidentally on one occasion, but there is a modification to correct this on the Ocean Rodeo site.
Overall
A very impressive kite from Ocean Rodeo, with One Pump and top construction it really does sit alongside the major industry players. When you get it in the air you’ll realise it truly is one of the kites of 2009 in terms of performance in the free ride arena. If you don’t try one, you are missing out!