S2AS - News

Sunday, 19 June 2011

Wainman Smoke Kite


The Smoke

SMOKE. The Wise Guy.

For most people, life eventually becomes routine, maybe even a little boring. Same schedule, same hangouts, same friends. Life is great. But something is missing. Not everybody is satisfied with this. And this is why every gang appreciates a wise guy in the crew, someone who is spontaneous, and can handle the unpredictable. SMOKE is this very important member of the RABBIT gang and truthfully, without him, life would be much less interesting, for everyone. Yes, he’s got his own path, and he is like no other friend you have, but once you accept this, your kite life improves dramatically, in whatever conditions you choose to play.

A 9 m kite that is an absolute must for every rider`s quiver. Its wide range covers all those windy days when you are just dying to ride.

SMOKE ‘em if you got ‘em.


- R A B B I T–S K I L L S -

RANGE:

The Wainamn SMOKE is technically a 9m, but in practice it covers the range that other kite designs must use both an 8m AND an 11m to handle. This kite has great low-end grunt that lets you launch quickly - with only a few swings from the pilot it generates lots of energy when the wind is marginal. It also has a great depower that can be utilized when you need to handle stronger winds.

WAVERIDING:

Surfing with a kite is one of the most amazing feelings to be had outside of the bedroom. And when the right conditions occur at your spot, you want to be equipped to seize the moment to its fullest. SMOKE has great turning ability, and reacts directly to your inputs, so you can choose where on a wave you want to instead of it choosing for you. When rigged to the FAST setting on the front bridle (RABBIT TUNE-UP SYSTEM) it flies downwind by itself so all downwind wave turns can be done with the kite in a right position. Bombproof construction and solid LE gives this kite the best chance possible of surviving contact with rough water.

JUMPING:

Where is the real fun in kiting? It is catching air! No matter if you can already throw the sickest ones or you’re still working on jumping over surfboards. What matters is the feeling. The key is the sensation of flight. Feel that SMOKE high. Hold the edge, pop the kite from the bottom of the window and blaaaam! A good SMOKE never lets you down sad. A true wake style bro.

QUICK TURNING:

To perform well in waves and have power to spare for jumps, a kite should turn quickly. But it also has to be stable on course and very predictable. Both beginners and advanced riders really appreciate such combination for their needs. By turning quickly SMOKE creates a beautiful extra pop that can pull you out of the water like a cannonball. And for those who want a bit slower steering when the wind picks up, SMOKE can be slowed down by easily changing the position of the back lines to the SLOW position on the kite tip (RABBIT TUNE-UP SYSTEM).

UPWIND SAILING:

Whether you want to shred more waves, get more jumps, or just enjoy a great day of free riding you want the ability to come back upwind fast. SMOKE was designed to not let you down at this point. Even when the wind is getting lighter it still plays all the angles to bring you back where you started.

DIRECT AND LIGHT FEEL:

SMOKE, like all other Rabbits was designed to be steered with a direct feel on the bar that lets the rider control the kite with great precision and instant reactions. In the air, SMOKE feels very solid and stable which is the effect of his well-engineered construction. All the above, plus light pressure on the bar, in both hooked and unhooked positions makes this kite so sweet!

POWER CONTROL AND RABBIT BAR:

SMOKE is a powerful kite but its energy can be controlled very well and even shut down immediately when needed. Instant and quick depower is a great skill of this kite, and as soon as the rider lets go of the bar, traction of SMOKE stops. SMOKE, like all RABBITS, should be used with the original RABBIT BAR that was designed very precisely to match the characteristics of these kites. Together, they work precisely and provide a very wide range and depower with no stopper balls or other complicated features. Pure simplicity that let’s you explore your limits with confidence.

RABBIT AUTOMATIC RELAUNCH:

In order to provide maximum comfort and confidence, all RABBITS relaunch almost automatically. Because of their round shape, when they fall in the water they have a tendency to land on their sides and travel to the edge of the window, relaunching with very little effort from the pilot. And in the event that the kite crashes and submerges the leading edge, a firm pull by the pilot on one of the back lines will turn RABBIT around where it will re-launch again, without swimming to it!RABBIT BAR is equipped with specially coated back line/ leader lines with relaunch balls that make the process very fast and easy on the hands.

RABBIT TUNE-UP SYSTEM:

By their definition, RABBITS are all round wake style kites. But as every kite boarder has his own style, it is important to let him tune-up his kite to accommodate those unique preferences.

Some riders prefer a bit firmer pressure on the bar, some need to have more vertical lift, and some would appreciate downwind sailing more than hang time. Accommodating those differences is very easy, with the RABBIT TUNE-UP SYSTEM. Every rider can have full influence on how his RABBIT is going to act. These options are for the advanced rider, and the kite needs to be ridden first on the factory set-up for some time. After that, every pilot will be able to tune his own RABBIT for his needs as necessary.


- C O N S T R U C T I O N -

3 STRUT FRAMEWORK:

RABBITS have a 3 strut Construction and that makes them really different from other kites. They are faster, more responsive, and lighter-weight but also very solid and powerful due to their high quality, heavy-cloth framework.

FABRICS and STITCHING:

To be the best, SMOKE and his bros from RABBIT GANG are built only with the highest quality fabrics that are available on the market. The canopy of the kite is made with the very light and super durable rip-stop SPI cloth from Teijin, Japan – world undisputed leader in production of high performance rip-stop fabrics.

Framework construction panels, such as LE, struts and tips, are built with polyester heavy cloth made by Dimension Polyant, in Germany. No other material in the modern wind-industry is so resistant, stiff and basically bulletproof, yet still very light and long-lasting as this one is.

All panels are sewn in accordance with craft-secrets of the finest sail-making artists, using only certified threads and master sewing techniques in order to create very strong but flexible construction that will survive windiest gales and storms.

REINFORCEMENTS:

To protect seams well against the hard objects that every kite normally comes in contact with, and which after some time cause ugly and dangerous seam tearing, RABBITS are equipped with multiple reinforcements of LE at the edges and on the tips. Those extra features will protect your kite well and make it look good even after seasons of hard use.

BRIDLES:

To fly in the most efficient location in the window during all maneuvers, RABBIT is equipped with an auto-positioning bridle, which allows the kite to naturally find its sweet spot in the sky. From the factory, SMOKE is connected to the front lines with a V bridle on 2 tow points. The length of the bridles has been minimized in order to avoid any tangles in the waves or during relaunches.

Back lines are connected directly to the kite’s tip with a single- point connection in order to enable quick reaction from the steering lines.

All bridles are made with highest quality Dyneema rope from Samson, USA. And the mini-pulley on the front bridle comes from Ronstan Pulleys, in Australia.

SINGLE FRONT LINES OPTION:

If you prefer a more direct feel, you can utilize the bridal removal option. Included with every SMOKE is a specially reinforced, single tow point for the front lines. In the kite repair kit, you can find a set of a pre-lines that need to be mounted on a SINGLE point attachment, after removing V bridle from the kite. This set-up changes the feel of the kite making it more radical and direct, showing its relationship to the C-kites.

TOW-POINTS:

The great power of Rabbits is transmitted to the rider through the bar and the flying lines, but the attachment points where flying lines and bridles are connected to the kite are also very important, because of the great forces being generated. Those points on Rabbits are well engineered so when the strongest gusts hit the canopy, nothing will get damaged. With triple layer sandwich construction and extra strength polyester webbing, the rider can be sure the attachment points on Rabbits are very solid.

INFLATION:

With only 3 struts to inflate, RABBITS don’t need heavy, and in the long run, very dangerous one-pump systems. The struts are equipped with sensitive locking valves that will keep constant pressure inside of the strut bladders. For deflation, each valve has its deflating stick put inside of the valve for strut deflation. The LE is equipped with a locking valve for inflation and a big dump valve for fast kite packing.

Wainman Kites are designed to be inflated firmly which allows them to show their real nature.