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  Mark Shinn om Torch och Raven!

  Publicerad av patrikol på 6 november, 2004 vid 00:50

  Mark Shinn om Torch och Raven!

  ”Exclusive”- Mark Shinn on the Torch, Raven & Aliens

  ”We” spoke with Mark this evening, read the full article for his comments on the new Torch, Raven & Aliens.

  Rob: Firstly what are you doing in the UK?
  Mark: I’m competing in the BME event at the Whiteair Comp on the Isle of Wight this weekend. This is Britains Most Extreme and is being held on Friday. It involves various sports, icluding Windsurfing, Street Luge and various other stuff they have not yet told us about. Danny Seales and Nick Baker are also competing so it should be fun. Read more.

  Rob: Can you tell me about the Torch?
  Mark: This is a completely new design, whereas in the past we have started off with the previous design as a basis for the new design, the Torch is a completely new. It is a medium aspect kite biased to new school moves, with hangtime as the lowest priority. It’s not that the kite doesn’t jump well, because it does and lift is very good, more than the Boxer 2. The lift provides a high jump, but not hang time like the X4 or Raven, it is more of an up and down jump.

  The major difference in the design over what has gone before is the Shift line/5 line bar system. This provides allround improvements in safety, relaunching & performance. There is no downside to this system and all Naish riders are using 5-lines. The performance advantage comes as the fifth line works as a bridle and stabilises the leading edge, which enables a smaller leading edge and better airflow over the kite. The improved aerodynamic design helps promote super fast turning and kitelooping is superb. As the kite loops there is almost no power from the kite. It is very pivotal, with a super fast and very llight feel through the bar. The kite feels almost the same hooked in or unhooked, it’s almost cheating! This gives you a more secure feeling riding and pulling off unhooked moves and has an easier feeling to fly.

  The Torch has a great wind range and my preferred sizes are 16/12/10m. The low end performance is generated in part by the wing tips being 60% wider than a comparable sixed V4. The wider wing tips improve bottom end power and particularly help the turning speed of the kite.

  Rob: So what about the wind range?
  Mark: I’m not going to comment on specific wind ranges, as it’s all down on the rider, board, style of riding and the conditions on the day. But generally, the Torch has a bettter top end than the X3, so the upper wind range is superb and the Torch has a very good low end wind range.

  Rob: So tell me about the Raven.
  Mark: The Raven is nearing the end of its development programme. Again this is a totally new kite design rather than a dvelopment of the X4. The basic design is for allround kiting, with a bias towards jumping. The ultimate hang time is possibly not as good as the X4, but there is a big improvement in the turning speed of the kite over the X4. As for ultimate power, the X4 possibly has more raw power. The Raven is similar and you can generally ride in the same conditions with the same size X4 & Raven, but whereas you can stand on your board with an X4 and it will get you onto the plane, you just need to work the Raven a little more. The major improvement comes with the top end, as it almost has double that of the X4. The hang time is broadly the similar as the X4, possibly better for an average jump, but not quite the same as for a rider who is totally lit and gets it absolutely spot on. The major difference is that powered kiteloops are possible with the Raven and this was never in the design criteria of the X4. So to summarise, the hang time is very good, possibly slightly less than the X4, but turning is far faster and the overall ride is more allround and waveriding is possible, which again was something the X4 wasn’t really designed for. The Raven will start with a 9m and my preferred quiver would be 9/12/16m.

  Rob: Tell me about the Aliens.
  Mark: The 145 is similar to the 4’10 and designed for bigger riders in mind. It has a flatter rocker and soft rails.
  The 137 is a refined 4’7, it is a 6 fin board and my choice for boosting & waveriding
  The 121 is a very allround design and perfect for maxed conditions.

  Rob: What do have planned for next year?
  Mark: Comps – more of the same!

  patrikol svarade 21 år, 1 månad sedan 1 Medlem · 0 Svar
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