Kite Model: 2006 Yarga Pro, C-Kite series
Kite size: 11, 13, 15, 17
Bar: 20"/50cm with 25M lines and 5th-line
Riding conditions: flat water to 5' waves (Lake Michigan), and on snow
Wind speeds: ranging from 10 to 28 knots
Rider Weight: 165 lbs/ 75 kg
Board: 122cm twin tip up to 5'11" directional, and Summit 157cm
I'm a C-kite hold out, in an SLE world.
As long as the wind is under 25 knots, that is.
KITE PACKAGE:
List your opinion on the overall kite package, accessories and spares etc?
The Yarga Pro kites arrived with a simple yet effective expandable back-pack bag. The bag appears to be the same as the 2005 Yarga bag, only with a new color scheme and graphics. Each kite included a double action hand pump (Wylie Coyote TNT detonator type), a 5th-line leader, and a small bladder patch kit containing 5 or so patches to cover pinhole bladder punctures.
the bag:
To begin, the '06 Yarga Pro kite bag has two chambers that allow for expansion. Both the bottom and top can be opened up in such a fashion as to allow the rolled kite with inflated struts to remain enclosed at both ends by extended mesh compartments. The bag has a good sized front pocket, which I find works well for housing extra water wear, other soft items, and even beverages.
The bag also has four cinch straps on the outside corners, which can be used to constrict and condense the kite and bag size to save space for storage. Each of the cinch straps has a plastic snap buckle, and I've find these very useful for securing my bar and pump to the outside of the bag, when hiking to the launch setup area.
Finally, there are two open top mesh pouches on the sides of the bag for holding other odds and ends. I usually use them for holding other people's plastic trash or empty cans that I pick up, when leaving the beach.
My Endorsements:
I am very much a fan of expandable bags. During a day of kiteboarding, I will often swap out kites as conditions change. I usually deflate the leading edge and roll the kite with the struts inflated. I'll close the kite in the expanded bag to avoid mechanical wear and tear from flapping in the wind and to minimize UV exposure. Many times I'll throw a beach towel over the mesh portion of the expanded bag.
I am also a true fan of bags that give my kite a bit of breathing room. In the event, I do a hasty or sloppy pack job, I don't particularly like the idea or feeling of jamming and smashing my kites into a bag that is too tight. I will also note that even with lower portion of the Yarga Pro bags expanded, they do not hang obnoxiously low while walking and wearing them as a back-pack.
Criticisms & Concerns:
The 11M kite bag is too tight! This is more a problem of being too narrow, not really a depth problem. After inspecting the bags it appears to me that the bag sizes only change every two kite sizes, so the 9-11 kites go in the same size, 13-15, 17-??. In my opinion the bag for the 11M was too small for the kite, but all the other bags in my quiver seem plenty big.
Also, the kites were shipped with trashy plastic shaft pumps. These arrived with dried out gaskets that would peel off the bead, and were pretty much useless. Fortunately, I had a couple of aluminum shaft pumps from my BEST kite purchases from the years prior.
That's about it.
BUILD QUALITY AND FINISH:
How is it made, what is it made of, how does it last?
The Yarga Pro kites have a very different construction than the 2005 Yarga. First off, the '06 kites are made with a more regular rectangular strip assembly, as opposed to the triangular facets of the 05 kites.
The kites have
Cuben Fiber on the interior of the leading edge and all the struts, in addition to having wing tips composed entirely of the
Cuben Fiber material. At first glance the leading edge and struts appear to be normal Dacron, however if you look inside the bladder access zipper, you can see the laminate material. Also, you can feel bladder housings are very stiff compared to a regular Dacron bladder housing. Another difference from the 05 kites is that there are two main seams running along the segmented leading edge as opposed to one seam on the 05, and both seams on the 06 are very beefed up. The kite canopy is just normal rip-stop nylon fabric as far as I can tell.
Finally, the inflation system on the kites is comprised of a "space age" 6-pump system, with a secondary dump valve on the leading edge. All the inflation valves use stopper balls to keep the air in, while inserting the push-in type plug/ air caps.
My Endorsements:
how does it last?? Very well thank you.
After over 2 years and some months of rotating through the different sizes of my Yarga Pro kites, I will say that they are holding up quite beautifully. As I mentioned, I believe in prolonging the life of my kites as best I can, this also includes only riding my C-kites with a 5th-line system. I feel very wholeheartedly that this saves the trailing edge from a lot stress during self landings when compared to a rear steering line ditch system.
Up to this point, I have yet to have a leaky valve plug and or any problems with the quality of the ball valves (not the case w/ my 07 Waroos). I am a true fan of the plugs and valves on this kite, they are in my opinion "perfect".
One more thing to note, is that I always store all my kites with all the plugs pulled out, in the hopes to prolong and not stretch out the valves, keeping them as tight sealing for as long as possible.
So far (2 yrs and 4 months later) I have no
criticism or concerns when it comes to the construction of these kites.
HANDLING:
Ease of use, safety, relaunch, set up and pack-down?
In terms of set up, the Yarga Pro kites may be the easiest C-kites that I have ever used. The fact that the leading edge and struts are very narrow diameter is immediately apparent when pumping up even the 17M kite. Having the smaller diameter tubes not only speeds up pumping time, but it also makes folding the kite wing tip during a self launch that much easier. One other thing that I've found is that it requires far less sand to secure than any other C-kite that I've owned, which is helpful for light wind self launches.
On the topic of relaunch and safety, a 5th-line set-up is my only tried and true C-kite safety system. In marginal and low wind conditions, a 5th-line will give a downed C-kite the very best chance for a relaunch. I believe this system out performs SLE and BOW kites for light wind relaunch-ability.
Finally on pack down, the smaller diameter tubes speed up deflation, requiring only a quick pinch to unseat the ball valves, and the kite practically deflates itself.
KEY PRODUCT FEATURES:
What are the standout features, what do they do, why are they important to you?
Did I mention
Cuben Fiber, yet? I don't want to sound like a BEST fanboy, but I will say that in the case of these kites, the
Cuben Fiber really works. First off, I'm told without it, the narrow diameter tubes would not be possible. Also the
Cuben Fiber on the wing tips serves two purposes, in my view. One of which is helping the kite fly with very smooth action in the canopy, even during the tightest of cranked sining turns and kite loops. The second benefit is the longevity of the canopy by protecting against stretching out, which happened to all my 2004 Fuels.
I am more impressed with these Yarga Pros than the 2006 and 07 Naish Torches that I've ridden along side of. I've watched the Torches trailing edge near the wing tips chatter violently during maneuvers similar to the ones I put my kites through without even a hint of flutter. I very happy with this one trait alone.
PERFORMANCE:
How does it perform, upwind, jumping, depower, turning?
As I mentioned, the kites have very smooth flight characteristics. All the sizes I own have great stability and have a wonderfully reliable pull for all of my albeit wussy unhook moves. It seems to me that the upwind performance on the kites is also helped by the low drag small tube design. I'll also say the bar pressure and turning speed with the 50cm control bar works well for me, from the 11M up through the 17M.
Criticisms & Concerns:
I believe the one major down fall of these kites may also be due in part to that narrow leading edge tube design. Who woulda thunk it? The Yarga Pro kites are very prone to over fly the edge of the wind window, and drift into a stall to windward. This only really occurs when being flown at the edge of the window from a stationary position or while walking up wind. I believe this can happen even with the most experienced rider/pilot, if the wind is gusty/shifty.
Where I ride, even on the gusty days in the wind range of my kite quiver, I find the kites still perform great, and keep me very content. The Yarga Pro kites will continue to be my first choice when I want to get out and do some riding with THE C-kite feel.
SUITABILITY:
How does this kite suit your riding, what type of rider would enjoy it?
Before I bought the kites, I asked a number people about them, since the pricing offered was so obscenely cheap. Fire sale cheap.
I got mixed reviews from BEST haters, the indifferent, and BEST riders and supporters. While one individual claimed the kites didn't fly right at all, others thought they flew well, but claimed the sizes over 13M were done poorly, and had major performance problems. I found none of the trash talk to be true, unless you count the tendency to over fly, which I find can be kept to a minimum relatively easily. I find the larger sizes jump extraordinarily well compared to what I am use to.
Going back to the 'over flying' issue, I believe this causes the Yarga Pro kites to be poorly suited for areas where gusty conditions are experienced regularly. Furthermore, I think they are not very well suited for beginners who do not have a good sense for the edges of the wind window or the coordination for counteracting forward motion i.e. fast hands to get more rear line tension. Also these kites are not ideal for those who must walk upwind on crowded beaches, since there could be a real threat of having the kite drop on bystanders.
Criticisms & Concerns:
See above
That's about it.
IMPROVEMENTS:
How would you improve the kite, what would make it perfect?
I can't really recommend a way to improve the kites, since BEST decided to drop its entire line of C-kites claiming they don't sell well anymore.
I'm flying a dinosaur, and it's awesome.
If the kites were to be remade, I think I'd prefer they stay the way they are, unless the stability against over flying could be improved without compromising the rest of the kite handling characteristics.
CONCLUSION:
Overall thoughts on the kite
The kites are still working great for me, although I have nothing against getting a chance to try out BEST's new Kahoona delta design and then keep it for personal use.
To BEST: maybe you could get one or two Kahoonas to Michigan for our Northern Michigan Snow Kiting event.
http://www.tckitederby.com/KiteDerby09/Home.html
I've got an enthusiastic photographer who would be very happy to show the world (edit: again) what the new Kahoona kites are all about. She is also in need of a bigger beginner friendly kite, as she's only been able to practice on snow with my 7M Waroo and will be transferring over to water in the spring.
All photographs in this review were taken on location in
West Michigan, and all text written by Noah Penn - the rider pictured.
Final note, I scaled my pictures to a 604 pixel width, in order to
keep the text margins from blowing up. It's just a thought.
Thanks.
