I have been meaning to write you and tell you how much we have been enjoying the new 12mt. Vegas. As you had told me "The Vegas is going to kill the Bow style kites". and yes, you were right.

All someone has to do is ride this kite in the depower setting and you fall in love with it. It has great range, good turning speed, plenty of lift, medium bar pressure and the comfort of knowing you can de-power and feel completely under control.
For the general consumer you could not get a better kite.   

The de-powering ability is much different from the feeling of a bow style of kite.  You sheet out until you find your comfort zone, knowing that the power is still there with just the slightest sheeting in motion. As I said, much different from a bow style of kite. With the bow, when I sheet out just a little, the kite is completely DEAD of power.

I have let other people use this kite and all have been very impressed.

For me this is the best performing and riding kite I have ever had period. Can't wait to try it in the surf!!! KEN job well done!!!! Once the word is out everyone will be asking for them. I think the 06 Vegas will be the kite to have this season. Get your reorders ready.

I would like you to thank Ken for making two of the greatest kites in the WORLD, the 2006 Rhino and Vegas. Please let him know that he's our king of kite designers.

Ok, my thoughts on the Vegas. Smooth, very light bar pressure.  Walking to the beach the kite was totally dead on power.  It was like being in perfect wind with no gusts (that's all we have here in Texas). When I'm testing a kite I like to see if I can walk to the beach without watching or touching the bar. The kite passed and then some.  First dive, the kite feels like there's no power, then boom! there it is. Smooth, the bar is so smooth, pull the bar in, and you feel the power grow. Not jerky, but smooth.  Let the bar out…same thing, smooth. Up wind like crazy, Charlie was on the 12m bow trying to stay up wind, and I was walking away from him.  The Rhino is an up-wind machine, but I think the Vegas is even better. 

I have flown one too many "bow kites".  This kite has started a whole new class: "new school traditional".  I can't compare this kite to the '"bows'" (like apples and oranges). Maybe if the kite made my elbows hurt, and the kite would tie up like a bow tie I could compare them. Sorry I'm tired of people jumping on the bow wagon.

Over all thoughts (from first ride) very nice Kite.  I didn't think you could make a kite better than the 05' Vegas.  But this kite is over the top.  Much faster, more solid pull through turns and straight out riding.  99% depower and 100% smooth power. Smoother than any other kite ever built. It looks as though Ki'topia's school kite can be the same kite our coaches have for their own personal use. It makes it easy to recommend this kite to the student when it's what we use in the school, and what we choose for ourselves. Thanks again you guys for making our job easier!

I highly recommend anyone that is considering a different kite this year to try the new Vegas. Nicely built kite similar to last year but with some awesome new technology.

I have been running a 10 Vegas through the ringer here at Playa Copal in Bahia Salinas, Costa Rica and am very impressed. This sailing site is awesome for putting a kite through its paces. Anyone that has sailed here can vouch.

I have used this kite in 12 mph to 35 mph comfortably and taken it to gusts of 40. I have many witnesses including one on a sailboat that was calling out the wind readings from the anemometer on the top of the 40 foot mast. I used a 134 cm board through this entire range and I weigh about 185 lbs.

I was using the kite on a 5th Element bar. Using this bar you need to use the vario cleat assembly to comfortably use the kite over 25 mph. To be clear, all older technology kites only de-power to a short movement of the bar in and out and the front line adjuster is usually not used much at all. But the front line adjuster makes a significant difference on the Vegas. The new 2006 5th Element bar has the ability to move the front line adjuster "on the fly" thus giving you different length of trim line if you so desire. This is a nice safety feature as well because you can adjust it so that the bar moves far enough away from you that the kite depowers to almost zero just by letting go of the bar.

While standing on the beach in about 20 mph of wind with the kite straight over head if you pull on the front lines the kite completely de-powers and luffs. It does not fall out of the sky, it just hangs up there with a slight flutter to the canopy. The first time I did this I thought it was because I was pulling the 5th line. This is not the case though as I did it a 2nd time with my hand on the frontline adjuster assembly only.  This kite’s ability to de-power using just the front lines is what makes it what it is.

Great wave kite as well. It floats back with you in onshore conditions as you carve down the face of the wave and is waiting for you on the bottom turn.