Rookie 2 and Sabre comparison

[Skullfish]

Hey guys

 

I had a really good day yesterday, i looked in my bank and realised i have about £260 more than i thought i had. now i look on this money naturally as a gift from some higher power (as opposed to me forgetting about a pay day) and as such can only be earmarked for kites. if i also sell my waveski or sea boat then i could have up to £550ish, which is real depower money.

 

i'm looking for something that will in some way compliment my existing bag, possibly with a view to selling on my 4.9 blade if i love depower enough. my two first ideas were a rookie 2 9m and a 9.5 sabre.

 

now, do i go for the rookie 2 9m with extensions, add the mods and hope for the best, or do i splash out on a 9.5m sabre, either new or s/h?

 

is the rookie noticably a 'budget' kite over the sabre?

 

whats the wind range for both kites ( i know that FS have the rookie ranges on their site, but that is pre-mod)

 

i'll be mostly using the kite for boarding inland with the odd session on the beach and the odd bit of static when my body is otherwise too battered.

 

are there any other options? especially good s/h ones that will net me a better kite for my money.

[the_lone_wolf]

FS shot themselves in the foot with the Rookie placing somewhat, the R2 is only "budget" when put next to another FS kite, as far as my limited experience fgoes on them they've been great fun to fly, "adamski" has flwon them for a while now and probably knows a bit more than i do:D

[Skullfish]

cheers tlw, anyone else?

[fly boy benny]

neither get a frenzy

[mee]

You could certainly pick a Flysurfer Extacy up for that kind of money which is a simple brilliant kite, good power and great lift, but it is also stable in inland flying conditions. Where as the Voodoo or Spirit would not fly in low wind the Extacy will stay in the air in lulls and not fall out of the sky. The Windrange on my 10m, for me, is almost a one kite quiver.

Others to consider would be the Viokite Proteus 7 although in standard trim it does not have the lift of the Sabre. Fitting the performance mod will change this however, and the Kite new is well withing your price range.

If you want to know how good the Proteus 7 can be with the performance mod speak to Huester, as he has just recieved a modified Proteus 7.

[SoggyUK]

I haven't flown the Rookie 2, but have flown my mates sabre a few times. The Sabre is a very nice kite, that will start pulling me (9 & a bit Stone) Nicely in 10-12MPH with some small floaty jumps, and when the wind picks up to ~15mph+ i've seen my mate clear 10ft consistently. The kite is very well made with a 'lurvly' bag and a quality Bar.

 

(Still nothing compared to a Blade:D)

 

But for that kind of money you could buy a second hand Flysurfer P2, which are supposedly the ultimate kite, and work on water aswell. So definately have a look into a P2. There are quite a few for sale ATM.

[Mr X]

(Still nothing compared to a Blade:D)

 

No no no no no

 

Blades are without doubt size for size the most powerful kites there are, but that power is very on & off and not very controllable and are prone to spanking people.

[just do it]

If you want to stretch yourself financially up to a 9.5m Sabre then just get the Flysurfer Speed 7m instead which will be way better than any of them and have more top and bottom end too. Price £749.00 and you have the bonus of using it on the water too.

Easy!!!

[Tone]

it seems that "just do it" is not alowed to post here anymore???

 

whats that about?

[the_lone_wolf]

it seems that "just do it" is not alowed to post here anymore???

 

whats that about?

http://www.the-fifth-hope.org/art/bb-poster-preview.jpg

[rasga]

Um i thought that reason would be obvious , (about svens account)

 

I've flown both, in my view i would say try them, they both have different feelings as to how they fly and how you react to them.

 

The rookie is really nice, and great value for money it feels more grunty at the lower end of the window with what i thought was heavier bar pressure in comparisson to the sabre. But a very nice kite, on the other hand the day i flew it, it reacted more to a few wind direction changes (as to say less of a fold and more of a crumple) but didnt pop back too agressively, whereas the sabre had more of a fold than a full crumple (both kites were flown back to back with another rider on the other at same time to see how they compared)

 

So nice, but fly them if possible, as the choice is yours!

[trebor]

it seems that "just do it" is not alowed to post here anymore???

 

whats that about?

 

yeah i was wondering that too - the phantom poster!

[adamski]

Sabre or Rookie... Rookie.

 

 

UNLESS you want a 11.5 sabre... LOVELY kite that but a much smaller windrange for most peeps.

 

When the rookies are new out of the bag they ARE prone to a bit of "fannying about" while everything stretches into place.... once it has they are better in low wind, more stable in high wind BUT they lose out very slightly on lift... not much though and what they have is easier to get at.

 

Both fly really well unhooked so not much between them there.... this is the best way to fly the rookie until the wind gets up over 8mph.... but everything is a bit poo under that.

 

Do they feel "budget"?

 

Noooo in no way are these a second class kite.... material is the same as the xtc and the build quality puts most other kites to shame and is only matched by others, not surpassed.

 

wind range for the rookie?

 

If you can feel wind at all the 9m will be up and stay up..... as it gets to a steady 8-12 boarding is a go with jumps at the top end of that..... AFTER that it's down to how brave you are feeling and how much time you have had with the kite.

 

Any questions please feel free to pm me.

[jason mcgowan]

So the Rookies are better than ALL other land kites is that right?Stability,Lift, Turning and Safety.

[adamski]

So the Rookies are better than ALL other land kites is that right?Stability,Lift, Turning and Safety.

 

Nope... others will be better in some circumstances in ALL of those aspects BUT.. if you are looking for a top all round package, at a very competative price give one a try.

 

I am a little bored of the whole "mine is better" thing TBH... try one, if you dont like it try another until you find the kitethat floats your boat.

 

I mainly fly Peter Lynn or Flysurfer now, I have found kites I like and trust.

[Tweak]

Flew a rookie today. 9 meter. Was nice, but it was on short lines! Could not pendulum easily though.... dont know why!

[daZZa-S]

Ive pendilumed jumped with my 4 meter on short lines but with the lines that short you really have to power it up through the window..With longer lines it should be like normal. As ill be getting a Rookie 9 soon (thanks goes out to a certain person on this forum) I will be able to test it back to back with my mates sabre and get his views on it as well.

 

My rookie to me acts and flys like my little u-turn oxigen during the time it was put on a depower mod. So much so that i'm getting rid of my u-turn. Both Rookie and sabre are fab kites, the rookie has less lineage to get tangled but I do find the bar pressure on the rookies quite high. Found that the small size of the bar when held in fully powered did make my arms cramped in a bit but nothing a small extension to the chicken loop solves.

 

Bigger sizes should have a bigger bar so shouldn't be a prob. I flew my rookie when it was raining and had no loss of performance, may be something down to the weird waxy feel to the material they are made out of.

[daZZa-S]

Sorry just edited my last post as it made no sense at all