R-Sky Nirvana Standard-Thoughts Options

[icenum]

Nirvana Standard


Does It Live Up To The Hype?

I'd have to say yes indeed.. At first some of the newest French kites entering the market had a different feel in precision-freestyle department. The first few flights on a early model (earth tones) left me with mixed emotions..Considering I was not used the unique feel of the kite first hand.

But with time, the kites feedback on lines, and inputs become second nature. The Nirvana is a kite that has the capacity to do most anything in the book, and even some tricks thats not even practically performed at this time..(new freestyle moves)..

This is a kite you can grow with, from the Novice to the most advanced fliers as well.

Many keep a sharp eye out for a new entry in the freestyle category. A kite that is well rounded in the precise flying (precision) as well as its freestyle capabilities & trickability capability. Some kites needs exact inputs & near precise set-up to accomplish advanced freestyle tricks, but this kite is very forgiving and does not require intricate small inputs. Not big inputs either, but a nice medium between the two. 8)

The Nirvana is a very well rounded kite IMHO. Offering the ability to be flown by the recreational flyer, to the accomplished competitor as well.

"Richard Debray" & "Roger of R-Sky as well as many other R-Sky fliers showed just some of the kites potential on the R-Sky Nirvana CD. This inspired many fliers all over the world to push the envelope a bit in the precision as well as freestyle aspect of kite flying.

An impressive aspect of the Nirvana is its speed control. As the wind begins to pick up a bit, the ability to control its forward speed & stall the kites to perform freestyle maneuvers is realatively impressive. Precision wise the kite tracks very well and tending is cut down to a minimum, allowing nice cornering and and good feedback from the kite.

The Freestyle market could be considered to be a niche market to the ones wanting the best offered..The STX kite line of kites, Nirvana, Transfer, Blue Moon kites, Prism, Sano, Sky Burner are just a few of the latest cutting edge kites available.

A key to get the most from the kite is as with most others is time spent getting to learn inputs needed to get the results you are looking for with the kite. The kite is very capable, but you have to be willing to get the feel for flying the kite to really excel with it.

Many French fliers on the video's I've watched are doing some very impressive flying to say the least. I thought possibly the kite is not stock like the one you purchase. But after owning one a while I'd say it is with the exception possibly of the Debray bridle option. The kite comes equipped with a turbo bridle.

Spine: is a Structil 6mm
Leading Edge: SkyShark P200- SkySharkP300 Lower LE
Lower Spreaders: SkyShark 5PT
Sail Material: Icarex PC 31

The Nirvana newest generation comes with a weight installed (ballast) inside the spine from R-Sky. I flew the kites a while and decided to try adding and additional 10 grams to the kites lower spine area using the R-Sky weight system. At first it felt a tad heavy in the first flights, but the more I flew the kite the more accustomed I became flying the kite with the additional weight. The additional weight makes the kite even more pitch friendly when performing many of the latest tricks and does not hinder its flight capabilities much at all. But rather enhances capabilities on pitch based tricks.

Construction: 8)
Seams are nicely sewn with high attention paid to details such as Mylar reinforcements were needed (high stress area). Graphics are superbly eye catching I've had many compliments from even non kiting enthusiasts on the kites graphic lay out..I patuculary like the color combinations on the Nirvana, the pinstripe is another nice added touch as well on the cosmetic side of things. 8)

The newer generation Nirvana, comes with a nicely made tapered kite bag. R-Sky offers many useful, accessories for use with their kites. It's always nice to have spares when needed.Colored C-Clips are a nice touch, ballast system with two individual weights (optional accessory) utilizing two connector that slide on each weight. I was glad to see the internal spine weight offered in the newest offering (stock option), but most prefer to order the extra ballast for use with the kite. I also purchased the wind absorbers for use when the wind picks up a bit, to make the kite more managable in these condition on the higher end of its wind rating. There also used to be a 3 point bridle offering as well, but I'm partial to the turbo bridle.

Ground Work:Recoveries 8)
Ground work on the Nirvana is very good indeed. Sleeping Beauty-Cartwheel for recovery-Pop Up-Dead Launch-all very satisfactory on the kite. I rarely ever do a Dead Launch because of the stress put on the kites bridle & wear & tear. Fade Launches are a breeze on the Nirvana as well, when you find yourself face down with the kite. Rising fades are simply done with minimal tending.
When flying in a well maintained grass area tip wraps are easy to untangle while the kites on the ground, saving you the long shameless walk we are all familiar with. Recoveries are very good as well.

Flight Characteristics: 8)

There are a few moves you can put in categories:
Fade Based:
Fade: Good stability in a fade, rising fades are easly accomplished from a fade launch..Some tending nessecary but minimal to say the least..Stable in a fade with practice.

Flic Flac: 8)
The kite Flic Flacs very well, you can do nice slow graceful ones as well as fast furious one were you find yourself sort of just slapping down on the straps a bit. the kite looks to transitions very quickly.
Back Spin: 8)
The kite requires very little set up to initiate the backspin.

Wap Do Wap: 8) 8)
This is a trick I've had good success with as of late, the Nirvana after initiating the fade, the kites very pitch orientated helps doing this trick.

Initiate a fade and gives ample slack a somewhat slap downward with the straps while stepping forward allows the kite to go past the pancake position and continue to the fade position. The kites rolled up and as the nose drops initiating a pop with result in a backspin like rotation.

The Nirvana easily does this trick, balance and how pitch friendly the kite is determines the success of the trick. A quick fly off or after the roation you can return back to the fade position after doing the roation. the Nirvana recovers very well doing this one.

Back Flip:

Lazy Susans: 8)
When on its back, the nose sits deep which really helps when doing a Lazy Susan based maneuvers. A light tug gives you a nice roation, or if you get your timing correct Lulti Lazies are very doable as well. The kite recovers very well indeed. The kite likes to be on its back and shows how well its balanced.

Flap Jack: Flap Jacks are easy pickings for the N...Bit of stress on your LS but very doable. 8)


Axel :

Axel:
After getting used to the needed inputs the Nirvana is capable of fairly slow and realitively flat axels. Momentum here helps as well as allowing ample amount of slack till recovering.

Axel Landing:
Nice way to add a bit of flair to your landing. The Nirvana is very well suited to this move as well.

Double Axels:
The Nirvana will do double axels, I have rocked the kite from right-left and using the extra momentum needed as well as slack for two rotations. Many times the kite would really flatten out on the last roation so giving slack is a key to avoid a tip wrap here.

Coin Toss:
The kite seems to be a natural for doing coin-toses all varieties. Tips stabs are very impressive also on the Nirvana.


Half Axel:
Half axels are easily done on the Nirvana, nice way for a quick transitions to a fade or change in direction.

Cacade:
The kite Cascades very well indeed, and transitions quite smoothly doing so. Cascades look nice and can be done slowly or rather quickly. I like a kite than you can relax a bit with while doing cacades. There's ugly looking ones and there full graceful ones..the N does these with a touch of elegance and finesse.


Roll Up Moves:
The kite seems even with the stock weight system (15 grams internal) to roll up fairly easily. Keeping the hands seems to help when catching the stoppers. A nice move in my opinion, is to roll the kite up, and gain some altitude and unroll from multi Lazies..nice touch..the kite shows a considerable amount of stability while rolled up. The stopper position is critical here, R-Sky did it right on the position.



The kites comes with factory installed yo-yo stoppers, R-Sky used a different approach utilizing new stoppers for the Nirvana. They are rigid plastic that holds up much better than using TAPA (Tiny APA connectors)..The stoppers do not cut like the APA's which periododically needed replacing on a regular basis.

To avoid line snag, R-Sky has implemented a new type of sail clips for the stand-offs as well. A button shape sail attachment replaces the traditional Jaco connector with a O-ring. This allows the lines a chance to slide over the clips instead of the line hanging on them.

Long Term Durability: The kite holds up very well..Many have owned the Nirvana's since their introduction to the United States market, and after countless hours of flying have shown very little wear.

Frame Geometry:
On the newest generation of Nirvana's improvements have been made..
Shortening on the upper spreader. (50cm versus-51.5cm)
This narrows the nose, which aids with precision as well as enhanced pitch capability. Lower LE is Sky Shark P300..The kite feels very good in its wind range, but the UL Nirvana is a must for low wind conditions. It carries over many of the traits of the standard..


If you want a kite thats capable of most any FS tricks take a look at the Nirvana..If you want a full range they offer a SUL-UL-Standard-HW vented coming very soon..(High Wind Vented)

There's so many things I'd like to do :wink: , but I have my limitations. My only limitations is the flier at the end of the lines, not the Nirvana.

Transitions from one position to another, comes quite naturally for the Nirvana. It still is quite forgiving if set-up is not dead on perfect. It absorbs less than perfect inputs and does most everything well. Best of all, it makes a mediocre flyer look even better. And for myself, this is a good thing.. 8) It's nice sometimes to try before you buy, I was lucky enough to have a few friends with an open invitation to try out the kite.

This is just my opinion on the kite, some specs may vary as I offered my personal experience of the ones I've owned. :wink:

Down Side:
Availability of the complete line-up of each kite SUL-UL-Standard..HW option coming very soon. I can't wait to try the variable venting on the HW Nirvana..

The kite has a different feel if your not used to flying a French kite. This is not a negative thing, it just has a different feel than the majority of kites available previously.[img][/img]

[staff]

We don't have a lot of fly time on the Standard, been playing with the UL and the SUL, but after the great review, am looking forward to it. Thanks Dan for your review

We are glad to have you guys here from such a great distance and having a little East coast perspective. You are more than welcome! Theresa, is pushing hard to get the level of flying and the quality of kites that you folks east of the Rockies are experiencing to show up here in the Northwest. We have a really good sport kite league and they put on quality events, it's just getting the people interested that's the hard part. Your contributions with that perspective helps unite everyone in the sport, and I think I can speak for the loyal that show up at our small forum here to say that it is greatly appreciated. 8)

Scott

[icenum]

Just a quick-review, and the reason I like the Nirvana a lot. I have the UL also, I will write one on the N UL soon also..As well as the STX-Transfer-others when I feel up to it...

[Theresa]

Thanks, Dan!

Looking forward to your next one!

Theresa

[staff]

Nice picture... Where d'ya get that... :?:

[icenum]

Can we link pics using our own photos? I have a review on the Replica-HW-SUL coming soon? I used your link were others would know the pic.. :wink:

[Theresa]

ABSOLUTELY!