Freilein Vertigo and Freilein Vertigo Max. a review

[riffclown]

On 9/12/2016 at 8:09 PM, hyzakite said:

If you want to see what the freilein // oskusa kites will all look like go to the osk site and look at the exodus mid in green, it's the only one on their site.

They've fixed most (but not all) of their pics and have a chart with all the models pictured now..

[riffclown]

I noticed the Vertigo prices went up on OSK's site this weekend.

[Steve Jenkins]

5 hours ago, riffclown said:

I noticed the Vertigo prices went up on OSK's site this weekend.

Of course they have. It's due to all the good free publicity you have given them 

[riffclown]

Well the jury is still out on whether the sail material will hold up or not.

[Landon]

I received 5 yards of the 1/3 oz. polyester fabric from OSK to make a Genki. I found on the straight grain it doesn't stretch it suddenly fails under stress. On the diagonal bias, it stretches significantly IMHO. About the same force applied to both scraps in the picture. Unfortunately I can't compare against Icarex, but this was pretty good effort to break it or stretch it this significantly. But I think this shows pretty well over time it will stretch on the diagonal. For my use it was great, however on a quad line, I think it could stretch. 

[riffclown]

On 9/23/2016 at 9:22 PM, riffclown said:

Well the jury is still out on whether the sail material will hold up or not.

So far the fabric seems to be holding up well. My full sails are in a stack and i know the throw launching isn't easy on any of the components..Granted I don't fly every day but I'm still pleased with the materials so far

 

[jedijon]

These two models would appear to be commissioned by OSK.

 

Freilein has been making their own Windrider model for years it appears. Can anybody comment on this model? Specifically how it compares to the OSK versions.

 

I'm curious because pricing on importing your own puts it around $160 with handles and lines vs OSK at least $270. They'd appear to be virtually the same with a slightly different color pattern and the new burned hole LE material vs the traditional mesh.

[Wayne Dowler]

OSK = Ocean Shores Kites in Washington State. Andy, the owner of the store up there, has direct input to the Chinese factory.The Vertigo and Exodus lines are made with his specs. He has specified things like fabrics used, rod construction and QC, even stitches per inch. Panels are cut by laser. For the money, a pretty decent product. I flew them last summer and was impressed with their overall performance and "bang for the buck"!

The Windrider is their own product. It has been the subject of countless horror stories of bad lines, cheap construction, lousy materials, etc. Ever hear the term knock-off? This was among those that tried to make a cheaper copy of the Revolution kite, Most failed. Even harmed the reputation of quality kites available. I'd put it this way - cheaper isn't always better.

Now to be honest in the comparison - the Exodus and Vertigo lines haven't been out very long compared to others, so the jury is still out on durability. But overall quality of construction and components seems to be far superior to the Windrider line.

If price is your sole reason to choose, think of it this way - would a few bucks more spent now, end up giving you a longer time investment, than something that might need replacing sooner?

[riffclown]

While those kites are probably the same source, OSK does do some pretty agressuve quality control on the manufacturing process. Ive not seen an out of place stitch yet and I've looked very closely. I'd never presume to tell anyone what to buy but I've been happy with all of mine so far.

[Paul LaMasters]

On 10/4/2016 at 9:58 PM, Landon said:

I received 5 yards of the 1/3 oz. polyester fabric from OSK to make a Genki. I found on the straight grain it doesn't stretch it suddenly fails under stress. On the diagonal bias, it stretches significantly IMHO. About the same force applied to both scraps in the picture. Unfortunately I can't compare against Icarex, but this was pretty good effort to break it or stretch it this significantly. But I think this shows pretty well over time it will stretch on the diagonal. For my use it was great, however on a quad line, I think it could stretch. 

The solution is simple, make smaller panels and control where you want the stretching to take place by angling the pieces differently.  Icarex is the perfect fabric for kite building until it has catastrophic failure, nylon stretches when wet (I seen Lam Hoac wet his kites down before competition begins to get it slowed down more, heavier even).

Dave Ashworth makes indoor kites out of Orcon.  It is the worst crap, it sticks to itself when rolled up, it tears like a bag of potato chips, it can't be sewn (those are just perforations for the tear to follow), it can't even take a tight sharp corner.  It has to be bonded (taped together with 3M's product #9460).  Any stress areas must be icarex and some patches will have to be dacron (those items can be sewn) for further strength.  So why use this material at all?  Because for his purposes it is LIGHT WEIGHT, like the finished kite is 50% the wt of an indoor Rev.

On the other side?  Ron Gibian made a custom Rev that my bride acquired for my 50th b'day.  It is a tarp, the most magnificient example of design and craftsmanship you have ever seen, but lots of it is 4 thicknesses of material.  Lots of it isn't back-cut either.  Who uses black on both the front and the back, separately on a sail?  A kite builder who's not a quad-head that's who.  I give lessons on that kite 'cause it built like brick shite-house, but cringe when folks ask how much ($950 ouch) and never answer or they get all panic stricken and no longer enjoy the experience.

Run a reinforcing strip down behind any long areas you want to control the stretching/ maintaining the shape, like Eliot Shook does on his signature weave kites, or Alden Miller's "Vicki", it's a thong sail, but it still has a shape to be maintained for flight stability

 

 

[riffclown]

So after a bout 6 months of throwing the stack, I'm still pretty happy with the 2016 Full sails.. I expanded the stack to four but looks like I'll have to stop soon. No more 2016 style RWB in stock or planned. The much touted holes along the LE and T Connections for the vertical spars might make the kite look more streamlined but it makes it a challenge to stack. The conventional wisdom in stacking is all stack lines are the same length. The Modification of the LE design and stealthing the connection requires custom lengths for the stack line.. That coupled with the price increase probably ends my experience with these sails.. I'll keep what I have and will even expand the stack if I can find the Vertigo RWB (2016 model) on the secondary market.. The Holes are pretty and functional for a single kite application.

Price and stackability is what drew me to these kites. Unfortunately for me, the "advancement" of the product has left me behind in both respects.. The Vertigo or Exodus no longer meets my needs or stated purpose..

My current plan is the 6 Vertigos I have will all be combined into a single six stack (2017 kite in the back) and I'll keep to my other kites for solo flights..

As a side note, I'm concerned with "no bungee attachment" and a "T connection" at the Vertical point, it's also created a new stress point for the LE.. IF you catch a tip, all the force is instantly transferred to this one point with no elastic to absorb or relieve the force.. I haven't had that happen but it seems to be a reasonable conclusion based on the design change...

[kitedad]

Our Vertigos are holding up well, took them out for the first time the other day since-- last fall sometime- I set the kite up for my boy but got confused and put the lines on the back side by mistake and didn't notice for about a half hour or so. It actually flew almost normal, landings were a little rough though. It's been raining cats and dogs here for a long time, I can count the sunny days on one hand since the first of the year. The Walmart tire shine I put on the kite last year to help with the crease marks seems to still be doing its job, no adverse affects yet, at least not from being folded in the kite bag for six months. Can't say the same for my truck tires though they are a little brownish now and in need of a good scrubbing. Come on Sunshine!!

[riffclown]

I have nothing against the kites except they no longer stack well.. That's the same kind of deal breaker for me as the reflex addition to the Revs breaking my catch and throw.. The end result is I don't/won't buy what doesn't work for me.. I don't mind spending extra for what I like but I refuse to pay more for something I like less..

If you fly single kites, the Freilein is great.. If you stack you are either wasting your time or setting yourself up for a lot of tuning. time invested.

[gljjr]

I was in Ocean Shores a couple weeks ago and picked up a custom OSK low wind version for my wife. It was blowing too hard to fly it effectively but it sure flew well. I'm heading back down this weekend and will hopefully have a chance to fly it again, as well as my personal design that is smaller than a Rev II. I have to say the build quality is on par with my Exp and Old Rev II (circa 1994).