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Mongoose vs Tica


Breezin
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Man I shoulda known better. 99% of you probably scratched your head (as I would) thinking so what. Ya like it get it. After all they'd be different colors 😈. That my friends is thinking like a kite addict. I do not believe there is a cure. Should there be?  EGADS NO !!! I'd been waiting on Tica info since it's announcement last spring. Really like to have a Solus and Devon says the Tica is what the Solus should have been. That makes the want very bad indeed.Limited resources and a wife that needs (my bad) to reign in my OCD kite affliction makes me have to choose wisely. Brakes have been engaged on the Tica. After a LONG wait and many false starts a Benson Superfly was finally ordered today. YAY!!! Now I got the Tica to fret about for the foreseeable future. Well that and a Deep Space UL. Oh and a Nirvana. Maybe a Lam light vented. Wow a Air One Arrow and Cosmic should really be in the bag.Man it just goes on and on and on :mf_party:. Anybody want to sell any beat up L'Atelier for $20.00? Maybe I can fix it LOL.

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Tica 2020 is available for order, as I hear. Just yesterday... Today I get an email from KMac that my Moonie Mamba will be ready by the end of the week. I haven't bought a new kite in a while, but when it rains, it pours, I guess. Oh, the kicker ? If you order a standard and UL Tica, there's a hefty discount ! Head's spinning, how do I justify this ?

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Ya got a 50/50 on the Gemini. Sorry not a chance in hades on the Deep Space LOL Moonies are so COOL. Watched the ticker every day for that run of kites. Sadly I refrained. My bad but to me Rob it's very obvious. You NEED both Ticas 😋.  

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I’m on the fence with the new tica. Honestly after the Solus, I’m hesitant about any kite claims Devin makes. I flew what was supposed to be the final prototype of the Solus and pre ordered based on that flight test. What I got was worlds different and I had to do some tuning, as RobB well knows to feel like I didn’t waste $700. There’s a few people I trust that have flown the tica I’m going to talk to before I make the leap. I have flown the original tica and it is an amazing kite.


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Anthony, my Solus has become my favorite standard trick kite. After it's trip out to the west coast to visit you, and then the gradual trip back east by the way of the Skyburner shop, I learned to fly it the way it wants to be flown. It still has a lot to teach me, but I enjoy every minute of flying it. Not to mention the XXL, it's an excellent kite as well. I can't wait to fly the Tica 2020, I'm just having a hard time deciding on the colors. The stock red/black/white is hot, but I'm not done playing with the colorizor...

 

 

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9 hours ago, khsidekick said:

Great video is that a STD or UL Solus. Had both but ruined my UL at WSKIF this year.

That's the standard. As with the WidowMaker, I don't see the use of having an UL. Both fly down to about 3mph while still being able to trick. Sorry to hear about your UL, is it totaled ?

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3 hours ago, Lon said:

That is some nice flying Rob!!

 

Thanks, Lon. That's to give you an idea of what the Solus can do in light wind... really light wind. Still tricks. The Solus is a full-on trick kite, it's not as precise as the Widow Maker. I'm expecting that the Tica 2020 will be a good mix of both. I am excited to fly it, especially in these same winds. Big kites are just easier to see ! (good feature for old eyes like mine...)

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7 hours ago, RobB said:

Big kites are just easier to see ! (good feature for old eyes like mine...)

I absolutely hear what you are saying here!!

Regarding the Solus, it appears to be a very capable kite in lighter wind conditions, especially if the fellow on the other end of the lines know what they are doing and well, it appears you do.  Thanks for sharing the video!!

On a side note, I am hoping that Santa got my early request for a TICA😉

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On 10/23/2019 at 12:15 PM, Ca Ike said:

kite claims Devin makes.

I do enjoy Devins videos and the knowledge he shares. I've developed a pretty different style than his and need to see a variety of fliers opinions on the Tica too. Your experience with the Solus sucks Anthony. I've read similar issues with the Widow Maker Pro std and ul . A lot of disappointment on the ul. People seemed bummed that they felt so different. Due to that and the WMPs(Mongoose too) ability to trick in 3 or 4 mph wider range suls make more sense for me. Then again some builders don't discern a difference between sul or ul. Maybe the tip tweaks in a Tapp era WMP made a difference in the ul but I don't know. My guess is that Tapps idea has been transferred to the Tica as well as the newest Mambas in some fashion.Unlike reviews I'd read my Tapp WMP isn't much like what I remember of the Widow ng. New Superfly is still a couple weeks out but doubt I'll ever need/want the ul. The Deep Space ul on the other hand makes more sense for me than the standard. Go figure :huh:. More I think about it the more a pair of std Ticas makes sense when I have someone to learn team flying with. Maybe 🤔. Maybe not. Hmm Supernova vs Tica head to head. Could be I'm on a Benson kick but what other kites would be apples to apples. Slash Aero? A polyvalent kite that has a guarantee that 5 kites in a order will be MATCHED with no additional tuning. That seems to be the standard for what the Tica is designed to do. Hoping you get your Xmas wish Lon. Before I got my 1st kite read a post by Rob encouraging newbies to get the best kite they can and grow into it. Even if used. Saves money in the long run. Well maybe not. Money saved went to the "just one more fund" but I got good kites. Took that advice and have never regretted it. From watching that video you can deduce why. Don't think I've grown into any of them yet LOL. AC sul for sure NOT!!

 

On 10/24/2019 at 12:53 PM, RobB said:

Big kites are just easier to see ! (good feature for old eyes like mine...)

Yup but it's still easier to fake it on a 3/4 LOL.

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15 hours ago, Breezin said:

I do enjoy Devins videos and the knowledge he shares. I've developed a pretty different style than his and need to see a variety of fliers opinions on the Tica too. Your experience with the Solus sucks Anthony. I've read similar issues with the Widow Maker Pro std and ul . A lot of disappointment on the ul. People seemed bummed that they felt so different. Due to that and the WMPs(Mongoose too) ability to trick in 3 or 4 mph wider range suls make more sense for me. Then again some builders don't discern a difference between sul or ul. Maybe the tip tweaks in a Tapp era WMP made a difference in the ul but I don't know. My guess is that Tapps idea has been transferred to the Tica as well as the newest Mambas in some fashion.Unlike reviews I'd read my Tapp WMP isn't much like what I remember of the Widow ng. New Superfly is still a couple weeks out but doubt I'll ever need/want the ul. The Deep Space ul on the other hand makes more sense for me than the standard. Go figure :huh:. More I think about it the more a pair of std Ticas makes sense when I have someone to learn team flying with. Maybe 🤔. Maybe not. Hmm Supernova vs Tica head to head. Could be I'm on a Benson kick but what other kites would be apples to apples. Slash Aero? A polyvalent kite that has a guarantee that 5 kites in a order will be MATCHED with no additional tuning. That seems to be the standard for what the Tica is designed to do. Hoping you get your Xmas wish Lon. Before I got my 1st kite read a post by Rob encouraging newbies to get the best kite they can and grow into it. Even if used. Saves money in the long run. Well maybe not. Money saved went to the "just one more fund" but I got good kites. Took that advice and have never regretted it. From watching that video you can deduce why. Don't think I've grown into any of them yet LOL. AC sul for sure NOT!!

 

Yup but it's still easier to fake it on a 3/4 LOL.

Devins goal was to modernize the Tica so other than a deeper sail there shouldn't be much difference from the original sail design according to Devin early on in the development.  I loved the original Tica and IF Devin kept the rail straight locked in tracking, no oversteer lightning quick turning and just made tricks more accessible but not trick kite easy, then it will be a winner for me as I like to fly precision/trick ballet style.

The WM has always been a great kite and the UL is a favorite of mine down to 1mph but I never got a chance to fly the Tapp pro version to compare.

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The WM has always been a great kite and the UL is a favorite of mine down to 1mph but I never got a chance to fly the Tapp pro version to compare.

The Widow Maker has long been my 'Desert Island' kite. Likewise, I haven't flown the new generation 'WM Pro'. I have to wonder how much different they are. I found the original Widow Maker insanely easy to fly, it gives away beautiful looking tricks even when the inputs aren't that good. The wind range is pretty wide, too... 

I don't know about these Widow NG's though. I haven't heard much good about them, it makes me wonder how they even got the name. Once again, never flew one.

On 10/30/2019 at 6:59 PM, Breezin said:

've read similar issues with the Widow Maker Pro std and ul .

 

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My assumptions on Tapps WMP tip mod is just that. Total assumption. From reading reviews I'd thought the WMP would be a upgrade from my Widow ng. Instead I found a very different kite and it's way, way better. Quite a bit more forgiving than my Lams. Pretty fast in 15 to 20 yet easy to stall. Lots of whooping, hollering and dang it worked in those winds. It's another I got way early in the learning curve. Not one I want to flog so it took awhile to get comfortable in it's upper range. Don't regret my Widow ng as my 1st kite. Got me to the WMP. Knowing what I know now I'd have gotten a Sky Dog Crossfire. Think I would have had less broken parts. Still a guess though but then that's half the fun of researching. Long, long wait on the newest. Man I'm hoping I like it cause as usual it's a guess.

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12 hours ago, Breezin said:

My assumptions on Tapps WMP tip mod is just that. Total assumption. From reading reviews I'd thought the WMP would be a upgrade from my Widow ng. Instead I found a very different kite and it's way, way better. Quite a bit more forgiving than my Lams. Pretty fast in 15 to 20 yet easy to stall. Lots of whooping, hollering and dang it worked in those winds. It's another I got way early in the learning curve. Not one I want to flog so it took awhile to get comfortable in it's upper range. Don't regret my Widow ng as my 1st kite. Got me to the WMP. Knowing what I know now I'd have gotten a Sky Dog Crossfire. Think I would have had less broken parts. Still a guess though but then that's half the fun of researching. Long, long wait on the newest. Man I'm hoping I like it cause as usual it's a guess.

The widow NG you have to remember is a cheaper version of the widowmaker.  Diferent sail material and different framing but a good kite for the money.  Premier did a good job on the kite and for those that don't know, the NG stands for New Graphics.  Consider it an entry level Widowmaker.  Steve Tapps pro version has some small sail changes bit I don't remember what they are and I'd have to ask Jon or Devin.

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hi  Breeezin

i'm reading with interest...always enjoy your posts...that's reason enough to buy the tica, so this newbie flyer can have kite reviews before i make my next kite choice.  lol   your comments about the hydra helped make that choice. btw i picked up the echo at itw ...also a DeBakker design.  good kite but at 4 oz. its a little delicate.

anyway keep up the good work i know you'll make the right choice (sorry, sounds like im talking to one of my kids  lol)

Bob

 

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On 11/8/2019 at 6:18 AM, BobL said:

(sorry, sounds like im talking to one of my kids  lol)

HA wifes been saying that for several decades. Started to grow up a bit but then I found kites so why bother. Grown ups suck. They get all bossy and opinionated. OOPS maybe I'm grown up after all. DANG IT MAN!!!!

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