the first official ManiaC C-Kite test from german magazine Kitelife.de.
ManiaC Review by Kitelife Magazine
The facts:
For months there were rumors that Wainman Hawaii was about to launch their new kite and it could happen at anytime. Finally the time is now! With the ManiaC, the Hawaiian based company presents a classic C-shaped Freestyle/Wakestyle kite, with a deep profile, wide wingtips and five struts. Contrary to the Rabbits, the Maniac features a one-pump system to help distribute the air pressure during hard impacts and of course, to increase comfort while pumping up the kite.
It was very important to the Wainman Hawaii crew that the Maniac function on four lines. To increase flag-out safety and to help relaunch in very critical conditions, Wainman Hawaii will offer a 5th Line upgrade kit later in the near future.
The kite will be for sale in Germany in January, and prices were not available at the publication deadline for this yearbook.
On the Water:
At first site you wouldn't expect it, but the very classical shaped ManiaC surprised us with a powerful low wind performance. A few power strokes and the ManiaC delivers a steady pull and can then be parked. In low wind conditions the ManiaC is one of the most powerful contenders in this test field. Its deep position in the wind window is rock solid and its profile remains stable in gusts.
For effective upwind riding one should know how to use the board edge. But other than that it doesn't require a lot of input from the rider, because of its linear power delivery. Despite this, it is a very comfortable kite to fly and is still snappy when needed. It is very reactive to steering inputs without any delay, and loops perfectly with a medium to almost tight radius. On the bar some input is required - the medium bar pressure gives perfect feedback for the position of the kite and what its doing. Bar pressure and reactivity can be adjusted through various trimming options (3 positions on the front lines and 4 on the back lines). Hooked in jumps are a piece of cake, because sending the ManiaC results in a high flying speed with absolute no downwind pull. In medium winds and higher the ManiaC has a solid lift and hangtime. Unhooked the ManiaC really shines. The deep position in the wind window delivers a powerful pop and the slack right after takeoff couldn't be any better. We were actually surprised by the water relauch of the ManiaC. While in low and medium winds it needs to be tilted a bit, it relaunches in higher winds easily by pulling on one steering line.
Conclusion:
The long wait has paid off. The ManiaC is a valuable addition to the C-kite market. No other contender in this segment could deliver such pure flight characteristics of a C-kite and still offer above average comfort and control. Wainman Hawaii landed a brilliant first coup that makes us hungry for testing the other sizes of the ManiaC.
Read original german version here.
Aloha!