Ocean Rodeo is excited to announce its newest kite, The Prodigy.


Available in sizes 3, 5, 7, 9.5, 12 &14m

Designed to be an all new Freeride experience the Prodigy features a compact 3 strut design, ultra stable flight characteristics, a swept shape for simple water relaunch and Adapti-V ultra short bridles which maintain positive steering even when heavily de-powered.

Check out the video below and stop in to visit us at 41 Cadillac Ave here in Victoria or our online store to get your quiver sorted today! We are offering amazing prices on this new kite and 1st Ride packages complete with a board and bar and lines!

Both Ned and I will be up at the lake for most weekends this summer too and would be happy to bring kites up for you to demo if you are considering a purchase. Please feel free to call our offices to discuss further!

Sizes 9.5, 12 & 14 ship immediately! Sizes 3, 5 & 7m available August 1st!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUYTVZXJPAs[/youtube]

Yeah, I've been waiting for this for my household learners. : )

There was a day that seemed like an Ocean Rodeo convention in PA. Razors, Rises, Broncos all lining up on the Canal Beach pier....it looked like an airport runway with kiters ready to launch and fly. Looking forward to watching a new OR Prodigy on the Alberni inlet with the spectacular mountain backdrop.

The canopy looks like a cross between a Wainmann and Fone, which are both sick for hooked in freestyle and surf.

From what I can see the prodigy has almost the exact bridle and rear attachments of the Fone, a 4 point 3 pulley system that is by far the best design for light bar pressure, stability and anti-hindenberging. The are 2 problems with the 3 pulley system though: light wind relaunch, hopefully the more swept LE takes care of this (otherwise you'll want to trim or push the bar and stopper as far away as possible); second, after a hard crash and lurch the kite can get stuck on it's extrados when the 3 pulleys shift into safety mode.

It'll be interesting to see if they got the rigidity and floaty aerofoil of the Bandit 4; by far the most rigid 3 strut kite out there. Either way, when you add in the OR special customer service for Islanders, this is the kite to have for all beginner through intermediate (not for handle passers) and even expert waves.

So since you guys at OR have got your freeride kite taken care of for the next few years can you work on making a cross between a hadlow pro and fuel?

They have officially arrived!

I will be up at Nitinaht this weekend with a 9.5, 12, and 14 for first looks and rides on these spiffy new kites. Come check them out!

Got a surprise chance to try out a fresh 1st pump Prodigy (12m) today at Cook, good stuff! Very south wind (12 kites in Ross Bay) so hard to judge upwind tack from the norm but felt like it pointed high. Very stable, parked nicely. Turns nice with subtle bar pressure but give it the beans & it would pivot inside on own wingtip. Crashed once, relaunch was a non issue. Nice smooth power across the window and seemed to float downwind well.

Try one.

Yeah guys! Sandy, we will do our best to get one up to your neck of the woods....they make great school kites, I'll email ya

Smartang, see if you can connect with Ned this weekend to try one, especially if the wind is light. Would be stoked to see your take on the kite and its relaunch! Thanks for the feedback!

BlackDog - you know you want one! lol.

See y'all on the water!

Hey All,

I was lucky enough to try out the 9.5m Prodigy on tues. I have to say I was a little skeptical seeing as it is marketed as an easy to fly kite and I am more into the high performance end of things.
Out of the bag, first thing I noticed was the wicked design! This kite looks great! The new bag is pretty spiffy too. The next thing was the large sturdy looking leading edge. Looks like it would survive a crash or 2 into the cook st cliff!
Pumped up and got out there and right off the bat surprised with the amount of power. Looked pretty light and onshore out there, but I was cranking up wind no problem! The kite is not quick and zippy like a Razor, but more smooth and steady. Turns are a bit slower to initiate, but once it starts it rips through them. This feature will be great for beginner and intermediate kiters that have trouble with the kite drifting around the window as they are concentrating on other things. Bar pressure is a bit heavier than a Razor, but steady throughout the range. I was riding full till and I sheeted the bar all the way in just to see what would happen. Kite drifted slightly back in the window, then stopped. I kept going upwind with minimal loss of speed. Great feature for those bar squeezing noobs. I bombed over to Ross bay to join all the other kiters and try out my first jump. WOW!!! Can you say hang time Very nice relaunch too! Didn't even touch the bar, kite just rolled over and sat at the edge of the window. Ate it on the first few jumps as it jumps very differently than a Razor, but some nice buttery smooth lofty landing once I had it figured out. Water was flat and wind was steady so I tried unhooking her. This thing rocks unhooked The kite just sat there with a nice steady pull. Usually I am doing all I can to keep the kite in the air after a landing(unhooked riding not quite my forte) but the Prodigy just hung out around 1030 while I fumbled with the bar and chicken loop trying to hook back in. Bombed back over to the launch as the wind was dying and noticed the bottom end on the kite. I played around for about half an hour before I realized there were only 2 kites left out of the 20+ when I started Decided to try a few kiteloops for shits and giggles, but again surprisingly landed a few! Once it starts to loop... it goes around fast with a lot of loft on the landing Even stomped a big F-16 and Kiteloop Railie
Final thoughts on the Prodigy. Pleasantly surprised on all fronts. The OR boys have been talking a lot about the kite but it never really sparked my interest. After riding it has grabbed my attention! For me I will be stoked to try teaching with this kite and think I would take her out for a ride on the lighter days or when I am wanting to try some handle crashes In big winds or big surf I am going to stick with my trusty Razor
Get out and try one! I'm sure you will Love it

Gotta say I'm very interested in trying this kite, as a well-designed AND light kite would be a slick combination.

Maybe at Windfest - hoping there will be lots of them to demo there ?

Will anybody have one of these kites for demo/test fly at Nitinat this week? Which is probably the worst place for me to test a kite since the wind is so damn magical.

Nice review MartyD. Love the term 'handle crashes,' I'll put that one right next to my 'pussy loops'. I'm sure you already know this, but for anyone new to unhooking - one thing that helped me stop fumbling with the chicken loop was to just stop worrying about hooking back in on the asap. With the correct trim you should be able to do full tacks upwind while unhooked (experiment). This is especially useful after a big line slack, edge for a bit unhooked to get the canopy full of air then hook back in when it's convenient. Remember the most import part of wakestyle is the steez.

Nice looking kites more in an album soon

One thing I really like about my OR Rise kites is the low bar pressure. I hope OR will keep that feature in some kites. It's definitely a make or break thing when I test ride a new kite.

I'm not one make a review but from observing the kite in action it seemed to have a very stable canopy while others were a little jerky to the subtle changes of the rider! even when Ned was working the kite hard it flew very well without too much turbulent air tweaking around the wingtips!

great graphics too... a good looking kite amongst the sea of OR gear!

I bought a demo Prodigy 9.5 looking for a better bar design and wider wind range to replace a 2010 9m... the kite was powered up slightly on Saturday but flew well in only 20-22 knots at Nitinat Sunday...light winds for a bigger guy normally on a 12m.
She flew very stable and forgiving but given more input she cranked... OR known for the power and grunty kites have done well to make a manageable beginner kite.. the kite pointed really well and with some bar pressure she pivoted well about the center rather than pinching wingtips.. bar holding knobs as Marty mentioned...
the three strut design looks great and holds a tight canopy.. no venturi vents on this kite is a change from the norm but a good one. big fat leading edge is strong and takes a beating.. with all the normal build quality from OR this kite will last
the only thing Id like to see is one inflate and deflate valve... perhaps a screw on type like rubber boats or boat towing tubes... no skinny end to jam in.. just twist the hose fitting on..nothing against the kites inflate and deflate system ... just something that would be nice..

Interesting review, thanks Abetanzo. A couple thoughts:

-- I have a Cabrinha Switchblade, with a single inflation/deflation valve. I prefer it and believe it will become the industry standard. One negative, though, is it requires a twist on motion ... which means a weakness of the system is the glue holding this valve on. Twist too hard, and the seal's gone ... this won't happen with the current OR system.

-- I also have an OR rise 9m. I find it flies quite differently than the switchblade. In particular in lighter winds, it has a tendency to back-fly. Falls out of sky and then powers up before it hits the water, making for a rodeo ride. I know this is mostly user error, but have heard similar reports from other more experienced riders. Curious if the new designs post-Rise have similar flying behaviour.