So by now most people will have at least heard of the Epic Kiteboarding brand, or at the very least the legend that is Dimitri. The company is quite unique in that it's a small rider driven company headed by big boosting/hard charging Dimitri Maramenides and his wife Helen who are based in Hatteras USA.
After a long career as a pro-rider for several other brands inc. Airush they decided to start their own company with the goal of producing the best kites but also being able to offer the very best customer service available.
The aim is not to be the biggest kite brand in the world and dominate the market, the aim is simple...Make kites with the very best performance that are also extremely easy to use..no gimmicks, simply kites that excel whether you want to boost to the moon or rip in the surf...or just help you to progress quickly when you are just starting out in kitesurfing.
Over the past few years I have had the pleasure of spending a fair bit of time with this "crazy man" whilst on our annual group trips to Hatteras but also on a few trips to work on proto type kites and promo trips to Greece & France. This guy works harder than anyone I have ever known...long long days of emails/video/photo editing/generally everything that goes with running a successful business and then he is always motivated to kite mostly testing the latest proto kites to further improve the already hard to beat range of kites on offer.
Back in May I had the chance to try the new Screamer & Renegade 5G kites firstly in France with Dimitri and Jeroen (graphic designer) and then in Hatteras ..all sizes of both. I was worried beforehand how these new 5G kites would turn out as we loved the 4G kites so much.
Fortunately we did not need to worry, Epic have taken an already amazing kite range and injected even more performance..especially notable in the new Renegades, they now have a bit of the DNA from the Screamers. Just enough extra zest to make it truly awesome for both bigger boosting/better looping but still great in the waves. It still retains their ease of use though for beginner/intermediates...super important to us as we use them in our busy school but we also sell a lot to people just starting out in this amazing sport we all love so much.
The new 5G kites have been given a fresh new "family" look by the extremely talented Jeroen. The Epic kites are now all easier to identify with the new "E" proudly emblazoned on each model.
The new 5G Screamer in Poison design
As I'm writing this we are waiting on the first drop of kites to arrive, hopefully in time for our annual Portugal trip in a weeks time. It's amazing how a new kite makes you super keen again to get in for a session.
Here's a video we did whilst in Hatteras of the 5G Renegade
Epic Renegade 5G - Tested from Blast Kiteboarding on Vimeo.
and the 5G Screamer