Someone better warn the Italians - looks like a handful of Swiss ski bums are making illegal border crossings :o

Pretty sure he's Czech (I see a lot of carons in the text)... someone warn the entire EU!

Looking at this post and the kite makes me wonder if I can manage to find a reason and money to get a set ..... grrrrr.... dammm kites ... always tempting with new kite smell ...

utahtami .... yehh .. I usually did get my kites 3 days later with DHL express ...
customs and duty fees if any come in mail few days later and if they are i payd anything form $40-$80 ....

I hate to report - I love the Shaman!
Today was the third day in a row kite skiing Togwotee Pass north of Jackson Hole area. (As far as I'm concerned it is so much nicer than Skyline.)
The previous 2 days I was out on the 12m Peak2. Today was my first chance to use the 6m Shaman. My partner in crime was on the Peak 6m. I consider that to be the sweetest of Peaks. It's stabile, not flappy, quite responsive.
The 6m Shaman was even nicer. I would estimate a little more depower, no flap, and an effective trim adjustment. (Peak2s have the trim but don't respond well if you trim them in more than a couple inches.) Relaunching out of the "taco" (sides folded in) and "burrito" (doubling up lengthwise) configurations went well. The wind was typical mountain gusts.
I was satisfied with the Gin iced bar. I am happy with the ease of wrapping up the Peaks due to the minimalist approach of no pads, no brake strap, etc. Obviously there are advantages to those extras.
The material of the kite feels paper thin. I think this gives it a light wind advantage over the Peak. The majority of the length of the lines are not color coded. Maybe this isn't much of an issue. I never used the 5th line so I can't comment on it. I like the looks of the Shaman.
Windstruck, don't you think I need a whole quiver?

Quote: Originally posted by utahtami

Windstruck, don't you think I need a whole quiver?

Never met a quiver I didn't like!

Very pleased that you have become so enamored with the new Gin SS offerings. Makes me happy to know you are on a kite that works for you and that the SS world continues to evolve and seemingly improve.

Now, about that quiver. With there now but scant few days left before IBX might I suggest you hold off on the quiver until you've had a chance to try (if you'd like) or at least see my Born-Kite LS2s in action? They too represent nice incremental improvements over the Peaks. Hate to have you pull such a big trigger and then find yourself in raptured kite envy at Ivanpah! :karate:

I think that 3.5m LS2 was the kite that really caught my attention. The best behaved kite I have seen in nuking winds. It flies like a grown up when all the little 1.5 / 2.5m kites are zipping around like 4 year olds on Red Bull.

If by any chance you find the top end of your 6m there is a reasonable option.

I did receive a bill from FedEx for $40. I subsequently used the 5th line once and was quite disappointed.

Quote: Originally posted by utahtami

I subsequently used the 5th line once and was quite disappointed.

Care to elaborate on that statement?

I kite skiied on the Shaman 3 days but only used the 5th line once. To get a more thorough feel for it I went to the park and kite buggyed with it yesterday expressly to use the 5th line. When the wind was light to moderate it worked great. When the wind was howling several times it tangled up the kite making relaunch impossible, a couple more times it didn't fully depower the kite - possibly because it tangled up lines. I naively was expecting something like Ozone's re-ride system where I could just pull in the line a few feet and have the kite sit there all docile.

Quote: Originally posted by utahtami

I kite skiied on the Shaman 3 days but only used the 5th line once. To get a more thorough feel for it I went to the park and kite buggyed with it yesterday expressly to use the 5th line. When the wind was light to moderate it worked great. When the wind was howling several times it tangled up the kite making relaunch impossible, a couple more times it didn't fully depower the kite - possibly because it tangled up lines. I naively was expecting something like Ozone's re-ride system where I could just pull in the line a few feet and have the kite sit there all docile.

I've had the same (disappointing) reaction to the dedicated 5th line safety on the Born-Kite LS2s. Like Tami, I truly appreciated having the 5th Re-Ride line on my Ozone kites for snow kiting while I still owned them. I used them numerous times, either simply to rest (hand pulling the fifth line in a few yards from the metal ring in the chicken loop) or when I needed to pop the chicken loop for safety reasons. On the Born-Kite LS2s the kite will collapse and come to the ground but it won't necessarily stay untangled. There is so much bridling on a SS, and the kite without pressure on the lines to give it shape can easily fold onto itself in all sorts of undesirable ways. The thing is, once a SS is loose from its tight tethering it flags out with really virtually no pull anyway so a 5th line system may just be overkill on a SS foil.

In retrospect I probably could have simplified matters and simply gone with a single Born-Kite bar with a standard 4.5 line flag out system and not had the fifth line business built into my kites. I still may go that way if I end up with lots of time on my hands and a desire to fiddle with my lines. Note: that day may never come...

I too had my 5th line get caught up with my other four primary lines and cause me some headaches. Live and learn...

made an account to contribute to this thread! but i found a place that sells gin stuff (including the shaman) online in $USD. i bought a 6m shaman from them about a month ago pretty smooothly. i don't know if its cool to say it explicitly, but you can just google "gin shaman for sale" and it'll be like the 3rd link.

Nice find, Wilkinsbud!

I don't think there's any rule about that here? Huh - just looked, guess there is a rule about posting store links.
Anyway, looks like they're in Jupiter, Fla. They stock some interesting brands... including Gin, Ten, Zeeko. I would imagine everyone else on the coast has a lock on the other major brands, or they're just trying to differentiate... Good to finally see some representation, hope they take off. Going to be tough now that Peak and Born have poofy tips.