Rider: 82kg intermediate
Style: Freeriding, small surf
Weather: 15-20 knots couple of sessions
Satisfaction: 8/10
Value for money: 10/10
Quiver: Ocean Rodeo Mako 140,Cardboard 134, F-one B5 10 & B3 13m
Disclosure: Pay for my gear, no associations
Background: Primarily flown F-ones from DOS through to B5. Looking to upgrade my light wind B3 13m. I am involved in a number of sports and base my equipment purchases on 3 things Performance, Quality/Value for money and Service.
Quality/Value:
First off it looks like a quality package, whilst it appears most brands are cutting back on carry bags/extras etc I was really impressed with the carry bag and additional dry mesh bag (great for quick pack-ups). The ribbed scuff pads on the LE are a good inclusion to minimise damage for self launch/landing. The overall build quality of the seams, bridle joints and reinforcement to the tips etc is very good. As per most kites these days, its one pump inflation but the valve seems a little smaller than other kites so it was a little harder to inflate but this was minimal and we can all use a bit more warm up. The tubes connecting to the struts are secured by "O" rings, this seems to be okay but I think time will tell if this is better than a more secure system like a cable tie etc. The kite has delta wing tips, 3 struts (these taper right down on the ends which is unusual looking)and a medium sized leading edge (slightly larger than the B6 but way smaller than my old B3) overall the kite is fairly light in weight. The bridles are simple and use a slider ring instead of a pulley, Which I think is a much better system. The graphics are great (strictly personal)
Performance:
As I said above I have really only ridden F-One's so most of my comments will be based on a comparison, so I would appreciate a little slack here. I tried the Xtend bar and lines during my demo to compare it to the F-one bar and cleat system (that is very simplistic) to see which bar I would use. The xtend bar can switch from 45 to 55cm by either attaching the lines to the inside or outside of the bar ends which is good if you have multiple kites of varying sizes. The trim system uses straps and performed adequately (I preferred the cleat)and there was plenty of bar throw for depower and range. The QR was well made and easy activate. There are multiple adjustment knots on the front lines (front lines could be adjusted individually which seemed abit overkill) above the trim straps and on the back lines at the bar extension. The xtend system performed fine but I preferred the F-one lines and as such are using them on the kite (this is purely a personal opinion before we start the mine is better debate). Now, down to the main event how does this sucker fly and feel. Straight from the word go the kite felt very stable, smooth and for a larger kite its quite responsive (especially for those odd heart in mouth moments). The upwind performance was very good, slightly less than the F-one which I think is exceptional. I would not consider myself a great jumper by any means, but the boost and air control is excellent and helped me make significant improvements in my jumping and confidence (again I would put this down to how smooth and stable it is). I had a couple of opportunities to test the relaunch in both small surf and choppy conditions, the relaunches were easy with little effort it did most of the work on its own (equal to the F-one).
Service
I was introduced to the kite via a demo day by Nigel at East Coast Kitesurfing. Its always good to talk to the guy that flies the kites he sells, especially when they have a great understanding and confidence in their product. Nigel has been great and offered me the demo without any prompting and I was lucky enough to be given a brand new kite for a couple of weeks to make sure I was happy with the style and size. After purchase of the kite I also received follow up emails to check on satisfaction, very uncommon these days.
Overall Summary
The quality and value for money is excellent. The performance of the kite is well suited to my freeride (cruiser style). It is very smooth and stable to fly and inspires confidence in your flying (particularly good for intermediate flyers like myself). The service provided was very professional. Based on what I have experienced so far I would highly recommend both kite and operator.
