Had an awesome session on this kite today, first time I've really been able to put it through its paces.
GP 9m, 22m lines rigged on rear-most back attachment point (fastest), front most attachment point on the LE.
My son and his friends had taken all our twin tips to the cable park today, so I grabbed my trusty surfboard.
Wind was about 16kts when I started, (a bit under-powered), built up to around 25kts when I stopped (very nicely powered, I'd want to trading down for a 7 if it got much stronger as I was on a surfboard).
WOW. This thing is ALIVE. Anyone who is getting a bit jaded with kitesurfing (really.. c'mon) needs to get a quiver of these babies. Super responsive, direct. Hard to compare to other kites, maybe the smaller taboos come closest in terms of feel, but you feel even more connected. You need good skills to make the most out of this kite, it flies fast and turns FAST. Faster then an 8 Taboo (on fast setting). When at the bottom end of the range, it like board speed. It responds really well to being worked, and as it's so responsive, it's really easy to work - this adds up to a great bottom end. Not like the 8 Taboo which is gutless when underpowered even if you fly it around. Not a park and grunt kite at the low end though, it's a performance machine that really rewards good flying skills. More technical to fly then the Taboo.
The depower is really good - a surprise. Forget the old Yarga, this baby has real depower.
But it just begs you to throw it around. It wants to be thrown around, and it's ready for whatever input you want to give it - it's got the speed to get to where you want it to be when you want to hit it, and the turn is instantly responsive, with heaps of smooth power. It turns really tightly, almost around it's center, nice and fast. This baby is a kite loop machine, so much fun to loop, though towards the end of my session as the wind really picked up I was backing off as I didn't want to risk breaking my surfboard.
Down the line (if you can call 0.5m wind swell a line) it's AWESOME. The drift and hang is just great, and it responds to bar input with slack lines much better then any other kite I've tried for years. The bar feel is light, but you can feel where it is, and it remains pretty constant, building only a little as the wind strength increases. It inspires confidence to go for it, whip it around, not worry about stalls, will it turn if you fly into it, over fly it, anything. Big surprise, you get comfortable on it fast. It feels like it would be a super wave kite (but I don't like 5-line kites in waves in case they roll). Unhooked is really nice. Bar weight is a bit like the 8 Taboo.
Jumping is MEGA. You HP guys will like this. I'm not a handle pass guy (leave that to my son) but you can feel the huge slack sweet spot when it's time to do that pass. Jumps are big, doesn't matter if you don't get the timing bang on, up you go. Hang time is huge too. Out jumps the Taboo by miles, it's a while since I flew HPs, but I'd be surprised if they are much better.
The grin factor on this kite is just MASSIVE. Peter, you have dialed this one in nicely! It's not for everyone, it is a bit technical as it flies and turns fast, but it really rewards good kite flying skills.
This is a total winner. Best, you have a really nice kite line up now.