GP 9m review

[NAG]

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.

[Hug'eau]

NAG, thank you for your review !
If you have already tried the Bularoo 2010 in 9m, could you give me a small comparison between these two kites ? (Bar feeling, low end, slack when unhooked, speed, jumps, etc).
It will help me a lot

Do not spend much time on that, I just want a little comparison (+ or - compared to the Bularoo).

if someone else tested these two kites, i'm interested !

[NAG]

Never tried the Bullaroo, but apparently it's a similar canopy shape to the 08/09 Waroo.. which I knew well. You are taxing my memory, but that was a nice kite.

Bar pressure / feel - Probably similar. The GP has much better kite 'feel' though... you feel like you are directly connected.

Low end: The Waroo was OK I remember, the GP is good too. The GP likes board speed at it's low end, so if you work it and get going, you are fine. This extends the low end nicely, but you need to have good kite skills to do it or you won't get going fast enough to get into the 'zone'.

Unhooked Slack: does the Waroo even have this? GP is wicked in this area. No comparison.

Speed: I've only flown the 9GP on the fast turn setting, my son would never have it set this way for tricks, he'd keep changing it to the slower turn setting. But this is a super kite, it moves through the air faster then the waroo. An there is no comparison in the turn, but remember this is a modern 'C' kite - it's a different feel and timing is different too.

Jumps: the GP is MEGGA. The waroo was good, the HP better. The GP falls into the 'better' category too. And hang is awesome. timing is different as you come in to land - it's C kite timing, not waroo/HP SLE timing. If you know C kites, you'll know what I mean. It's super easy to jump, like the waroo in that respect (the HP required much more attention to timing, which it then rewarded in spades(!)), but you can flick it way further back. C kite jump style. I really liked that.

All in all it's a much more engaging experience. You need to be 'on it' much more then with the waroo, but if you have the kite handling skills, you can throw it around and it responds very, very nicely. A very rewarding kite to ride.

Hope this helps

[Hug'eau]

Thanks !
Actually my heart is balanced between TS and GP. My riding style is pretty freestyle with unhooked stuff (backmobe, 313, KL HP, etc).
I've been riding Waroo and then Bularoo for the last 4 years but now i'm looking forward to a kite with a great line slack.
BUT i LOVE doing huge jumps and big kiteloops that's why i'm also looking for a kite which works great in that case.
To finish, i want a kite with a great bar feeling (some bar feedback but not too much).

After reading reviews, I'm more into the GP.
Anyway, testing the GP and TS will be great to find the best one for my style !

[sq225917]

If you really want slack line feel then the GP is the way forward, it's what the GP is all about the REFLEX LE design is like no other and it gives you so much time to make you pass after you pop.