Tried the 9m Nano and the 10m Thruster out today in waves with 10>>15 knts of wind. Both kites where on 20 mtr lines and for me the 9m Nano is amazing.

I'm 80kg and was on a 6ft surfboard and to be honest didn't think I was going to get out on the water, but the 9m Nano is such a sweet kite I was able to ride down the line and upwind all on water that was smooth without any whitecaps.

Its great to be able to ride such smooth wave faces and use a kite that goes where you want it to.

The 9m Nano is a real flyers kite ie sheet in to turn and let the bar out so the kite comes out of the turn fast. It would be easy to over sheet the 9m Nano in light winds and kill it, but I'm used to that way of flying fuels to get them working in light wind waves so for me it was like I'd flown the Nano for years.

Love the bar pressure feedback on the 9m Nano. The thruster 10m for me was too light on the bar and needed a lot more wind to load the rear lines enough to ride waves in the conditions I was riding.

So all I can say is ,if you wave riders out there get a chance , try out these kites and see what you think.

I'm stoked with them and will only need the 6m and 9m Nano for all my wave riding.

Sweet did they come with a team membership? I think if you own the kites you get on the team automatically so you should check.

9m for 10>>15 knots?? What board where you using?

A locally made custom Carbon Art which is quite similar to the 08 Airush converse in that its a board with a lot of rocker and soft rails, and mono concave bottom.

The stated wind range for the 9m Nano is 13>>28knts for a 80 kg rider and that would be about right.

In the lulls 10knts I had to fly the kite a bit to get up to speed, but it would park in 12 knts and cos it has more rear line tension than a lot of other SLE's you can turn sweet in the light with out the kite going dead in the turns.

I wouldn't ride anything I didn't like myself, so if they want a Team rider that would tell people to try out other brands of kites as well ,before they decide what they like for themselves,and not to buy a kite they don't like then I might be interested, but not really, I prefer to stay independent and buy and ride what ever I like.

I have always believed that if you don't like a kite the first time you try it don't buy it, vs Kiters being told they have to get used to the kite.

That is the reason I've stayed on my 06 slingys for so long cos I didn't fly anything that I liked better, for the way I ride, so I wasn't going to spend the $$ until I had a gain in performance and a kite I liked up front on the first session.

So thats why I'm saying if you are a serious wave rider try these kites and see what you think.

You may or may not like them, but I'm stoked

I have been impressed with how quickly some people have improved on their 6 and 9m Nanos in our messy and wimpy East Coast NZ waves. The 12m looks too slow turning though.

How you do you get on self-landing on rocky Taranaki beaches? Did you take it out in those 5m+ West Coast waves this week? A weather bomb hits on Saturday if the models are to be believed.

Simon

Self landing the same as my fuels, fly down low at side of wind window and pull the top front line so the kite flops onto its leading edge.

And yes these kites rip in big waves, solid smooth power delivery and pull just the right amount in the turns to keep the lines tight with out pulling you out of the pocket.

I have the 9m & 12m Nano and these kites are pretty similar to fly. To me the 12m doesn't seem that much slower than the 9m. They remind me of a trainer kite the way you can flick them around the sky. Definitely recommend giving them a chance if you can.

Yes the way they pivot turn and change direction is what makes them so good in down the line waves, or any waves for that matter.

Some of the other Bows kites pivot turned ,but they had no pull in the turn so they were useless for wave riding.

The Nano pivot turns from one turn to the next with no sign of stalling or losing speed in the turns. From the bar end it is just a constant smooth pull all over the wind window much like a good C kite on shorter lines, only the Nano 's turn tighter, and then on top of that you can let out the bar to kill power and the Nano still turns tight

Hi Kevin,

What Fuel sizes would you compare the 6 and the 9 Nano with? Top and bottom end for both on a surfboard?

Thanks,
T.