After a lot of begging, pleading, groveling, crawling and then threatening i managed to get my hands on one of the pre production used bars complete with lines
yes yes i know how did i manage this? well if i tell you all my secrets i wont have as much chance to pull it off again next time the new stuff is up for grabs will i?!
the bar turned up and looks like it has been well and truly tested for quite some time like the Blade team has been telling me.
initial impressions after hooking the lines to my tow bar, hooking into my harness and pretending to kite for 15 minutes (yes there is no wind).
very comfy grip and bar shape, the slight angle really works
easy to use cleat for depower
nice new lines
overall its clean new look where the old bar did not seem to match up against the better known brands.
the swivel is an interesting piece, Blade told me they had a good part that could resist sand. when the bar showed up it was covered in sand (looks like its been through the bad treatment developer) i shook it off and sand fell out of the swivel but it still worked without jamming!
i will get back to you all after trying the bar on the water and will ask for permission on posting pics. one of my mates dropped over as i was kiting from my tow bar who rides a big name brand kite, he was very excited about this bar after letting him fly my van with it!