It was a great session even if the wind didnt come in as forecast - I thought I was going to be testing the high end of the range and ended up testing the low end of the range. Overall though it did a great job, I was able to ride, do aerials, tricks, etc. while everyone else was unable to do anything other than mow the lawn. And yes, it DOES kiteloop. I had some decent gusts where I was able to pop off the water nicely and do a full kiteloop (not a megaloop, just regular KL, Im still noob munch at KLs) before I landed in the water.
The way I have it setup it basically flys like a light wind Bandit 7.Soft, floaty, very responsive, likes to pop. Favored angle is right about 45 degrees. Its very lively and you need to give it active management to get the most out of the kite - passive grunt wise its slightly weaker than my 2013 NRG 16m. But the ability to combine roughly that level of power with active flying (like an Open C) lets you really power up when you need it. I had to go help rescue a guy with a surf board and a 14m Switchblade who just couldnt get up - he is an intermediate local rider and knows his business. Granted, I worked that kite like no tomorrow but I like responsive kites that work with me
Overall its a great kite, amazed they are not better known in Florida. Some minor quirks - the Inflate valve ball does not stop air leaking out when inflating, been a while since I saw a valve design that didnt stop airflow out. I took a video of it to send to Blade, curious if thats working as is. Not a huge deal, I was able to use my pump to get it solid and close it up without much loss. Still, this is 2014 not 2004 - I expect some type of air tight system ala LF or SS.The kite pulls downwind quite abit - not a problem for me as I am extremely efficient at going upwind when I want, but the downwind pull was there. Thats not something I have had to deal with on my RPM or NRGs, the 16m NRG in particular is super efficient at upwind. Anyways I love having the kite happy sitting next to the power zone as I can swoop in for power. But I am leery of loaning this kite out to any of my beginner/intermediate friends as I think they would just get dragged downwind on it. Bar pressure was non-existent until I moved to the lowest knot on my bar, even during gusts. Note that I am using a 2013 Liquid Force 55cm CPR bar not a Blade Unibar.
Tricks tried: Backrolls, Double backrolls, aerial kiteloops using backhand, waterstart kiteloops (went into the Middle for these - loved it!), heliloops, aerial transitions, inverted transitions. Landed just about everything, the floaty nature of the kite makes it easy. Was not pushing anything new as its a brand new kite and I was getting to know the Lady. Ran into a guy flying a v2 Fat Lady so we were comparing them (see the pic).
225lb / 6'0" rider in 15-23 mph warm winds on a 145x44 TT, current same direction as wind, in shallow flat/light chop.
Will post again to update once I have several sessions, trying to get a video of an aerial KL with the FL.
I honestly think this claiming your kites are superior to everyone else's will only backfire. If it is better at one thing then it will be worse at something else, most people appreciate that kite design these days is about finely balanced trade-offs NOT one kite being better than another.