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BEST BFK 21m Review

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tahitian coconut
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BEST BFK 21m Review

Postby tahitian coconut » Mon Mar 14, 2005 7:53 pm

I use to ride with the Rhino 2 20m, the Airush lift pro 19.5m, and the Nemesis 21m. The BFK 21m is just something ABOVE and BEYOND all of them !
Great upwind ability: way better than the Nemesis 21m (which was the best light wind kite for me until now)
Good turning: a little better than the Nemesis 21m
Really good depower: I was out with 15 knots the last time
AMAZING LIFT !!! It's just a flying machine.

Here's my review about this kite: :thumb:

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Postby freakyboarder » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:00 pm

i have the 16 BFK wich is also great, last year i had the 16 nemesis. this kite is twice as fast, great depower and power. i really like it!! :thumb:

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Postby thrasher » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:09 pm

How does it compare with the grunty hard pullin old school kites like the 22.5m Rhino (the first one)?

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tahitian coconut
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Postby tahitian coconut » Mon Mar 14, 2005 8:26 pm

How does it compare with the grunty hard pullin old school kites like the 22.5m Rhino (the first one)?
It's like comparing a Hummer and a Porshe ! :lol:

The BFK 21 is just a really sweet kite, but first of all it's a JUMPING/FLYING MACHINE !!! :o


Let's say that it's like a the flying machine when it's above you and the great upwind tool when you have it in front of you (great for surfing !)
:D

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Postby sq225917 » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:05 pm

taihatian, any chance you could go into a bit more detail, i've not had a chance to run the 21m yet but i know theres plenty of really technically minded guys champing at the bit for an indepth review.

if you havent had enough time on it yet, i understand..

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Postby ryansurf1 » Mon Mar 14, 2005 9:44 pm

Yes, more....

Compared to 21M Nemesis....

Summer is around the corner....I need a new toy....contemplating the 21BFK to replace the 21Nem....If it has noticeable advantages...

IMO Big kites don't like small boards...therefore could use a little more upwind ability....

A little less bar pressure and turning speed would be nice....

The only annoying thing about the 21M Nem i have noticed over the last year is that in really light wind it doesn't like to go across the top nicely....

If i get a little to much board speed in a transition and get under the kite it wants to taco.....i think it is such a big kite and such a narrow LE.....it will fall to one side and is ALWAYS easily correctable.....never drop it or hindenburg....

I assume you can relaunch the BFK even in super light winds???

Does it fly as fast and have the great hangtime?

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Postby fat blokes can fly » Tue Mar 15, 2005 12:04 am

Tell us more!

Please do your comparison to the rhino 2 20m which is the daddy of light wind kites up until this year?
Also your weight ability and board size

thanks for your help

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Postby thrasher » Tue Mar 15, 2005 12:06 am

tahitian coconut wrote:

It's like comparing a Hummer and a Porshe ! :lol:
Oh ok so it works best with a bit of wind (revs) then. Sweet... so 15m jumps in 15 knots is on then??? Cool let's hope they are as cheap as the other best kites.

For those who aren't familiar with what TC said above. One pulls like a bitch in low wind (revs)... ie old school kites like the 22.5 Rhino and the 20m AERO, 23.5m ARX etc.

The others kick in at higher wind (revs) and have shit loads of performance (jumping) like the R2 etc and now the BFK.

The 21m sounds mint!! :D

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Postby sq225917 » Tue Mar 15, 2005 12:37 am

15m jumps in 15mph winds, i see you have the same dreams as me then... :wink:

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Postby tahitian coconut » Tue Mar 15, 2005 2:40 am

Ok! I used it only 2 times and I don't want to create any HYPE around this kite that's why I was short on my review...
But if you want my opinion I can tell you what happen those two times when I went out. 8)

I'm 1m84 = 6'1, for 86 kg = 190 lbs, and I was using a 145cm board with a 55cm bar setup with 27m lines.

The first time it was blowing 10-11 knots, and I soon as I got this kite up in the air it pulled me really hard. Actually way harder that my regular 21m Nemesis.
After 30 minutes on the water, the wind started to pick up a little beat more to finally reach 15 knots (gusts at 18 knots). I was cruising on choppy water well powered (of course my depower strap was fully down). The problem with was (exactly like all the big kites actually) was the evolution of it in the window. I had to edge my board really really really hard to move the kite to the edge of the window. Then after 45 minutes of cruising and surfing (I ride a Venice Beach – Santa Monica Beach pretty much all the time) I started to jump…
WOW! When you start to jump you realize the real power of this baby. It pulls you nicely but surely, and then you just glide…! The dangerous part of it is that you glide so much that you don’t really know where and when you’re going to land… This could be dangerous; but then we all have the same problem in Kitesurfing. After 1h30 on it I was tired of edging hard to move the kite in the window and I started to go back to the shore…; when my chicken loop broke! I lost my kite (because with the swivel bar you don’t have any leash, and when the center line or the chicken loop brakes you loose everything : kite and bar !). Luckily I was close to the beach and a friend was able to catch it before it hits a tree, a car, or worse a person! For my part, I paddle back to the shore.

The second day I used an old bar with a 10-11 knots constant wind.
I was out with my friends, and one of them was approximately my weight with a 145cm custom made board and a Naish V4 25m and 30m lines. Believe it or not, I was able to go a lot more upwind than he did! The feeling of the BFK is just totally different from the other big kites that I used to fly. Before with my Nemesis 21 in 10 knots I felt this “I’m overpowered but I can’t go upwind!â€


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