very detailed 5 page review in the brit kitesurf mag outlining in detail the salient differences between the bow and the nova:

safety
the bow can be depowered while the bar is close to the rider, that is an arms length away at the stopper ball.
when the nova bar is let go it moves quite a way from the kiter and needs to be retrieved by pulling on the chicken loop line. if as an advanced rider you blow a trick and let the bar go you need a quick reaction time to retrieve the bar before the kite hits the drink.
if you're hooked in on a traditional lei kite it is quite natural letting go of the bar, say for instance picking up your board off the beach or making a harness or sunglasses adjustment and spinning the bar after a back or front loop move etc.

relaunch
if the crossbow lands on the water as you lay it on the beach for rigging in the 'safe' position the kite can be difficult to relaunch. on one occasion the kite flipped inside out and the bridle caught on the wing tip which required a walk of shame back to the beach.
takoon decided not to go for swept back wing tips to avoid this problem.

range and gusty conditions
both had wider range and handled gusty conditions better than conventional lei and foil kites. the reviewer did feel the companies may have exaggerated the actual range in marketing campaigns.

turn rate and handling
the nova turns slightly more slowly than the bow but this is not a major factor.
the bow has major bar pressure. all those weekend warriors can trade in their gym memberships if they opt for the bow.

all in all this was a fantastic unbiased review and is followed by a 15 min. interview with nicolas caillou the takoon designer giving further insights into the future of our sport, namely high performance with safety of users and beach goers in mind.

reading the article in full is recommended.

hope this helps

barry

did they comment on:

- boost
- upwind ability
- stability during gusts and lulls?

Ed

As stated above, it is a long article, but worth reading in full, especially because it compares the Xbow and Nova throughout.

The full review/comparison of the Nova and Crossbow by Kitesurf magazine is now available on Ikiteboarding.

Hi,

The kiteboarding.de mag has a very good and super detailed review of Nova vs Crossbow; Hellfish vs Rhino06; F-One Impact vs Naish Torch.
I bought it but don't understand a word
The pics and graphs are interesting though
Can anyone translate it? It's only 20 pages or so.

Thanks.