LF assault first impressions 9m-12m
Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 12:37 am
I have spent a heap of time out on the kite this week in winds ranging from around 15 to 30 knots. It took a good couple of sessions to really get it dialed and I was fairly skeptical up until then but now I don’t think I could go back to the m80’s (which I have spent a heap of time on) although I still have a lot to learn on this kite.
I would say it’s most similar to the Cab switchblade but more consistent in its power delivery. I have spent a lot of time on 8 and 11m Sonics and find the assault far more suited to my style of riding, I personally was never really overly impressed with the sonics although I know many guys who are.
I have found it supper easy to ride with my buggered back (problems with disks in my lumber back which make edging hard a nightmare) once I learned not to fight the kite, you need to learn to ride more upright with speed rather than against the kite like you do with c kites.
Its supper easy to jump and it’s made me enjoy sent jumps when I hadn’t really bothered much before. I have definitely jumped a lot higher on it than I ever have on any other kite so I’m not sure why people say that bow kites are harder to jump as high? The key to jumping it is to start with the kite really high and only send it a little while sheeting in hard. The jumps around 30 knots are incredible and I’m still comfortable in that much wind with boots. (I usually find the 9m M80 is a handful in this much wind).
As far as wake style I have been able to start riding aggressively again after taking a break because of my back, so I defiantly feel a lot safer on the kite far safer than I ever did using a 5th line which I rarely used because of the hassle of it which I missed a pass or dropped the bar. I do think the 5th line system is useful but far from perfect, generally I would prefer to be on a suicide unless extremely overpowered.
The way the kite pops is a little different. I find it pulls much harder downwind once you pop a little more like a boat but still seems to sit where you want it and not surge around the window. The speed of the kite also makes everything feel far smoother and more powerful and lets you ride much faster unright.
The simplicity of the bar is really nice which is something I have found let down the other bow kites. I have been flying the 12 on the 51 but am sure it would be fine on a 43.
For me I don’t see the need for a kite bigger than a 12, I cant wait to get onto the 9 and I think even smaller would be nice around a 7?
Overall I’m far more stoked than I thought I would be, I’m able to ride again with my back and do things I was never able to which is making it far easy to progress. I still need to spend a bit more time to get it completely dialed…
I would say it’s most similar to the Cab switchblade but more consistent in its power delivery. I have spent a lot of time on 8 and 11m Sonics and find the assault far more suited to my style of riding, I personally was never really overly impressed with the sonics although I know many guys who are.
I have found it supper easy to ride with my buggered back (problems with disks in my lumber back which make edging hard a nightmare) once I learned not to fight the kite, you need to learn to ride more upright with speed rather than against the kite like you do with c kites.
Its supper easy to jump and it’s made me enjoy sent jumps when I hadn’t really bothered much before. I have definitely jumped a lot higher on it than I ever have on any other kite so I’m not sure why people say that bow kites are harder to jump as high? The key to jumping it is to start with the kite really high and only send it a little while sheeting in hard. The jumps around 30 knots are incredible and I’m still comfortable in that much wind with boots. (I usually find the 9m M80 is a handful in this much wind).
As far as wake style I have been able to start riding aggressively again after taking a break because of my back, so I defiantly feel a lot safer on the kite far safer than I ever did using a 5th line which I rarely used because of the hassle of it which I missed a pass or dropped the bar. I do think the 5th line system is useful but far from perfect, generally I would prefer to be on a suicide unless extremely overpowered.
The way the kite pops is a little different. I find it pulls much harder downwind once you pop a little more like a boat but still seems to sit where you want it and not surge around the window. The speed of the kite also makes everything feel far smoother and more powerful and lets you ride much faster unright.
The simplicity of the bar is really nice which is something I have found let down the other bow kites. I have been flying the 12 on the 51 but am sure it would be fine on a 43.
For me I don’t see the need for a kite bigger than a 12, I cant wait to get onto the 9 and I think even smaller would be nice around a 7?
Overall I’m far more stoked than I thought I would be, I’m able to ride again with my back and do things I was never able to which is making it far easy to progress. I still need to spend a bit more time to get it completely dialed…