Caution Santa Cruz 2011 Spitfire

[seking]

barryonfire, thanks for the info and photos. have you flown the 9 too? if so, how does it compare to the zombie 9? stoked to fly the new kites.

[screwfootsc]

Caution Spitfire's have arrived in Town. Not bad timing for 2011 the way it should be. Get some!

[spvone]

[quote="screwfootsc"]Caution Spitfire's have arrived in Town. Not bad timing for 2011 the way it should be. Get some![/quote

does the price include a bar? is there a 2011 bar? thanks.

[barryonfire]

Didn't try the 9 yet we are in the deep freeze right now so not much time on the water

[screwfootsc]

Pricing you will have to check with Caution direct. Kites are usually sold at kite only pricing since the average kiter does not need 5 bars with a quiver.

[paschis]

Since last year I fly the caution kites.
I like them both, the power of the MX and the agility of the Zombie.
So, the Mix between MX and Zombie sounds very interesting.

Do they still measure the spitfire in squarefoot or in metre?
In 2010 there had been some confusion about the measurement comparing to other kite manufacters.
If it is in squaremetres this could be the reason the spitfire has more power?

thanks for your reply.

[Rossall]

any pics of the bar ????

[seking]

I bought the 7,9,11 and have had a chance to fly each one. I pay for my kites and have flown most brands. Last year I switched from Naish to Caution zombies and liked them so went with the spitfires this season.

11m : Nice kite, faster than last years 12m zombie with a little less power and less bar pressure. Great in the waves. For me at 175lbs on a surfboard its my biggest kite. It doesn't have the same grunt as last years 12 (well, its a smaller kite), but feels more lively and balanced. Very good kite.

9m : Last year I flew the 9m zombie most of the time. The spitfire felt a little faster and smoother. Generates good power in the turns. Lets face it, most 9m kites are good these days, but I'd say this is an overall improvement to what I considered a great kite. Feels more refined and the slight decrease in bar pressure is good. Hard to find a fault with it. Incredibly stable and predictable. Worth trying.

7m : Finally got to fly it yesterday. My new favorite kite. This kite is so smooth and controllable in strong/gusty winds. Amazing wave kite, generates big power in the turns but great depower. Steering is precise. I just felt so in control compared to other small kites I have flown in the past. The low end is great - I was on it in low 20s when last year I'd have been on the 9 because the 6m was too small. I can't wait to fly this one again. It is a great freestyle kite too as it behaves so well. OK, I've only had a couple of hours on this one, but I'm still smiling a day later. If you are considering a 7m in any brand you should fly this kite as well.

[screwfootsc]

Killer Review!

I have some additional reviews as well.

16M: The best light wind machine I have flown...if you are a big rider and in a light wind area, this 16M is da bomb. Fast considering how big this beast is...more refined than the 15M Zombie and just has balls. I have never flown a better light wind big kite with the performance of this spitfire. It blows the low end of the 17M turbo from slingshot and I thought that was the as good as it got for a light wind pig. This is not a slow kite as well.

13M: almost the same power as last years 15M zombie, yet blazing fast at the size of a 13M. Super fun for bigger riders in medium to light wind.

11M: Obviously not as grunty as the 12M zombie, but insanely fun and super stable like every spitfire. Peter did an excellent job in designing these kites.

9M/7M: Both incredible. The 7M especially like the user above noted...is probably the best 7M on the market in my opinion. Have flown a number of small kites, and the low end mid/low 20's for a person oevr 200 lbs is incredible. It is faster than anything out there and is so stable and responsive.

Hope you all get to try one...Peter has been doing this since before almost anybody in the kite biz and knows his stuff. These kites ROCK.

Caution is going to take over...

[dwarf]

I have flown the 7,9 and 11m in South Africa extensively by now. That the kite performs awesome in waves is well known by know and honestly I did not expect otherwise from a design from Peter. However, I want to comment a bit on other aspects that this kite has to offer.. Hope you enjoy.

I have been riding for 6+ years now and my riding style is a mixture of everything. From waveriding on my surfboard to some unhooked freestyle on my twintip. I would classify myself as an experienced rider but by no means an expert. Looking around me there are so many talented young riders pushing it nowadays....

With the spitfires I use an OR 2011 freestyle bar with 21m lines simply because this bar is probably the best on the market to date. I suggest Caution should have a look at this specific bar

Stability: Incredible, I do not know what Peter has done to achieve this but it is insane. Even if you completely mess up a trick and lines go slack it will just stay in the air ready for another attempt. Also the kite drifts incredibly well when riding hard towards it on your directional. I really appreciate this kind of stability. More fun, less chance of dropping your kit in the waves and overall it gives the confidence to push yourself a bit.

Unhooking: Very important to me as it is just part of my fun on the water. The kite does it incredibly well. No backstall at all in this kite. Even better unhooking than the MayhemX last year. After a good pop the kite provides a short slack in power for the young guns to throw their passes. The pop is not as aggressive as for example a fuel but for a bridled kite I must say i am really impressed and confident that the Spitfire performs really good for the newschool-young-guns.

Speed: Compared to other kites on the market the Spitfire scores high on fast steering and forward flying speed. Size for size, it is less fast however compared to the Mayhem X of last year. (Mayhem X was probably one of the fastest kites ever together with the C4 of Ozone).

Loops: It goes round in a nice arc and thus delivering a nice boost during kiteloops. Especially the pull generated during unhooked loops is a big improvement over the MayhemX. It really "whips" you in the air after the pop which is just a great feeling. Be prepared to land wind lots of speed. Especially the 11m and 9m are awesome for unhooked KL. 7m unhooked is to fast for my skills but I am sure that a better rider will have no problems with this.

Jumping: A little bit less explosive when compared to the MayhemX but still a very very nice kite to boost big air. Hangtime is moderate and for me its perfect. Still plenty of time to style jumps with some good oldschool moves without me dangling for a few more seconds afterwards.

High-end: Being in cape-town one frequently will encounter the high-end of the 7m. My guess is @ 75kg and with experience it is around 40knots. 9m around 32 knots. 11m no idea as I switch over well before being maxed out in this size.

Bar pressure: One of the reasons I like caution kites is of the balanced bar pressure. Coming from C kites I find most SLE kites nowadays to be to light on the bar. I want my kite to tell me where it is when I am hanging upside down in the air. The Spitfire has about the same balanced bar pressure as the Mayhem X had last year. When riding every day I did however noticed my arms getting tired a bit but that might also be from the hours of riding in and several unhooked sessions I enjoyed over the last weeks. Still I would not have it any other way. Steering response is great and the kite tells you exactly where it is at all times.