Bandit 6 first impressions

[mike dubs]

Have had 12/9/7 Bandit V's for last year. Part Ex'd my much used 9m for a new Bandit 6 9m. lovely black and red.

Rode it today in 15-30mph, waist/ chest high x on waves on my Mulcoy 5'10.

No major changes, but lots of tweaks. I loved my V5's, my most favourite kite of my 13yrs, so was just expecting a crispy new version with better colours, However, it feels even lighter, the strut framework and canopy feel and look even tighter and solid. I felt the low end was marginally better but the high end was even more so. Very stable with great drift still. I felt that the turn has been speeded up (and the V5 wasn't slow) and caught me out on my first couple of waves as its fractionally quicker. The lift on the tacks I did also seemed more,

Was going to keep my 7m V5, but think I'll trade that up too.

mike

[mopman365]

Interesting. I took a 10m B6 demo out over the weekend, swopping between it and my B5 10m over a range of 9-24 knots going up to 17-30 (windmeter service readings).

My first impressions were:
Slower turning - more like a C making a smooth power turn, than the B5's pivot turn
Bottom end the same, or even less than the B5
Top end could be higher - it felt smoother in the gusts
Lift in jumps also a bit smoother, less of spike at take-off.

I measured the kites too, and the ONLY difference is a 5cm longer bridle line on the B6. The rest (AR, LE diameter, TE length) are EXACTLY the same as the B5.

[dt73775]

Still gotta love the B4 - I have the B5's now and they are smooth , but keep a B4 11m just for fun............

[mopman365]

Still gotta love the B4 - I have the B5's now and they are smooth , but keep a B4 11m just for fun............

and don't discard the DOS. Was recently at a GPS Speed event at Walvis Bay, Namibia. Best speeds recorded on the (very square) course was with a 7M Bandit DOS!