completely independent review no strings attached. bought as a winter season kite to thrash having never owned one. I only got the 7m so can't comment on other sizes.
185lbs
my kiting style and what I like in my kite: advanced freerider, big air, powerful kiteloops, freeride in the surf.
Construction: just as good as most top brand companies. I like that the bridle line is easily changed out when worn by pullies. just throw in a new segment when worn out. cheap and easy.
nice short compact bridle. Satisfactory leading edge protection but I would like to see a little more, but this goes for most companies. smaller kites up to 9m can tolerate a little extra weight as they are flown in high wind anyway.
Windrange:
for me at 185lbs with 2boards, surfboard and twin tip I can use from 17mph to 35+.
incredible wind range and very stand out feature for this kite. well done OR
Stability:
Very stable in gusty conditions, let go of the bar and the kite will just sit at 12 o'clock.
stable when depowered no chance of falling out of sky when depowered. better stability on rear front bridle setting IMO.
Back Stall:
on stock set up there is too much angle of attack and unnecessary stall for my liking. I don't think very many people would fly there kite that oversheeted and most would find the stalling tendency irritating. maybe the newer kites are not so over tuned, but it's an easy fix anyway . OR crew say advanced riders appreciate. well I don't. I added 4 inches on back line to bring into proper tune and the kite was absolutely perfect no stall in in the low wind range on the 7m. relieved excessive bar pressure, sped the kite up and made it more efficient to produce apparant wind, improved fluidity and performance when kitelooping, and had better depower without ever having to pull on the trim until over 35mph winds.
Turning:
Wicked fast and responds instantly. if your a newbie this kite will be difficult for you unless you spend a lot of time flying it to get used to super fast turning. I Love it.
Flying speed/upwind:
fast flying speed and goes upwind very well when properly tuned. does tend to zoom accross the wind window when gybing. so for those of you who surf, you may want a little back stall to slow the kite down and keep it deeper in the wind window.
jumping:
very good for a 7m at my weight. good vertical lift and adequate hang time you won't just drop out the sky like some other 7m kites..
kiteloop:
fast, medium powerfull and fair boost for 7m size. Core GTS2 is 400% better
I would say average for a kite in this category. not as thrilling as I hoped, but maybe more time and better wind quality will help. 7m wind conditions are usually gusty and not ideal for big air and kite loops in winter where I kite.
Conclusion:
Excellent high wind kite for medium heavy kiter 80-95KG
great all around kite including surf with great drift and little worry of dropping the kite. excellent power, perfect bar pressure(great feedback always no where the kite is), great steering when depowered, ultra quick turning, decent kiteloops, great upwind when not oversheeted. rock solid in the sky. needs tuning to bring the kite into a less stalled position when fully sheeted to chickenloop. some may want the extra stall in the surf though, but not in the lowend otherwise you will hate the kite.
what would I change:
only thing I would like is more powerful kiteloop. kiteloops are average for this style kite. so good for lurning loopers. maybe the bigger kites have more boost in the loop, but the 7m is okay.
