Naish Raven 12m short review?/comments

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i've been using my 06 Raven 12m now for a bit more than 2 weeks...maybe 8 sessions... (got it 2 months+ ago but hurt myself before using it)....in light wind 13-18 knots and stronger wind 16-24 knots....

some background...for the credibility crap....

in the Naish line....have owned AR5 9.5, Arx13.5, X2 12 & 16, X2 12 again, X3 10, and now the 12m Raven 06.....

in no particular order, other kites owned and used.....North Rhino 1 9.3m, Best 04 grunt 9m, Best 04 Yarga 9m and 11m, Best 16m Nemesis, 04 Eh wave 11m and 13m....

start of review....

the X2 12m was a great kite....and my favourite for ages then among others came the 04 EH 11 wave and 04 yarga 9m.....also great kites....the Raven 12 is like putting nice features of these together....and adding a few more....

the 5th line is better than i thought it would be (not too difficult to set up, makes spinning a breeze with respect to lines, aids the water relaunch...tho never really had any issues with the 4 line relaunch)

the one pump gets addictive....tho you still need to roll out the kite, replug all stoppers and then you are ready to watch the kite wake up and stretch out.....downer is that with my other kites i used to leave at least some air in struts and now i don't....manual says not designed to leave then inflated....also bag is simple back pack....does not extend...most likely because struts?

its construction is as good as any other 06 kite i've seen (sshot, LF, Airush, North) , and better in some areas... ....

i use a 20" bar and 27m lines and now i'm used to the reduced bar pressure and quickness to respond, i really like this kite....it is a fast flyer also, develops a lot of forward speed and seems to handle a range of bar positions without any stalling or adverse affects....

you can get good bottom end by working the kite a bit and it definitely jumps well in good wind with more hang than i'm used to in that wind...the power seems smooth and comes on fast as it responds to gusts...you can downloop it and generally loop the kite without much punishment tho i personally do not use this feature well yet...

the bar is definitely an improvement over previous bars... in particular the centre hole and the QR seems good for that style of QR and i like the oval grip now....i think it would be better ( on all bars) if there was a simple system for adjusting the lines when they are going through the initial stretching...


the only thing that i've noticed odd is that at zenith, where the kite is right above you, and even out to the side a bit, if the wind is gusty with little wind between gusts, it seems to spread its wings wide, falls back a bit and sometimes will start a graceful swan dive...though most kites will misbehave in similar conditions, this reaction by the raven may be due to my settings at the bar....5th line too tight or ???...

i always pay for my kites ( apart from a virtually free one once from Best), i always choose what i like or think that i will like.....and i believe at this stage that an 06 Raven 12m is as great a kite as i found the X2 12m to be when it came out....

nowadays however, there are many great kites being made....all i'm summing up with is that the 06 Raven 12m is one of them....

other 06 kites that look interesting so far....

Airush Reactors ....wide tips...fast turners...look good in the air...

North Rhinos...not sure if the cam batten idea is for me tho...


this has ended up much longer than planned....hope someone finds this useful......all comments/questions are possibly welcomed!