Review Best Waroo 7.0 2007

[Arilex]

Review for Best Waroo 2007 7.0

Times tested: 11+
Range: 18kn to 40+kn

Good: Direct steering
Fast
Robust
Stable
Jumps high
No backstall
Safety system
Stopper ball
Bar grip
Bar size
Unhooked: easy
Good low end and incredible range
Easy self-start with all kinds of wind

Bad: Water relaunch
6 pulleys
Inversion in the water and sometimes in the air
Quite high bar pressure (I'm a whimp)
Little feedback from steering lines
Difficult to land, comes down as fast as it goes up.

Review: Comparison between the Ozone Instinct 9m² 2006 and the Best Waroo 7m² 2007. *)




Similarities:

Both are excellent kites!

Both kites are robust.

Both kites respond directly to steering impulse.

Both kites can be tedious to relaunch: If the bridle of the Waroo gets behind the kite the game is over: Impossible to relaunch**). The Instinct can invert and with low wind simply refuses to launch from the water.

Both kites have about the same range: from about 18 knots to 40+ ***)

Both kites are easy to use unhooked. The Waroo should be set to the lowest power settings (the knot the farthest away from the kite) for unhooked riding.



Differences:

The Instinct has a 5th line, the Waroo has 6(!) pulleys.



Riding the Instinct 9 feels like riding a Mercedes Benz, riding the Waroo 7 is like riding a Ferrari.

The Instinct does what you want. The Waroo does what you tell it to do (which might not always be what you want).



The Instinct has extreme low bar pressure, which makes it very comfortable. The bar pressure of the Waroo is quite high. For this it is good it has a stopper ball. With the stopper ball in place the Waroo feels just like a C-kite.


The Instinct needs more force to steer than the Waroo, so therefore gives better feedback about where the kite is.

The Waroo can surprise you sometimes to be suddenly at the other side of the window without you noticing, especially when wave riding.

Waroo is fast and direct in its steering, Instinct a touch less direct and noticeably slower.



The Instinct feels a bit underpowered most of the time (but isn't) and gives a smooth, almost meditative, riding feel. It seems to have a built-in gust-absorber The Waroo delivers power and is more nervous, gusts have to be tackled manually.
When it comes to looping the kite, the roles reverse: When looping the Instinct it suddenly shows its aggressive side: a lot of power is generated, while looping the Waroo is a jiffy. To generate power, the Waroo has to be deliberately looped slower and in a big arc.

The Waroo jumps fast, aggressively and high and can come down quite quick as well, so that makes it difficult to land. The Instinct jumps smooth and controlled, not so high and feels like a paraglider. Controlling the landing is easy.

*) The differences in riding between the Waroo 7m² 2006 and 2007 are marginal. The 2006 is slightly faster and has a somewhat "elastic" feel to it, while the 2007 is more stable. The main improvement is the 2007 bar.

**) I found a way to solve this situation: Pull in only the back line of the side where the bridle is behind the kite and let the kite totally flag out. Now the bridle has a chance to revert to the correct side of the kite.

***) I (72 kg) have been out in winds over 40 knots with both kites and never lost control, so I don't know when these kites gets overpowered.


Rider Profile

Weight (kg): 71-80
Ability: Intermediate
Style: Waverider
Preferred Water: Wave
Preferred Power: Over
Preferred Kite Size: 7.0
Most Used Kite Size: 7.0
Preferred Board Style:
Preferred Board Size: 131-140
Brand Affiliation: Normal Customer
Similar gear used: Ozone Instinct 9 m²
Flysurfer Extacy 7m²




For pictures and more reviews click here

[sq225917]

if you want to change the handling feel of the waroo, just put a stopper knot in the rear bridle behind the back pulley.

decreases bar pressure a touch and makes it more direct in response.


and you might want to check the air pressure in your LE, as with stoppers on the front bruidles it should never fall forward in the air, unless you release the bar.

[nir_]

this is how reviews should be written - can't ask for more

thanks

[fuel]

Great review and completely agree with nir_. Nice response from SQ suggesting a possible enhancement/fix to something negative.

Now were was a slinger rep when they had some bridal issues? A couple of diagrams and measurements would have saved alot of face.

[Fer1000er]

Excellent Review !, good work Arilex !

[marlboroughman]

Can 07 Waroo be flagged out like 07 Instinct? This is important for beginners and for landing in impossible places. Also are we comparing Waroo or Waroo Pro? There is a big price difference.

[Safe_Cracker]

Great review and completely agree with nir_. Nice response from SQ suggesting a possible enhancement/fix to something negative.

But are all the facts in? There has been a lot of 07 Waroo's released and don't think I have really heard any negatives as stated above and most that were addressed were due to the LE not being inflated enough. Is there anyone else out there with same problems? Polo..

[panchito]

Can 07 Waroo be flagged out like 07 Instinct? This is important for beginners and for landing in impossible places. Also are we comparing Waroo or Waroo Pro? There is a big price difference.

As far as I know .... ( and I have tested almost all waroos 06/07 & pro´s ) the only really reliable way to flag out your Waroo in strong winds is to connect your safety leash in to one of your steering lines and then release the bar.

I haven´t tested the small pro´s ( only 9-11-13 )but I found out that the pro is not everybody´s taste ( not mine for sure ) the " normal " waroos are good enough..... great kite for its money..... and for my personal taste the Instincts are more stable and the 07 has almost the same turning speed as the Waroo ( the above review is about the 07 Waroo & the 06 Instinct )

The Edge is very similar in handling as the Waroo.... (for aggressive riders) the first has a better " bar feed back " means.... you always know where your kite is and with the Waroo you have to keep an " eye " on the kite ....but I´ll guess this has to do with all kites with pulleys.....

Overall I found out that both kites are great .. just for different riding styles.

Saludos

[max]

Panchito,



do you ride the ozones with a stopper of some kind or do you use the full travel of the standard trim line...

i had a go on the 07 sport on a 06 bar and didn't like the set-up...

the kite has great lift and seems to be unluffable...but i didn't get a decent go as the bar setup was terrible...

[panchito]

Panchito,



do you ride the ozones with a stopper of some kind or do you use the full travel of the standard trim line...

i had a go on the 07 sport on a 06 bar and didn't like the set-up...

the kite has great lift and seems to be unluffable...but i didn't get a decent go as the bar setup was terrible...

Hard to put a stopper on a plastic tube..... so no ... but it doesn't bother me

Regarding the 07 kites.... well I guess we need to try them with their 07 bars.... the bars I was using last weekend had the new trim on the steering lines , but beside of this the rest was the 06 set up....

Saludos