Veteran Naish South Africa team rider Steve Bertie Roberts reviews the 2014 7.0 Park:
Tested at Table View Cape Town in good 20 to 26 knot cross shore winds with sometimes heavy 5’ plus waves on a Naish Global 5’8”.
As usual the quality of the bag, bar, lines and of course kite are excellent. Not to mention the awesome graphics. The 2014 Park is a real looker with the best color combinations so far.
For 2014 the changes are an evolutionary jump compared to the usual annual tweaking we are used too.
One of the first sensations when heading out for your first session is just how smooth this kite feels to fly. Every move the kite makes is seamless and intuitive. (The 11.0 felt exactly the same). The new bar with softer grip and redesigned centre hole with frictionless action, presumably also added to the overall smooth feel.
The biggest technical change is the new fixed bridle which has had the most noticeable effect; finally the best of that legendary ‘C kite feel’ has been engineered into a bridled kite. Bar input is no longer muted by the action of pulleys and the kite responds instantly, turning is snappier, and the power ramps up much more quickly than before over the full travel of the bar. This means a lot more instant power when you need it. Extra pop and boost are the result. Pre jumping even the most daunting close outs can now be done confidently with a massive margin of safety.
The fixed bridle also gives the kite a more stable solid feel, as the front line attachment points are no longer variable. This presumably means less distortion of the wing when turning and adds to the responsive feel and efficiency of the kite.
Low end power is also much better giving the kite a wider wind range. In lulls the kite just keeps on pulling. There is also no tendency to back stall when the bar pulled in to the max. This is a major improvement over last years Park, plus the new kite definitely accelerates further forward into the window compared to last year. This is probably partly due to the new narrower struts.
Too much C kite DNA would of course be a disaster, as typically C kites have very limited depower especially when accelerating down a wave. Fortunately Naish only took just enough to liven the Park up without losing the forgiving attributes of an SLE. On a sizeable wave the 2014 kite does however gain slightly more dynamic lift when accelerating down the face than last year’s, but this can only be felt in strong conditions. A few cm of depower, and control is regained, thankfully not at the cost of turning response. Handling is smooth and easy and there is plenty of depower to initiate a tight bottom turn. The direct response of the fixed bridle means that minimal bar input needed to keep the kite ahead of your turns. Even at maximum depower for bottom turns, bar all the way out with slack steering lines, a quick flick of the bar brings the Park around facing down the wave instantly in time for your next turn.
Almost forgot to mention how well this kite jumps; higher altitudes can be reached than before due to the C kite like vertical acceleration, plus excellent hang time and control with improved glide. Never got to do any tricks and kite loops etc but there is no doubt the kite will be brilliant in this regard.
One of the better attributes of C kites is the consistent glide even with the bar at full depower. SLE’s on the other hand, tend to unceremoniously drop you out of the sky if your bar is fully extended. Naish’s sliding bar stopper (optional on the Park for 2014) sits above the bar on the double center lines, and can be engaged instantly in any position when needed. Maximum bar travel is controlled, and the rider can keep the kite properly powered for complicated freestyle tricks where hands and concentration are needed elsewhere for grabs or board offs etc.
Summary; the 2014 Park is an excellent all terrain kite excelling in all disciplines. Easy wave riding manners do not come at the cost of freeride performance. Handling is intuitive and forgiving enough for any level of rider and there is more than enough boost and top end excitement added to the mix to take any rider to the next level.
Steve Bertie Roberts