Postby adamj2281 » Mon Apr 21, 2014 1:29 am
First impressions on the next gen 8m Razor -
I've been riding OR for 4 years now, and the Razor for 3 of those years. I've ridden every generation of the Razor, although my 8m was the first gen, so it was time for an update. I also went with the new Freestyle Bar. Here goes:
- Build Quality: OR's quality improves incrementally each year, and this year is no exception. The kite's graphics are my favorite so far, they updated the strut to LE connection which is much needed. The new style are sealed off better, whilst the old style were a bit more exposed.
With regard to the Freestyle Bar, this is a major improvement over the old bar, the center hole has been upgraded and doesn't look to wear like the ones in year's path. The bar itself is much like last year but with added grip. The depower trim works really well, I'll probably stick with this bar/lines going forward.
Kite Handling: My first gen 8m was a great kite, but did not handle gusty wind well. This kite is much improved, I was in 15 - 30 knot shifty winds and it did a far better job soaking up the winds. The kite flies forward in the wind window and is super agile. The biggest improvement I saw was that the kite was less jerky and overall smoother.
Kiteloops: Huge improvement over my first gen Razor. Again, it shouldn't be a big surprise since I had the first evolution of the kite, and this is the fourth. I've been on a surfboard most of the time so far on the kite, and it downloops with power and speed, and incredibly smoothly.
Boost: Haven't had great conditions to judge this yet, will update this post when I get a few more sessions, I've had mostly surf sessions so far.
Power: Haven't had a chance to test the low end, but no issues with the high end. I had no issues with 30 knots.
I'll update this post as I get more sessions, but initial thoughts are very positive about this kite. The improvements in stability and looping make it a great upgrade over my previous 8m.