More pictures and comments at:
http://www.oceanextremesports.com/phpBB ... ?p=577#577

Upfront about me: I work at a kite shop and we will be selling these kites...but, we sell just about all of the bow kites: Cabrinha Crossbow, Switchblade, Slingshot Turbo Diesel, Best Waroo, Liquid Force Assault, Naish Shockwave, Caution Answer, etc...

Got out yesterday for a few hours on the new Flexifoil ION 12m. Winds were blowing around 10-17, averaging around 13 or so. Attached is a wind graph. I was riding at Matanzas Inlet, with an outgoing tide, so that gives you an extra boost(makes the wind feel around 3-4mph stronger than it is. I weigh 170lbs, and was riding my Slingshot SX 151 most of the time. Here are some comments:

Kite Construction and Looks: As all Flexifoil kites, bombproof and a lot of attention to detail. Very solid, extra stitching and scuff guards where you need it, etc.. Comes with One pump, so that is a nice added feature. In terms of the bridles, and pulleys: it has one pulley on each side of the kite on the front line bridle. The back line attaches right to the kite. So, super simple in terms of bridles and pulleys. Shape looks very similar to the Caution Answer I just flew the other day. When in the air, it looks very similiar to a normal C shape kite(from the riders view)

Bar and Lines: Basically their Axis Bar with a few modifications. Has a grab handle on the left outside flying line. The chicken loop line is a little longer than a normal 4 line bar, but not super long. It is setup so that at full power you can still let go of the bar and it won't totally kill the power of the kite right away. The kite will slowly fall out of the sky but it isn't immediate. It is too long that you can't rest against the bottom of the strap if you wanted to use that as a stopper...so, for the stopper ball guys out there, you may want to add one or you may not like it. It has a 5th line style ring that comes through the bar and you can hook you leash to that. So, if you want total depower, you let go of the bar and that pulls directly on the front lines which kills the power.

Self Launch: Sand on the wingtip method..I was 1 for 2. Just got to keep an eye on the bridle and keep it above the wing tip. The other time, I did a reverse relaunch(grabbed both outside flying lines, backed it up in the sky, then let go)...

Self Land: unhook, outside grab handle, easy...

Speed: Very good speed for a 12m. About in line with the Waroon 12m and Caution Answer 12m. Way faster than the Cabrinha Crossbow, Switchblade, or Liquid Force Assault. Not as fast as an RRD Type HIR 13 or 10m...So, good speed....

Bar Pressure: Very light and positive feel. The Sonic is probably still the lightest, but this is right in there with the Caution Answer. Very comfortable for unhooked, etc..

Power: Good power. It wasn't super strong out there, and I could go. Another guy was on a 16m Slingshot Octane. We switched kites, and the Octane definitely had a little more power, but not much. So, probably the power of a 14 or 15m C shape kite.

Jumping: Good..it was pretty light, but I could still get some nice jumps and it held you up there really well...

Unhooking: Very nice.... One of the first bow kites I actually fealt good unhooking with..fealt like a normal C shape. Missed a few handle passes, and I was able to pull the kite back down to me before the kite hit the water(had the leash setup directly to the chicken loop).

High end: Don't know yet...more to follow when we get more wind...

Overall: I really liked this kite. Pretty much the same review I gave the Caution Answer 12m I rode a few days ago. It is the best of both worlds: Part bow kite, but part C shape kite. Feels like a C shape kite, but you have the advantages(safety, water relaunch, etc.) of a bow shape kite. For the C shape guys that think most bow kites feel very weird...you will like this kite. For those who want that instant kill switch(push the bar away a few inches and kill almost all the power), you may not like this kite(The Crossbow, Sonic, switchblade, Turbo diesel, and Liquid Force Assault are better for that...with their bar setups). So all in all, not much negative to report on this with my inital trial. I guess the only thing is there isn't a way to rest since there is no stopper ball, but that is about it for now... more to follow as I get to hopefully test in higher winds. Who knows, it may fly backwards and explode in high winds...

thanks for a good review kitenb

one question if you could answer, is that how did you like the Waroo and Answer to ride unhooked? You stated that the Ion is the first one(s) you like to ride unhooked, is it different to Waroo and Answer?

Thank you very much!!!

So far, the Caution and this kite were the two that fealt the best for me while unhooking. Part due to the kite, and a big part due to the bar and line setup(if you miss a handle pass, the kite doesn't instantly depower and drop to the water...you have some recovery time). In terms of the kite: there wasn't any backing out of the sky or anything when I was unhooked(at full power), it was still super fast turning, and it has lots of steady pull with it. The Waroo feels just as nice unhooking, but with the Waroo bar, it depowers a lot faster if you let go of everything. Of course that is what it was designed to do, and most people like that aspect. Again, just a preference thing. If I were to hook my leash to the safety ring on the ION or the Caution, it would also immediately fall out of the sky(like hooking to a 5th line ring). So, a lot just depends on how you setup your leash system... But for sure, those three(Waroo, Caution, Flexifoil) fealt the best for me unhooked....

How would you rate the Ion back to back against the Fusion? What is better/worse in the Ion vs. the Fusion?

Thank you for the review!
If I understood you correctly it sounds like the Answer and Ion have a lot in common. But are there any big differences between these two or is the difference rather in the small details?

Hard to rate them back to back since I only tested the low end of the ION the other day, and they are really two different kites... but, my initial thoughts are that I like the ION a little better. Mainly just because it fealt faster and seems to have lighter bar pressure compared to the Fusion. But again, I haven't ridden the ION yet in strong winds, so who knows... both are killer kites and a blast to ride.

I only have a few hours on both, so it is hard to really say. From that initial few hours on both of them, I really can't point out any major differences in the way they flew. Both fast, light bar pressure, bow kite that feels like a C shape, etc.. Probably the biggest difference is the bar and line setups. The Caution has a nice plastic covered chicken loop line that will probably last longer than the Flexifoil one. The Flexifoil one is a small rope that goes through a really small hole in the bar. It looks solid, but I can see that small hole wearing down the rope a lot faster than some of the others. Also, the Caution bar has two stopper balls you can adjust(one below the bar and one above the bar). And finally, the Caution chicken loop line is a little shorter than the ION line. Better for resting against, but since it is shorter, you can't kill as much power when pushing the bar out. Hard call, but safe to say that either one kicks ass. If you have a color preference, pick the one with the colors you like best

Thanks for the review

what did u think of the safety (unhooked when missing those handle passes )

was the setup easy? did it need a lot of pressure ? (i'm a bit sketchy on one-pump, actually tubes in general I used to be a foily)