BANDIT 10 First Impressions: Shows Improvements in all areas over last year’s model

September 27, 2016

The Bandit 10 is a nice improvement from last year's model and immediately feels very quick and responsive when you put it in the air. Every year you think to yourself, my current kite feels really good, what could be improved? And amazingly this year those improvements were very apparent as soon as I flew the kite. I'd intentionally went out in lighter winds with the B10 7M to try and see how much pull it had and turning in less than normal conditions for that size kite. It was a typical 9M day. The kite turns with ease and seems to have more low end power than the B9. It was very fast to respond with the rear lines set on the quickest setting (I like the fast response for the surf). Yet was hard to initiate a stall and feels very predictable when sheeting in and overall has excellent stability. The Bandit 10 was quick to go upwind and seemed to outperform last year's kite in this area as well. Bar pressure was slightly less than previously and the kite rotates well on the wing tips making kite loops a snap. The bladder setup is similar to last year, easy to inflate/deflate and retains a very rigid frame (when pumped to the recommended pressure). Overall it shows improvements in all areas over last year's kite (which is a challenging accomplishment). The color schemes look even better in real life than they do in the catalogue and photos! Test location Waddell beach, 15-18knots waves were small.

Brian Friedmann has been riding Bandit kites at Wadell since the Bandit 1 back in 2007/2008, at the legendary local kite wave spot on the California coast, just North of Santa Cruz. His typical quiver for the season is two kites, 7m and 9m, and he likes to ride them with shorter lines and with the larger bar. Either 18 or 20m lines with the 52 bar. He rides a lot, knows the kite reaction and behavior better than anybody, and by being on the water more than most has a unique perspective on each year design. Read more about the BANDIT 10th edition here.

fonebri-copy — Rider: Brian Friedmann @ Wadell Bandit 10 7m – Photo: Gary J. Strachan

Here are Brian’s first impressions with the 2017 BANDIT 10 7m:

The Bandit 10 is a nice improvement from last year’s model and immediately feels very quick and responsive when you put it in the air. Every year you think to yourself, my current kite feels really good, what could be improved? And amazingly this year those improvements were very apparent as soon as I flew the kite. I’d intentionally went out in lighter winds with the B10 7M to try and see how much pull it had and turning in less than normal conditions for that size kite. It was a typical 9M day.

The kite turns with ease and seems to have more low end power than the B9. It was very fast to respond with the rear lines set on the quickest setting (I like the fast response for the surf). Yet was hard to initiate a stall and feels very predictable when sheeting in and overall has excellent stability. The Bandit 10 was quick to go upwind and seemed to outperform last year’s kite in this area as well. Bar pressure was slightly less than previously and the kite rotates well on the wing tips making kite loops a snap. The bladder setup is similar to last year, easy to inflate/deflate and retains a very rigid frame (when pumped to the recommended pressure).

Overall it shows improvements in all areas over last year’s kite (which is a challenging accomplishment). The color schemes look even better in real life than they do in the catalogue and photos! Test location Waddell beach, 15-18knots waves were small.

-Brian Friedmann