Rider: Frank Wittke
I showed up at the BAKS warehouse for a quick chat before going to 3rd ave for a quick session when Nico threw a kiteboard bag and a kite in my trunk with a smile: have fun and tell us what you think…
First: I love the new graphics, a gorgeous red, with a simple huge f-one logo… classy !
So how does it feels … well, honestly, very much like the bandit 6, I thought first( which is a good thing) except it feels like I have a 7m on my bar ( which was the 2013 version by the way) .
Hummm, that’s kind of nice… very light, very quick and no surprises. The wind was getting light and I had to pump up the kite a little to get going but it did not feel tiring at all and the power was there allright when I moved the kite in the power zone.What about the board? well I did not have the time to readjust the straps ( I like a wide stance ) but it felt quite comfortable from the beginning and quite floaty for the smaller version (I’m a 200 pounder !). I was very pleased to get no spray in my face, or calfs even though the conditions were quite choppy from the ebb current, and the board felt solid with a progressive flex when I started jumping and throw my usual bag of old school tricks. I really liked the feeling of the board when landing hard kiteloop backloop jumps as it seems to absorb some of the impact. Oddly enough it seemed very playfull and really easy to switch to toeside or blindside, but at the same time it was tracking very well upwind and stayed very stable when loading jumps ( probably helped by the bottom channels and the new rail design ) If anything , I felt it was a little heavy event though it is the full carbon version but it might be just an impression because of how solid it felt with the thick straps and pads and the thick rails in between the feet.
Two days later, I had the chance to try the set again at Waddell and the conditions could not have been more opposite: 25-30 knots of wind, 3-5 feet of heavy shore break and after enjoying the conditions with my 7m 2013 B6 and getting my feet on the new Signature 5’10” an 6’0” (that I will review another time) I took the 9m 2014 Bandit with the acid TT full carbon for a spin.
Wow! The 9m felt again like I had the 7m in my hand ! it was so stable and I did not feel overpowered at all. I did some crazy high jumps, with full control during flight. The only thing was to adjust to the turning speed ( 7m meter is still quicker to steer) and pull harder if I wanted to loop my kite during transitions.
They seem to really have improved the handling of the B7 in the upper range and in overpowering conditions, that’s great !
The Acid felt even better, since I had the time to widen my stance, and even in the waves, I still could have fun bottom turning in the shorebreak and ride toeside in the surf . Once again landing hard on powered jumps, with keeping the kite low, was not a problem , the board flexing just the right amount .
Arggghhh, Now , I have a problem: I had expected to get the new Trax, since I though that it was more catered to my style of riding, but that new Acid TT,feels so good and does not seem to be restricted to the new school kind of riding, that I will have a hard time to choose now…
Oh well , I guess it’s not a bad thing to have more choices, right ?
Franky la brute.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/frankwittke/sets/72157635566789455/
