the 2008 flexifoil gear has been out for a few weeks now and i know i should have posted this weeks ago but i wanted to have a good ride on both the 12M and the 9M before i posted a review and better late than never hey.
2008
9M Atom this is a huge improvement from last years 9M (Not that there was anything wrong with last yeas9M) it is much faster, more responsive and has a much more diterct feel in the steering wich i love. i have only had the 9m powered up properly 3 or 4 times but i am already getting the biggest kiteloops and boost i have ever done. this kite has completly blowen my mind away and i can see huge potential for a whole new avenu of high powere and high addrenelin arial tricks. i love it its so much fun to fly it makes me want to go kiteing again and again
12M Atom this kite has been changed alot from last years 12M it still has that awesom direct easy to fly feel but it doesnt have that raw grunty feel that last years did instead it has a much faster sporty feel to it this year. the kite is much faster through the window and much much faster and more responsive turning with yes belive it or not even better relaunching!
the build quality is still in my opinion the best on the market.
Flexifoil have upgraded the bar and lines with a new centre strap and new softer grip on the bar. the lines still come as 20m lines with 5m extensions on them so you can have 20m or 25m lines.
as you can probably guess writting reviews isnt one of my strong points so if you want to know more about the 2008 Flexifoil gear or you want to have a fly of one i'm down at woodys most days so come and say gday and if the conditions are good i'll let ya take one of mine for a blast.
I teach on 9m Atom 08's and ride a 8.5m Ion2
For me the Ion2 is faster across the window and generates power earlier. With the battens in the trailing edge it doesn't deform when you stall it, so waveriding is fun and less stressful.
The Atom is great to teach on as it's a no brainer to fly. If you let go of the bar it takes ages to hit the water. Plenty of time to get control back. Doesn't re-launch like some SLE's but when you get the knack it goes up quick.
Apart from that the major difference is the price. The Ion has a few more reinforced bits and a different bar.
The 20m + 5m line combo gives Atoms and Ions a bigger range.
I was out on a 12.5 Ion2 today in 25 knots. Got a bit overpowered at times but boost was huge. Tomorrow I will take the 5m extensions off. Or take the 8.5.
Hope this helps.
Dave,
I rode the 10.5m Ion2 in 30knots on Saturday on the 20m lines and all I can say is AWESOME!
I should have tried it heaps earlier. The kite is super quick and gives a very direct feel, as you'd expect. Power definitely reduced, which is exactly what I needed - otherwise on the 25m lines I was just hanging on and jumping big.
What I found surprising was the size and hangtime of the jumps, even with 5m less lines. It hardly made any difference. It was also great for throwing around in the chop, hanging out to test it like this in some real waves.
This kite rocks! I still can't understand why more people aren't testing out flexifoils. They are built tough, fly brilliantly and are probably the best engineered out there. Simple, reliable and functional. No bits that break, get in the way, or just take up space.
i agree. flexi are some of the best put together packages ive seen :) no stupid bits, bullet proof construction, and fly nice :)
Well I can give a review as i rode the 9m today.
15 to 20 knots, onshore, bigger than normal surf and again a new board to play with [555]
The conditions were tameable with this kite. A fast and reliable motion was exactly what I needed and the way the kite delivered was a good indicator as I had never flown it before.
The first problem I had was with the launching; I stood on a fragmented cuttle-fish and sliced open my toe, still nothing i can fault on the kite although I wasn't impressed by the inflate valve giving resistance when pumping up but that was easily solved by pumping up using the deflate valve instead.
The Rev and Atom are very similar but the Atom was a bit more traditional in its behaviour on the edge of the window. [the REV is awesome at the edge]
But back to the atom, the Atom was at home in the onshore surf and frontal conditions but due to the conditions I didn't try any moves [having to ride in the white water] but I did do surf riding that was impressive [I'm talking about the kites performance] as I could always rely on the kite to get me out of trouble when a set was coming through.
The upwind ability was unlike anything I have ridden though, that or the use of the swash for current as that was a new thing for me. The angle I was making to the wind allowed me to go directly along the beach one way and out to sea the other. Unfortunately I couldn't make it through the surf to the deep more often and the times I did I got bored and went back to surf riding.
When I got dumped and washed around the kite behaved well, not luffing or doing anything annoying like it.
To compare the kite to the Ion2 I would say that it flys basically the same but the atom would have better upwind and the Ion turns better.
I think i have to fly it again as the conditions were so different to normal that everything would be based on the conditions not really the kite.
My conclusion is some people will love it but others will go for something different but they will have to think a lot about the Atom before hand.
