Rider: Weight 98k, Level advanced
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle
Weather: 10-15 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Disclosure: own a shop
My Comments:
Finely got a ride on the shop 10m Lithium to day, After every one else. It seemed to be a hard kite to get back of the local riders they all just wanted to hog it for the day & stay on it!
The wind was light but we had a moderate run out tide so that helped we all seemed to stay up wind on the kite not bad for a 10m for riders ranging from 70kg to 100kg.
First impression was, that it was light on the bar & very smooth in flight as well as power delivery, at the top of the window the kite did offer a bit more power & the kite seemed to want to lift you out of the water even when flown smoothly overhead. The kite has four struts & I have noticed that most of the kite with the center strut missing do tend to give good boost with float. This kite is no exception. You must time your jump to come down (or at least expect more time in air before landing.)
moderate to fast turning speed, when you crank the bar the kit dose pivot on it's self a nice tight turn. I feel the kite would not have as much top end wind rang as it dose bottom end. So I would look at a smaller kite option rather than a big kite, (10 to15knots & we all were going well enough on the 10m,) yes we could of used a 12m but the 10m felt fast light & did the job with out to much effort. Water relaunch was instant like most Delta EVO kites.
good all round kite good boost not massive but with good float, went well in the surf instant de-power & pull the bar in. Boom instant power, Nice feeling, not rip you off your board.
on the wave push the bar out & chase the kite with no problem.
Good fun kite but keep you eye on it when turning it can be a bit fast when you get over excited.
The kite comes with the new smart bar the same as all 2010 Airush kites the bar can be seen on the Varial review. If you haven't seen or know the bar.
Another nice kite from Airush, this kite is nothing like the 09 DNA much more refined & loads more performance. I would ride the Varial over the Lithium for freestyle. But the Lithium as a more all round kite if you could only have one kite.
This kite is available for demo on the Sunshine Coast @ Sunshine coast kitesurfing co.
Hope to see you for a Demo
I just received my 8m lithium and took it out for a spin last night.
Rider: weight 105kg level intermediate
Board: 132 2009 Xpact
Style: freeriding, surf
weather: Gusty 25knots +, flat water riding
Build quality: 10/10
satisfaction: 9/10
Disclosure: been riding airush for a long time.
This is just a first impression after 1hr riding.
Pivotal turning, auto relaunch. It does sit back in the wind window, something I was looking for as I find I kill the power too easy with forward flying kites.
The kite was perfectly powered in the conditions I flew it in no need to use the depower strap, but I was using a lot of the de power available in the bar throw and edging hard in the gusts. So I think the top end of this kite would be in the high 20s for me.
Like sciteboarding said the kite turns on its axis when you are aggressive on the bar, I did do some wide arc down loop turns, it pulls bloody hard... a few times I got yanked off the board not expecting such a strong pull. I think controlling the downloops will add another dimension to my surf riding, tight axis turns for quick direction changes and big arcs when its closing out and you need to get outta there.
I did drop the kite a few times, relaunch is pretty much auto, by the time I had my head above water the kite was there ready to go with a quick pull of the bar. The kite does not fully depower when you release the bar. So I did get a good pull when I hit the water.
Jumping was better than I expected, as good as 9m core GT and 09 8m switchblade (switchy had better hang time) better than the 09 8.5m flow FT.
My brother was out riding his new 8m Varial, at the end of our session we swapped kites. My brother is 80Kg and said he was way over powered with the lithium, depower strap pulled in all the way and he was still getting pulled off his edge when loading for a jump.
I found the varial less powerful than the lithium, but still comfortable in the winds we had. It was getting knocked around a bit in the gusts, dropping back then flying forward, the lithium didnt move about as much.
The varial jumped significantly better, much greater lift, height and hang time compared to the lithium. It was also Lighter on the bar.
The V3 bridal system works as airush says. when you hit the safety. The kite falls and lays flat in the water with very little pull.
I am really happy with the 8m lithium after this short ride, cant wait to get it out in the waves.
OK, had the 8m lithium out in 30+ knots this past weekend. definitely the top end for me. the kite was rock solid in the air, no crazy behaviour. honestly, a smaller size kite would have been much more sensible.
The bar pressure was pretty heavy in this much wind. i was completely shagged after an hour of kiting.
Hello, i'm new in this forum and i want to ask you how the lithium work unhook?
Thanks and good winds !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HI Airush guys, what kite is the extreme machine at present. I used to love the lift pro 11.5, anything similar to that around?
Isn't Generator more like the old Reactors? - Shallow draft, fast as f*ck but no low-down / static power. The Lift Pros were still high aspect but deeper draft?
