This review will be short so feel free to ask me any questions plus I am keen to hear views from other Griffin Kite riders.
I had the opportunity to have an extended period to try the 7, 10.5 2009 and 2010 9m proto type Griffin Kites. This has resulted in me changing brands and buying the 2010 7, 10.5 and 14 and declare that I am now a strong supporter of Griffin Kites.
I have been kiting almost since the start of kiting in NSW however while experienced and ride in surf and flat water in winds 12 to 40 knots I do not do many tricks just the basic fun things.
10.5 Griffin Kite review
This review is for the 10.5m only as it covers 85% of the riding most 75 to 80kg kite riders would enjoy in my area being Lake Macquarie and its beaches in winds between 15 to 30 knots so if you just want one kite this is it.
2009 10.5 comparison to the 2010
The 2010 10.5m has eliminated a few minor things I did not like in the 2009 however these little things did not really affect the performance of the 2009 kite.
Improvements IMO are:
• Smoothness
• control in gusts
• Performs like a 9m in terms of speed, wave riding and top end but with the bottom end power of a 10.5m or better
• Very forgiving
• Boosting jumps with excellent float and control making landings easier than any kite I have had
• Wave riding a major down the line improvement for me however I have not had kites in the past that did this very well – but now I can and am getting better. My previous kites often would not stay in the right position and I would drop them in the water in light wind but now I have considerably more control and so far not dropped the 2010 10.5m kite in the water.
I have flown the 2010 10.5m in winds from at a guess 15 to may be a little over 30 knots with no feel of being overpowered at the top end and still enjoying kiting enough with the available power at the bottom end.
A few other things that helps my kiting experience:
• Griffin kite bags are the best I have had with ample size meaning no problems in having to get the last bit of air out of the kite to pack away – I have found this regardless of the kite size.
• Customer support and response to input is excellent
• On the bar elastics at each end to hold lines in place and retract out of the way when not in use
• All kites fly on shorter lines possibly better than on 24/5m lines which has many small advantages including launching and landing space and quicker to run out and wind up
• It also seems many kiters are interested in supporting an Australian company that gives value in terms of low cost kites with still premium performance and quality without the big marketing budget that is built into kite selling prices.
Yesterday I was on my 14m Griffin in surf with wind about 15kn. I would recommend this kite to anyone who wants to kite more often as it fun with excellent performance in wind from about 10kn depending on your weight.
Got the 09 7m and love it ! Faultless quality and great performance. Bar is identical to another far more expensive brand.
No ties to Griffin or distributors, only kiter in my area with one.
Griffin have got the monkey off their back, go for it.
I'm interseted in the Griffin Kites
but it would be nice to see how it goes compared to a switchblade or Rev
Has anyone being able to give back to back comparison
All 3 kites are very good kites.
I have kited on Rev 1,2 and new Octane but not the Switchblade however some in my area have Switchblades and Waroo and love them.
IMO there is little noticable difference in performance between the Griffin and Rev/Octane depends who you ask. Some will say Griffin has more wind range.
I suggest try all 3 as it becomes a personal choice and what deal you can get. You should get a good deal on Griffin as they are trying to increase market share and I think have by far the longest warranty.
If you are into a lot of kiting on waves perhaps you should try the new Griffin Argo, I hope to next week.
I am a strong Griffin supporter however will always try to provide objective coment.
G'day mate,
I have Griffin 2010 9m. I live in Hillarys WA and kitesurf in Mallaloo. If you wish you can try my kite. If you like it and I am sure you will, then you can get one for yourself.
George 0433 227 523
just to say, after trying the 09 and 10 7M griffin, I'm a big fan of the line. I bought a 7M 2010 griffin because of the demo, and am looking at replacing my Switchblade 3 with the 10.5 Griff or possibly the new 10m argos.
I won't give you a kite by kite comparison of the SB3 vs Griffin (different sizes and years make it inaccurate) but i will say I really like the range of depower on the Griffins compared to the SB3, the 100% depower when I throw the bar up after screwing up a landing and I like the Griffin bar a lot more than the SB3s.
The price is pretty close to unbeatable as well.
W.r.t the 09 vs 2010, i think for the money it's worth going to the 2010. I got a change to try them back to back, and I found the 2010 was a little more stable, didn't backstall when oversheeted when the 09 would have... The tanjen (sp?) canopy looks sharp and makes for a lighter kite as well.
Yes the 2010 Griffin relaunch is excellent. I would put it in the top 10% for relaunch. The other standout for me is the jumps. The 10.5m goes BIG even on the short lines.
Does any one have a Griffin Argo. I have a 9m Griffin 2010 and I would like to try the Argo 9m or 7m. I want to purchase a 7m but undecided Griffin or Argo for waves. Does any one know if Griffin bar can be used with Griffin Argo?
Would appreciate if someone could help.
Live in Perth Hillarys. 0433 227 523
Forgot to ask. Does anyone know if Griffin Argo will outperform Griffiin in the waves and which will be better kite for intermidiate to advanced kiters.
Thanks
I haven't flown the argo but have seen one at the beach. The bar is exactly the same as the griffin bar. As for waves, they are marketing it as being a wave kite so I'm guessing it's probably better than the griffin for this
I've got the 9m Argo and 9m Griffin. If the WA guys would like to try them, I'll be at Leighton Mon, Tue and Wed arvo. We can run them side by side for comparison.
Let me know if you're keen!
Dunk
0447914576
I had the chance to try the 2010 Griffin 10.5 and can honestly say whilst i won't be giving up my Torch any time soon it was a very nice kite to fly. I believe the one i flew has had a bit of time on it and a few riders to tune it properly, so what i got might not be the same as out of the bag.
Turning speed is great. Having just come off the water on my 12m Torch i wasn't expecting to be going as well as i was. A couple of sines to build up speed and it came on song nicely! It really loves generating apparent wind and rewards fast planing speed.
Unhooking on the Griffin is far better than i was expecting with some nice solid pop, but hooking back in is quite a challenge. The Griffin just keeps pulling almost immediately after you pop - no slack lines here! In the light'ish winds i was flying in (~16-18kn gusting to 20) i was honestly astonished at the power it had.
Safety system was effective, but worth mentioning that the one i tried didn't release as soon as i had pulled the QR. It seems the pin got stuck or at the wrong angle and too a moment before it flicked over and released the chicken loop. It was a controlled test so i had slowed down in the water and there wasn't much if any load on the kite so perhaps with a bit more power going to the chicken loop it would have popped instantly. Once flagged out it still pulled a little bit, ~%50 of if the kite was depowered with the bar completely out... which is 50% of not much, but still more than a 5th line setup.
Re-rigging the CL whilst standing in the water was very quick and easy, and once ready to go the relaunch was excellent. Just pull one back line and wait about 3-5 seconds and it's up-up-and-away.
With the bar pressure setting on the low option, my criticism was that i had no where near enough bar pressure and feedback to let me know where the kite was. I'm sure if i had another chance to try it on the higher bar pressure option that would fix that.
I can honestly recommend these kites as great all rounders. I'm really keen to get my hands on a bigger one in lighter winds to see if the grunt is consistent across the range. A 14m Griffin may prove to be far more usable than my current 15m Fuel.
The is already so many of these at the beach this year.
I think the first few had babies like the Octo-mum.
Here in wellington there's about a dozen or so of us riding the Griffins, mostly up the Kapiti Coast. They are great value for what you get. I just got a solid session in 25+knots on my 7m 2010 and I'm convinced I made the right purchase. The water relaunch is indeed excellent and I find it handles big gusts (10+knots more than average) better than other kites I've experienced.
I'm looking at getting a second one to replace my SB3.
For any Kiwis, there's a full range of demo kites available through Stafford Lee at Kapiti X-Treme Kitesports.
(ps: not sponsored or affiliated with griffin, but do own one)
