2013 Blade Fat lady 17M

Rider: 90kg, 7 years into the journey...
Style: Freeriding, unhooked, freestyle, bit of surf
Weather: 6 to 20+ knots
Build Quality: 9/10 - those graphics are just rubbish
Satisfaction: 9/10 – it would be perfect if it was a tad faster to turn
Disclosure: I pay for my own kites. Not affiliated.
Other kites: Switch Element 1 size 11 but used to kite Ozone and tries a lot of different kites. My favs are Ozone but they are too expensive for me now.
Board: Naish haze 2011 XL 146/44, Xenon Laluz 2012 132/39

My Comments:

Well I finally bought one of those big ones as I was coming back to Europe and the wind is not as good as in WA (I miss you guys and wish I could be down with the Pinaroo crew for a daily sesh!) the kites I considered to buy were: The new Zephyr (too expensive), The cloud 17M (too many unknowns), The Griffin TRX 17M (failed to get a try and more info) and the Blade Fat Lady 2013. I was looking for the best compromise between tight finances and need to get the most out of the low wind days which are legion here in Europe and really light (3.8kgs folds as small as my 11!) for travelling... and I’m not disappointed at all.

I went to Greece for a month and kited 24 out of 28 days, half of it on the fat lady. The local spot is onshore with waves and gusty with a tendency to drop out of the blue down to 6 knots and then up in the low 20s... This kite isn’t flying... it floats... it is very light for its size and therefore is so efficient that it just stays in the air. The wind dropped a couple of times from 18 to 6 in a couple of minutes: 10s and 12s falling all around and unable to relaunch... Fat lady was still floating and had enough power to drag me back to the beach standing... I cannot compare the kite against its competitors as I have not managed to try any of the others, so I will tell about my experience with it.

Setting up: Small inflation valve so a fair amount to pump even if the bladder and struts are as small as the ones you’ll find on a 10! The bridles are quite long and there are pulleys (which I’ll change for metal sliders) but it is very much Plug and play with no complications. There are 2 settings on the directional lines: first knot: more grunt, kite a bit more aggressive but feels more unstable. Second knot: kite like a trained puppy, I prefer that on a big kite. Also lines are 19 + 5M extensions, it is better with the extensions but if you are towards its high end: small lines, more direct feel. The kite is docile and is easy to launch and land, fully depowered it does not drag you even towards the high end.

The kite is really easy to use (does not overfly or ever make you feel uncomfortable) and pulls like a truck, a decent sized board (the right board is essential to get the best out of those big kites) will help to translate the power in your legs and go upwind. I’ve kited big kites before but it still takes time to get used to and find the compromise between raw power and upwind, most of the time I found that I needed to kite with the bar mid-way through the depower to get the best upwind. The kite feels strong in your harness but the bar pressure is fairly light so you can kite for a while even in the high end without feeling too tired.

The real wind range is always a tricky question... The spot where I was, the wind, waves and current are all onshore, taking away 2 knots from any kite’s low end. I kited with a big board and was doing reillys in 12 knots. 10 knots flat water should be no issue at 90kgs. The high end... If you are a competent kiter, I was kiting in the low 20s with strong gusts making huge jumps in ¾ depowered and It felt great even if a bit more physical... I’m now confident that at 90 pies, I only need a 9M to cover 10 to 30 knots. Sure in between kites would be nice but in terms of finances I cannot justify it and I’m confident that these 2 sizes will suffice. This 17 is what a 12 or 13 offers but then some extending to the low end.

The turning speed is slow, for a big kite it’s ok, but still slow and that’s the only downside: jumped transition loops are tricky and need a bit of work... The slow turning speed has one advantage: Unhooked tricks are freaking fantastic to do with this kite when you are in the low end, even in 12 knots you can have a ball with it and it feels really good and safe. Really unexpected but excellent to try new tricks in confidence... Once the wind picks up and unhooked feels too strong then start jumping... The kite floats in the air, you can jump high for a long time and it does not drop you down hard... I surfed the waves a bit (1 to 2M high with a twin tip) with it as well and felt decent even if its raw power means it tends to drag you a bit but in the low end it is decent but from 15 knots dedicated surf riders may want to switch to a 12...

For me at 90kgs it’s perfect: 10 to 20 knots. Riding at 10 with a big board (a sector board would get you going in 8 I reckon) from 12 knots: unhooked and surf .Finally from 15 to low 20s big air fun. For me it’s like a 12 or 13 but with better low end and all I want now is a perfect 10 or 9 and I won’t need anything else. The Build quality is excellent, it is very lean and efficient without unnecessary reinforcements. The graphics are rubbish but I don’t care... For me it was the best compromise: Versatility, Range, price, weight and packing size for travels. I’m happy I bought it, I would love to try my other choices but I know have kited a lot on it and feel extremely confident with it due to the variety of wind encountered, I’m happy I bought it: It’s a good investment and the pleasure of being alone on the water, looking at other people looking on with envy as you cruise: Priceless.

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AllianceGear said..

Nice review Dafrog!
If you think the kite turns a little slow when riding on the last knot of the rear lines you should try moving the top knot down to half way between the current position and the bottom knot, this will improve the turning speed and power.

cheers for the tip, would that influence the behavior of the kite? I mean I love the fact that on the bottom knot it's super stable... I also would like to point that it's really easy to relaunch the kite in the water... I forgot that in my review.