9m switchblade review

Bought myself a nice new 9m switchblade kite just before christmas.
Got the red one because I hear its faster.

I am an intermediate kiter and have been flying an old 2001 14m fuel for a few years as well as a 12m & 9m airush kites.

First impressions were pretty good. The kite appears to be of good build quailty and the bag is not bad but does have a heap of extra straps and **** for attaching a pump and board but they just got in the way.

Self launching is great as long as you know the technique (putting sand on the wing tip is very very difficult, best to go with the down wind drift method. To do this leave the kite down wind with sand on it just as you would when leaving the kite unattended on the beach. Turn the kite so one wing tip is getting blown from the inside. Run back to your lines and hook in. Pull on the lines to bring the kite right around so its facing away from you, as if its just been crashed. Now pull on a a steering line and let the kite walk to the edge of the wind and up it goes. You will need a clear beach area as the kite will drag along the sand for a bit. Some times the kite will flip around and lauch straight down wind but this isn't a drama as you can let the bar go and depower it). Relaunch is also very easy as the kite usually just sits on a wing tip and waits for you to grab the bar.

Depower is sweet. You can let the bar go and the kite just flakes to the edge of the window. Pull the bar back and it relauches.

Bar pressure was no different to my old C kites but I think I will get a shorter chicken loop as you have to let the bar out a fair way some times. It doesn't help that I am a fairly short person.

I rode this kite in nasty gusty wind that I would never consider going out on with an old C kite and it was sweet. In big gusts you just let the bar out and edge hard which makes it feel like your going even further up wind.

Things I didn't like.

1) $1680 bucks for a kite and it doesn't even come with a saftey leash???? They say you dont need one because of the depowering of the kite but what about people that ride unhooked??? You can buy them seperately but thats another $40. Comon guys be fair. Also you dont get a pressure gauge on the pump. It would be nice to include this as well.

2) The swivel on the center lines has gone rusty and doesn't swivel very well. They need to add another swivel above that one to allow the center lines to untwist if you connect them to the kite twisted.

3) The depower adjustment handles are TERRIBLE. They stick out all over the place and get tangled with the lines. They also make it diffuclt to wind your lines up on the bar. If they stuck with simple webbing like on the old kites it would have been a lot better.

Over all I am very happy with the kite. They are damn expensive but well worth the money for the safety factor and the ability to go out in strong gusty winds that would be painful on an old C kite.

I have heard of people complaining of heavy bar pressure and the kites inverting. So far I have been out on mine about 10-15 times now and have never had it invert and the bar pressure feels fine, if not lighter then me C kites.

I haven't flown any other Bow kites yet but I am very interested to compair them if I get a chance.

I weight about 67kg's, I'm using a 139 board and have been kiting in about 12-25 knots (gusting to 30)