Held off on a review for a few days, as my first session was so good, I thought I better let that new kite stoke mellow a little.
4 sessions on the 9m now, I was a little apprehensive as I had heard that the NXG had gone fully freestyle and c shaped, whilst appearing more c than the 09 HP it didn't feel like it had lost that great speed through the window that I have always liked. Certainly more stable and requiring less tuning than previous models. Flown for these sessions on A-B setting so still one faster setting to go, loops beautifully, this really inspires confidence (in me anyway) to try more, and not be so worried of the spanking I receive when it goes wrong. Bar pressure very slightly lighter, still good feel through the bar to kite position.
I was comfortable on a twin tip to 25 knots and could have held more, though I would probably change down unless it was very smooth water. On a surfboard, going comfortably around 18 knots, I found this kite better than the HP for wave sailing, it would drift better without a tendency to backstall, this was quite noticeable over prior models especially unhooked, turning is fast but not as fast as before, still quick and with nice steering input (not heavy) I found that the kite is very happy screaming to the front of the window so you may need to adjust your riding style to keep up with the kite, I slowed the turns down on the kite (bigger arc). Overall for me, love the one pump and wingtip dump valve, performance is great and a notch up on before, a much better freeride kite than I was expecting, felt great in the waves, I would like to hear an opinion from a top freestyler. If you are in the market for a top freeride/freestyle kite with heaps of speed and want to walk off the water with a big grin on your face go and have a demo, I am still smiling and very stoked!!!
