Rider: 100kgs skill: intermediate
Style: Freeriding, Surf
Weather: 10-20 knots
Got to ride the Psycho 3 and 4 with Ian Young in Perth last week - both kites were 10m and the P3 definately had the bottom end covered but was a steam train in the air and on the arms. The P4 however was a delight to fly even in the very marginal directly onshore conditions. It was light on the bar (similar to that of the new Rev2 and the Airush Vapor 2 on the light bar setting) and very comparable in speed and feel.
This was my first time on a foil and it was a good experience - would have been a lot better if there was some good wind - in the air the kite was great, good depower, suprising fast and no spongy feedback that I was expecting. I reckon this would make a good surf kite (which Ian proved) and a travel kite - setup and pack up were very impressive although somewhat daunting first time round, and the fact that the front and back lines at the join to the bridle are only about 6 inches apart... german engineering at work there I guess.
I then got to ride the 11m Rev 2 from Choicey on the estuary in more favourable winds and was suitably impressed. The kite was simple to say the least, nice bar short bridle and really thin struts, on the water was a treat too - quick in the sky and a great jumper with a good bit of float in the jumps, I would have liked the bar a little lighter but it was sweet none the less.
I think if I had the 10m Vapor II, Rebel, Psycho 4 and 11m Rev 2 on any given day - apart from looking at them you would be hard pressed to actually tell the difference between them - all a pleasure to kite with and really hard to say that one kite did something better than the other.
I guess this is a reflection that a lot of kite manufacturers are heading in a very similar and positive direction, im certainly no gun kiter but this was a great few days where I could try several kites within a short period of time and I was struggling to pick a difference between them all in performance build quality and ease of use...
