airush razor 2012

the 2012 Airush gear is not out yet. So you might have to wait a bit for a independent review

some new team series clip featuring the razor...rockets not included.

I'm a UK rider
76kg Intermediate/Advanced

I posted the on UK forum Kiteboarder:

I have been lucky enough to try the 2012 7m Razor. Where to start… well when you pump it up you notice just how good the build is and there is some fantastic attention to detail including a dump valve at the wingtip to help with packing – make sure you close this before you spend two minutes pumping like a maniac! Once pumped it you notice just how solid it is and the frame maintains good rigidity when you flip it. The 7m looks small – smaller than the hybrid I use, but again it does not 'splay' when you have it LE down and it sits there defiantly.

I connected it up with the back lines on the outer (standard) setting and put the front on the freestyle as there is another wakestyle attachment pigtail. Attaching the lines is great as Airush 'kook proof', colour match and actually label the lines on the bar so only a totally imbecile could mess this up and well hey that is Darwin's law of natural selection at work.

For someone who is fussy about bars the 2012 Airush offering is a particularly nice piece of kit and it has a great safety system and release that can be setup suicide and still fire off onto the fifth. It has a PU covered dual centreline and the dugout is polished alloy so it looks like it is going to last and the safety line seems to sit nicely between these and is offered a bit of protection against wear also. My preference for depower has been an above bar cleat but I could actually live with the pull/pull toggle system Airush have as it is incredibly tidy and the way they attach it means it is easily within reach.

I was out for about 3 hours on Sunday and it was one of those up and down days with a cross-on wind going from mid to occasional high 30's and dropping to the mid to high 20 for periods. When I first flung the 7m up I was not sure that it would have enough power (looking so small) but I was surprised to find some there so I grabbed my board and hit the water.

First thing I noticed is that is fast, but not angry wasp fast and everything is so controllable. This is because there is just an incredible amount of feedback from the kite and it is just so precise – Razor is an apt name as the handling is sharp. It is also incredibly solid in the air and there is no luffing or flutter to it and I was really surprised at how stable and how easily it dealt with gusts. There is depower there but nowhere near that of a hybrid and the power delivery is very linear with sheeting and does not shut on/off. Also when I say feedback this is not via heavy bar pressure and there was actually less than the hybrid.

I found it astoundingly easy to use, more so than some other modern C kites I have tried. That said it is a kite that will reward someone with good flying and board skills and it is definitely more suited to well established intermediates and probably more advanced riders. For example with boosting I found it took a just little bit more technique than the hybrid but when you get it right it does jump extremely well and with the feedback you have excellent control when in the air and redirecting. Unhooked it was very well behaved and there is no surge and power builds gradually meaning you can really load against it for pop - I was borrowing another board for the day whilst waiting for my new one to arrive and I know I'll get more out of the Razor when I'm on something I'm more used to.

Overall the standout things about the Razor is just how 'solid' it is in the sky and how much feedback you get from it. I have tried some modern C-kites before and never really understood why I would give up the range and usability of a good hybrid…. until now that is! There is absolutely no hint of vagueness at all to the Razor and for me this was something very special and it's not like the kites I rode before were – it is just that this is something else entirely. Yes I might occasionally miss that bit of extra range or ease of use or the ability to boost stupidly big very easily on a good hybrid (I know my mate still preferred his), but if you are an advanced rider who wants absolute precision and feedback then the Razor is simply stunning in this department.

Looks like I'm going to be wandering around that department for a while – I'll let you know what the 9m and 11m are like at some point in the future!

can anyone fill in on the design tweaks between the 2011 and 2012 razor - i hear that the 13 and 11 have improved bottom end and the small kites 5.5 and 7m have been slowed down a touch?