speleopower - 29-9-2007 at 06:53 PM
I picked up a brand new Kitesurfer XL kite from Davinch a few weeks ago. I've not flown the Kitesurfer version of the Quadrifoils for quite a few
years.
I have owned about 4 or 5 of them however, I sold them all due to my preference for open cell foil kites. But when I saw a brand new one this year I
went for it.
This kite is for sure not for everyone or for the faint of heart. I can describe it in three words "mean and nasty" in it's wind range. It has
little tolerance for errors in flight and requires a lot of attention. However, if you've got the flying skills your rewarded with a ride that is
second to none in power, quickness and ability to snatch you off the water!
It requires a gentle and I mean gentle dive to get yourself up and out of the water. If you dive the kite quickly you'll get yourself snatched up and
over your board from a standstill.
I don't have a wind meter but I think the wind today was in the 15-25mph or so today with small waves (2-4 feet). The kites turning speed is crazy
and if your brave enough multiple kite loops are possible. But not me!
Acceleration can be described as snatchy. You can quickly get away from a breaking wave or move to a better spot on a wave quickly with a flick of
the wrists. Downwind wave riding is quite easy due to the speed of the kite in the turns. You can spin the kite almost about it's centerline to
generate power as you are going down the line of a wave.
Since this was my first flight of a Kitesurfer kite since about 2002 I was caught off gaurd by the kites power.
The biggest downfall of this kite is it does not deal well with underpowered conditions. It tends to fall out of the sky or partialy deflate making
it useful only in it's mid to upper wind range. The second pitfall is landing. I prefer open cell foils for their ease of self landing. I like to
catch the bridle lines on my board foot straps. The open cell kites just deflate and sit there. The closed cell foils are harder to land due to them
not wanting to deflate easily and a helper to catch the kite is a better option especially in higher winds.
I doubt this kite would be good for land use on an ATB or buggy due to it's poor low wind handling. But it's going to be my weapon of choice in
higher winds.
All in all a great kite if your up for a technical kite that demands a lot of attention. I don't have any pictures of the kite but I'll post some if
someone wants to see it.
Thanks for reading-Scott
p.s. the kite is flown using 4 lines and handles.
SecondWind - 29-9-2007 at 08:00 PM
Thanks for the review Spele 
Now I just need to send you the XXXL that is sitting in my garage 
riffclown - 9-4-2015 at 01:35 PM
Spammer Link reported.. Please delete this post on cleanup as well..
soliver - 15-10-2016 at 09:22 PM
Spammo, McWammo