I recently picked up a 9m Montana VII and thought I'd share my experiences with it after 4-5 short sessions in mostly low winds and very variable winds. (10mph max, I'd guess, but I'm not very good at estimating these sorts of things)

Short Version: So far I absolutely love it.

Longer version:

Launching:
What I love about this kite is how quickly it launches. Unzip the backpack, roll it out, unwind the lines, strap on helmet and harness, tug the leading lines, and up it goes. The winds I've been flying in since I've had this kite have a tendency to drop to near zero periodically, which is annoying with any kite. When this happens, it will start to stall and often times collapse. (To be fair, this is probably equal parts bad wind and bad pilot) While this is annoying, resetting takes no time at all and it goes right back up as quickly as you can walk to the kite and back.

In these winds I wouldn't even bother with the 13m Venom arc I've been using. Even if I used a blower to get it inflated, I would often end up with it twisted in one way or another every time it came back down, and the whole process of getting the variables involved in an arc self-launch exactly correct would start again. Im sure if you have nice steady winds, the ARC is amazing, but for my winds/purposes, the quick launch/relaunch of the foil outweighs that in spades.

Backpack:
The pack it comes in is also totally excellent. I can unpack/pack in 5 minutes, and it holds the kite, harness, helmet, and gloves with ease. The external straps make it easy to strap my ATB to it as well and I end up with one backpack with everything I need in it. Just fantastic.

Depower:
When I was researching foils, one issue that came up was the fact that they tend to pull hard/instantly when a gust hits where ARC's tend to absorb gusts more gently. From what I can tell this is totally true. There have been some times when the wind just hit hard and the kite went crazy. That being said, there seems to be a lot of depower on this kite and if you let the bar out, it backs off pretty significantly I would say it has far more depower than my Venom Arc. I know the Venom is an older kite, so this comparison is totally unfair. I would imagine new ARCS are much better!

I also don't find (so far) that I mind it occasionally yanking hard in a gust. It's a little scary the first time it happens, but I think I like the very direct control you feel.. If you'll allow me a car analogy, it feels a bit like racing suspension vs road suspension. Racing suspension isn't always comfortable, but it's not about comfort it's about performance and engagement.

Bar: Nothing fancy as far as I can tell, but works fine.

Safety: Some people complain that the Montana doesn't have the 5th line safety. I haven't taken this kite into heavy winds yet but I have tested out the safety multiple times (I like to get that muscle memory set so I know exactly what to do if things go south). In my opinion, it works great. It's very quick to reset and most times I can reset and relaunch the kite without having to unhook and walk downwind to it!

Turning:
Doesn't seem to be a problem at all. Certainly faster than my Venom, but I don't have a broad enough base of experience to say how good or bad it is.

Summary:
I really love this kite. I know I will want to get a bigger one in the near future. I may even want to go with a matrixx to prevent some of the collapsing that happens because of the crap wind I have been flying in. What I can say for sure is that my next kite will be either a 14m Montana VIII or a 15m Matrixx.

I'm not sure I follow you. Can I borrow it?

Hah sure! Just send me a Speed 4 for "collateral" and I'll get it in the mail ASAP! :D

Really great review, thanks for sharing your thoughts and opinions, especially in light if your experience. Those sorts of things are very refreshing to read. I've been thinking about depow on and off for a while, and Montana has always been one on my list.

It's nice to have a new guy on the Montana bandwagon! They truly are great kites.