So today was quite the treat, not only was it the first session that I’ve had in about 3 weeks, it was the first opportunity to try out my latest quiver addition; my 2007 9m Naish Boxer SLE. Winds were averaging 10mph with occasional gusts to about 15mph. This was the perfect opportunity to try out this kite, and from what I experienced, I really tested its low wind ability.

Straight out of the bag, the kite is absolutely gorgeous and build quality is immediately apparent; excellent stitching and bridle line work. One extremely interesting thing that I noticed about this kite is the Naish "Octopus" system. I am used to seeing LEIs with external bladder connection tubes. On the Naish, everything is inside the struts, and each strut has a deflation valve. This means that to pump the kite up, I have to make sure that all the deflate valves on each strut is closed, but when deflating, I can deflate all the struts and the LE bladder at the same time, so most of the air is completely removed from the system. Plus, because the connection tubes are internal, there's nothing to get snagged or damaged, which would cause me to replace things much earlier on. The control system is just amazing as well. The original bar was in okay condition, so I upgraded to a 2008 model. This particular bar that I purchased has an Airush chicken loop, centerline, and a Naish active stopper. What really impressed me was the fact that the bar and lines came with their own carrying bag! IMO every LEI bar and lineset should have their own carrying bag, it makes everything so much more organized. Switching from 2:1 to 1:1 is a great option to have, so you can really tune it based on wind speeds and skill level. I may even venture to say that it's the best depower control system that I have seen thus far.

Now for flight characteristics… To describe it in one word: brilliant. For the first flight I opted to go on the 2:1 bar line mode and the 2nd knot on the kite brake bridle. This means that the kite was set for the quickest turning, good depower, and most bar pressure. The one major thing that I noticed almost immediately was the amount of depower. I started with a dead launch in the center of the window, and I braced myself for a potential ride. On an SS Fuel, a dead launch is an extremely risky thing to do because they have so much grunt. With this Boxer, the grunt was there if the bar was in, but even letting out the bar a little bit made a huge difference! After a few of these I had no fear launching in the center of the window, but I do understand that the wind wasn’t too strong at all. I really had to keep the kite moving and feeling where the sweet spot was on the bar and I really had to work the brakes to make a quick turn, but the control is so smooth it is almost unbelievable. The wind was so minimal at times that if I did launch in the middle of the window, I could let the bar all the way out and the kite would just fall right back down to the ground. The entire time the trim strap was in the fully powered position as well. I guess I haven’t been able to appreciate true depower because my Fuels have so little of it. At anytime during flight I can let the bar out and the kite falls out of the sky. This made me really comfortable flying it. This kite definitely has some power to it though. I managed to catch a nice gust and drove it through the center, then straight up to zenith as I pulled the bar to full power. I actually managed to get a nice 2ft controlled hop. Relaunching was kind of a pain today because of the lack of wind. Most of the time I had to stake the CL down and go flip the kite onto its trailing edge. There was one time where I got lucky and the wind picked up a bit and I was actually able to pull on a rear leader line and the kite simply turned over and went up, and mind you I was flying in semi tall grass. Absolutely awesome! I am going to love that feature when the wind is a bit higher.

The curse of the sharpie… This kite is the reason that I created the topic about the sharpie on kite material. It’s not really a big deal, it’s just something I will have to live with. For whatever reason, every guy that had a go on this kite wrote their name and numbers on the LE near the wingtips. The ripstop nylon tape that I bought didn’t stick for beans on the LE material, so I covered the names with more sharpie. It actually doesn’t really look as bad as it used to, and I can live with it. When the kite is in the sky, it actually looks like some of the other black stripe marks on the kite anyways.

Overall, I’m extremely impressed with this kite and because of its size, I think it’s going replace my Flow as a go-to kite. I’m anxious to try it in a bit more wind and even more so with a buggy or in the water.

Just had another amazing session with this amazing piece of kit. Winds started off a little bit less than my first time out with this kite, but quickly shifted to 15mph gusting to about 20mph. This kite is such a beast, but with the amount of depower, this beast can be tamed almost instantly. Unfortunately, these inland winds were extremely inconsistent and I had to really pick and choose which gusts I was going to try to power up on. I did have a few nicely controlled hops today (taking it slow and making good progress) and I felt more confident on them than I did with the Fuels. I know comparing an SLE to a C kite is kind of an apples to oranges thing, but it is the only real comparison that I can make.

The thing that I noticed the most today was the flutter of the material on the kite when depowered, and the amount of bar pressure. When you power up in a good gust to make a jump, the bar pressure is actually tremendous, almost as much, if not equal to a Fuel. Immediately after landing, I don't have to worry about being lofted again as much because I have that immediate depower, whereas on the Fuel, in a good powered jump, you can land and then get picked right back up if you aren't careful and another gust comes in. (Kinda like bunny hopping) So onto the flutter issue... I have never experienced that before. Is this normal behavior with SLE's? I would assume that it happens when you are at the point of depower where the kite is completely parallel to the wind flow and it rustles the material a bit if you try to depower more than that. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I was trying to get a feel for the kite without looking at it too much and then I heard that rustle... scared me quite a bit because I thought the material ripped or something had gone wrong. It happened a few times, especially when depowering in the middle of the window. I got caught a little off guard and led the kite through the powerzone as a gust came in. Usually that would be the time to pull the safety on the CL and bail, but I rode it out. After the initial tug and preparation to go for a ride, I let the bar out and everything was ok. I simply redirected it back up to zenith completely depowered and I wasn't going anywhere. As I said before, it is such a comforting feeling knowing I have complete control.

Relaunching was quite a surprise as well. It was so easy once you catch the wind right, but it is kind of a tricky situation. In order to relaunch easiest you simply pull on one side of the bar with the bar fully powered. The only problem with this is that when you do manage to flip it around, all of a sudden, you are fully powered in the middle of the window. It is going to take a few more time for me to get the hang of bar placement during a relaunch. At the edge of the window it's not so much of a hassle, because it's much easier to work it back up to zenith. When you are close to the middle of the window, it can be quite tricky. just something that I need to work on.

Each additional day I have this kite out, I am more impressed with its characteristics. Normally on a gusty day like today I wouldn't dare take a Fuel out, so I would be stuck on the Flow (not necessarily a bad thing, it too would have performed great in these conditions), but now I have something to fill that gap and it's wonderful.

I have the same kite in 12m size. It's a really nice and safe kite. I used it for snowkiting this winter and on the water for a few days last month. Never had to pull the safety. During the winter my friend who uses a foil got lofted a few times. I never experienced a dangerous situation with this kite all. I do not have a stopper, and I use the leash in suicide mode.

It only flutters when I crash and let go of the bar, and the kite goes through the middle of the wind window. Relaunch is not an issue as long as threre's enough wind.

During the winter I used the bar in 2:1 mode, but on the water I decided to try it in 1:1 mode. The bar becomes super light, no pressure at all, but you do not get as much depower. 2:1 mode was killing my arms, I wish I had tried 1:1 before. No more 2:1 bar for me.

Hey

Glad it's going well for you.
The fluttering is normal. When that happens you've just depowered the kite to the point where it will start to fall if you leave the bar sheeted out. There is no tension on the back lines and the trailing edge is flapping.
To avoid the hot launch on relaunch let the bar go back to neutral as soon as the kite starts to flip over.
You kind of have to pull hard on the steering line to get it to flip(depending on the wind) but as soon as it starts to flip go back to neutral or almost. Then bring the kite up with super small inputs and it will go up slowly and under control. If it starts to take off on you steer it back down at the edge of the wind window.

John

Thanks for the advice manitoulinkiter1! I have noticed that you do have to work the kite a bit to get it to relaunch in low winds, and I've almost got the sweet spot dialed in. Flipping over and relaunching isn't bad at all anymore, especially now that I know what to expect. This kite is an absolute treat to fly!

direnc, I plan on using this kite to get some serious snowkiting in this winter, glad to hear yours served you well. I know what you mean about the bar pressure, it is quite intense! I haven't switched over to 1:1 yet because I'm still learning and I like the quick steering the 2:1 offers. Maybe it's my inexperience with the 1:1 setup, but I think I can deal with the bar pressure for now.

Steering in 1:1 mode is not noticably slower. Just give it a try. It only takes a few minutes to switch it to 1:1, or back to 2:1.

direnc, have you ever had any problems with the bridles? The sleeving on one of the trailing edge bridle lines ripped, exposing the white line underneath. That line is still in tact for now, but I think I'm going to replace that entire bridle section to be safe. Just wondering if this is a common issue with these models. If the kite manages to over fly and fall out of the sky, I do notice that the bridle lines tend to wrap around the kite as well. I still need some more practice with keeping the kite in the air in lower wind conditions, while flying static.

I haven't had any problems with the bridles myself, but have read about some. If a pulley gets stuck it starts wearing the bridle. Make sure your pulleys are not stuck.

pulley abrasion is common , the white core is actually quite brittle once the casing is gone , replace segment. 1/8" dacron/polyester, an easy find 20cents a foot @500lbs. its plenty.

I don't think the sleeving came off in the pulley area. Im' 90% sure it's the section between the brake line attachment point and the wingtip attachment pigtail, but I will check to make sure. I think it wore loose during my relaunch practice.

oh and the flutter /rattle sounds. normal for a tube(depower mostly)

under heavy redirect and/ or acceleration, the luffing side rattles a little. the depower element dosenot add tension in that arrangement , so flappy flappy.

i usually here it when i'm airborne right after redirect and the rig is catching up. kind of a reminder to add bar tension. no big deal