Tested… Slingshot | Goodboards | F-ONE | Cabrinha | Eleveight

ALL-ROUNDER TEST

BOOSTING RANGE TURNING SPEED FREESTYLE ACCESSIBILITY WAVE

There has been some serious buzz around the Eleveight brand recently, with Nuno ‘Stru’ Figueiredo towing bravely into a ridiculous Nazaré and more recently, and relevantly, some impressive viral videos circulating the internet featuring the all new XS model, with some impressively high boost and loop antics on flat water somewhere secret in Europe. We were eager to get our hands on an XS during the depths of a brutal UK winter storm period and see what the all the fuss was about. So the XS is a five-strut affair with a full arc and medium amount of wingtip sweep; it probably sits among the higher aspect kites on the market today, and has a subtle delta to the leading edge tube. All the usual trimmings of a well-conceived build are there – the canopy comprising of Technoforce X4 cloth from Teijin, a short bridle system with a single slider, and a smattering of soft battens adorning the trailing edge to keep things nice and taut. The inflation system is of a sensible diameter, and the tried and tested bayonet fitting for the inflate gets you up to pressure quickly. Tucked neatly in the wingtips, lurks a single rigid batten per side, which improves the steering response. There’s a generous presence of bump stops between the leading edge segments. It’s not a build focused on weight saving perhaps, but it’s certainly a sturdy one. As soon as you fly the XS, you can feel the ground pull. This kite pulls sternly through the front lines and adamantly refuses to be forced into the dead zone at the edge of the wind window. Edging hard against the XS, it almost feels like a wake boat. You can load your board until it’s visibly bending, and the air frame seems to handle really heavy loading at all angles of attack with little deformation. It just sits there and pulls consistently. The steering response from the XS is swift enough for a five-strut kite with such a rigid and grunty bar presence. There’s enough agility there to throw the kite around, but keep in mind it will respond with force, particularly when powered. The XS will pivot around its wingtip without much persuasion so initiating airtime is very simple, which is a critical element of the kite’s character. The turning speed and travel across the window as you load up seems to be pre-set for exceptionally consistent and lofty jumps. It’s certainly not on the twitchy end of kite handling, but feels like it’s pre-set for big boosting with confidence and predictable results. The hang time is long, and the steering is set to give you no overcorrection and unwanted results. Looping the XS requires commitment, as the forward pull leaves your breakfast about thirty meters behind you, but the climb and recovery is again very predictable and confidence inspiring. With all that boost and loft potential, it is critical that a kite like this goes well upwind as well as down, which luckily is the case with the XS. The XS is far from a blunt instrument; it meets its boost brief bang on target, and is honed extremely well for Big Air focused performance riding. There’s an air of nostalgia about the kite that is hard to pinpoint; perhaps it harks from the now almost extinct big boosting grunty C-shapes of yesteryear, but the XS seems to bring all the engaging, positive aspects of that style of kite with some welcome modern refinement. There’s a real pleasure in using a kite that necessitates holding a decent edge with your board, pulling on your back hand and enjoying that raw torque, lift and response.

Slingshot RPX

ALL-ROUNDER TEST

BOOSTING RANGE TURNING SPEED FREESTYLE ACCESSIBILITY WAVE

One of Slingshot’s longest running models, the RPM, has been around for over a decade and has stood as a formidable World Championship winning freestyle platform. It kicked off the future C-shape concept, mimicked widely across the industry in various forms. This year, the slightly renamed RPX represents the most significant rework the kite has had in its recent history. The timeless three-strut platform remains, with the aggressively squared off wingtips, and it still retains that trademark RPM look and shape. So what’s changed? From a build perspective there’s been some serious attention to detail focused on weight saving. The Dacron in the wingtips and trailing edge from previous models has been minimized, and instead the RPX sports a robust 4x4 ripstop from Teijin, which forms the canopy that has had a significant simplification in the panel layout. The leading-edge diameter is much leaner than previously, as are the struts which retain the canopy integrated split strut design from previous generations. The trailing edge has been completely reworked and is now formed from a narrow band of mark cloth with a sewn-in leech line. The bridling has also had a serious makeover with drag-minimizing, low-diameter Kevlar utilized with some neat, anodized sliders. The one-pump system is completely redesigned with updated 90 degree valves and high diameter pipes for easier deflation. All this weight saving has equated to a 9m kite coming in at 2.77kg on the scales, which is impressive for a three-strut freestyle focused kite with such full wingtips. From a performance perspective, the RPX manages to retain a significant portion of its previous character, but feels instantly sharper. In audio visual terms, it’s gone from standard HD to 4K. Power delivery through the bar is more direct on sheeting, and you get far more power increase for less sheet. The RPX also flies significantly further forward in the wind window, and clambers upwind far better than previously, which is particularly noticeable in the low end. The newfound crispness translates

SINGLE STRUT KITE

RELAUNCH FOILING TURNING SPEED FREERIDE LOW END TOP END

The Contra has been in the Cabrinha range since the dawn of time. I remember vividly a friend’s 16.5m high aspect C-shape with a huge crossover bridle and many struts, in the early noughties, that was the forefront of light wind technology at the time, and that has been the model’s modus operandi ever since. Throughout its history, you’d usually find the Contra in larger sizes, however, with changing market trends, particularly the popularization of freeride hydrofoil riding both at home on Maui and globally, riders have been requiring more nimble light weight smaller sized kites for early flying, compact packing and ease of use. It makes perfect sense for Cabrinha to extend the range downwards, into smaller sized mono struts to meet this consumer demand, and they have not been shy in producing six sizes from 3m through to 11m. Out of the bag, we’re presented with a mid-aspect, swept leading edge mono strut weighing in at a competitive 2.44kg. All the usual high-end trimmings of a Cabrinha kite are present with their Nano Ripstop canopy and High tenacity Dacron making up the frame. The leading edge is relatively narrow in diameter for a 9m, and once inflated to the specified 8 PSI it makes for a solid little airframe. There’s a simple pulley-less and short low-diameter bridle present, and the canopy is segmented frequently across the Contra’s span to maintain an accurate and smooth profile. The build is fairly minimal, as all good lightweight kites should be, and comprises of quality materials and detailed components, like the neat silicon covers for the one-pump hoses for instance. There is still a respectable amount of scuff protection present on the leading edge considering the low overall weight. It flies early, as any decent mono strut should, and like all Cabrinha kites recently it is smooth, notably smooth. Power delivery seems to build gently on sheet, and rear line tension remains through the entire depower range. Bar pressure is probably best described as light to moderate and not too remote. Around the corners, it continues with the theme of fluid power delivery and isn’t going to pull you off the foil as the kite flies across the window on a transition. It is really simple to feather out the bar and make your turns at the speed you want to with a reassuringly creamy pulse of power available on demand. What it has inherited from the existing Contra DNA is an air of efficiency. It creeps upwind well, even without a hydrofoil and its straight-line speed you can generate is impressive. You might want to put it on shorter lines for freeride foiling as it punches upwind so well. Extra drift is generally a positive attribute of the mono strut platform due to their light weight, and the Contra is no exception. This drift capability will transfer well for lighter or more efficient riders in wave scenarios. It never really seems to overfly and balances well between its front and back lines. As a first venture into the now competitive realm of mono strut kites, Cabrinha’s design nouse and lineage shines through in the Contra immediately. It is a platform that is well optimized for light wind with effortless and gentle flying characteristics that transfer well across freeride disciplines and makes it a practical and sportive choice.

well when it comes to getting the kite round the corners. The turning is far more snappy and can be fairly pivotal if required for freeride. For the purist, it’s easy to tune down on the rear pigtails for less reactive parkand-pop style riding. Unhooked, the steady pull and downwind travel remain, which will please competent freestylers, and in this context it seems to remain as composed as ever. The new materials and weight loss seem to equate to a noticeable Big Air performance boost. It’s a kite that now jumps fairly high very consistently, and allows you to really choose how much pull you want through the loop, in both its turning radius and feathering the sheet on the bar. The bar pressure has been lightened a little perhaps, but the presence through the steering lines and fun, intuitive nature of the handling still shine. The RPX is a great update of a kite with a formidable lineage. Most of all it significantly modernizes the established platform, making it very competitive with its European neighbors. Our cherished American unit has been off to boot camp to shed some pounds and it’s come back leaner and meaner, but thankfully maintains the identity that made it so successful in the first place. It is chiseled and more focused and the ideal kite for those more dedicated to a twintip who want some range and practicality with no compromises on park-and-pop unhooked performance.

WAVE KITE

DEPOWER LOW END TURNING SPEED DRIFT ACCESSIBILITY

F-ONE made a great decision when they split their long-established Bandit range by discipline and developed last year’s surf-specific Bandit S. It produced a more focused product that has been well received by wave purists and strapless freestylers alike. F-ONE have never been a brand to stand still with regards to their product development; the next generation Bandit S2 has received the usual subtle but numerous tweaks which aggregate into quite a dramatically improved kite. Technically speaking, we are presented with a completely revised panel layout and intelligent canopy seaming to distribute the loading in the most stable direction of the ripstop. It is a technique F-ONE have employed in this year’s Bandit 21 and their new Strike wing with great effect. This relatively subtle change in cloth alignment keeps the canopy tighter, less stretchy, and results in improved response from the kite. The trailing edge has also had a major makeover, and they have utilized an intermediate 135g material that feels halfway between ripstop and Dacron. This controls the trailing edge more effectively and drops a few grams from the overall weight. In the air, what is most noticeable is a slight drop in bar pressure, which perks up the handling without losing that all-important instinctive ability to know where the kite is without having to look at it. The bar feeling is firm enough not to be too remote and twitchy, but at the same time isn’t going to give you raging tennis elbow. The other impressive improvement is how far up the depower travel you can push the bar and still retain a good response from the turning. You can winch in all the depower the cleat has to offer, and it still turns with no vibration. Overall the kite

RELAUNCH

feels very taut, smooth and solid. Its agile performance in onshore conditions is a testament to its good design, and there isn’t a ridiculous power spike or vibration if you throw the kite across the window depowered. It is a smooth controlled experience with power on tap as and when you require it. This obviously translates well into hydrofoil use where the drifty nimble nature makes for a playful light wind experience. The revised model retains all the positive points of the existing Bandit S and makes it even more composed, particularly at each end of the wind range, easily squeezing a few more knots of usability at both ends. A good measure of success of a wave kite is how much you don’t have to think about it. Particularly in bigger and more critical conditions a wave kite should be as passive as possible. You want to be concentrating on your position on the wave, rather than worrying about where the kite is. If you can ignore the kite almost completely and concentrate on your turns, then you’ve found a successful design, and that’s certainly where the Bandit S2 is pitched. It makes for a very free and easy experience, and its passive and instinctive nature is a virtue.

Goodboards Amnesia Pro

TWINTIP

POP LANDING COMFORT EDGING ACCESSIBILITY

Established for a decade now, Goodboards is a German brand with crossover into wake and snow products as well as kite gear. They are a proudly European operation with two production facilities in the Czech Republic, which brings an artisanal feel to the product. When you’re first presented with the outlandish wavy outline of Amnesia Pro, you are not sure what to make of it. Ride it and prepare to cast your initial assumptions about the beautifully crafted rails firmly aside, and enjoy the massive performance benefits. ‘This board cuts through chop like a hot knife through butter’ is a quote you will hear in many a marketing blurb from kite brands, but in this case we can assure you the claim is absolutely justified. The wavy rail grips spectacularly through even quite dense chop, and genuinely minimizes fatigue. Pop and release is very clean, and the rails seem to herald little change in directional stability. In a way it makes perfect sense. You only need to open your cutlery drawer and wield a bread knife to find examples of serration being more effective. Lib Tech have used Magne-Traction edges in their snowboards for years with decent performance gains, particularly on mixed surfaces, so why shouldn’t this apply to water? Anyway, I digress. Rails aside, the bottom shape is also very refined, with a total of eight differing channels doing a great job of further smoothing out chop and holding water before you load up and pop. They take the sting out of hard landings, where the board recovers well tracking downwind with speed. It perhaps has more of a fun and freeride application than out and out wakestyle handlepass suitability, but that only means it will suit 95% of the kiting population. It has some reinforcement built into the

WEIGHT

inserts to give the option to bolt a couple of wake boots on without worry of stressing the board too much, and in this scenario, if your spot is notoriously choppy this could well avoid a trip to the knee surgeon. The Amnesia Pro is not a board you’re going to forget in a hurry. It is light, forgiving, easy to load for Big Air, and is produced in Europe, which should be celebrated. If you’ve perhaps fallen out of love with twintips of late and found yourself in a cycle of hydrofoil and surfboard use and abuse, this unusual looking German stick may well revitalize your love of the more traditional kite craft. It has produced nothing but big grins all round from us, and there is nothing more satisfying when that comes from a less mainstream brand and a uniquely designed product. Good is an understatement.