First board review of the year - the 2012 Slingshot Darko. A board which I've been looking forward to trying for some time.

Check out the review:
2012 Slingshot Darko Review

It's review season again, and S2AS are providing me with kites thick and fast! This week its the much awaited Hadlow ID - a great all-round freestyle machine with bucket loads of performance.
I wasn't blessed with great 10m weather, but its great bottom end was enough to complete the majority of the review. I hope to finish it off in stronger conditions if I get the chance.

Check out the review here : 
2012 Hadlow ID Kite Review

This weekend I got the chance to take the brand new Cabrinha Switchblade out on the water - a kite which I'd been very interested in trying for a long time. 

Full review here: 
2012 Cabrinha Switchblade Review

First Review of the 2012 season!

I spent the last weekend in the very gusty conditions testing the all new Cabrinha Nomad. A Hybrid freestyle machine with some real performance pedigree.

check out the review here : 
2012 Cabrinha Nomad Review

Whilst at the BKSA in Blackpool I managed to score a go on an 8m Flexifoil Hadlow Id. 

Unfortunately it was using a bar from a different manufacturer, and when I got the kite in the air, it was clear that the back lines weren't of equal length, but I decided to just make do with it and take it out while the conditions were good.

The first thing you notice about the Id is the bar pressure - its surprisingly heavy, perhaps on par with the Hadlow Pro. The Id requires a bit of force to get it to turn which irons out accidental steering, and can be whipped around in a tight arc when you are more forceful with the bar - it's clearly a kite which freestylers are gonna love!

The Id seemed very stable in the sky, and pivots on the bridle as the gusts come through, giving the kite a great wind range. It is a real pleasure to take out on the water and razz up and down with, but it's when you send this kite and pop that it really shines. It's capable of huge effortless boosts and has some very nice float on the way down too.

I didn't get any chance to test relaunch or unhooked prowess (I was concerned about the unequal length steering lines, and didn't want to risk it), but my 10 minutes on the water with it really leaves me wanting more... Hopefully I'll get a full review arranged in the forthcoming weeks. ... Watch this space :) ...

Check out my review of Slingshot's new lightwind weapon! Great performance, built to last and many more happy hours out on the water... Bargain!

Slingshot Turbine Review

CraigT left his kite unattended for a couple of hours, so decided to take it out for a spin :)

Full review here: Wainman Smoke Review

Rare are the days that we have 9m weather up here at the moment, so when the wind was pumping a few days ago, I dashed down the beach to put the 2011 Takoon Reflex through its paces. I'd had a go on an early prototype several months ago, and was eager to see how the production model turned out...

For the full review check out this link: 2011 Takoon Reflex Review

Have been out on the water all weekend testing the 2010 Xenon La Luz - an incredible board with a great blend of freestyle and freeride performance. Check out the review here

Back from 3 cold and not-so-windy days at the beach. I've been off testing the 2011 Rally (12m) 2011 Fuel (9m) and 2010 RPM (10m) courtesy of S2AS. I've not really had a chance to test them in powered conditions, but had plenty of opportunity to fly on the beach and try out their bottom ends.
Its been a really good opportunity to try out three quite different kites back to back, from the grunt and precision of the Fuel, the excellent wake-style RPM and the, all round freestyle/wave performer of the Rally.
Full reviews to come in the next few days.
http://www.forcesix.com/2011-slingshot-rally-review.html
http://www.forcesix.com/2011-slingshot-fuel-review.html
http://www.forcesix.com/2010-slingshot-rpm-review.html