30 second review -
Mine arrived yesterday and we had an hour to play in light winds (3-5mph)
The first thing you will notice when you put it together is how much flatter the sail is than most modern kites. Very old school. You know it's not going to fly like anything else in your bag. You are wondering... will it do beautiful flat spins and axles... and still be able to pitch like a modern kite.
Well, I'm thrilled to report that, probably due to the deep cut and hence small sail, the answer is a resounding yes. The timing is all over the place and I will need a fair bit more time to get used to it, but this clearly is an extremely capable kite. The flat stuff - on its front, 540s, slots taz machines and axles are elegant and easy. and on is back, backspins and multilazys are similarly straightforward. And despite having a light feel to the frame, once it starts rotating it just doesn't want to stop. And yet the kite doesn't oversteer when just flying about
You will notice the kite loves to be on its back - almost to a fault. And similarly it locks into a fade wonderfully, although I found that much easier to get into from a flic flac rather than a fractured axle. Half axles, cascades and cometes I found a touch tricky. Probably because of the flat sail, the nose really goes away, so recovery is harder. I guess I'll have to work on the timing and slack for those.
So finally I came to the pitch and wrap tricks. I have always struggled with these but I found yo-yos, wap-do-waps, and lewis' easily within my grasp. The cable-tie yo-yo stops work well. And in the hands of a more capable flier I'm sure multiple wraps and yo-yo 540s ad the like are just as easily within reach.
I have a feeling we'll see some really exciting flying on the circuit with these around this summer.