But the main surprise was in the kite loops. It pulls through the air like a regular kite loop, but the landings are super soft. I was used to super hot landings resulting in yard sales on my old kites. So I was really surprised on how the kite managed to dump the power right after the loop for a controlled landing.
One other good feature is the complete depower with the 5th line. I missed my handle pass, dumped the kite, but I was able to relaunch and get up and running in less than a minute.
The board I got was a Wipika Serum 127, which is very comparable to my old Slinghot Misfit 122. Tends to plane a little earlier though. I think it might be due to a sharper rail. The deep fins allows more control in the water, but increases drag a little.
The competition was ok. There was no wind on Friday, so everybody just hung around. Saturday was weird. There was no wind at the competition site, but it was blowing a solid 17Kts 40 miles North. They couldn't move the comp because of insurance reasons.
Too bad. There was some great talent on the water. Huge jumps, kite loops and wake style stricks were everywhere.Sunday, they finally had to run the heats in 9kts of wind. I was flying my new 16.5 and was barely able to get going. It was so light that for my unhooked kite loop, I never left the water. Everyone was running back upwind on the beach after every trick. They had the pros run with the rest of us. Kinda fun seeing some great talent, even in the low winds. I had to leave early cause it takes 10 hours to drive back, so I don't know the final results, but I had a great time out there, met some really cool people, and would definitely do it again next year.
Denis