The New Old School

Yay! Spring has finally landed.

Having watched the wind blow in from the north-west for the last few weeks (about the only direction that doesn't work at the local spots) and bringing snow and general gnarlyness with it, I relieved to report that I have finally got out for a couple of sessions.

Clare's just bought a pair of Waroos (11m & 7m) in turquoise and a funky crazyfly girlies board. Got a stonking deal too, and Waveriders were the only shop we visited that pitched their sales speak at her and not me. Come on guys - Girls do ride too!

We got out last friday for a relaxed sunset session. Was so nice to be on the water again, and our new wetsuit purchases did their job admirably keeping us both toasty, even if I do look like a hamster in my hooded rashie!

Today saw just me out. Wind was in the 20's, so thought I'd give the 10m WildThing2 a go.

Whilst setting up, it was pretty obvious a big squall was about to come in. However, some idiot seemed intent on going out on 13m Fuel whilst the wind was gusting and really picking up. (The rest of us were sat on the beach waiting for it to blow through and the blue skies on the horizon to reel in a bit closer). I'm sure he felt terribly macho as he scudded off downwind barely holding it (or himself) down on maximum depower.. tw*t

After a few minutes, it all died down and we got a good few hours of splendid sunshine and 20mph+ wind. The WT2 is certainly a different animal from the Primadonna. Even laid out on the beach with it high AR profile and pencil-thin struts, it's obvious that this kite is designed to go fast and high.
On the water it lived up to it's looks, boosting very high indeed with little effort. However, this is a high-ar kite and to get good float you have to go into your jump with speed, redirect and glide. You cannot simply hang under the kite. Upwind ability was excellent and it really did accelerate when pointed slightly downwind. Depower is not as good as the Primadonna, and pulling in the trim doesn't do that much. It's way ahead of the old WildThing, but doesn't have the range of it's flowery cousin.
Overall, it's an old school kite with some new school manners. If you want to go huge or fast, then this is your kite. I've compared the Primadonna/WildThing to North's Vegas/Rhino range before and with the latest iterations this comparison is still valid, although the WT2 is probably closer to the Rhino 07 (minus the mad strut arrangement).

The WT2 is a specialised beast for the intermediate-advanced rider, and will appeal to those who find the latest crop of kites a little too tame. There's also some great deals to be had on these kites now that the Primadonna/DaVinci are out.

I will probably stick with my Primadonna 2s for general riding. They offer a bit more versatility and range, whilst sacrificing a little of the dramatic lift and speed of the WildThing, although the WT may come out when I need an altitude hit!
I am also hoping to try my hand at racing at one or more of the BKSA rounds this year and the Wild Thing may well end up getting an outing here too.