The instant observation on both, is how stable they are. I thought the Bandit III's were great, stable freestyle or wave riding kites, but these are instantly noticeable as even more stable. Gusty conditions with the kite overhead when on the beach or if the kite is pretty depowered as you come down a wave, they just sit there, solid, no bounce, no flapping, no vibration down the lines, nothing. There is a downside to this though! Self landing is a little bit more tricky without pulling the kite onto the safety system.
The 4's seem to turn faster than the Bandit' III's, which with the faster and increased depower make them even better for wave riding (my preference). Speaking to Denzil he is loving how they kite loop to. I'll leave that to him.
I've heard a lot that each kite size will cope with more wind, than the same size Bandit III. So far, yes, I'd be comfy in more wind on the same size 4' than the III's, but I'm not yet convinced that also means the other end is less. The 4's seem to be that little bit more responsive and with the increased stability, I reckon you'd be able to get out on the same low end of the wind range. As ever, just work the kite to get your board speed up and off you go.
I like the rubber ends to the bar, the more obvious and easier to grab quick release safety and most of all the ball valve on the inflate valve. As a one pump kite there's a dump valve, but not having to rush seal off the inflate point is a niggle removed compared to the Bandit III's.
The Bandit III's were amazing, the Bandit IV's are even better." Rory Jenkins
Feel free to make your own mind up we will have them back in stock imminently and we will have a 9m on demo. For Price details click here - or the F-one Website here
I will see if Denzil can add anything to this as he has been using them for quite a while now and although he is probably somewhat biased being one of the UK's longest sponsored F-One Riders his feedback would be invaluable as he uses them over freestyle, wave and course racing disciplines.
I think Rory has pretty much summed up everything I would say about the kite. Super stable and higher top end are the 2 major things you notice about the Bandit 4. Better hang time and on the kiteloops its comes with added punch while also getting back to the top of the window for a softer landing. The new bar is tops, very light but strong. Smiler has used them more than I have in the waves and he's giving them the double thumbs up.
ReplyDeleteDenzil