Manufacturer:

Flexifoil

Model:

9.5m Sabre

Sizes:

7.0m, 9.5m, 11.5m

Type Of Kite:

Non – Water Re-launchable Depowerable Foil

Introduction:

Flexifoil are well known within the kiting industry, some people have seen this kite as their first foray into the foil depower market, whereas in fact looking back in history the Blade II had a retrofittable VPS (Variable Power System) for sizes 4.9 and above. So with that in mind they obviously had some concept of where to start. One thing to note is that unlike most depowerable foils this particular kite has a X-Over within the bridle (this is also piece of Blade II technology on it -another kit) this helps to both improve the sabres turning, and also improve stability of the kite in turns.

Packaging, Style + Construction:

If first impressions count then this bag certainly helps, but what is more important is what is within it. The kite comes with the bag, bar, lines, and handy instructions. The setup of the bridle may seem daunting, but the kite leader lines are already attached after a few larks heads the kite is ready to fly. Yet before that I took a look at the construction of it, the kite has taped seams, an open vent, the “usual” but more interesting is the bar, this has a spinning leash safety, and also some grips on the end of the bar to help keep lines in place once wound up. The depower strap is one of the best I have used, on par with the Peter Lynn it grips well, and it’s the little details that count! The kite itself is Chikara, with taped seams and a bridle consisting of sheathed dyneema, the lines are colour coded and very nice. The standard of lines used in all kites has improved over the last few years.

Jumping:

One thing that did take a while was the technique for jumping, as it’s not the same as jumping on a blade obviously, but like every depower kite you need to tune the timings of the bar input. After a few times of misdirecting it came together, though I did find myself doing a few downwind drifts during the jump (more-so than other kites) but believe that was due to an overaggressive steering which meant I translated the vertical lift into more horizontal pull. That was me not the kite, once dialled in with the settings I found it to be floaty, and provide enough stability for rotations and some other nice tricks. So if you are looking for a jumping kite then that’s one tickbox down!

KiteATB’ing:

The main reason for wanting a depower kite is to be able to adjust the power needed at certain points, and this kite does that very easily through depower strap control, and the bar. As a laid back freeride kite this works well, but it has all the trimmings for freestyle, nice lift, and a great turning speed, the bridle may look complicated but it certainly works well on the kite! Now this bridle has caused some people some “issues” within their mind, but once you see it up-close you realise the simplicity of it, the simple reason it is there is to help increase turning speed, but another side-effect of this is in fact to keep the two sides of the wing stable, and prevent “stepping” of the kite when turning (if you ever owned a Viper you will know what I mean). The kite performs how you would expect when moving around, place it where you want and it will pull you along, send high and you get lift. One key issue for most boarders is stability, and most will “slag” off other kites for the odd luff, or wingtip. Yes this happens on the sabre in certain light wind conditions, but that’s life. It will still perform well though in light winds, and taking advantage of the depower control right up to the stronger winds.

Final Summary:

The depower market is starting to get saturated with so many different brands available its always hard to know which one to choose, but this kite is definitely up there in the top three, I personally say that this kite would be my choice of preference over all other “normal” depowerable foils. Why, well it is honestly a nice kite, it flies well, is nice to board with, easy to setup and pack away and has a nice wind range too. We are not at the one kite bag yet, but at least one of these will help reduce its size. Though as there are so many kites out there it is totally personal preference, if you can then try one it may be what you are looking for.

Reviewer:

Rasga @ KiteATB.co.uk