Test Carved FireBall 10m
When: 05May 2007
Where:Roha Test Vrouwepolder The Netherlands
Conditions:
From 9-11m/s gradually increasing to 11-13m/s
From choppy water and steep waves to high tide flat water and waves
Weight: about 68kg
During this day I have tried:
a) Naish Torch 12
b) Slingshot Fuel 11
c) Ozone Edge 9
d) North Rhino 10
e) Carved Fireball 10
f) F-One Tribal 11
This gives a wide range of possible comparisons.
During the day two kites got my preference: one of them is Carved Fireball.
Features:
Color: yellow with black logo’s.
Thin struts: which is my preference (less weight)
Seems good quality of materials and finish.
Struts on front tube: simple construction
One-pump
Very narrow bar with 2 lines going through: looks strange but no side effect: works perfectly.
The very narrow bar (narrowest of all of the kites that day) steers incredibly accurate, which came as a surprise to me.
Kitesurfing:
Low end wind: not tested – or I didn’t notice, as the Fireball was always nicely powered up, never had to “wait†to get going.
High end: up to 13m/s is not the high end of the Fireball 10 – so it will take a lot more wind.
Up wind: the Fireball goes fast upwind to the end of the wind window, which is great.
Basic pull: it has some pull, but gentle. Never had the problem of being pulled over the water (skipping over the water out of control).
Very good control of the power of the kite.
Steering efforts needed: didn’t notice –thus not much and not little neither.
Probably average steering efforts.
Steers very fast: even with this narrow bar. A wider bar is not required.
Arm power required: not much – the kite doesn’t pull on your arms. Controlling the kite with one hand is easily done.
Location: you always know where the kite is hanging or flying. There is information coming from the bar/lines; Thus no surprises
Sweet spot: easily to find or maybe a very wide sweet spot. Just start the move for a jump and you will jump out of the water. No particular (long) preparation required.
Pull up for jump: good – almost explosive – got a few very high jumps (although I was getting tired almost end of the long test day)
Wind reach: tested only from 10 to 13m/s and know it will take a lot more.
Depower: didn’t use it – just went kitesurfing – didn’t even think about this.
Speed: fast kite – very difficult to measure how fast – but I didn’t notice any one over taking me, instead I was over taking others.
Turning behaviour: the compact feeling kite, turns compact, fast and nice (no gigantic additional pull). As said the kite turns whenever you want it: no delay (as I encountered with another one the same day from a famous brand).
Kiteloop: As I’m not expert in kiteloops and this is not my kite: I didn’t try this out.
Seen the fast turning behaviour and not getting a mega pull in turns from the kite, I guess it will kiteloop over “one ear†in a blink of an eye, giving a good pull µ, but not a dangerous hefty pull.
Lift and hangtime: Jumps high (not mega high – as I was not kiting with overpower) and has this “after-launch-flight†capability – not as long as my old F-One Dream II (that wing keeps on flying like a paraglider), but quite long.
So you go up whenever you intent to (no real preparation required) and then pull you good out of the water (a good C-shape type of pull up) and it then flies quite good.
Waveriding: didn’t test it – however did some downwind moves in order to avoid other kiters, and didn’t notice anything. Whenever you needed to power again: just point the board in the upwind direction and steer the kite. Thus apparently no danger of kite dropping out of sky.
Relaunching: didn’t test it.
Conclusion:
The Fireball is a kite, one can forget about during kiting: no need to look where your kite is sitting/hanging/flying. It will do exactly what you want and when you want. It feels compact and turns compact. Trustworthy. – all terrain kite: speed – freestyle – and probably wave riding too.
Maybe I shouldn’t tell, but I compared it with the old F-One Mach I 9.1 (yes I know this is an ancient kite, but it was also an all terrain kite) – many similarities in flight behaviour – Fireball probably turns tighter and faster.
