Test: Fusion 9 meter

Craig at Windthings tells us his thoughts on the new Flexifoil Fusion...

After incubating a cold & cough over the New Year period in the warmth of a central heated house, fed by mince pies & lashings of Port, I got out on the water last week for a “kill me or cure me” rid the cold session on the New Flexifoil Fusion.

Charlie from Flexifoil tempted me out of hibernation, sending me his Fusion kite to play with. Great timing as the next day the wind was blowing 25-30mph, perfect to test the 9mtr!

It feels cold out after hiding inside for over a week! The new Flexifoil one pump system goes down well minimising my time standing in the wind. The system is a super simple external PU pipe connection jumping from leading edge valves to the strut valves. Each connection has a simple snap shut clip to close off air supply. These clips allow the leading edge to be de-flatted independently of the struts, and also isolate each air chamber from one another in the event of puncture. Flexifoil even supply spare PU pipe sections, zip ties and bladder plugs as part of the kite repair kit. Deflation is as quick as you like - pull the leading edge plug and one touch off, and each strut clip opens and dumps all the air. Flexifoil also kept the tip deflation values so you need only roll from one tip to the other. You’re back in the warm pub while your mates pack up their old school kit cold & wet.

Flexifoil have drawn from & further developed the Strike series to produce the Fusion. Dacron reinforcements are included on all the wear points including behind the leading edge luff, where the sail material meets the struts & the trailing edge. The wind tips are smooth & slick with good-sized self-rescue safety handles. The wing tip carbon batons are neatly enclosed in the tips & an additional hard core wear patch protects the leading edge from baton end damage during big impacts.
Noticeable new features this year are the stiffening sections on the trailing edges of these kites. The Fusion 7mtr & 9mtr include these batons to keep everying tight in flight on their butt end. The larger sizes have additional leading edge batons to kill any flutter up front & keep the aero section tensioned to perfection.

As usual the Flexifoil bag is nice & pimp. Opening is similar to the mountain bag provided with the Sabre. A long zip splits the bag open down its length for easy entry. The two wing flaps on the outside provide secure homes for your pump, bar & even a way to carry your board to the beach.

I’ve been riding 5th-line on high aspect kites for a while now. Unfortunately the new 5 line version of the Axis bar is not available to me at this time to test (*Axis 5th line bars due in the UK around the 1st week of February). I fired the Fusion up on my usual 5th line system. The Fusion is light on the bar with a very positive feel. The wind is surging from 25mph up to just over the 30mph mark as I enter the water.

Once I’m happy I’ve trimmed my bar settings for the Flexifoil I find the Fusion rock solid in the air & noticeably require absolutely no further trim alteration during the session. I’m also aware that I hardly ever need to touch the bar to adjust for gusts. As the wind spikes, the Fusion just drives round further to the edge of the window with very little effect on edging pressure through the board. This performance characteristic is more similar to higher aspect ratio kites. Many moderate aspect ratios produce "torque" during gusts with an increase in down wind pull from the kite. This can be very noticeable forcing riders to stand hard on their back foot to counter act the effect (especially if you’re a lightweight like me at only 10 ½ stone!).

The Fusion just keeps on driving up wind effortlessly when the gusts hit. Even when you put the pedal to the metal it just screams upwind! If like me you enjoy fast wake style moves you’ll love the drive of the Fusion.

Usually switching from high aspect to mid-aspect takes me a while to adjust. The Fusion just felt comfortable straight away. The re-direction, timing & level of control while jumping was again much more like a high aspect but with the added advantage of huge float while in the air. This is a kite every level of rider will get on with. You don’t appear to loose ground down wind as you might with other mid-aspect kites (& if you do then one light-speed pass upwind later & you’ve re-gained the ground).

I’ve favoured Flexifoil for a long time when it comes to my higher wind kites. Each time I try their new edition of mid-aspect I’m impressed with the increased stability & wind range. The Fusion is no acceptation.

I loved this kite from word go & can’t wait to test some of the other larger sizes with the Axis 5th line bar to do the kites full justice. The Fusion is a high aspect in disguise as a low aspect. Stability & performance in huge amounts with a friendly feel where you’d like it.

Charlie, bad news…it may be a while before your kite makes the trip back down south!

Craig is based in Windthings 2 - Troon. www.windthings.co.uk
To have a chat to him about the Fusion call him on 01292 316611