JN Kites Chit Chat 134 x 40.5cm 2009
Reviews / Twin Tips
7,092
At a Glance
Wow, what else can you say, when this board arrived in the office we jumped around like kids and argued who was going to ride it first. It looks good enough to eat! OK so the crazy “Chit Chat” style graphics may not appeal to everyone, but reading the phrases on the base of the board entertained us and on the water the it looks stunning. The board has a honeycomb core with a fibre glass lay up and is then finished using carbon which the team at JN layer to give the flex characteristics they want. The straps and pads are excellent and finish off what is a very good looking board. If the wind doesn’t blow at the beach you can always get entertained by reading some of the “chit chat” on the bottom too! Aimed at the performance freestyle market the Chit Chat sports a very square outline with wide tips, there is a small concave in the underside and the rocker line is fairly flat.
On the Water
The Chit Chat is aimed squarely at the freestyle market and its shaping gives away some of its potential. Once you put the board on the water though you really start to understand what it is all about. The flat rocker line combined with the very stiff mid section makes this board lightening quick. On flat water it just bombs along at Mach 10 and literally flies upwind too. In the chop the stiff section makes for a more uncomfortable ride, it’s the sort of board where you need to bend your knees rather than let the board do all the work for you. Of course you can’t have everything so whilst the board isn’t the comfiest of rides in the rough stuff it does dazzle elsewhere. The pop on the Chit Chat is insane, power it up and load the edge and it really whips you off the water. The stiff mid section coming into its own and allowing you to really load up the edge. The slightly more flexi tips help to smooth out the landings, but with a board that is 40.5cm wide those landings are going to be pretty easy anyway. If you are the sort of rider that wants a board to propel you into the stratosphere and allow you enough air time to perform the most technical tricks then the Chit Chat will perform the task very well. Equally, if you just want to scare yourself a bit with its straight line speed and pop for big air then apply here!
For
Fast, stiff, great upwind and awesome pop the Chit Chat rides as good as it looks, oh and did we mention the looks, simply stunning…
Against
Not the comfiest of rides in the chop due to the stiff flex characteristics, but then it more than makes up for that with top end performance.
Overall
We were excited when we first saw the Chit Chat, and then when we got it on the water we got even more excited. The board performs at a very high level and looks fantastic. Well done JN.
This review was in Issue 15 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit JN KitesRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
