Best Kiteboarding GP 9m 2013
Reviews / Kites
55,300
At A Glance
The Best GP is the kite that Youri Zoon and Lewis Crathern are using this year, which says a lot about its pedigree. It’s a 5 line C-Style kite aimed at the freestyle rider looking for the ultimate in performance. As such Best looked to build this kite tough, so it could withstand the harshest of beatings dolled out by the youth of today. It features the Double Core RS Canopy material and the patented Reflex curved leading edge, which is designed to give the kite an unrivalled unhooked feel. One pump is standard and of course there is no bridle, but there are multiple attachment points for the lines so you can fine tune the feel of your kite.
The Bar
The GP Bar v2 controls the kite and is designed specifically with the GP in mind. There are some freestyle specific features that you will love, such as the 700lb breaking strain front lines. And the super tough 8mm depower line, which is designed to withstand anything you can throw at it. It features the “Sacrificial Insert System” this is a Derlin insert, which offers lower friction over a standard insert. This also means the insert goes before the depower line meaning you can just swap it out without having to re thread any lines! Simple but effective, especially if you have ever had to actually change a depower line; it can be a real pain! The Pro-Cuff+ release system is very well designed with no moving parts so nothing should ever go wrong, it passes all the tests and is very easy to operate, and importantly it is simple to re-engage too. An above bar webbing pull/pull system is used to trim the kite while you are riding.
In the Air
The GP is an impressive kite, the direct response and bar pressure feel very much at home when you first jump on it. When you unhook and go for some tricks you really appreciate the “soft” feel. The kite doesn’t pull hard when you unhook, allowing you to really pop the board and go for the trick. The GP is also very stable in the air, floating along while you concentrate on nailing the pass behind it. Hooked in the direct nature of the turn, and the power it generates is great fun to play with. When you are powered up you can really send it back through the window and get some impressive height. It’s an aggressive launch from the water, and if you don’t time things right it can be quite a drop back down to it too. The kite likes to be steered confidently when you are in the air. Kiteloops are, as you would expect from a C-Style kite, exciting, plenty of pull and the rotation is fast enough that you don’t need to worry about it. The depower throw is very short too, meaning you can dump a lot of power very quickly, which makes the GP fantastic in gusty conditions.
Overall
A great freestyle kite, that is loved the world over by many riders. Plenty of performance and very well built. If you don’t unhook, you will still enjoy the direct nature of the GP, and it’s impressive jumping characteristics.
Videos
This review was in Issue 39 of IKSURFMAG.
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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!
