CrazyFly Sculp 9m 2020
Reviews / Kites
41,705
At A Glance
One of CrazyFly’s longest standing kites, the Sculp is back for 2020 as part of their line up. An all-rounder, it has been designed with freeride, freestyle and foil riding in mind.
The 2020 Sculp houses 3 struts, a flat delta shape and a higher aspect ratio for increased forward drive and power delivery. The kite itself is made using Teijins Triple Ripstop for superior strength, which has been structured around a Dacron frame that not only holds the rigidity of the kite, it also increases flight stability, response and strength.
Arptex patches and bumper pads provide those all-important reinforcements in key areas, and overall we were impressed with the high quality construction. CrazyFly have really focussed on the construction of their products over the past few years and the results are now kites which are up there with the best of them.
Made in their own factory in Europe, CrazyFly offer a fantastic 3 year warranty on all their products, which is an incredible back up in the unfortunate event something were to be wrong with your new product.
Sizes: 5,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14 meters
The Bar
The Sick Bar is CrazyFly’s bar choice for use with all their kites and is a stylish and simple affair, which works fantastically. There is an uncannily soft leather grip that coats the Monocoque full carbon bar. Integrated floaty bar ends keep everything simple and clean, with elastics ready to secure your lines once they’ve been wound up at the end of a session.
There is a great simple cleat system in use for the depower, with handy Velcro to keep everything tidy should you be fully depowered. The centre line itself is coated in long-lasting and durable PU. This provides a very smooth movement through the bar, the insert of which is made with hardwearing stainless steel.
The safety release is an industry standard push-away, and is definitely one of the easiest we’ve had in terms of reassembly; something very important when wanting to get back into action quickly. A moulded donkey stick means it will always be in the correct place, and the safety leash can be connected to either ‘release’ or ‘suicide’ both in a clean and simple way.
The bar has been entirely manufactured in Europe, and the push-away quick release conforms to the French safety norm AFNOR NF S52-503, so you know it has been tested to the highest standards.
"we were unable to hold back from throwing loops into everything - the kite is so much fun"
In The Air
The 2020 Sculp has a much more refined feel from previous years. Still user friendly, it has a forward drive through flight with an easy upwind reach. There is a plug and play option on this kite for those just starting out; it will dutifully sit and tow you along, however engage the bar a little more and get some speed into the flight and the kite truly starts to give back.
The low end of the Sculp is very good, and certainly for a smaller rider you will be able to size down perhaps in your quiver depending on your style of riding. The kite drives through the turn and accelerates toward the edge of the window, which in those more marginal conditions you can tap into for more speed and ultimately power produced.
In powered conditions the Sculp proves to be a real joy to fly, with nimble responsive turns, great depower through the bar and a solid feel in your hands.
Jumping, or more specifically boosting, will yield impressive results for those who ride with speed and precision. The sweet spot has narrowed slightly from previous years, meaning you will just need to think about the kite placement a little more to get the big boosts. For those just starting out with jumping, this means straight away you are able to learn correct placement of your kite for the big jumps.
Throughtout the jump the Sculp flies well overhead with constant feedback and response through the bar. Landings are floaty and soft and we found we were unable to hold back from throwing loops into everything - the kite is so much fun. The Sculp is one of those kites you are still able to loop in lighter conditions and be safe in the knowledge it will catch you every time. Powered loops provide some serious force and look mighty impressive from the beach, whilst you as the rider still have good feedback through the bar and have the knowledge the driving nature of the turn and kite will keep it from stalling.
Heading into the waves with the Sculp is great fun. Not an all-out wave kite, but it does drift well and again there is bags of usable depower through the bar, a tight turn and the forward drive of the kite will get you out the way of those messy sections which are best avoided.
We had a superb bit of playtime with the Sculp for some freestyle. For some powered moves it holds its shape well and offers good power through the trick. Not masses of ‘slack’, as seen on freestyle specific kites, but for those first few moves it works very well indeed.
The relaunch on the Sculp is good, as you would expect from a 2020 kite. The swept tips help the kite roll over should it be stuck downwind, and in windier conditions we found the kite would simply sit at the edge bouncing gently whilst you sorted yourself out.
For
Incredibly versatile, fantastic construction and brilliant freeride performance.
Against
The kite does top out a little earlier than we thought, so choose your size wisely.
Overall
The 2020 Sculp from CrazyFly builds on the success of its predecessors to create a new kite which still holds the ease of use and quality as before, but has grown up with more poke in the jumps and loops, and a slightly racier feel. Suiting those riders who are looking for a kite to progress with, it has all the performance to see you through many years of progression and kitesurfing.
Videos
This review was in Issue 77 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit CrazyFlyRelated
By Robin and Sukie
With years of kite sport experience combined, you can be sure you’ll be receiving the highest quality of knowledge on the best equipment the industry has to offer.
