2010 Blade trigger

I finally got to test the new trigger. Bear in mind I sell them for UK and ireland , so i feel a review would be slightly biased.

At first i was horrified to hear that they had changed the trigger design to 3 struts instead of 5 , and had made some big profile changes.I have always thought if it aint broke dont fix it and the trigger was a fantastic all rounder for beginner and intermediate kiters in 2009. We got great feedback from all riders and testers. It did exactly what the blade product blurb said it would.

Ive had a test now (eventually ) and am very impressed and think that again that blade have delivered on their product aims.

Have a read of the marketing blurb and if it sounds like the sort of kite you are after just drop me a mail and i will arrange a demo kite for you.

blade trigger 2010 kite

ride everything

From its debut in 2009, the Trigger has been recognized for its Pump-and-Go style, delivering a perfect balance of power and control with minimal effort and bar movement. For 2010, the Trigger is designed to provide more depower, and the larger sized kites have been developed to deliver quicker turns. Keeping its great all around qualities, the result is a best of breed freeride kite.

All around kiters will love this kite for the simplicity of one kite that does it all and does it well – great pop,incredible stability, tremendous low wind ability, and effortless relaunch. When you’re riding waves, you will appreciate the Triggers quick, direct turns. With the 2010 Trigger, you’ll get the most of windy days by riding in most conditions, while other riders will find themselves ending sessions early.

The Blade 2010 Trigger is such a competent kite that its all around ability can be enjoyed by new riders, while it’s sophisticated characteristics deliver a seriously good ride for even the most skilled kiters.

• Direct turns

• Tremendous low end wind abilities

• Incredibly stable

• Power-up from the start

• Great pop

• Blades Reflex Relaunch System

blade 2010 kite technology
educate yourself
Blade’s 2010 kite line begins with the combined knowledge and experience of years of kite design and
technology, but the real development is on the beach, at our design headquarters and around the world
where hundreds of prototypes are tested every year, every day. While we can’t fit a year’s worth of R&D
here, we can share a few of the techniques that contribute to the impressive ride characteristics of the
2010 Trigger, Vertigo, and Prime.
 

Reflex Relaunch

The name of this exciting new development in kiting technology says it all. The innovative kite shape,
forces the tips of the kite out of the water, so there is virtually no work to be done by the rider to get the
kite back up in the air. Found in both the Trigger and the Vertigo, the Reflex Relaunch system activates an
instinctive response in the kite to relaunch the second it hits the water.
Three Struts
A well tested design principle of bridled kites is that when the bar is pulled, the force of the pull continues
effectively through the canopy until hitting a strut, at which point the force is weakened. The strut placement
in a three strut kite design allows the force to affect a larger portion of the kite than a five strut design
– resulting in faster turns, a more direct feel, and enhanced relaunch abilities.
For mid or low aspect ratio kites, the performance benefits inherent in a three strut kite have always been
recognized, but their inefficiency in maintaining kite shape made them undesirable. Blade has been
working to innovate the three strut design, and after three years of development we are very excited with
the performance we have achieved. For 2010, the Trigger and Vertigo are developed using three strut
designs which maintain the shape of the kite. Combined with other design techniques, the new three
strut design provides low and mid aspect ratio kites with improved Reflex Relaunch, a more direct feel,
and faster turns.
Construction
We use the best material available on the market with uncompromising construction. Blade kites are developed
to reach the ideal balance between heavy duty build quality and lightweight efficient
performance. Finding that balance comes from knowledge, experience and endless long term product
testing. Keeping high end performance in mind, we build our kites to last – they can take the hardest hits
to keep you in the water and out of the repair shop.

• MAD2 – The Blade designed valve pieces are 100% foolproof and will have you pumped and
ready to go in minutes.
• Tough Guard – The durable leading edge is doubly reinforced with additional webbing and
double layered insignia tape to protect the stitching preventing LE blowouts.
• Reinforced Trailing Edge – Double Teijin Ripstop material protects the delicate areas of the
kite for increased durability.
• Leading Edge Protectors – The redesigned double layered protectors are more aerodynamic
while still providing the same great protection.
• Front Defense – Insignia tape borders the LE and other critical areas to protect your kite
against collisions and abrasive outdoor elements.
• Z Cubed Stitch – An innovative stitching procedure that provides three layers of stitching
above the Insignia Tape and serves as triple protection in the critical connection of the canopy to the
struts.
• Kevlar Guard – An innovative shield used to protect the end of the struts and LE, especially
in case of impact of friction with hard surfaces.
Isolated Bridle System (IBS)

The Isolated Bridle System (IBS) found in the Blade 2010 kite line, separates the back lines from the front
lines and efficiently distributes forces along the length of the leading edge. This highly efficient design is
kept simple and fast, providing the rider with a very direct feeling, typical of a C Kite.
In 2010 we’ve refined the IBS by designing bridal connections almost to the center of the kite. This new
system enhances more leverage in the angle of attack resulting in substantially increased depower of the
kite.

Turning Axis

Turning is one of the key performance characteristics which differentiate each of our kites. Being directly
connected with the kite’s power characteristics, turn handling is ultimately the reason why each kite fits
certain types of riders and riding styles. For experienced riders looking to reach their potential, we firmly
believe it is irrelevant to think in the “one kite fits all” philosophy.
The Prime’s turn axis is designed all the way at the tip of the kite, which generates a maximum power
turn and doesn’t release any power throughout the movement. This is ideal for stable full power freestyle
maneuvers and those looking for an extreme ride.
The Vertigo’s low aspect ratio and central turning axis allows it to perform tight pivot turns which can release
power as needed. This is one of the key reasons why it is considered one of the most well mannered
wave riding kites.
The Trigger’s turn axis is positioned in between the two, giving a mid-pivot turn that is a balanced blend of
both characteristics. This is ideal for those who want a kite that can do it all with a great all around ride.
Power
Always looking for ways to increase power without sacrificing the usable performance of the kite, the
2010 kite line is stronger than ever before. In addition to each kite employing a different turning axis, the
kites are designed with unique profiles, each delivering specific performance traits complementing the
kite’s other design characteristics.
Normally, designers do not use the strongest profiles available because they have to allow the kite adequate
depower abilities. With the refined IBS feature of this year’s kite line providing plenty of depower,
we were able to employ significantly stronger profiles in all the kites across the line. The 2010 Blades
harness even more controllable power than our previous designs, now it’s in your hands to take it to the
next level.

 

You can check it out on

Blade Trigger 2010

New Clearance Kitesurf Packages

We have just launched some new clearance packages of 2009 Kite and board setups.

New 2009 Packages are starting at £779 .

You can check them out at the link below

Clearance Kitesurf packages

Blade 2010 Kites reviews – Prime – UK

The first batch of 2010 blade has come in and quite a few have went out. We only could get the Blade prime in 9 & 11m and the Blade trigger in 9,10 & 12m for the first order. We have sent a few out to customers who preordered and some to Magazines for demo. The feed back so far has been fantastic to say the least. Here’s a few snippits.

Darren, I just had the best session of my life! so sickkk! Those kites are awesome! exactly the sort of kite that i was looking for!!!! so stoaked. They megaloop so well ! . awesome unhooked!

I can confirm the new Prime is an excellent bit of kit as I got to play with Grant’s kites yesterday as well. The wind was too on/off for a full review, but what I did notice is stability and really well behaved unhooked, and the 9m loops super fast with enough wang to lift you and climbs afterwards even in light winds. They look like an elongated hi-aspect Delta C with a minimal bridle and are aggressive but still user friendly with a load of depower on tap and the relaunch is very good. Can’t wait to try them again in better winds and this Kite is very high on my list of must have kites as performance wise they surpassed anything I have flown this year. laters John

2010 Blade Prime Review! First of all I have just gotten sponsorship from Blade this year and i was really looking forward to riding their gear this year I also need to get some better wind to really put these kites through their paces but my first impressions are really really good as I have came from 2008 and 2009 Slingshot Fuels which are great freestyle kites and I thought it was going to take a lot to get me off them – but the 2010 Blade Primes have done this!! First impressions – they have super build quality, triple stitched lots of reinforcement in the right places and a very neat one-pump system that inflated the kite easily. First thing I noticed when I put the kite up was how it felt and flew like a regular C shape kite, the stability was awesome! Unhooking with this kite was perfect, just sat in the window at the correct position and behaved with good stability and constant power. Kiteloops surprised me, I was expecting more of a quick pivot round and back up above your head, but it seemed to do a full loop and climb back above your head without any problems. The one thing that I loved about kiteloops with this kite was the constant pull through the loop, which is what all riders want. I had 3 other people try this kite with me and all their views came to the same conclusion, one of which was so stoked with them that he going to purchase a full quiver of the 2010 primes! I think Blade has really nailed it with the 2010 prime and a lot of people will be surprised by them – especially that 9m loop! Such good kites, i definatly found the perfect kite for me! Grant Clayton Blade 2010

Blade Prime 2010

 I was very pleased to hear john (who has demoed loads of 2010 kit to find his holy grail kite, comment that the Prime had the best performance from any 2010 kit he has tried yet. So if you are thinking of a new toy , quite simply book a demo. Everyone who has tried them has loved the 2010’s so far. And did i mention our unbeatable warranty ( you break & we fix for 1 year) and that you can buy 2 for the price of some 2010 kites. Details are on our website at

Blade kites uk

Blade Kites 2010

Kitesurf Warehouse has just finished our first seaon with blade Kites and have been very very impressed. We have had many e-mails from very happy customers ,schools and magazines all of whom have been very impressed with just how good these kites are in both build and performance.They have come a long way since launch 5 years ago.

I believe that Gary Powell from Northwest Kitesurfing school who has recently changed over to Blade primes has since racked up a 2nd place At Blackpool BKSA and 1st place at a Bridlington comp in his catergory , come of his best results yet. A big congrats.

Blade young hotshot, Yotam Levy entered his first KPWT event in Shippagan, Canada and
placed 4th in the Kiteloop category. The Blade team around the world is
rooting for him in the next events.

 

So for 2010 , whats changed.  I really liked what blade had done for 2009 , and to be honest i wasn’t expecting anything to big in the way of change. I couldnt have been more wrong. the whole range has been completely redesigned to take advantage of the very latest innovations. Heres a recap.

The Trigger was an unbelievable success in 2009, and with the changes we have
developed for 2010, we are sure it will surpass even our expectations. Mainly,
the 2010 model is quicker in the turn and depowers much more.

The Vertigo has been revamped completely and, with these changes, we expect
to turn many more into extreme Vertigo enthusiasts this season. The leading
features are the tight turns, crazy depower, 4 Line setup, and a significantly
increased low end.

The Prime for 2009 was a remarkable freestyle kite but was aimed for a much
smaller audience. The 2010 was changed completely and is now intended for
those riders who have been in the sport for a few years and, while they aren’t going pro, they are looking for something to make kiting extreme again.

 

Full details , tech info and more pics at  

http://www.kitesurfwarehouse.com/brochure_2010.pdf

Kite Challenge 2010

Back in late 2009 a crazy local kitesurfing dude named jason had the dumbass idea of kiting across the Irish Sea from Ireland to Scotland. He posted it up on the NI kiteforum (our local way of seeing whos up to what), and wouldn’t you know it, all us crazy kitesurfers got very very excited about the thought of endangering out lives to make the crossing.

After months and months of some very hard work , a lot of meetings , a lot of tea and a lot of stress, the “Kite Challenge Team” was born. The idea has become a reality and we have overcome many many obstacles to make the challenge possible. Over 25 volunteers have come onboards to help organise the challenge , a host of support craft , the RNLI , carrickfurgus sailing club , and many many more have all bound together so see this once crazy thought carried out to the end.

 

Jase  ,the project manager has headed up the organisation and has been doing a sterling job of keeping everyone in check , and its not been easy.

We are supporting 4 charities for the challenge. RNLI , Sailability , Guide Dogs and The national Society for Epilepsy. Already vast amounts have been raised thank to some hard work from the team gaining sponsorship, A great charity 80’s Rock night and some generous donations.  And right now as i type this members of our team are at the Belfast Tall Ships Event shaking buckets and giving up their time to raise more cash for charity. A great space has also been setup to raise more awareness of the event.

Of course none of this would be possible without our sponsors. Kite Challenge has received some great donations and support from Blade Kites , Ozone , Fujifilm , Animal and A massive help along by our own griffin Kiteboarding who have Donated 10 Kites that will be used in completeing the challenge. A huge thank you has to go out to every brand that has help us so far.

To find out more about kite challenge please visit the link below. And pkease dont be shy with clickin gon the charities link to donate some of your hard earned money.

www.kitechallenge.com

Griffin Kiteboarding 2010 News

We have just been informed of some details for the  forthcoming griffin kiteboarding  2010 kite.  In 2009 they had a stonker of a kite which offered some great graphics , stonking performance and incredible prices. For 2010 griffins main concern has been improving the quality as much as possible. It seems that they are very serious about playing with the big boys and seem to improvc their market share and products every year.

So for 2010 first of all we have some great looking graphics omn the proto , but these are not the final design.

 

Noted product details so far are :

Tejin canopy cloth – lighter, less stretch and higher performance.

Simple 3 point adjustment system on the kite – adjust power / depower,

Dacron trailing edge – increased curve from strut to strut reinforced with dacron and tensioned for stealthy turning and kite loops.

Reduced paneling – cleaner look.

Easy inflate / deflate on LE with ball valves. 

Triple reinforced and widened valve seals for increased durability at all temperatures

Turning adjustments points now have pigtails for quick adjustment / change over.

Split Strut construction.

Griffin have noted some perfromance  improvements as follows :

Optimised bridle design have improved bar feel, turning and wind range.

Optimised leading edge for even more top end.

thats all i have for now but as soon as i hear more info it wil lbe on here first.

darren

www.kitesurfwarehouse.com

Kitesurf Warehouse Sale – 2009 Blade kites Reduced

With the announcement of 2010 Blade kites due to be available around october time  , we are clearing out all remaining 2009 blade kites stock.

Stock is limited but if you are quick you can pick up a brand new Kite for around 30% off RRP.

The reviews for blade kites this year have been very impressive , especially on the Prime , where magazines where simply gobsmacked.

 

You can check out hte price at the link below

 

Blade Kites Sale UK

2009 Blade and griffin Kites packages and quivers now online

Its been a really busy start to the season for us but our customers will be very pleased to know we have finally found the time to get our quivers and packages together for blade and griffin kites. So if you are looking for beginner kitsurfing gear or a full quiver of kites , we have already put it in a big sack for you and reduced the price even more.

Check them all out at  Kitesurfwarehouse.com

 

Bang kiteboards 2009 Range

Finally the 2009 bang kiteboards have arrived. After the 08 bowmoq acheived record sales for us in 2008 , we where eager to see what Bang kitebaords had instore for us for 2009.

Needless to say we are very impressed. Pimp graphics combined with that super tough construction and a range of great outlines are looking tops. We have still managed to keep the price down too.

the first batch is almost gone , but dont worry. We have more on the way.

Check them out at our Kiteboards page below

2009 Kiteboard

 

Kitesurfing trip to Wales

Way back in 2003 , i moved to liverpool for a year.  I hooked up with a great bunch of kitesurfers at Ainsdale and in wales as often as possible and always planned to return to some of the spots I spent many epic days on.

So on Thursday 31st of March Myself , Pawel (the polish kitesurfing dude) , and local instructor hairy Mike (from the infamous nikiteforum.com) made our excuses for a day off work and caught the night ferry from belfast to liverpool. We where to meet up with lane (an old kitesurf warehouse partner) and his GF , durga .

As soon as we boarded we checked into our cabin then headed for the bar. It only seemed right to start where we intended to finish. A buffet  dinner was served pretty muched immediatly , and when you are really hungry almost anything can be good. “Almost” is an important word here , because no matter how hungry you are,  Lasagne Soup is just weird…. Back to the bar then… We headed to bed quite early considering …. and awoke to a tannoy which I swear was place right above my bed , stating that we need to vacate our cabins as we would be docking soon. We went for breakfast which although marginally better than dinner , still left me worrying that i would end up very ill over the next few days.

We rolled off the ferry at 7.30am and right into a police welcome party who wanted to go through our luggage and aks for our lifes history.

Police Forensics Get a tune From Mike

When i opened the back and explained that anything that they remove they had better fit back in, they suddenly became less interested in going through our kit. I guess the mountian of equipment squeezed into the back compartment of an L200 put them off. NB If you ever want to transport illegal substances across the ferry, just bury it under a ton of smelly kitesurfing and camping gear and they wont bother… Needless to say none of us could ever be accused of such daring…..

Mikey gets booked for some badass Guitar playing

 All of this was carried out while Mike played some rock tunes on an acoustic with the windows down. Forensics where not best pleased and tried to book him for crimes against pop music. Time to leave….. Guitar still strumming…

After our interrogation we headed straight for MC Donalds. If its good for one thing …..(apart from food that never ever fill you up) , its the free WiFi connection. This was where we would look at the wind for the days and make our decision where to go.  According to Xcweather , Anglesea, wales showed the best potential , so we downed our cappuchinos and resumed the trip.

We made one stop on the way in the rather attractive little village of conway. We took in the sleepy village and bathed in some sunlight before setting back off.

Conway Bay

Tranquill and Picturesque Conway

 

After some moments of getting lost (oops) , We set back on the road to anglesea.  We finally hit Newborough beach at around 11am and took in the vast beach that was to be our home for the next few days. Deserted , clean and sunny… Just no wind yet.

Newborough Beach

The wind was not forcast until after lunch so we got out the Banshee bungee and skim board for some windless fun on the flats that preceeded the waves that break behind a sandbank.

Banshee Bungee

Then the wind came. It was only 15kmnots when at is best , but withthe sun shining and the beach to ourselves we managade to kitesurf until around 3pm It was light wind action all the way , but was a good session , with some nice wave on the far side of the bay . We used a 14m Griffin , 12m Blade trigger and an 11m Ozone Instict. All of which where able to keep us up wind most of the day.  We had a lull for around an hour then the wind came back even better for another couple of hours giving us another chance to hit the water again . We managed no pics of this session , with the camera locked in the car…

After a long day and a good session , we decided to find a place to camp. We where informed by a Beach marshalll (or someone in a yellow coat) that we could camp (though strictly not allowed) but just make sure we are not too obvious about it.  So this was a great excuse for some off road driving as we headed into the forest a little to set up camp in a clearing.

That night we chilled out by the camp fire with a few beers and some tunes before heading to bed.

Day 2 and the wind was blowing from early on. I was up from 7.30 , a little excited to get on the water again. A breakfast of almost cooked sausages and we headed to the beach to sample the 16knots that was now blowing. I want out on my 14m griffin , Pawel on his 9m Blade , lane on a 12m Griffin and Mikey was running a little late…

Pawel on the 9m Prime

Pawel was first out on his 9m  getting up wind easily  so myself and lane followed straight after.

Getting ready on the Griffins

We managed some pretty good kiteusrfing  but unfortunately it only lasted for the morning ,  and was completely gone by midday.

Conditions perfect for our 12m & 14m

 

Putting the prime through its paces

The Wind starts to give up on us

After packing up camp we headed back  towards liverpool , detouring via Llandudno to check out a huge lagon left when the tide goes out.  The wind was jsut not enough to tempt us into wet wetsuits especialyl as we where all pretty much knackered. So we took in the beach for a bit, wathced some landboarders and then headed back to liverpool.

The ferry was rebooked for that night , as no wind was due on sunday. So we hit liverpool on grand natioanl day. Following a meal at La Tasca , we navigated concert square and a rather cool little tequila bar to sample some banna tequila. Unfortunatley i had to pass that one , because i was borderline limit and we still needed to get the car onto the ferry.

Once onboard , with guitar going all the way…., we got a much needed shower (not together thankfully) and resumed our alcohol testing. It was combined with some meatballs for dinner , a loss at black jack , then sharing some double  rums with 2 Ladies whom we met on the boat…. We had a great laugh with them and retired to bed much too late , only to again be woke by that tannoy and some unsafe breakfast.

All said , it was a great trip and one that we will definately do again. Hopefully next time we get just a littel bit more wind to make it epic.