Review Blade Fat Lady 2014
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| Riding type: | Light wind kites |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2014 |
| Brand: | Blade |
| Size: | 17m |
| Type: | SLE |
| Share: | |
Kite
Light wind 17m kite
Designers goals (manufacturer text)
While your friends lounge around on the beach soaking up UV-rays, you can be busting out all the tricks in your repertoire, carving up the waves and riding the adrenaline all to yourself. Fast, powerful, responsive, and a thrill to ride, the Fat Lady has been the proven choice for light wind kiteboarding. All of Blade’s products are famed for their rapid-turning and ultra-responsiveness, and the Fat Lady is by no means an exception. Don’t be fooled by the name - the Fat Lady’s agility and speed will blow you away.
Features
- Relentlessly powerful
- Super thin LE and 3 struts for quick, direct turning
- Amazing low-end performance
- Reflex-Relaunch design
Characteristic Indicator
Bar
Details:
| Riding type: | Light wind kites |
|---|---|
| Year: | 2014 |
| Brand: | Blade |
| Size: | 17m |
| Type: | SLE |
| One pump: | Yes |
| Bridles: | Yes |
| Number of struts: | 3 |
| Colours: | Various |
| Line length: | 17m + 4m + 4m |
| Bar length: | 45cm-52cm |
| Bar: | 4 lines |
| Depower: | Clamcleat |
| Safety: | Push |
| Swivel: | Yes |
| Variable bar length: | Yes |
| Oh shit handles: | No |
Kitereview Blade Fat Lady 17m 2014
Test conditions
Wind: 8-12 knots
Water: lake
Board: Twintip 140x40 & Freerace board (5'5" x 21" x 2 7/16")
Bar set up: 23m lines
Most prominent Characteristics
Pros Cons
| + relaunch | - bar feedback is a bit wobbly |
| + pop (above 10 knots) | - loses a bit kite power while turning the kite |
| + kite reaction |
Conclusion
The Fat Lady feels like a big Freestyle kite. It is fast for a 17m and has great unhook characteristics. You can ride the Fat Lady between 8-10 knots, but you need a oversize twintip (door) or longer lines than 23m. Round 10 knots you will glide and with enough skills you will be able to perform some hooked & unhooked tricks.
Basics
Kite stability
Restless on the bar.
Windrange
Kite re-launch
Oldskool
Glide phase
High-end
Low-end
Lift
Wave
Feedback at edge of wind window
The bar feeling is a bit wobbly, canopy stays pretty stable.
Turning circle
Reaction to steering action
Fast reaction with a pretty small turning circle for a 17m
There are 3 reviews on this product:
Its perfect for increasing your days on the water and having a kite that you can practice unhooked and wake moves on in light winds.
Replys to this review
Its reaction is rather quick and it builds up pressure in its flight line. After a kite loop it does however hesitates to climb back up. I noticed that, once plaining, it starts to seek, and the bar doesn't feel solid. It feels like the kite tips aren't perfectly balanced with the bridle system, so the bar starts to wiggle.
Resume: A freestyle oriented kite for those who still wants to do their tricks in light wind conditions.
Replys to this review
Replys to this review
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