Hi , i was flying blades , then flew a 9.5 sabre , and sold all my blades and got a set of sabres. Great depower, and all kite fly fairly similar in teh range. 11.5 from about 10mph will get you going well, hard work under that , the 7m will go up to about 25mph and a bit more of you are brave enough ! The kites are soo stable to fly , and so predictable, no nasty suprises, loads of lift , with nice float for landings . Found them nicer to fly than the blades, and just suit my riding style - i only use them with a board.
As for gusts , yeah they do handle them fairly well, will fold in crazy gusts , but cos of the depower and the bar , gusts tend just to be absorbed by teh bar moving away , rather than the kite pulling you off the board. Try and borrow one first, i did, made me smile from ear to ear , no looking back. Love the easy set up as well, from the bag will take about 1 minute to get it in teh air , no messing on with lines once it is set up. Try first , sure you will like them!