Flysurfer Extacy Full Range

I already reviewed the 10m Extacy a while back but after a few good weeks of wind and the opportunity to ride the 7m, 10m and 13m all within the space of a few days I feel its time to share my experiences.

I have to add straight away that I am affiliated to Flysurfer and will thus try and compare the Extacy more to the Psycho2 rather than other kites on the market.

Lets start with the 7m.

After having ridden the Psycho2s for most of last year I thought going down to a lower aspect ratio foil would maybe suit the new trend of faster turning kites which are also suitable for unhooked riding.

The Extacy fits this bill pretty perfectly.

One thing that really surprised me however is the Extacys ability to get you on the plane so early.

As the Extacy has a lot less backstall than the Psycho2 you can ride it pretty powered without killing the kites momentum. In simple terms you can pull on the bar in light winds without reversing the kite.

Even with the bar fully pulled in and the trimmer on full power mode it is still possible to go upwind.

The 7m can still stall a bit but you have to go very slow and pull very hard and long before it stalls.

This characteristic is what helps the kite to maintain its flying speed when turned, looped or ridden unhooked.

Coming from the Psycho2 I had to adjust my jumping style a bit to get the most out of the Extacy and initially I thought that the Extacy has less jumping potential than the Psycho2 but now that I am used to the Extacy I have to correct my opinion on this matter.

I now boost higher 90% of the time with the Extacy. It still drops you a little quicker making the landings a little harder, well unless you are nicely powered up but the pop is quite spectacular.

Yesterday I still managed to get 15-20feet of height in a mere 15mph of wind. That was on the 10m Extacy. Normally I would have needed the 13m Psycho2 for this. The dense and lifty air definitely helped.

The other great thing about the Extacy is its sheer simplicity. No more pulleys and a super simple bridle lay-out.

The Extacy has no Mutation lines like the Psycho2 and is pre set by Flysurfer.

When new the Extacys are only at about 75% of their potential but after 10-15hours of good use they just keep on getting better. It has to do with the stretch and shrink of various bridle lines which Armin has compensated for. So unlike the Blade3s which stopped flying all together the Extacys keep on getting better.

I personally have experimented with different bar length, like I always do and prefer a longer bar on the 10m but will probably change my longer bar on the 13m back to the standard one again.

The 13m has a nice bar pressure which it maintains even when more than half pre-depowered on the trimmer.

Flysurfer managed to stop the backlines from going slack when heavily depowered on the 13m.

The 13m benefits the most from the performance increase after the wearing in period.

It gets really lively and fast and its stability increases by the minute.

I always thought that I will keep the 13m Psycho2 and then use the 10m and 7m Extacy for the stronger winds but I have now changed my mind.

I can use my 10m Extacy from 12mph upwards but realistically I use it only above 14-15mph unless the wind drops during a session. Still it's good to know that I can get away with such a small kite.

On the Psycho2 I would have used the 13m up to 18mph and then changed.

The 10m Extacy gets me up to 20mph and I then change to the 7m. I could hold on to the 10m up to 25-30 but the 7m is way more fun then.

The 13m Extacy has definitely more bottom end than the 13m Psycho2 and an unexpected amount of lift. As it has more grunt I don't think I could get the same height as on a 13m Psycho2 but very close too and it certainly has the same hangtime unless fully maxed.

For me the 13m Extacy tops out earlier than the 13m Psycho2 but then I change to the 10m Extacy way before the 13m Extacy reaches its top end.

Turning speed is not necessarily faster on the 13m Extacy but the turning circle is tighter which resulted in a lot of my landing being very fast at first with the kite heading rapidly towards the water. Well I just had to redirected less sharply.

I would say that on my shortboard I need around 10mph+ during the colder month and maybe a tad more in the hot summer month. On my Flydoor I can go upwind the minute the 13m stays in the air, which is around 6-8mph.

So what do I ride now?

Well I have sold all of my Psycho2s and I am an Extacy convert. I have adapted my riding style to suit and it works better as a kite for me.

I know that the Extacy also targets beginners and I do agree that it is super simple to set-up, fly and relaunch but it also suits intermediates to experts who were previously targeted by the Psycho2s.

So were does this leave the Psycho2?

The Psycho2 is an awesome kite with a distinctly different feel to the Extacy. It has more backstall tendency but this can be used very effectively for different tricks.

People who are used to the classic Flysurfer feel will appreciate the Psycho2 more than the Extacy.

Tube and ARC-riders will get on better with the Extacy.

The 13m Psycho2 is a classic and has the biggest windrange out of all Flysurfers. For a 80-90kg rider it could almost be a one-kite quiver.

The same as the 10m Extacy could be a one-kite quiver for a 65-75kg rider.

The 7m Psycho2 is a super kite and light riders get away with it in pretty light winds.

The 7m Extacy is a kiteloop new school kite with awesome potential.

Both Flysurfer ranges are great and the choice is a matter of taste and certainly not performance related.

I hope this wasn't too boring and of use to some.

By : just do it