Flysurfer Extacy

After receiving the first shipment of 4.5m, 7m and 10m Extacys on Friday I couldn't wait to have a go.

Sadly the wind didn't show until yesterday.

Friends who know me are used to the sight of me in the shop rather than on the water at this time of the year. I am definitely a fair weather sailor but since I got myself a Pyro Drysuit and with lots of unhooked stuff to be learned I find myself going out more and more in the cold.

With a new toy in my hands there was no stopping me and no excuses to be made.

On arrival at the beach the wind looked a little light and I saw Flexifoil Charlie out with a 17m Strike, Rupert with his new Vegas 17m, someone else on what looked like a Guerilla2 15m, super lightweight John (the video man) on his 12m CO2 and various Naish and Takoons around 14-15m.

Normally I would have used my 13m Psycho2 but the wind looked constant and with incoming tide I should get a helping hand if underpowered. So I decided to go for my brand new and shiny Extacy 10m.

Whilst walking down the beach I saw dangerous Brian going out with his 10m Psycho2 and looking powered up enough. That certainly kick started me into action.

As the new Extacy has no more pulleys and a super simple bridle set-up, unwinding the lines, pre-inflating the kite and launching only took seconds.

A couple of pulls on the bar to see how much power I had and off I went.

I obviously had flown the Extacy Protoypes a month earlier in Tarifa and already knew what it would feel like but you never know!

The first few runs I used to adjusted my brain to the faster turning speeds and to the different jumping technique of the Extacy.

As I only get out about once a week or even less than this at the moment half the sessions are always about getting flexible again and building up your confidence but the Extacy made this pretty easy.

With endless amounts of stability and an incredibly positive bar feedback I only cocked up a few jumps.

One thing that really surprised me is the power I got from my little 10m and the pop on jumps really shook me at times.

To get the best jumps out of the Extacy you just have to be committed and steer it up and back as fast as your balls allow you too. Compared to some older Flysurfers the Extacy re-directs just fine so you can be a lot more aggressive. The pop is very good indeed.

I would say the best of all Flysurfers with a little less hangtime than the Psycho2.

The wind was between 14-17mph later dropping to 10-13mph but could still ride when it dropped and just practised a few unhooked moves. Not very elegantly.

Just for the record, I used a Kiteloose H-Core 2005 (126-38) and weight 74kg.

Transitions were a dream. Because of its fast turning speed you can work the kite and steer it all over the place so you don't sink when you haven't timed the jump perfectly.

Most Flysurfer kites are steered with the bar towards depower, the Extacy however can cope with a good old pull on the bar and if you power it up a little bit too much it still turns and accelerates all the way thru the turn. This is also very noticeable when riding in a straight line. I could ride along with the bar completely powered up and the kite didn't stall at all. This was obviously great for riding unhooked as pulling in the trimmer is plenty enough to get good unhooked performance.

I really wished it would have been above 20mph then this kite would have certainly blown me away. You could really feel how willing it is to react to every steering impulse and even when completely underpowered I could still do stuff with it and work it.

I love my 13m Psycho2 and really, really liked my 10m Psycho but I thing I have fallen in love with a new drug.

Maybe it is just that it does what I need it to do right now. It suits the kind style of riding I want to progress into.

One thing before I forget, I did manage to steer the kite into the water twice which gave me a chance to try the relaunch. No worries here, the kite is probably the easiest of all Flysurfers to re-launch.

Overall I would say that this kite has a massive target group. From beginner to expert it will be fine for everyone.

On water it is up there with the best of kites and I mean tube-kites and foils alike. It certainly has a massive windrange and is extremely user friendly.

On Land and Snow I can't really see any surprises, it has no competition apart from other Flysurfers.

Other de-powerable foils are mere side acts. They are like Europe or Bonfire on a Led Zeppelin concert.

Lets face it what else gives you this much versatility, performance and pure joy of riding.

A thanks to Charlie from Flexifoil for letting me have a go on his 17m Strike after I packed up my Extacy.

Not bad for an LEI but my arms fell off after five minutes and I almost got a cramp in my forearm on my second jump.

How the hell do you guys hold in the power with one arm when doing board-offs?

It made me realise once more how good I got it.

Much prefer my power steering Flysurfers, especially now that we have to wear gloves. No pumping and pinching valves either.

By : just do it