I’m getting an 8 and 10 meter Razor too.  I started off with the 12 meter for lighter winds. The low end of the Razors is better than the Rises, but probably only half or one kite size better. I’d get the 12 meter Razor if you’re going to be kiting in winds lighter than 15mph.

The power of the kite is what astonished me the most. I could ride upwind on my 8min in 12 knots. Do all sort of tricks in 12 – 15 knots. It was incredible

Did some high end testing of the 10m today, at least that’s what todays session became when it started gusting close to 40 knots. The razor turns out to have a very nice Eastern Egg hidden inside! By taking in about 15-20 cm of trim line, the kite is still very well behaved and remarkably steerable. In fact it starts to handle more like a Rise in terms of gust handling, with still plenty of that raw power which I love from this kite.
Jumping the ten in these winds is totally awesome. I was hucking myself into some really big airs, and I found the Razor easier to maneuver up there, which easily makes up for the lack of hang time it has compared to the Rise. Just moving the kite from side to side a bit with an aggressive down stroke by the time you’re ready to land will keep you up there for quite a while. With the Rise, I could just glide back down and land smoothly with little kite action, with the Razor some more work is required.
I feel I’m starting to get to know this kite a bit better now, throwing downloops in turns is ridiculously smooth and soooo powerful…

totally agree with rudo!! Today I had a sick session on the 8m Razor. With my 75 kg weight I wasn’t on the high end of the Razor. No trim on the depowerstrap, and even did some huge kiteloops in todays 35 knots wind!!

Man what a sick range!!
I can ride the kite from around 17-18 knots till (I think) 40-45 knots! Super stoked!!!

Rudo,

I’ve noticed the same about the Razor. It’s a fun kite to jump with, but does require more flying skill to land with. There are two main things I really like about the Razor. One, like you commented, it really pulls you through turns. Two, it is very stable when parked in one position for surfing.

So, far I’ve had one session on my 8 meter and about 6 sessions on the 12 meter. It would be interesting to see how well the Razor would do in heavier winds with the Freeride bar. I think you could probably extend the top end of the kite a little and make the kite even better behaved in gusty conditions.

I agree with you Jeff, the free ride bar gives you that little extra high end.
I was using a prototype free ride bar today, with the basic set up of the 2011 free ride bar. I’m still very much an SLE kiter, using a full arms length to fly the kite through gusts. The Razor doesn’t depower like the Rise so I get spanked. It takes some getting used to dig in the rail of my board and see the kite move towards the end of the wind window.

@Pimpoldi, welcome to the crew dude! Why don’t you post your loop of last week here?

yes did it on the website! chek the homepage!.. Maybe i will catch some footage of today! in about an hour i thing hehe

this was last thursday at Noordwijk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emkXNGRZliw

el rudo you inspire me!
caught an afternoon sesh at my local spot…other kiters had just come in with 7’s.
your post was on my mind as I pumped up the 10m razor and self launched.
piece of cake self launching, I love how this thing rotates and springs into action!
throwing the kite into a high loop just before landing is the ticket for soft touch downs with speed for sure.
went way upwind to boeing creek and got some lofty air in the squeeze section next to the cliff,
then smiled the whole time jamming towards the kite as I headed back down to the launch.
the razor is my favorite kite, so simple and powerful…Ross you are the man!

Jeff Rockett - 05 April 2011 09:43 AM

Rudo,

I’ve noticed the same about the Razor. It’s a fun kite to jump with, but does require more flying skill to land with. There are two main things I really like about the Razor. One, like you commented, it really pulls you through turns. Two, it is very stable when parked in one position for surfing.

So, far I’ve had one session on my 8 meter and about 6 sessions on the 12 meter. It would be interesting to see how well the Razor would do in heavier winds with the Freeride bar. I think you could probably extend the top end of the kite a little and make the kite even better behaved in gusty conditions.

Razor keeps you sharp for sure, you take a big jump on the Razor you better be really dialed in, you land fast doing downwind, much more so than the Rise… With the Razor, you can pull your front hand right at the last minute and get a nice boost effect that flattens you out a bit and softens the landing (but speeds it up), with the Rise you can kind of just float down and then keep going.  I take the Razor when I’m ‘game on’, and the Rise when I feel like floating around

If you do mostly hooked in tricks go with the Rise, or if you need only 1 kite or 1 really versatile kite.
If you are working on mostly unhooked tricks got with the Razor, or if you can afford a few kites and like to mix up the feel.

Hello!
My name is Gloria and I’m newbie to this community. I started learning about this forum from this thread and I just want to say thank you for sharing this amazing and absolutely priceless information about your experience over here! I’m very grateful for that!

Welcome to the Crew Gloria!~

I’ve put a review of the 2012 Razor under this thread. I put it here originally, by mistake. I’ve lost a year somewhere

http://oceanrodeo.com/forums/viewthread/3113/