Well, with the posts about 2012 gear starting to hit the forum, this may not be the most timely post, but I had a chance to demo the 2011 10m razor this week and figured i’d share my thoughts.  I’m an intermediate rider, 180lbs, riding a 135x41 underground flx.  wind was low 20’s, and i was at the gorge, so the current added a little to that.  I’ve been riding a 2009 10m rise for 2 years, so i’ll compare to that.

Bar pressure was a little heavier than the rise.  Not bad, but if you have kiter’s elbo issues, something to consider.

I don’t think there was any noticable difference in upwind ability vs the ‘09 rise, which is superb.

Transitions were much nicer on the razor, it just rips you thru the turn with no stall.  On my ‘09 rise there seems to be a slight stall in power as the kite comes around.  This doesn’t happen on the razor.  really powered transitions.

The razor seems to need a bit more bar input to make the kite initiate a turn, a slight movement of the bar doesn’t do much.  once in motion, it turns and comes across the window faster than the rise.  This is probably good for stability while doing tricks, and something that would probably be easy to get used to, but i felt like i needed to talk it into initiating turns, whereas with my rise, i just think about moving the kite and its on its way.

Riding downwind with the swell was great, the kite effortlessly drifts downwind waiting for further instructions from you.  this kite would be great for waves.

Jumping gave me a little bit of trouble.  Most of my jumps on the razor were of the long and low variety.  I think this was probably happening because the kite pulls harder as it turns back, which made it harder to set a good edge for the pop.  I did find slowing my board speed helped get more vertical jumps, but i felt like that would also give up some height.  I’d probably get it figured out in another session of fiddling with it (ie, maybe sheet out more when sending the kite), but i felt like this was the biggest difference to get used to if making the change from the rise to the razor.  When i did get some height, the kite puts you down a little more quickly/firmly than the rise.  The landings felt similar to my 8m rise.

I also recently bought a Rise 15m LW.  I’ve only flown it once, and that was at the high end of its range.  I’ll post a full reveiw when i get to fly it a bit more.

With regards to jumping, I’m coming from a 12m Rise and now have a 12m and 8m Razor, and I thought pretty much the same as you, the jumps didn’t really feel right, I was just not getting any lift. After a few sessions I dialed the Razor in more, it definitely generates more vertical lift if you really whip it from low to high quicker than the Rise, since it powers through the window quicker. 

As you are coming down you need to work the kite a bit more for more glide, but it just doesn’t have the hangtime the Rise does, although it’s not drastically different. A lot of people have said that the Razor really yanks you out of the water abruptly and you come down hot, the Rise you loft up in the air, look around, and come down. That’s pretty accurate, and to be honest, I like the Razor’s feel jumping better. I don’t have a ton of sessions to compare it too, but after riding them back to back, I feel like I get higher with the Razor.

I’ve replaced my 2010 11m RISE with the 2011 10M RAZOR ... The big change I looked for & ACHIEVED was when bringing the kite over for transitions in puffy (light) conditions ... The RISE would drift down in a reverse stall no mater how much input it was given requiring the bar to be pushed away to reattach laminar flow ... The RAZOR is more reminiscent of a BRONCO (C) kite & obediently goes about it’s business ... I now seamlessly switch from my 10 RAZOR to 9 RISE as the wind increases ... I find that with the RAZOR front lines moved to the fwd. attachment points & @ the fastest turning setting the handling of these 2 kites is very similar with the 10 RAZOR now being my ‘light wind’ kite & the 9 RISE my medium kite before I move to the little speed demon the 2010 7M RISE ... p.s. : I’ve updated my bars with the upgrade kit (looong throw) & added the roll over bridle mod to the 2010 RISE kites   http://store.oceanrodeo.com/Kite-Accessories_2  Next is to update the 2011 http://store.oceanrodeo.com/Control-Bars/2011-SLE-Freeride-Bar-S_3 FUSION bar with a top swivel that replaces the stainless ring , reducing friction !!!

Yeah so are the settings on the Razor basically the same as the Rise? I haven’t really messed with the settings much yet, just riding whatever the default was from the factory.

Take it out of the bag & LOOK AT IT !!! 3 turning speed settings & 2 attachment points for the front lines on my 10 RAZOR ... I have the turning @ fastest & the front moved to the most fwd. position ... It’s like never trying to drive your car in a different gear !!! Try it & be sure & go back to the factory setting to see if YOU can feel the difference !!!

Really good review, thank you

one of my favorite kites ever…its so easy to load and pop!

experimenting with kitehero’s board mount, positioned it so it faced away from me on this video.
got some cool shots.
all I need now is more wind!

http://youtu.be/bFUp39PrTZ0?hd=1

Starting to get dialed in on this kite as it is basically my one kite quiver.  I have a wee one for fall, but its only had a couple water sessions so far.  The 10 is my workhorse and I have to say there is something to be said for always flying the same kite!  Had a taste of that with last years trip to the OBX when I was lucky enough to use a 10m diablo for 7 days straight.  Started to really feel confident with it after that.  Now that my big kite is the 10m razor I’m starting to really get the most out of its bottom end. 

I’m sure I say this with almost any new kite, but it’s certainly my favorite so far.  Well almost.  The six is fantastic, but a lot of that is down to conditions.

The 10m is working for me as one kite to do it all.  On a nice little fish I’m cruising and slashing all over the place while people are out on TT’s and 16m kites.  I’m literally riding circles around the pack as I can afford to peel off downwind and chase swell along the waterfront and then make it back up to the top in two big tacks to start all over generally circling the crowd of riders that frequent here.

Once they rig down to the 9-12m range, I can strap into the boots and really have at er.

Getting very comfy with the kites timing and starting to nail its pop characteristics consistently as well as tacks and those little weightless transitions without having to pay the kite any attention.

Gets me out on all but the very lightest of days when only the flysurfer crew are able to actually ride.  I’m pretty satisfied with my 12 knot on switch.

All in all very happy and looking foreward to more bonding time.