At the REAL Flagship Store and REAL Lesson Center in Cape Hatteras we see it all… from 35-40mph blasting on a 6m, to 12-15mph transition periods between fronts. Our team and clients want to be on the water every waking minute of everyday, so we’re obsessed with finding the best gear to get on the water, every day, in all conditions. When BEST Kiteboarding came to us this year and told us that their new Taboo 15m & 17m sizes were “the most aerodynamically refined kites we’ve ever built with every spare gram of weight having been trimmed to deliver the maximum light-wind performance”, we accepted those words as a challenge to put this kite to the TEST!
After months of testing in the REAL Lesson Center and by REAL clients in real world conditions, we can safely say “The BEST Taboo 15m and 17m are two of the fastest and best kites at cranking upwind in light wind”… put simply, these kites help our students and coaches complete lessons in lightwind and put riders out on the water having fun in even the lightest conditions.
The Kiteboarder Magazine said in their review, “If you want to get out and ride and get upwind when others can’t, you should look at this kite. The stability, fast turning, and fast flying made the 17m Taboo more fun to fly than other kites in this size range we’ve flow previously”.
So what makes the 15m/17m Taboo work so well? The attention to details that BEST put in to designing this range:
• The 15m/17m Taboo are high aspect kites… meaning their longer and thinner than most comparable kites in the range. This feature is what allows the kites to be faster turning than another kite the same size and also allows the kite to crank upwind.
• Weight. The BEST Designers paid attention to how much weight was being added to the kite. They reduced the amount of heavy Dacron being added to the kite and replaced it with BEST’s new, stronger, Air-Aid®Material… stronger than traditional ripstop while being lighter weight.
• The 15m/17m Taboos are 5 struts versus the rest of the line's 6 strut design. This reduces the overall weight of the kite considerably while also reducing drag and maintain structure and airframe.
• Optimized one-pump: The kites center strut is not attached to the one-pump system… this is because the center strut is smaller and more aerodynamic (being in the center of the kite) then the others and thus requires a higher pressure. This keeps the kite rigid with less drag and optimized performance
• Wind Range. The 15m AND 17m Taboos have a huge wind range and will comfortably allow a rider to session in 12mph or boost to the moon and unhook in 19mph.
When we say “Crank Upwind”… we mean “YOU CAN REALLY CRANK UPWIND ON THIS KITE!!!!”. The 15m/17m Taboos allow the rider to build speed and have the power of the kite compound on itself with board speed and apparent windspeed. As you go faster on these kites they become more and more powerful! As you build speed, the kite allows you to point further and further upwind. The BIG sizes of the Taboo actually HELP YOU go upwind. Our Riders were able to go upwind better on the 17m Taboo then on 7m’s (in windy conditions) of other kites!!
The 15m Taboo is for riders weighing under 200lbs wanting to ride in lightwind conditions. The 17m Taboo is for riders 200+ that want to make the most of every session.
The 15m/17m Taboo’s aren’t just light wind kites… they’re FUN high performance kites. Whether you want to get out and cruise in 12mph or you want to boost higher than your friends in 16mph, these lightwind Taboo’s GET IT DONE!
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