Reviewing the Core Riot Light Wind Edition:
What we like:
While rigging up to test out the light wind version of the Core Riot XR3 we were reliably informed that some of our team had been using the 19m to learn backroll kiteloops. The words “kiteloops” and “19m” aren’t often in the same sentence so we’re clearly dealing with something special.
It’s fast!
For those of you not familiar with lightwind kiteboarding (<14mph), the biggest challenge is that when kites get big, they get slow. Slow kites aren’t always that fun! The good news is that the Riot LW feels like flying a 12m! Even more surprisingly, you don’t have to use a special extra long kite bar to make it turn – just one bar for all sizes… impressive stuff.
Bar out, bar in, depower on, depower off – it’s all the same!
No matter how much depower you have on or where the bar is, the kite still turns at the same speed. The familiar saggy line syndrome that affects plenty of other kites out there is a thing of the past with the Riot and this makes the Riot LW a pleasure to fly.
What we don’t like:
Our coaches have been putting these through some very thorough testing and reported that they would prefer to have the Y-split on the front lines closer to the bar so that you can “bar-juggle” when coaching beginners.
We have also found that if you get yourself in a real muddle the bridle can get caught around the wing tip when trying to relaunch. Not a big deal because it does release itself but worth pointing out.
Why you want the Core LW
For a while now we’ve been claiming the Slingshot Turbine as the best lightwind kite out there and now there’s a solid contender. On any given lightwind day in our backyard, there’s always at least one Riot LW on the water…!