Had my first outing on the Thruster 12m last night at Blyth in pretty tricky conditions, biggish waves, shore dump and bang onshore easterly 15 - 20 mph winds. I was only on it for about 30 mins before letting Aidan have a go to get he's opinion as he was a little underpowered on the 11m and the 12m Thruster had tons of power in comparison.

The bag is really nice, seperate side compartment for the bar, many attachment points on the outside for accessories, board straps. Not very important but nice all the same.

The kite - black and red. It hasn't got 1 pump but it's got the non-return valves in each bladder, like North kites (not the ball valves that always seem to get dislodged) which worked a treat. Construction is excellent, re-inforcements everywhere you would like to see them. Triple stitched leading edge.

The bar comes with 20m lines and 4m line extensions. I went with 24m just because of the 15mph bits and large waves to give me the extra power to get over them.

In the air, it looks really nice. Shaped quite differently to the Waroo's that I fly. More C-shape with curved wing tips. There is still a bridle with 1 pulley on either side but it's really simple. Depower with the EZ lock system dis-engaged seemed at about 80-90%. Definately not as much as the Waroo but more than enough for intermediates and above.

It turns very quickly. I'm not exaggerating, but this is the quickest 12m I've flown. It's considerably quicker than the 11m Waroo which I went out on after Aidan took the 12m.

On the water - I actually found myself overpowered with the power strap on full on the first few runs so depowered a little. I found this suprising given there were some low lulls (14-15mph). It picks up tons of apparent wind when your on the move and you steadily feel the power increasing. On occassions I had to edge real hard to hold the power after going over the waves not to start a long forgotten death run! Previously spoilt with the 100% depower and a bit rusty on the back foot pressure!

It was difficult to try many tricks in the conditions as holding ground was very difficult, losing ground with each wave and then having to track upwind in between each one but I tried a few jump transitions and the lift was excellent. Despite it's more c-shape profile, the hangtime still felt very floaty. I need to try this in better conditions but from what I've read, this is where the kite excels.

Didn't try and water relaunching, it never fell out of the sky. Great on the waves, you can really just park the kite.

Overall, really like it, this might just be the kite for me. I definately preferred it to the Chameleon but I'm looking for something to push me a bit these days and the Chameleon is more aimed at the beginner / intermediate bow lovers. 30 mins is not long enough so I will definately need to spend a lot more time with it. Not for beginners who will appreciate a kite with 100% depower.

Aidan, if you get a mo, let me know what you thought. I'm going to try and get out on it again tonight but it might just be too windy looking at the forecast.

Cheers,

James

I was out for about an hour on this kite after James very kindly saved me again from my Ozone Instinct woes...must be the fourth time that the Instinct has let me down now, this time with an exploding leading edge!

First impression was that the kite had alot more power than the 11m Waroo in the same conditions. There is also alot less depower and it reminded me of being back on C kites. What James says about this being a fast kite once you build up some apparent wind speed is spot on. Once you get going on this kite you really are blasting along to the point that I actually ended up doing my first death run in a very, very long time. It was great to be out on a kite that made you think a little bit more about edging and not putting it in the wrong place in the window. I think I have just become a bit spoiled by the massive depower of the Instinct.

This isn't a kite for beginners but if you fancy something with plenty of biff and like me you miss scaring yourself a little bit when you are out on the water then this is the kite for you. I think what James says about it being a kite that will help an intermediate progress is also right as you can generate quite a bit of instant power very easily with this kite just by pulling the bar in...ie. not such a gentle increase of power like on a bow which has a longer throw on the bar.

After trying the kite I can now see what some people mean when they say they prefer C-kites...although this kite isn't one it definitely has more of a C feel and would be great for those days when it is relatively flat and the wind is nice and smooth. Leaves me wishing I could justify buying a kite for all conceivable conditions!

Tried the Eclipse Thruster 12m again on Friday at Blyth, about 15 - 18mph for an hour and then dropped a little. Really nicely powered in 15-18. Difference this time was that I tried my Waroo bar to see if it had more depower and the depower was just like flying the Waroo. Let go of the bar and almost all power was gone. It definitely turns quicker than my 11m waroo and has more lift but it's higher aspect so that's to be expected.

Need a few more sessions but when it's 11-12m weather, I think the Eclipse it going to be my kite of choice, especially now that I can get the same depower. Not a kite for beginners though in my opinion, just a bit too much lift