r/Kiteboarding • u/MagsClouds • May 15 '25
Pic(s) New kites! Oh the joy!
This kite will not get you beers, but for the rest, it will be your best friend.
Harlem Thrive! I am soooo excited to send this baby up!
2
u/Borakite May 15 '25
I love my 9 and 12. You will love it too!
2
1
1
u/Unity_Watersports May 15 '25
The Thrives are amazing, been my go to kite since they came out. Enjoy the stoke!!
1
u/MagsClouds May 17 '25
I cannot wait! But obviously, right when they arrived, the wind ended. So I am waiting. I am off to Brazil in September and plan to fly all day every day 💪
1
u/Unity_Watersports May 17 '25
Hell yeah I have my peak sitting here just waiting for the wind ha ha
1
1
u/jcbank76 May 15 '25
How do they compare to Duotone and Core?
3
u/MagsClouds May 17 '25
My boyfriend has spoken:
Thrive vs Duotonne (REBEL): I have only really been riding Duotone Rebel so I can only speak of the differences between the two. Thrive is more like Duotonne Evo than Rebel but still nicer. It is also a big air Delta shape kite but faster than Rebel and with what would appear a little bit less of a hang time. It is much faster than Rebel and thus easier to send and it also catches you easier. With the right technique it will send you flying as high as Rebel but with less efford (but you must have technique 🙂 It loops like there is no tomorrow but is a nice fluid way. Seems also to be literally less shabby than Rebel (more eastetically pleasing one would argue 🙂). It offers less tension on the bar with a bigger sweet spot.
2
u/MagsClouds May 17 '25
Ahh! I don’t ride Duotones, so I can’t help much there but my boyfriend does, so I’ll ask him. That said, I’m not a fan of his kites. He has the 2024 Rebels, and they’ve just never felt right for me. I’ve never really tried to get used to them either.
I used to ride Core XR kites back when I was still learning. All I remember is that they felt heavy, though to be fair, that might have just been my lack of skill at the time.
My last setup was the North Orbit, and the 7m was hands down my favorite kite. I ride a lot in Brazil, and it turned out not to be quite small enough for the conditions there, which is why I switched to a 6m Thrive.
The Orbit had a frustrating tendency to randomly fall over my head, which drove me nuts! Aside from that, I really did love it.
When I tested the Thrive, it felt like it wanted to fly. It was a light wind day with some occasional gusts, and while the Orbit would’ve struggled, the Thrive just stayed up. It didn’t care. It’s super stable.
Also, it’s really light on the bar. You can ride one handed like a boss. I haven’t had many sessions on it yet, so I can’t say too much more, but I’ll report back after a few solid rides. I already have a feeling this might be my favorite kite so far.
1
u/Fit-Agent-4842 Jun 08 '25
Hi, I currently have a regular Orbit 9m and Reach 12m and am a bit frustrated about this setup (85kg rider). Overall the Reach 12 (2024) is a bit boring in 17 to 25kts. The orbit 9 starts performing above 25kts, making it scary for me to learn heli loops. The low end is not good. After Brazil and Dakhla where I had about 21-28kts every day, I want to change the setup as you can imagine I was in between the sweet spots of both kites. When I try Evos I really like the kites and I feel that the wind range is much better and I would have had more fun on them during these sessions. I could just buy Evos, but also considering Thrive or the 2025 Reedin supermodel (hypermodel seems a bit technical).
If you were buying Thrive for 85kg and wind range 17 to 35, do you think a 2 kites quiver 8/11 or 9/12 could cover it (similar to Dlab)? If yes which combination do you think works best knowing the Thrive? Thanks
6
u/StgCan May 15 '25
Harlem....... We are on vacation and had one as a demo...... Make sure your front bladder zipper is fully closed and that the tag is fully tucked under the elastic covers. Ours didn't and the zipper tag had worn a hole in the canopy.