I just had the opportunity to test the Airush Varial 12m and I must say that I´m very surprised over how good this kite felt!
The new SMART bar has been improved in many ways. The grip is more comfortable, more solid and the floats are stiffer. The chicken loop and the safety system are extremely smooth. It’s easy to unhook and hook back and also easy to reload the safety system if you release it for some reason. The spinner is a great tool to unspin twisted front lines. Btw, the bar has its own little bag with a zipper.
The bag looks like the old bag in high quality backpack style, but it’s slightly bigger and includes a zipped extendalbe section.
The kite itself has been upgraded when it comes to quality. The graphics on the kite look great and it comes in three different colors.
What about the Varials behaviour in the sky then? I´ve been riding both the 2010 Varial, Vapor X and Lithium, so I have something to compare with. The new 2011 Varial has a great turning speed and is easy to maneuver. The hang time is looong and the wind range is wide. These properties all together make the Varial 2011 a really fun kite!
The Varial brings you forward during lulls at the same time as it dampens gusts
The kite carries you through the lulls and softens the gusts in a excellent way. I´m quite fat and I have to carry 95kg, still I´ve been riding this kite when the wind has been around 15 knots without problems and I´ve also been riding comfortably in 23 knots gusting 27 knots, with depower of course, but still with great maneuverability. The board I used was a Twin Tip with 135 cm length. There is no news that the steering of the kite has been improved this year, but I think that notice it at best when you are depowered with the kite positioned in the front of the wind window. It’s still easy to steer the kite here, which makes the Varial 2011 a fun kite even when the wind is low. The kite is a machine when it comes to jumping! You can jump really high and long while the kite is rock solid and stable in the sky.
The 12m Varial is a winner for light winds, just dive it and place it in a good position and it will pull like a locomotive. The Lithium has about the same performances and the Varial, but it’s much heavier for your arms and you get tired quickly.
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