At a Glance
We haven’t seen a Blade kite surfing kite for a couple of years and first up we must commend them on the latest kite surfing kites and the build quality they are now putting into their designs.
With more reinforcements than you could ever care to need you should be expecting this kite to last you well. There are plenty of Kevlar patches at critical wear points and also heavily over stitched and webbed areas where the kite will usually experience stress points. The graphics and over all look impressed the test team too, as did the one pump system which has clearly had a considerable amount of thought put into it. The shape of the trigger at first glance looks fairly conventional; it is a higher aspect bridled design. The kite still uses a pulley bridle system for the rear connection points, but overall the bridle is fairly simple.
The Bar
We were equally impressed with the bar itself, there is a new chicken loop release mechanism which works very well and is also just about the most simple system to reconnect that we have seen. There is a front line safety system and the line runs through the chicken loop so you can do as many rotations as you like without getting twisted lines. There are O-Shit handles for added safety and the bar itself is comfortable in the hands and easy to grip, a pull-pull trim strap above the bar finish off the set up.
In the Air
The Trigger from Blade is a very easy kitesurfing kite to get on with. It is aimed at the freeride market and, as you would expect, it is an easy kite to fly. In the air it feels balanced and well mannered and with minimal bar pressure at the rider end it is the sort of kite you can fly for hours without getting tired.
What did impress us was the directness of the steering, which is very precise allowing you to move the kite around the window and put it exactly where you want it for your next trick. The depower though is quite long, meaning to fully ditch the power of the kite the bar needs to move a fair way from you. This can be useful when waveriding and you want to keep some power in the kite. Blade have tweaked the leading edge shape of this kite to enable it to produce smooth consistent kiteloops, and it certainly does that. Sending it through the window inspires confidence as each time the kite behaves as you would expect it too.
Jumping is good too, the precise steering allowing you to throw the kite back when you want to and control your jumps much more than some kites which have a looser feel. The wind range on the Trigger is fairly wide, getting going very early and having a massive top end will mean that for lighter riders they may have a kite that can cover a multitude of conditions, especially if they have a surfboard in their quiver.
Pros
A classic freeride kite that will excite the more experienced rider out there, the Trigger is as at home in the waves as it is throwing down freestyle on flat water.
Cons
The kite still holds a fair amount of power when you push the bar away from you and it needs a lot more input than some designs to spill the wind. This is a small niggle though and, once you are familiar with it, won’t affect your ride.
Overall
A very well finished product with lots of attention to detail and some well thought out attributes. In the air the Trigger is precise and stable offering the rider a great all round design that will handle anything you care to throw at it.
