At a Glance
Like the rest of the Advance kiteboard range, the Kappa has a lovely high quality finish with a white and clear laminate over the top to expose its beautiful full wood core. The Kappa utilises full hand made construction, to guarantee a close eye has been kept on each board whilst it is made.
The Kappa is quite a square railed board with a width of 42cm that only tapers down to a width of 30cm in the tips. These wide tips gives this little 131 plenty of planing area to make sure it can perform as well as larger boards on test. The board features a strong white ABS sidewall that blends in with the rest of the graphics well, also giving a strong impact resistant edge. The rocker has been kept to a minimum for added planing ability, but where the board lacks in rocker the flex makes up for it.
The board has G10 fins which have been beefed up for 2010 with more substantial bolts to keep them in place and a lovely concaved asymmetrical shape to give maximum grip and drive for minimum fin size. Straps are easy to adjust and have been designed to suit the board, the pads on the other hand look and work great, but the green clashes with the white and black graphics and orange fins.
On the Water
The Kappa’s flat rocker and wide tips has you up and riding really early for such a short board and with the help from the long straight rails and unique fin shape the board grips solidly and drives up wind very well.
Unlike many kiteboards with the same design features you can still stall and slow down riding speed by stomping down on the back foot giving the tips a load more rocker with the flex. Although the board grips like you are using a dagger board for fins you can flatten the board to the water and slip and slide to the rider’s desire. But watch out for the short nose, if you are not careful it’s more than happy to catch and remind you of its length. The board definitely prefers flat-water conditions, and riding powered up makes for a really playful twin tip that accelerates well, and turns on a sixpence. Choppy conditions will keep your riding reserved, making sure the toe side rail and nose keeps way out the water.
Such a square design will automatically pop well, but with the added flex you won’t need a tree trunk of a back leg in order to load the rail to get it to pop some decent height. Sticking in quick explosive rotations is made super easy and fun with the board weighing next to nothing and hardly any tip and tail sticking out past your stance.
Pros
Very playful board with lots of freestyle performance yet remains useable enough to enjoy all round freeride riding.
Cons
Flat rocker and wide tips makes for a bouncy and wet ride when using in choppy or wavy conditions.
Overall
A perfect board for a freestyle/wake style rider to use as a one board quiver that you can play and have fun on, but doesn’t blow out the knees and become uncomfortable to ride after long days out on the water. It has a beautiful high quality finish that wouldn’t look out of place above a mantle piece.
For more information visit your local dealer or go to www.advance-kites.com
Original review from our friends at IKSurfmag
