Airush Razor v11

The image beside these lines will probably raise a few eyebrows. After all, it’s not every day that a true C-kite lands on our test bench. And yeah, we had exactly the same reaction when we were told we’d be testing the all-new Airush Razor! In today’s kiteboarding world, where “Big Air” and high-performance freeride kites dominate the conversation, it’s refreshing to see that a few brands still remain committed to keeping a true C-kite in their lineup. The Razor has been around for roughly 15-16 years, and this latest release marks its 11th generation. Unsurprisingly, it stays true to its roots as a pure C-kite, featuring a 5-line, 5-strut design.

From a construction standpoint, there are no major surprises here. The Razor uses a full Dacron frame combined with the proven Technoforce D2 canopy material. One feature we’re always happy to see is Airush’s Load Frame Technology: a network of ultra-high-modulus yarns integrated into the canopy to carry the primary loads. Not only does this improve durability and impact resistance, but, if we’re being honest, it also looks pretty cool. The Razor comes with a couple of front-line attachment options. One setting delivers the full wakestyle experience, while the other adds a touch more freestyle/freeride character, or at least as much as you can expect from a dedicated C-kite. On the rear lines, you’ll find the familiar 3-position adjustment system, allowing riders to fine-tune bar pressure and steering speed to suit their preferences.

We have to admit it: wakestyle sessions are still our absolute favorite kind of riding. The problem is that in Tarifa, the right conditions don’t come around that often. So whenever one of those 12-13m days lines up with flat water (yes, there are a few spots around…), it’s hard not to get excited and dust off our wakestyle setup: a C-kite and a pair of boots. With Airush HQ literally around the corner from home, getting our hands on the latest 12m Razor for what looked like the perfect wakestyle day wasn’t exactly difficult. As we pumped up the kite, the first thing that caught our attention was its relatively thin leading edge and lighter overall feel compared to the C-kites we’re used to riding. Airush also supplied us with their Control System V3, perfectly adapted to the task. That means a super-short 40cm bar and a large chicken loop without a finger, exactly what you’d expect from a dedicated wakestyle setup.

The moment we launched the kite, we got exactly the feeling we were expecting, although with a slightly more direct and responsive steering character than our usual setup. After riding a few hundred meters downwind to reach the spot, the moment of truth arrived: time to unhook. The first few tricks went according to plan. We kept things simple, getting familiar with the kite and ticking off our usual “to-blind” tricks. Right away, we found excellent pop and incredibly easy slack, two qualities that stood out immediately and made even adding grabs feel easier than usual. But after a few warm-up runs and once we started building confidence in the kite, we decided to push a little harder.

We moved on to throwing some tricks that we used to land consistently in the past, but honestly, find harder and harder to stick nowadays. What we discovered is that this kite is a genuine cheat code. The amount of slack it generates is simply incredible, allowing us to land tricks on the very first attempt that we haven’t been able to put down consistently the last few years. Backside 313s, frontside 315s and low-mobes suddenly felt as if the last decade and a half hadn’t even passed, making us feel young again! The pop is equally impressive. In fact, throughout the session we had to abort a few attempts simply because we found ourselves going much higher than expected and weren’t particularly keen on missing a handle pass from all the way up there. As the session went on and the energy levels started to fade, we inevitably crashed the kite a few times. Relaunch proved surprisingly easy, about as straightforward as you can expect from a dedicated C-kite.

To be honest, we couldn’t have planned a better test session. An empty butter-flat spot, perfect wind and a kite that made it feel like we were back riding the way we did 10 or 15 years ago. The smile from that session took long to disappear. Unfortunately, we only had that one session to put this review together. Fortunately for us, we know exactly where this kite lives, and we’ll definitely be taking it out again the next time a proper wakestyle day rolls into Tarifa.

As you may have noticed, we haven’t talked about range, upwind ability, boosting, kite speed or any of the usual parameters we typically cover in a review, and there’s a reason for that. C-shaped kites have a very clear purpose: wakestyle and unhooked tricks. Take them outside of that environment and they quickly feel out of place, operating well beyond their natural domain. Because of that, this kite is definitely for a minority. But if you are one of those die-hard, dedicated wakestylers – even if you aren’t doing it full-time anymore, just like us – this is absolutely a kite you need to test. It really has the potential to elevate your wakestyle riding from the very first session, and surely, put a big smile after each one.