jacobsen YES

Historically, plenty of good ideas have come from the flatlands of Denmark: Lego, small mermaids, the door hook made from the colored balls, and those fancy designer table lamps. So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last twenty years, the name Nick Jacobsen should ring a bell. You’d be forgiven for assuming the crane-climbing Danish stunt enthusiast would be a reckless character, but in person you’re presented with a calm, intelligent Scandinavian gentleman, calculating risk vs reward at every juncture. As he’s grown into a mature elder statesman of the sport, it was almost inevitable he’d develop his own products, and with the jacobsen project, he’s assembled a team of close friends to produce some kite gear tailored to their exacting standards.

The first product to drop is the YES, packaged for the performance freeride sector, and built on a mid to high aspect three-strut platform. Sizes range from 5m through to 10m in 1m increments and then a 12m and 14m to top the range. We tested the 9 prime.

Visually striking in a virginal silvery white, it’s a detailed and high-end build and an eye has definitely been kept on weight saving as well as durability. They’ve employed some well-proven modern materials with a three-core-ripstop canopy and high-end Dacron on the front tube. For instance, each leading edge segment join has a lightweight Kevlar style scuff guard, and the leading edge to canopy join has some performance mid-weight Dacron to smooth the transition between the fabric weights. The short ten-point twin slider bridle is all low diameter minimizing drag. Removable trailing edge battens have been employed to control any flutter. It’s obvious their mysterious kite designer has seen some previous action. From a shape perspective, it has a little more of a complete arc compared to your average freeride kite, and quite full wingtips.

The MISSION bar system is clean, functional and sturdy feeling. It’s a low split, self-untwisting affair which means you need to pay attention everything is on the correct side and untwisted with the front lines when you set up. It comes on 25m lines as standard, but line extensions can be removed to scale it down to 22m when required. It has a modern click-in seatbelt-style safety system, neat indents for stowing away the bungees, and a comfortable gently textured grip. The good old British Clamcleat on the trim is easily replaceable. The more eagle eyed may notice some of the core components span across a few other brands so spares will be readily available.

In the air you can immediately notice a positive residual background pull and grunt. There’s a feeling of presence and solidity to the YES, which gives you an acute awareness of the kite position. Turning is fast and responsive, with the sliders visibly doing their thing to get the kite to pivot turn and whip round a loop. It produced an ultra-smooth linear power delivery which seemed to rescue us from any daft steering inputs before the calamity occurred. You’ve got plenty of punch available, but it’s all very throttleable, and forgiving.

Handling is one of the most important attributes to a freeride kite, and the word we kept coming back to with the YES was precise, and in a multitude of situations. On the top end of the wind range, with a twintip on your feet, the YES remains very composed and provides a solid and (I daresay) friendly platform for Big Air antics. It made riskier moves feel very safe and instilled a feeling of confidence, essential for the progressing rider. In the current market of sometimes ultra-scary spiky handling Aluula kites, it was quite refreshing not to feel like one mistimed steering input might hospitalize you. Its heli-loop ability is very impressive, and the second lift can be initiated quite late and you hover down like a feather.

In the lower to mid power range its agility and handling leant itself well to a surf scenario. The ground pull lifts you over white water with ease, and the well-behaved nature of the kite leads to progressive and linear power delivery over a relatively short bar stroke. Crucially, the kite climbs eagerly, and turns well on slack lines, digging you out of trouble when necessary. It has a well-curated and balanced set of performance attributes.

The YES is far from a pro rider gone rogue vanity project, which can sometimes result in someone’s name being plastered on a painfully average product. The YES could easily sit as a flagship performance freeride product within an established brand’s lineup. For the multi-discipline rider it’s easy to throw the YES into all kind of situations and it just works; the YES is probably what most grownups should be riding.

Once in a while in the wandering path of a middle-aged kite critic, something special comes along and reignites your interest, and this is one of those occasions. Jacobsen and co have hit the nail on the freeride head and produced something which would trigger the inner ripper in the most cynical of riders. It’s pure unadulterated fun, built in sensible tried-and-tested materials at a non-obnoxious price point. It’s a very strong first product in a competitive market, and we can’t wait to see what they produce next. Should you buy one? Much like the man from Del Monte (google it Gen Z) we say ‘YES’.