Core XR8/XR8 LW Kite

I have been saving my review of the XR8 because my first impression of it was that it was too good. It was the first “new” kite that I flew after learning, like seemingly everyone else, on old Cabrinha Switchblades. In that moment I realized just how far kiting had progressed in the 20ish years since my kites were new. It reacted quicker, moved faster, felt 1000x more connected through the bar, and most definitely jumped higher. At that time for me as a relatively beginner kiter who was just throwing my first jumps and hopelessly botching the landing nearly every time the XR was the perfect kite. On my old kites I had to throw the kite across 12 o’clock as fast as I could and yank in the bar as hard as possible to get not much more than an “eh” of a jump out of it. With the XR8 you just casually drift it across 12, pull in the bar just enough to ask it nicely to jump, and it turns into a rocket ship. The mega boostability is one thing but what made it perfect for a beginner/intermediate rider was that if you just completely give up while you’re in the air, as long as you hold the bar all the way in and don’t steer, it will gently float you back down to the water. And when you do finally resurface, the XR8 is so stable overhead that it’s just sitting at 12 o’clock waiting for you like a loyal little puppy dog ready to go again.

As I got better at kiting and began to ride more kites, I found myself asking “Is this kite good enough for me to choose it over the XR?”. For most kites no, but for some the answer was yes. The XR has its limitations, mainly that it’s slow, heavy, and expensive. But what it comes down to for me is that, in my mind, it is the benchmark for excellence in the kiting industry. It seems that when you talk to kiters every other kite is judged by how it compares to the XR. “This kite jumps almost as well as an XR” or “This kite turns faster than an XR” and of course “This kite is cheaper than an XR but not quite as good”. I can say in all honesty that I catch myself doing this as well. When someone asks me my thoughts on a kite, I always end up speaking about it in terms relative to an XR simply because it is an excellent kite. Are there kites that I personally like better? Yes, but at the end of the workday when it’s blowing 20+ mph SW and everyone at REAL comes through the rental shop to grab kites for an after work slick session, 95% of people are grabbing XR8’s and that tells me that it really is that good.

Started riding the XR8 with the 6m and this is now my favorite small kite. It is incredibly stable for a small kite, don't find it twitchy at all. Sheet in and boost, and the hang time as you come down is so nice. For a smaller rider the 6m and 8m have become two of my go to kites, loving the XR8 for progression sessions.

The XR boosts and has a hang time like no other. It doesn't catch from loops super well but it does everything else so good, that it makes up for that.

The XR8 is an epic kite and is extremely popular for that reason. It’s user friendly for beginners and really durable, which is why it’s a great lesson kite, but it is also a big air machine for the super advanced rider as well. In my experience, you notice how lofty it is through jumps right away and its quick steering response makes it super intuitive for steering into your landings and riding away. Fun kite all around!

Here I am sitting in the hot tub as the last bit of sun drops down onto the water, grinning ear to ear. The winds were southwest, 18 to 25 and steady. I weigh 215 so I took out a 12M and a 141 Core Fusion. On my first power dive, I could tell right away that this kite was going to be very predictable. So much so that in the first 10 seconds of my first tack I had to try and boost it. When I tell you this, kite is an elevator ride you may not understand until you get behind behind the bar yourself. if you are beginner or expert, you can trust the Core XR to take you to the next level.