Surfladle

Danny is a Shoreham local and is a RRD sponsored rider via the UK Importer, Seasprite. I thought we should make that clear regarding this report/test. However..he really does rate the Obsession kite and if you are interested in one, it is worth reading his  review below.

The 2010 RRD Obsession is RRD’s new freestyle kite. Designed to be good for unhooked freestyle and also to be a safe and user-friendly kite, it excels in kite looping and wave riding, whist also obtaining a lot of depower.
The 2010 model has more low-end power, medium bar pressure and progressive de-power. As well as this it has faster turning speeds in the bigger sizes and slower in the smaller, making it great for kite loops, whilst also being super stable.

The Obsession is perfect for freestyle and has constant power for un-hooking. When re-launching, the kite literally wants to fly and does so with minimal effort from the rider. It also has a lot of new features, such as PVC round label strut end protectors and the new SPS system with an inflating valve.

After riding these kites for two months, I have found that they perform with style and power in a variety of conditions, especially in high winds when you need a stable kite that you can really rely on. I have found learning new moves and experimenting with new things have become a lot easier, as I feel I can completely trust it to de-power and sit at the edge of the wind window when I let go of the bar. The Obsession is very well built with a lot of re-enforcements, making it exceptionally strong and highly capable of taking hard slams on the water.

The bar.. the global bar is ‘one size fits all’, so you never need to worry about swapping it around. It was made slightly larger in 2009 to give better turning speed for the larger kites. The bar itself is made from carbon fibre. It has an aluminium block on the centre hole, which is polished to reduce friction on the centre rope. The depower system consists of an innovatively designed clam cleat to allow maximum depower. Floats on the ends of the bar mean that when you crash your kite the bar still floats, further adding to the easy re-launch experience. The bar also has a two size option, by altering the position for the lines. You simply switch the rear line to the other connection on the bar, which makes it a couple of inches shorter for smaller kites. It also has a comfortable feel to it and a really good grip, so in sub-degree winter conditions you can still grip the bar well, even with cold hands.

I hope this info on the kite helps!

Danny Morrice

Reviewed by Danny Morrice (Sponsored by Seasprite Sports)