Thanks to Jason from BrisKites, I got to have a blast on a 09 Helix 9m. This just an initial review, from a short ride, so it is not in any-way a comprehensive review and my opinions may change with more time on the kite.

I flew it straight from the bag so I did not change any of the settings, nor did feel the need to.

The Rider.. Weight: 94 kg varies a bit with beer and pizza consumption
Board: 142 Underground
My Kites: Ultra flat Bows and Peter Lynn’s at present.

First off..... I pumped the kite up in the living room and shared a beer with it so we could familiarise ourselves. Kite has protection where it needs it and it’s not over built. I expected heavier canopy material, but everything else looked good.

The control gear is awesome, and is industry leading in my opinion.

The bag is terrible...so lucky it is not a review on the bag.

On the Beach..I pumped it up to about 6psi, and rigged it up and doubled checked everything. The wind was between 20 and 30 knots and was very gusty and turbulent. I measured it on the beach before I went out. I was very apprehensive about launching this kite in this amount of wind as I didn’t know what to expect. I launched it as you do a bow/sle and it worked fine and up it popped without a fuss. Very easily actually... I must say that this kite is very stable and doesn’t distort when powering and depowering, I was very impressed. Felt very strange at first compared to what I am use to, the bar pressure was incredibly light and was very quick to initiate a turn.

On the water... The conditions were shit....I was on Bribie with a sweep running the same way as the wind and it was as bumpy as a teenager with acne..I could not get any decent speed to really try anything as I was kiting at a jogging speed to cope with the washing machine like conditions. This kite moves through the air very quickly, turns very well, and depowers extremely well. The wind was hitting a tad over 35knots and at no time did I feel overpowered, and the kite remained rock solid in the sky.

What I didn’t like about the kite.
• Slight flutter at tips when depowered, just near the tip battons.
• The Bag
• No pressure gauge on the pump.

What I did like about the kite.
• The control gear
• The turning
• Up wind ability
• Extreme depower
• Responsiveness
• Stability
• Relaunch

I only spent an hour on the water...it was not a pleasant ride because of the conditions, but I wanted to have a fly of the kite.

Overall I was very impressed with the kite, and now I am a believer in the geo-tech/sigma design, especially for high wind. This kite does what it is supposed to with no fuss or effort, high performance it may be, but a pussy cat to use as well. Bottom end for me on this kite is about 20knots. Top end...not sure.

I had no clue how I was going to land it when I came in ( I should have thought about that before I went out ) so I put it to the edge on the window and unhooked and let go ( safety attached on course ) and it sat down like an obedient dog...maybe a fluke I don’t know, but I was limited in what I wanted to try as the wind was more in the high 20’s at that stage and I didn’t want to get spanked. After dropping the kite I measured the wind again and was going between 20 and 35knots, and I think it got even higher when I was out there at stages as the bay was just a sea of white caps.. Very Nice Kite...