Rider: 77kg, Advanced
Style: Free-ride
Weather: 12-15 knots
Build Quality: 8/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Disclaimer: Works at shop
When I was shooting down for a quick sneaky blast during work (cheers Luke) on this much anticipated kite the wind had swung NE 12-14 knots, I wasn't hopeful of getting out doing jumps or holding my ground for that reason, but I went ahead pumped up the new 2013 Naish Draft 12m accompanied with the new monarch 132x41. While pumping up there were 11ms struggling to hold ground and even a 16m having ago, I launched the kite and instantly felt and knew that there would be the power I needed for this ride. I can honestly say now that this kite is what Naish have been missing in this area of kite boarding for a long time I was excited, it had instant bar feel great power out of the turns as the pulley system was no more and with the monarch the hard edge cutting was able to produce great pop for me to get air time in such light wind, since busting my ACL 4 months ago I have gone back to old school kiting where air time, big jumps and board offs are something I want to push more of now. Overall I'm happy to say that the Naish draft will be my new go to kite and I hope others want to discover what this kite can bring to their riding style,
Jon Andersen
Welcome back Jon. Great news on the draft. Lets hope others can get on and enjoy what a higher aspect kite can offer in the freeride arena.
Build quality 8/10. In what areas does the build quality need to be improved?
If this is meant to be Naish's race kite why aren't there 13m+ sizes in the 5 strut config?
Ok.... so I grabbed the DRAFT for a test today (thanks for loan OCEAN ADDICTS : ).. I was so keen I broke all my cardinal rules and went out in between rain squalls. Got 30 minutes in before it went glassy : ) and rained.
Im 95kg, been kiting for 10 + years.
current ride is a shotgun surfboard no straps (my day to day surf stick) and 133 x 39 TT. I did a solid summer on an AA CR69 race board also. Curently on Cab Drifters
So the wind was about maybe 13-18 in gusts with a run out current in the river mouth (but bottom of the tide).
Out of the bag, its a really cool looking kite (orange) and seems to be really well made. The bar seemed small for a 12m race kite... but more on that later.
On the water the first thing you notice is the kite is frigging fast. The faster you go the more it seems to egg you on. Im talking really fast forward speed, definately as quick as any kite i've been on. Its at top speed that the kite turns nicely, not super fast but not slow, pretty much as you would exect a 12m. If your not committed to going fast it seemed a little sluggish steering and definately doesnt hit boost.
The kite has enormous pop off line load. load it up and release, off you go.. this is hooked in mind you...
Jumping...well, I didn't get any really high jumps, it really wasn't windy enough for the last bit of bar pull to give that extra loft. still reasonable and good hang time. enough to do some old school tricks. It seems to me the 12m wont get you super high but will give plenty of hangtime... The 9m would be awesome! What I did like was the steering when inverted, when upside down it didn't ever feel it was going to creep across the wind and drop into the power on you. it sat there, when you wanted it to loop in, or turn back it took a pull on the bar..
The bar was clean and looked well made. Im not a big fan of the finger ridges on the bar. . when lit and edging hard, the bar pull made the grips dig in a bit....maybe Im soft.
I'll follow this up once I get a spin on the 9m and or the 12m on my SB to see how they ride waves.
I just sold my race board, but it will be a serious contender in race and freeride markets (it **s all over the 2011 xbows I had). To be continued.....
Heard nothing but good things about this kite from independent testers so i think Naish will have another good product with the Draft.
Huge lift, hang and smoking upwind ability is what im hearing as well as good turning speed, cant wait to get one and try it out for ourselves!
Demo'ed the draft 12m on saturday, then went and bought one 15 minutes later.
Rider; 85kg, Intermediate, 16-18knots, gusty, at yorkeys, 12m draft, Undergound styx 134 TT.
This kite is designed for 2 things speed and jumps. It kind of reminds me of a much better built, faster, modern Naish 'raven'
First awesome thing is speed: This kite has serious speed, scary, fun speed. But this was to expected by a good race kite.
The best point: Boost, this isnt tame 'grandma' boost, but this thing can launch into the stratosphere if you load the edge up enough, DO NOT tempt fate jumping upwind from rock groins. This kite will be really good for 'mega' old school airs. But you dont have to launch yourself to the moon, this thing does everything from nice mellow lazy floats, through to mega vertical pops. One of the other guys was also looping this kite really well.
Turning: Not fast, not slow, pretty good. But the power from the turns when you nail it is very nice.
The direct feel of no pulleys is lovely.
Build quality: As you would expect from Naish, exceptional. Couldnt see much wrong with it.
Bar and lines are nice and the graphics are sick.
I wouldnt recommend this kite to beginner, you need to keep an eye on it in gusty conditions otherwise it will hand you your arse. Rear edge of the kite flutters a tiny bit in gusts, but it doesnt affect it. It is very stable through the air, and particularly when you jump and the kite position is a bit off in the wind window. About the only downside i found is re-launch isnt as easy as say a switchblade, park, or other more user friendly kites, and this was when the wind dropped to about 8 or 9 knots.
Overall this kite is very 'edgy', has a lot of power and commands respect. It is so much fun, the speed and boost will bring a smile to your face. Naish have done very well, with this kite they really do pay true homage to the 'extreme' essence of our great sport........Im going to buy the 9 :D. Treat yourself, demo one.
Rode the 12 and 9, very smooth, plenty of hang time, the 12 had plenty of grunt, turns fast but slower than the park, very easy no stress kite but I like the park better as it has a bit more excitement to it. Don't think it will go to well as a surf kite though. Nice easy kite but not my cup of tea.
Select to expand quotePuetz said..
... any one get to try the 17m yet???
cheers,
Robbie 
If you want a light wind kite for free ride then get the naish fly, it only comes in 15 ATM but a sweet ride for a big kite, 2 strut keeps it really light.
Select to expand quoteterryzarmzof said..Puetz said..
... any one get to try the 17m yet???
cheers,
Robbie
If you want a light wind kite for free ride then get the naish fly, it only comes in 15 ATM but a sweet ride for a big kite, 2 strut keeps it really light.
... yeah tried it, wasn't my cup of tea!
I checked the Draft 12m @ Yorkeys out, wind 12-17kn, yes this kite is fast....but the Bar pressure is very very heavy, not for me.
Cheers,
Andre'
Yeh puertz said the same and he is a big lad at 120kg! Way to heavy he said, he made a big point of it. He also said a few other things and he's a pretty experienced guy and mentioned a number of observations and I walked away thinking it wouldnt suite me. Then he got on the zephyr and loved it so I know for sure its not for me. Lol.
But hey may still be the perfect kite for the certain rider.
All depends on what ya after really. Some stoked guys above so that's what counts in the end.
Not really sure why you are putting 2 totally different kites with different aims in the same context.
The Draft isn't meant to be a Zephyr it is more like the Dyno or Edge as a race/jumping kite.
Also you would need to compare a 14m Draft to the 17m Zephyr as they both get going upwind at similar stages.
I have a Draft and love it. I think there is currently nothing better around for some old school fun boosties.
There is a bar pressure adjustment on the wingtips.
Get out there and try one.
Ah no...he was comparing the ride to Tony's 19m edge and his 18m Dyno he rides actually. He has ridden that kite a lot and we got on it a fair bit in Bali...bloody beautiful, the edge, the Dyno superb as well.
Just saying on a side note he liked the zephyr, didn't care for the Draft (at all) hence there is a good chance I won't either.
Not bagging the draft though, each to their own. But my main point was the bar pressure, but he also had some other acute observations but I felt they were to individualistic to mention here, the bar pressure more universal. When a big boy (and he's not fat, just a large lad,a arms and legs like bloody tree trunks) who is a very aggressive rider says the bar pressure is to high for him...I listen.
Again if that's ya area of want, make sure you demo it yourself, don't listen to us too much. Been on plenty of kites people rave about and hated them and vica versa.
Demo, that's the truth for you and you alone.
Plus I have broken my golden rule. Don't comment on a kite ya haven't flown.
Sorry peeps. 
Definitely more bar pressure than the park but I found it ok. My arms are not big either. And I have ridden it. Obviously a lot less pressure on the 9 m.
A friend and I were able to demo a 9m 2013 Draft a few days ago and got about 5 hrs on the water with it.
The good: This kite is great for boosting!! It will launch you up to the moon and will float you down to a smooth landing. I had a great time getting shot outta the water doing some long grabs..I also noticed this kite goes upwind very well compared to some other kites I have flown. The Draft isnt a super fast turning kite but its not slow either...with the amount of boost it gives you, doing kiteloops isn't a problem.
The bad: Toward the end of my session the wind picked up and I was pretty lit on the 9m. I found that the draft doesn't handle gusts very well compared to other kites I have flown. I was getting yanked quite a bit with each gust, but I guess that is what is be expected with a great boosting canopy. I also noticed that this kite is not very stable at the 12' oclock position. A few times I would stop to talk to someone or wipe the sunblock off my sunglasses and had to constantly steer the kite to keep it at the zenith. The bar throw on this kite is a little longer than Im used to..but not too bad.
The very bad: After a hooked in crash the kite went inverted (which is expected cause I was racing toward the kite when I crashed) but then the canopy turned inside out and I could not for the life of me relaunch the kite!!! I tried for what seemed like 20 mins to get this thing relaunched and I couldn't...I tried pulling in on the center-lines and releasing it to get it to flip on its back..nothing...I pulled the safety to try and get it to roll over and somehow right itself...nothing..luckily I was kiting in Hatteras where the water is knee deep so I ended up having to wrap up my lines and walk the kite in. I took a lunch break, reorganized my lines, checked my air pressure, pumped up the kite rock hard to ensure that it wouldn't happen again and I took it back out for another session. On the second session I noticed my friend had crashed her Draft that she was using and was in the water for awhile...so I made my way toward her to see if she was ok and the same thing had happened to her. The canopy was flipped inside out and she could not relaunch her kite (and she is an instructor at one of the popular kiting shops). I kited to her kite...set my kite down on the water and manhandle the canopy back to normal...she relaunched and kited back into shore. I on the other hand keep ..kiting and no less than 10 mins later I tripped up doing a simple backloop transition and tomahawked the kite....somehow or another the kite flipped inside out once again and I was back in the same situation I was in earlier. after messing with this kite for at least 10 mins and throwing every curse word I know at it..it miraculously relaunched, righted itself and on that note I kited in and ended my session. I will tell you this..This kite is not for me and I would never trust this kite in the waves (unless you are just carving) or deep water.
Sounds like this is your first experience with a very high aspect kite I feel. You seem surprised it boosted so well, turned slow. would not trust it int he waves and was more difficult to relaunch...welcome to ultra high aspect riding.
Select to expand quoteBERTzkrieg said..
A friend and I were able to demo a 9m 2013 Draft a few days ago and got about 5 hrs on the water with it.
The good: This kite is great for boosting!! It will launch you up to the moon and will float you down to a smooth landing. I had a great time getting shot outta the water doing some long grabs..I also noticed this kite goes upwind very well compared to some other kites I have flown. The Draft isnt a super fast turning kite but its not slow either...with the amount of boost it gives you, doing kiteloops isn't a problem.
The bad: Toward the end of my session the wind picked up and I was pretty lit on the 9m. I found that the draft doesn't handle gusts very well compared to other kites I have flown. I was getting yanked quite a bit with each gust, but I guess that is what is be expected with a great boosting canopy. I also noticed that this kite is not very stable at the 12' oclock position. A few times I would stop to talk to someone or wipe the sunblock off my sunglasses and had to constantly steer the kite to keep it at the zenith. The bar throw on this kite is a little longer than Im used to..but not too bad.
The very bad: After a hooked in crash the kite went inverted (which is expected cause I was racing toward the kite when I crashed) but then the canopy turned inside out and I could not for the life of me relaunch the kite!!! I tried for what seemed like 20 mins to get this thing relaunched and I couldn't...I tried pulling in on the center-lines and releasing it to get it to flip on its back..nothing...I pulled the safety to try and get it to roll over and somehow right itself...nothing..luckily I was kiting in Hatteras where the water is knee deep so I ended up having to wrap up my lines and walk the kite in. I took a lunch break, reorganized my lines, checked my air pressure, pumped up the kite rock hard to ensure that it wouldn't happen again and I took it back out for another session. On the second session I noticed my friend had crashed her Draft that she was using and was in the water for awhile...so I made my way toward her to see if she was ok and the same thing had happened to her. The canopy was flipped inside out and she could not relaunch her kite (and she is an instructor at one of the popular kiting shops). I kited to her kite...set my kite down on the water and manhandle the canopy back to normal...she relaunched and kited back into shore. I on the other hand keep ..kiting and no less than 10 mins later I tripped up doing a simple backloop transition and tomahawked the kite....somehow or another the kite flipped inside out once again and I was back in the same situation I was in earlier. after messing with this kite for at least 10 mins and throwing every curse word I know at it..it miraculously relaunched, righted itself and on that note I kited in and ended my session. I will tell you this..This kite is not for me and I would never trust this kite in the waves (unless you are just carving) or deep water.
Not to put you down Bertz but every issue you have mentioned here comes down to one thing only. The pilot is inexperienced.
Select to expand quoteBrisKites said..Not to put you down Bertz but every issue you have mentioned here comes down to one thing only. The pilot is inexperienced.
How does an experienced pilot stop a kite from inverting?
Select to expand quoteKamikuza said..BrisKites said..Not to put you down Bertz but every issue you have mentioned here comes down to one thing only. The pilot is inexperienced.
How does an experienced pilot stop a kite from inverting?
More experience
Lol!!. Yeh while it is awesome crew post there experiences it is easy to see this guy has been introduced to the world of race kites in freeride mode for the first time. If not, I reckon he needs or take more mental notes after a ride.
Note to self, don't stall my edge in 25 knots in the pit of a double head high wave, its not a wave kite, you WILL eat sht.(from my own pages of mental notes).
