When you purchase gear through links on our site, we may earn a small commission. Here’s why you can trust our tests and our affiliate partner.
Blade are going hard out at the moment with the release of several new kites and new generations of some of the old favorites. One of which is the wave-specific Skinny Boy.
The 2nd Gen builds on the reputation for quality-construction that Blade have earned. The canopy is Teijin, reinforcements are well placed with different Dacron weights according to their placement, and overall the Skinny Boy is very light. A big factor in this is the very ‘skinny’ LE and struts – the Skinny Boy has one of the smallest leading edges of any kite we have tested in recent times. One final addition is the new Max Flow inflation – we thought we had seen it all here, but Blade’s new system actually requires an entirely new nozzle attachment to increase the size of the hose. With this attached it really does inflate with zero resistance.
On the water and the Skinny Boy flies incredibly quickly through the air. We were riding it alongside some more freeridey kites and the difference in speed was striking. It feels very taught and balanced and flies quickly and precisely through all parts of the window. Depower is very quick and complete and turning is very pivotal. For waveriding – if you are confident with your kite handling and placement – it is a dream. You can easily place it where it needs to be and it will do exactly what you expect. In both onshore and more side-off conditions it responded intuitively and we really enjoyed flying it.
IN A SENTENCE: For competent waveriders who know where to place a kite in the surf, the Skinny Boy provides all that you need and more: truly impressive.
