CrazyFly Hyper 2023

The Hyper has a lengthy legacy in the CrazyFly stable as a focused, no compromises Big Air kite, proudly and meticulously manufactured in Slovakia. Building on a five-strut platform with generous hints of delta and bow in the shape, there’s a lot of span and open canopy enabling all that raw lift and float the Hyper is famous for.

With the welcome resurgence in popularity of the Big Air genre we’ve seen in the last couple of years, it was perhaps time to give the Hyper a bit of a work over. CrazyFly have done a great job of this, incorporating some exciting unique build features, but blending in some clever new materials, and boasting second-to-none levels of quality control and the most comprehensive warranty currently on the market.

Perhaps the incorporation of TerTex is the biggest shift since the last Hyper we tested, this is an intermediate cloth which is intelligently used in various areas of the kite, mainly placed on the struts and wingtips, and shaves a massive 300g off the mid-sized kites. The leading edge segmentation is another unique highlight of the build with it being a perfectly sculpted arc, with the curvature built into each segment. This minimizes drag points and increases stiffness over the span, enabling tweaking and tuning of the leading edge. The LE seam runs along the back here which shows more high levels of attention to detail when it comes to aerodynamics.

There’s no denying that the five-strut frame immediately feels extremely sturdy and reassuring in the air, there’s no chance of any tip collapse here. The bridle has been reworked to improve the level of support in the wingtip, and this perhaps enhances that feeling of solidity. There’s that inherent steady background pull through the harness which always hints of a kite with massive levels of float, and you’re certainly not going to be disappointed in that department. Lift on sheet has always been the kite’s party trick, and the enhanced turning speed and more nimble nature of the Hyper makes this all the more explosive and in turn entertaining. Throwing a loop yields a massive pull, the magnitude of which can be feathered with gentle bar inputs, and the kite’s ability to climb and catch has been significantly improved on previous incarnations.

Turning speed has been increased – it moves around the sky in an extremely smooth manner, never feeling flustered at any position in the wind window. With the increased speed and almost daft levels of lift, it’s one of the most entertaining kites we’ve found to heliloop on. The secondary lift is super fun to play with and predictable, and you’ll drop down and kiss the water smoothly every time. The overall weight loss in the kites seems to have greatly improved the low end, which is important for a five strutter, giving it a much wider band of application.

For better or worse, contemporary kite design trends have whittled out nearly all of the five-strut models, but we’re seeing something of a resurgence. The Hyper is a testament to why they should remain and be celebrated, particularly in the context of Big Air, and when the kite weight can be minimized with the use of modern materials. Up there with all the big brands in terms of performance, CrazyFly have done a great job of modernizing and aligning the Hyper with the latest Big Air trends, and it is now one of the finest high-performance kites on the market.