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RRD’s ‘no compromise’ freestyle beast has been a favorite with ‘I wanna feel the power!’ riders for a few years now. The 2015 model is looking particularly lethal and would be very easy to pick out of the crowd. This is one of the most serious looking kites we have ever seen and RRD – having the standard Obsession in the bank for more ‘general’ use – have clearly pulled out all the stops to turn the Obsession Pro into a 100% no compromise freestyle machine.
The first thing that you will notice is the tiny struts, and then that this is one of the thinnest leading edges you will ever see… One of the pluses here is weight loss, with this MKII coming in 300 grams lighter than its predecessor, the other plus is obviously the performance improvements with extremely fast turning speeds and constant power.
The Obsession Pro has also merited its own bar designed specifically for use with this kite. It comes in 7cm shorter than the standard Global bar and only ships with 20m lines: as with everything else it is a ‘no compromise’ piece of kit.
On the water and the Obsession Pro sits deep in the window which makes it ultra-stable for unhooking with no sign of stalling. This gives you plenty of time to gain tension for the pop – and the pop is not for the faint hearted – and to complete your landing.
A real plus of the Obsession Pro, and of all true kites like this, is the short bar throw, you can power the Obsession Pro off within half an arm’s length. You are obviously never going to get anything like full depower on a kite like this – but you will get much more than you would have back in 2003 when kites looking a bit like this ruled the Earth…
Once we had caught our breath though, for us the main highlight was the precise turning circle of the Obsession Pro: it just turns right on its axis without losing any power, which makes it a looping machine. For tricks, with the 20m lines you have to be more aggressive, but once you get it going it comes alive and creates exceptional power for extremely high speed boosts. It really does give you the feeling of being ripped off the water and really has that that pure “C” feel.
The Obsession Pro is certainly not for all – and it is never going to be RRD’s best seller and is not planning to be – but if you are a hardcore freestyler who wants to feel alive, then the Obsession Pro will put a smile on your face for certain.
