The Kiteboarder's video review of the 2012 Epic Screamer 3G kite. For the complete review (including comments directly from our testers) on this and 52 more 2012 kiteboarding kites and boards, download the TKB 2012 Freeride Gear Review in the TKB Store.

The Kiteboarder's video review of the 2012 CrazyFly Sculp kite. For the complete review (including comments directly from our testers) on this and 52 more 2012 kiteboarding kites and boards, download the TKB 2012 Freeride Gear Review in the TKB Store.

The Kiteboarder's video review of the 2012 Cabrinha Vector kite. For the complete review (including comments directly from our testers) on this and 52 more 2012 kiteboarding kites and boards, download the TKB 2012 Freeride Gear Review in the TKB Store.

The Kiteboarder's video review of the 2012 Blade Trigger kite. For the complete review (including comments directly from our testers) on this and 52 more 2012 kiteboarding kites and boards, download the TKB 2012 Freeride Gear Review in the TKB Store.

The Kiteboarder's video review of the 2012 Best TS kite. For the complete review (including comments directly from our testers) on this and 52 more 2012 kiteboarding kites and boards, download the TKB 2012 Freeride Gear Review in the TKB Store.

The Kiteboarder's video review of the 2012 Best Kahoona kite. For the complete review (including comments directly from our testers) on this and 52 more 2012 kiteboarding kites and boards, download the TKB 2012 Freeride Gear Review in the TKB Store.

The Kiteboarder's video review of the 2012 Airush Lithium kite. For the complete review on this and 52 more 2012 kiteboarding kites and boards, download the TKB 2012 Freeride Gear Review.

We selected seven average kiteboarders to join us, trucked a mountain of gear 1,000 miles south of the border, and spent a week putting it all through its paces. This is the result.

The Envy is a three-strut one-pump kite with a bridle that features one pulley per side. The rear section of the bridle can be adjusted to change the turning speed of the kite.

The 2011 GK Trix looks very similar to last year’s model. This is a five-strut one-pump kite with a unique and very adjustable bridle.

The Turbine is Slingshot’s new light wind specific kite and it looks very similar to Slingshot’s popular Rally. The Turbine features Splitstrut, which means that the ribs are built into the canopy as opposed to being attached to the underside of it.

The first thing we noticed about the 2011 Ion is its heavy duty construction. Every possible area of the kite seems to be beefed up to take abuse and even the fabric that makes up the kite feels more sturdy than normal.

The Vision is a brand new kite from RRD and we were able to get our hands on the first Visions to land in North America at the 2011 La Ventana Classic. According to RRD, the Vision is supposed to fill the gap between the RRD Obsession (freestyle) and the Religion (waves).

Our first impression when unrolling the Spitfire is that this kite is built to take a beating. It’s a five-strut one pump kite with a compact bridle. Both the front and rear bridles use one pulley per side, but Caution uses a unique molded block with no moving parts.

The F-One Bandit, the original Delta kite, is now in its fourth generation and it has undergone a major redesign for 2011. It is now a three-strut one pump kite with square wingtips.