Riding the new 2010 Waroo, it became immediately apparent that this is kite is quite different from the previous designs. While the kite seemed to pivot in the turns, it was easy to control and handle throughout the window.

We wanted to complement the existing Hydra by offering a brand-new design dedicated to wave riding and freestyle.

The Arcane differs due to its shape, volume, concave characteristics and fin configurations. The combination of features such as its single to double concave, concave deck, and down-rail with wing swallow make it very different than our other boards.

All our boards are handmade here in the Outer Banks. We use traditional construction along with reinforcements in key areas. All my boards are designed, shaped, and glassed entirely in-house. Most brands don’t offer that.

Ben Wilson was in the shaping room when Slingshot made it and ended up liking it so much he took it home with him. He said it changed his life. He then convinced Slingshot to develop a full line of Celeritas boards.

For 2010, Balance focused on further refining the construction of their boards to extract the last ounce of possible performance. Designer Carlos Saez is utterly confident that they have the highest parts specification and construction found anywhere in the kitesurf market.

We wanted to give one of the best SLE kites ever built a major face lift. We envisioned the high demand in 2010 for a no-center-strut design, so we redesigned the Havoc on a 4-strut structure, giving room for a much deeper and more powerful profile in the center of the kite where it’s really needed.

For the 2010 Vsonic, designer Mat Pendle almost totally eliminated the kite’s V shape. The new GKVDelta shape is more like a high aspect ratio delta.

We were sent a 12m Cult and rode it in 20+ mph winds. Inflating the Cult is simple and fast with the Octopus single point inflation system. The overall quality of the Cult is one of a kind with solid construction throughout the kite.

First off, the Wainman Hawaii Blunts ship with a board bag and everything you need to set it up without going to your tool box. The 130 Blunt has attention getting graphics, a nice thin profile with soft rails all around the board and some mad concave.

Upon inflating the MX, we found it to be a stylish kite complete with Caution’s trademark flame graphics across the top of the canopy. The Mayhem X is very stable, rock solid in the gusts, and delivers a strong consistent power stroke.

There is no doubt people will see you coming with this kite – we couldn’t help but be attracted to the colorful graphics of the kite and bag. Upon setting up the Obsession, one of the most noticeable things we found was its long bridle, however, it seems to work perfectly with this kite design.

Anyone planning to buy this kite should spend at least a month playing around with the tuning and different settings. Yes, it does work out of the bag just fine, but the NXG is the dream kite for those who like to tinker.

We were surprised and intrigued at how fun new school C-kites have become. The one common myth that was dispelled during out test was that the Torch doesn’t have mass appeal: It’s not just a high end performance kite that can only be enjoyed by experts.

We read the hype about the Octane on many of the forums before we tested, so our staff was excited when a 13m arrived in the mail. After spending hours riding this kite, we have to admit it lived up to its reputation and more.