My Comments:
2011 argo 11.5 awsome all round kite turns like a 10 but has power of 13 great for waves realy punchy if u want fast turning kite defently worth a demo.

I have had a few 11m kites, that have turned like a 11m with the power of a 11m. Even some with tuning on the wing tips that make it turn like a fast 11m but still only had the power of the 11m.

What 13m does this kite have the same power as? Does it have the same power as the 13m argo and the same turning of the 10 argo?

Welcome to the forum, nice first post.

It may sound odd, but thats the feedback Im getting from various riders

11.5 Argo turns almost or as fast as some 10m bow kites, and does not feel like you are flying a 11.5 kite because of the fast turning speed and lightness in the kite, but in lighter winds it has the power of a larger kite. Not hype, just feedback from many riders. If your a 90kg rider and want a good powerful kite that does not feel like your tied to a truck, and want to rider in the lighter and all round winds, the 11.5 is a good all round kite, if your 85kg, 80kg or less the 11.5 Argo is a good lighter wind kite thats still fast enough for the waves.

It may sound odd, but these claims are the same for a lot of new kites weather they are bows, deltas sle or c kites. It must have been a long time since you guys have tried a fast turning 10 they turn like a 7


KITE REVIEWS FOR PIMPS.
(add kite name) this kite turns faster than a 10 but has the power of a 13, the bar presure is so light but with good feedback. The quality is the best i have ever seen. This kite rules for surf, wake, freestyle, racing and freeride it has the best relaunch on the market. The kite handles just how you want it to unhooking and kite loops are smooth and easy. The launch on jumps is insane just pull the trigger and your 5 stories high but it floats down like a feather. If you want to know if this kite is for you the answer is yes so just buy it this one size will do all so just buy it. If you are having doubts, just buy it, if you don't know what you want this is it. Suits learners, intermediate, competent, advanced and PRO riders. Cant be beat definitely the best kite on the market this kite will improve your riding, don't buy a kite that will hold you back buy this kite, buy this kite, buy this kite, buy this kite and buy this kite NOW!!!! while stocks last selling fast. Best price on the market and worth every sent.

I Know that this is my first post but you should believe me all facts no BS.

Buy this KITE.

Note:Before buying this kite i couldn't stay upwind now i can do(enter sick trick here) after just one ride

Disclaimer: Not affiliated with (enter company) just a happy customer.

Doesn't happen too often but I have to applaud waxy for his first post on this topic. Well argued old chap.

As for the abuse that followed, completely unnecessary IMO. A coherent argument trumps a vitriolic rant any day.

Still, a glowing report from a first time poster does smell a bit troll-like to me, and trolls should have their bluffs called. If they can identify themselves and back up their claims, well and good; if not they deserve a good dressing down.

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waxman said...

It may sound odd, but these claims are the same for a lot of new kites weather they are bows, deltas sle or c kites. It must have been a long time since you guys have tried a fast turning 10 they turn like a 7


KITE REVIEWS FOR PIMPS.
(add kite name) this kite turns faster than a 10 but has the power of a 13, the bar presure is so light but with good feedback. The quality is the best i have ever seen. This kite rules for surf, wake, freestyle, racing and freeride it has the best relaunch on the market. The kite handles just how you want it to unhooking and kite loops are smooth and easy. The launch on jumps is insane just pull the trigger and your 5 stories high but it floats down like a feather. If you want to know if this kite is for you the answer is yes so just buy it this one size will do all so just buy it. If you are having doubts, just buy it, if you don't know what you want this is it. Suits learners, intermediate, competent, advanced and PRO riders. Cant be beat definitely the best kite on the market this kite will improve your riding, don't buy a kite that will hold you back buy this kite, buy this kite, buy this kite, buy this kite and buy this kite NOW!!!! while stocks last selling fast. Best price on the market and worth every sent.

I Know that this is my first post but you should believe me all facts no BS.

Buy this KITE.

Note:Before buying this kite i couldn't stay upwind now i can do(enter sick trick here) after just one ride

Disclaimer: Not affiliated with (enter company) just a happy customer.

All this coming from a guy who claims his 9m does 15 to 45 knots? Sorry, mate, if it comes to people pimping, you have no room to talk.

gusts up to 45kts, that's because it depowers like a 7, turns like a 8 and has the power of a 15.

Waxy - you were the king of Pimpin the B3.

Do you remember these comments?
"Ive been having a blast on the B3 for the last few months and it is one great kite for freestyle, wakestyle, speed and big air. If you rode the bandit DOS and didnt like that intimidating feel of power it would be worth re trying the B3 as everything is a lot smoother, the new bar setup this year is bullet proof with the re designed chicken loop,ups, which locates in the bar making un hooking easy as you allways know where it is when hooking back in the donkey dik is a lot better being a swing around design so it wont get in the rode and the plastic bit that they had problems with is completely re designed, the safety line now runs through this and makes it a lot simpler just be carful to not allso hook your leash to the chicken loop hanger as it is fairly easily done. The bar presure is a little lighter and the initial feel is a little indirect as there is a bit of a dead spot in the middle making small movements have no affect on the kite ideal for wakestyle, but turn tha bar a little more and the turning speed is a lot quicker than the DOS. With the indirect feel of the bar in the middle you would expect the kite to wander a bit but it doesnt it just flys perfectly not wanting to go up or down, and i have found that if i have lost where the kite is and just jet go of the bar it will just sit where you left it. This years kite doesnt have a tendancy to fall out of the sky un like the dos where you land a bit hot and ride towards it the B3 is verry happy to just drift backwards where as the dos would just hindenburg. The b3 soaks up the gusts a lot better allmost to the stage where you dont even notice them, the only time you know its gusty is when people on the beach are complaining about it. The kite itself is a lot better built a shorter bridle this year with 3 pullys each side watch the white ones if your kite has them as one of mine has started showing signs of rust. The strut scuff gards are intergrated so no more pridles getting caught and pulling them off, both the leading edge and trailing edge are made of a heavy duty material which makes the B3 one of the heaviest kites on the market, but allso one of the tougthest. The wing tips now turn up at the end which has solved the problem of them snaging the bridles on relaunch which use to cause the dos to loop even once you had pulled the safety. The new leash is really nice a vast improvement on the last one its like a better quality slingshot leash which is push release not pull so it wont accidentaly release while trying to learn handle passes like the ss ones. The bag is a little cheaper not quite as good as last years it is verry tight fit putting a kite with the struts up in but i have seen worse. Not as much white on this years bag making them a little more hardy IMO. "
- Waxy 2009

wow a review, some good some bad and comparisons to other kites, riding the kite for 3 months before review not just once, unheard of.

Hi, Disclamer:

1) I dont know who paynter is and had nothing to do with his post
2) Info I post from testing is as accurate and as factual as possible.
3) 8m in 16 to 45 knots was tested at Kurnell over 2 days with witnesses and wind measurements where taken by iphone using SB charts on the day.

^^^Now i want to try one.

Any pics, or a link to your site?

It is good to see some action in the gear reviews though!

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waxman said...

^^^Now i want to try one.

Any pics, or a link to your site?

Are you trying to turn me into a pimp???

2011 Argos have/are just coming out, 2nd large shipment arrives soon

Below is a vid of a 10m argo, it turns like a 10m argo and has the power of a 10m argo. It replaces most previous years 11m bow kites with similar power and turns like most previous years 9m, 9.5 bow kites, with added auto relaunch.

Below vid was in 16 17 knots and dying winds, It makes me want to go kiting....

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GriffinKites said...
3) 8m in 16 to 45 knots was tested at Kurnell over 2 days with witnesses and wind measurements where taken by iphone using SB charts on the day.

Why should that be so hard to believe?
On my 8m I can just stay upwind in ~17 knots (87kg, 136 board) and when the gusts hit 40 I am at least not getting lofted and have still a bit of room left.
Certainly not the ideal wind range, but doable.
The ideal wind range on my 8m would be about 19-34 knots with 87kgs and 124 and 136 boards.

My gf has 2010 argo there a nice kite she has a 9m it turns like a 9m but they r more powerfull than ud expect maybe wat ud expect from a 10.5. A few people here ride kahunas, the kites look to have similar results someone ud think would need an 11 is riding a 9 there quick powerful kites.

If ur interested in an argo hit up chris and demo one and make up ur own mind? Then u can give a review if u say its good some nob with too much free time will call u a pimp if u say its crap all the team riders with cheap kites will abuse u

reviews r crap no one buys a kite from a review. Demo demo demo


45 knots is 83km/h

Good point tommy,demo demo demo, my 9 has a huge wind range, and you can hang on and the kite characteristics dont change when depowered, direct bar feel , lots of grunt , where the kahuna i found a bit over powering and would definitetly not have the same wind range as the argo ,and i would need to change kites at 20knts, being a light weight. the argo 14 -26knts. try one you will be impressed with its range

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Tommy123 said...


My gf has 2010 argo there a nice kite she has a 9m it turns like a 9m but they r more powerfull than ud expect maybe wat ud expect from a 10.5. A few people here ride kahunas, the kites look to have similar results someone ud think would need an 11 is riding a 9 there quick powerful kites.

If ur interested in an argo hit up chris and demo one and make up ur own mind? Then u can give a review if u say its good some nob with too much free time will call u a pimp if u say its crap all the team riders with cheap kites will abuse u

reviews r crap no one buys a kite from a review. Demo demo demo


45 knots is 83km/h

Never has a truer word been spoken,never buy a kite based on a review as the reviewer will most probably have a biased opinion,read, demo and make your own mind up,i sell four different brands of kite yet choose to ride griffin's prob 80% of the time,the argo suits my weight as its a grunt machine and its quick so i can ride as small a kite as the lightweights on any given day,lately i've spent a lot of time on the new chimeras and they are now my new favourite kite,they have a huge windrange (10.5m12-35 knots) and its a nicely powered range not a max range,if you get the chance get a demo on one and compare i'm blown away you might be too.But dont take my word for it demo demo demo.

never ridden the thing myself, but i can tell you i had my usual 11m kite fully powered on the weekend and two blokes which each had, well, a couple of kg's on me (sorry boys) but on 9 and 10m griffins were leving me for dead on the water.. so it's got to be doing something right..

I personally made my first delta purchase based on reviews (Kahoona) I had a hunch that the Kahoona would be more than just a beginners kite and would give me the power and turn speed that I had been craving (I am 105 kg) I really didn't want to use a kite bigger than a 14 for waves .I scoured the review section of kiteforum(It was early days for the Kahoona and no one it seemed had ridden them here or were even interested ) .I committed and haven't looked back.
Maybe it is just me but I seem to be able to discern a good review from a blatant pimp ,plus a recurring theme usually emerges, I find particularly if you can visit a few different website review sections .

Now having said all that about the Kahoona i am also a big Argo fan and have had a good look at this years deltas including the chimera and noticed that the centre bridles are closer to the shoulder (than the centre of the kite) than the standard AC bridle set up on the argo (which is the factory default setting ) .I have moved the centre bridle to AA and have found faster turns and smooth delivery of power . The kite behaves nicely in kiteloops .Chris from Griffin thought that the kite might be a bit stally but I haven't found that (I have the shoulder on 4,6 and 5'6 on the 13.5 on the really light days ,meaning move the shoulder bridle further forward in the lighter stuff )
I like both the argo and the kahoona .The argo is one pump and has more bridle settings .

I notice that the slingy riders are all making the same comments about the rally that Kahoona riders have been saying for 2 years and argo riders for the past year .

Mr float are you flying on short lines?, have you flown the 9m 2011 yet.

Hi
I have 2010 10m and 11m plus 11.5 2011 Argos all on short lines.

I have tried longer lines but seems like slow motion after short lines subject leading edge settings.

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green menace said...

Mr float are you flying on short lines?, have you flown the 9m 2011 yet.

i fly on 21 m with 3m extensions .I also have extra 5 m extensions which I used in fiji and gav e a little more bottom end meaning that my 105 kg was out there in the super light stuff .I don't find myself sitting around watching others wishing I had a better light wind kite or pissed off because I have to use a big kite when others are on a smaller kite ,In fact yesterday I was able to have fun while lighter riders on slightly smaller kites were giving up and going home and today when others didn't even bother.
no i have n't flown the 2011 9 m yet but have changed my bridles to be the same as the 2011 .i am very happy with it .I have the 13.5 2011 kite and it doesn't feel worse than the 2010 so i would imagine that would be the same for the 9

If u really wanna have fun in light winds u gotta get a big kite ive got a 17m taboo with a big board i have rode up wind in 6 knots (true 6 knots off a wind metre) thats bit boring but once it starts htting 9knots ur plenty powered up enough to start doin unhooked tricks

is it a good or bad thing to have lots of settings? Personally i dont like it, the kite should b made to fly properly in its r and d stages should only need to power it up or down, y have settings that allows the kite to not fly at its best?

Having said that I know some people love tampering with settings to "suit there style"

just my opinion

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Tommy123 said...


If u really wanna have fun in light winds u gotta get a big kite ive got a 17m taboo with a big board i have rode up wind in 6 knots (true 6 knots off a wind metre) thats bit boring but once it starts htting 9knots ur plenty powered up enough to start doin unhooked tricks

is it a good or bad thing to have lots of settings? Personally i dont like it, the kite should b made to fly properly in its r and d stages should only need to power it up or down, y have settings that allows the kite to not fly at its best?

Having said that I know some people love tampering with settings to "suit there style"

just my opinion

Mate everyones different ,heavy- light,and we all like to ride differently,so it comes down to the ability to be able to set a kite up to suit your weight and style of riding,it has nothing to do with the amount of r+d in testing stages ,just the same as some guys like a heavy pos bar feel and some dont ,i think more kite manufacturers will add more adjustment options in the future to cater for a broader target market, otherwise they will probably get left behind.

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Tommy123 said...


If u really wanna have fun in light winds u gotta get a big kite ive got a 17m taboo with a big board i have rode up wind in 6 knots (true 6 knots off a wind metre) thats bit boring but once it starts htting 9knots ur plenty powered up enough to start doin unhooked tricks

is it a good or bad thing to have lots of settings? Personally i dont like it, the kite should b made to fly properly in its r and d stages should only need to power it up or down, y have settings that allows the kite to not fly at its best?

Having said that I know some people love tampering with settings to "suit there style"

just my opinion

Unhooked tricks in 9 kts on flat water and risking ripping out a shoulder socket is not the thing that lights this 46 year olds fire .
Light winds and waves does and in my experience a big dopey high AR kite just doesn't cut the mustard but I haven't tried the big taboo yet so maybe it will be good in 10 kts in the waves ,but I haven't found any reviews yet that says it is suitable for anything else besides what you have described (thanks for your report BTW, I am working on something with Chris at Griffin that hopefully will ) .Out yesterday on my own for 3 hours in high to light cross off shore winds 12-20 kts (3 other guys turned up and gave up ) 13.5 argo .I have done this previosly on my 13 m Kahoona which is almost identical to ride but does not have the adjustments that the argo has (the adjustments that I like and don't just use for my "style " but also the prevailing conditions and your opinion don't really matter jack s h i t sonny until you reveal which kites you have tried with different LE options and don't like Correct me if i'm wrong but don't Best and just about every other kite company give riders options on TE attachments ,maybe they should take your advice be "made to fly properly in the R & D stages " too .BTW I sell Best too !!
It's funny how some people will love one LE bridle attachemnt or TE attachment set up and someone else will hate it .Maybe kite companies should just get you to decide on the one attachment setup for the LE and TE that will be a suitable compromise for all (It sounds like you are the expert on these things))

Oh and its "just my opinion"

i agree with ur points but id still rather keep it simple

by the looks of it having different settings is wat people want, if i wasnt stubborn id probably agree there a good thing

mr float i think ur taking it a bit personally

Been flying the 9 for 3 weeks ,and yet to get it dialled in on this kite, i felt the 2010 had more power, struggling to find its sweetspot on the bridal ,conditions have been lite.

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green menace said...

Been flying the 9 for 3 weeks ,and yet to get it dialled in on this kite, i felt the 2010 had more power, struggling to find its sweetspot on the bridal ,conditions have been lite.

Cant really help with the 9m have ridden the 10,11.5 and 13.5 in the 011 but not the 9,all the other three are way gruntier than the 010,spent the most time on the 10 it rocks in anything from 14-33,and have used it mainly on the default with rearmost backline,also tried the 3/6 AA setting on a lighter day ,12-14 was going off the wind so tried this setting and managed to get back to the start point a number of times.

All as I can say about the Argo's is:

They're great if your into surfing waves. I freestyle a bit (who doesn't?), and found good hang-time and smooth landings, but I'm into kitesurfing waves.

I was looking for a good wave kite and tried about 4 different brands (and different foils, a heap of kites) before I got a hold of a 10m Argo. After the first surf I noticed straight away that the kite did'nt stall (cross/on) which before, I couldn't work out if I was doing the wrong thing or if it was the kite? Got drilled a couple of times, and the kite auto relaunched with minimal bar pressure, so I could get out of the impact zone quick. That was just the first surf.

Same with cross/off conditions, I didn't have to worry about the kite at all. I could just surf the wave how I wanted, the kite just drifted down the line with you; sick!

Bingo! I've surfed all my life (since I can remember) and have been kiting for 6/7 years. This is the first time in the evolution of kites (and in my short kiting life) that I have got a kite that helps me do what I want to do, which is kite-'surf'.

I dont give a stuff how it works, but it does, simple. After another 3/4 sessions in varing conditions in the surf, I'd have to say, that, to date, I havent had a better kite than then 10m Argo (I'm 85Kgs, 18 - 25 knts).

Next one's going to have-to-be the 11.5m, then the 13.5m then the ...................

did anyone suggest try aa setting

hi guys,

I m cyr, from France.
first of all, i already have a 7m Griffin (2009), a 12 m (2010), and my board size is 134 cm.
My weight is 80 kg.
Hard to believe, but i already cannot change my 7m, as i use it from 17k to ... (where is the limit ?...).
My 12 m is incredible (i had a 10,5 of 2009 before), as i start around 12k without loosing field, meters, against the wind (orry for my english...).

So, after having tried many kite in the last 4 years, i m defenitly in love with Griffin (my programm : freeride and old school).
YOU MUST TRY THIS BRAND to believe it.

QUESTION TO Mr Griffin :
I m looking for a kite for light wind (from 8 to 15k) : when wind is light, i love to try new tricks, and go riding on flat water.
Must i choose a Griffin 2011, in 14 ou 16 ?
Must i choose an Argo 2011 in 13,5
Must i choose a new Chimera in 13, with a surf ? No information in France about the Chimera, and i m quite curious ?

Thx a lot

nice forum guys,

Cyr