Airush Lithium Kitesurfing Kite 2014
IN A NUTSHELL...
Choose your element from freeride, wave, jumping and looping – the Lithium does it all.
Design details
Sizes: 5m, 6m, 7m, 8m, 9m, 10m, 12m, 14m, 16m
Power freeride
Designed for just about everything, the Delta Hybrid Design featured on the Lithium, gives a massive range for the user as well as an extreme low-end power for those marginal days. Quick and direct response of the kite, due to the wingtip position, is spectacular for those waveriding sessions the one-day and those twin tip big jumping sessions the next.
The Lithium One 16m and Lithium Zero 18m take light wind riding to a whole new realm. With lightweight constructions these kites are in a new class. Continuing with the Lithium name, as the most forgiving and easy to use freeride kite of the range, the One and Zero still keep these traits in the sub 15 knots range. Racers cannot have all the fun, these kites are ideal for twin-tips, surf directionals and freeride directionals, like the Slayer and Sector. There is no such thing as “No Wind”, these kites will find it.
The Lithium works best with the Smartbar 5 or Analog Bar.
Key Features
*Delta Hybrid Design *V3 Bridle *Hardcore Construction *One Pump *Extremely predictable. *Incredibly easy to use. *Excellent for a wide range of rider levels and disciplines *Poly Load Frame Technology
Target User An All-Around user looking for a kite that has a good amount of pull, low-end focused and easy to use. The Lithium is ideal for everyday freeriders looking to incorporate wave and jumping into their riding.
Unique characteristics *All Around Performance *The positioning of the wingtip struts and direct steering attachment points provides fast turning and direct response - The sweep of the wingtips on the Delta Hybrid Design insures a fast Relaunch
Tech specs
Poly Load Frame With the overwhelming positive response of the Aramid Load Frame being used in the Razor and Wave. Airush has decided to implement the same concept of structural integrity and performance into the Lithium and Varial X with the all new Poly Load Frame. Durable Polyester Fibers are used just like Aramid, strategically placed along the kite to give a more solid connection and prevent stretching throughout the canopy. This proven technique is one of a kind and only used with Airush kites.
Delta Hybrid Design The Delta Hybrid design, in conjunction with the V3 bridle, gives the Airush kite a whole new meaning to its performance and feeling. Displaying direct and pivotal turning, the Delta Hybrid insures a great balance of speed and response. Due to the swept wingtips and profile, the Delta Hybrid has instant relaunch capabilities, making this shape ideal for all-around riding and new riders.
Hardcore Construction All Airush kites feature the Hardcore Construction, a focus and commitment to structural integrity.
*This includes a 4 piece strut with bomb proof double sandwich centre seam to reduce the amount of stitching points for reduce wear as well as increased rigidity. *A Leading Edge connection seam with a slick 19mm soft webbing reinforcement to handle harder crashes. *Increased mark cloth sections at the front of all canopy seams at the leading edge to stop stitching and seam wear points.
V3 Bridle System Who said pulleys are not a good idea?.. The truth is, done right, they are essential with only gains in handling response and absolutely essential in maintaining handling characteristics throughout the depower range. Without the pulleys the kite will not steer on full depower. The V3 Bridle has a system developed over the past 4 years ensuring that the kite turns and feels the same on full depower as it does on full power, and more than this, the handling feel is so close to the direct connection kites that designers and testers consider the handling advantage of a direct connection kite as virtually non existent.
Featured on all the 2014 Airush Kites, with the exception of the Razor Team and DNA, the V3 Bridle System adds not only to the safety benefits, but also contributes significantly to the feeling and performance of the kites. The positioning of the bridle attachment points on the LE of the kite, combined with the V pulleys, gives a very smooth and responsive de-power. This allows for steering that is light, but direct enough to feel where your kite is while riding. This also enables the kite to be steered and controlled when the kite is completely de-powered which is ideal for wave riding.
TIPS & TUNING The Lithium is a pretty plug and play kite for all uses, all conditions and all riders. It excels in gusty conditions and is the best relaunching kite in our range. New for 2014, we focused on durability and structural integrity. Still using Teijin T9600 canopy clothe, we added the Ploy Load Frame which is the copy of the Aramid Load Frame Technology found in the Razor Team and Wave but only uses Polyester instead of Aramid to maintain costs.
I would recommend as with most kites, If you ride with the bar relaxed 100-150mm (4″- 6″) away from your quick release (or chicken loop), you could probably tie an extra knot ABOVE the standard setting on the pigtail, this will give you faster turning and a bit more power. On the other hand, If you ride with your bar fully sheeted in resting against your quick release (or chicken loop), you could probably tie an extra knot below the standard setting on the rear pigtail. This will help when unhooking also and reduce back stall when kiting in light winds.