Having just tried the 2011 RRD Obsession kites on Friday and Saturday I though I’d let you know what differences I’d found between these and the 2010 kites. On the Friday I tried the 7.0m with winds gusting 28 knots averaging just over 25, and Saturday the 9m in winds gusting 27 knots averaging 26, later dropping off to around gusts of 18 and average of 15 knots.

The 7m I found to turn just as fast as the 2010, but it had more bar pressure and a feeling of more lift, very stable in the air, and quicker to re-launch, the times that I dropped it. The new bar was fantastic, the only fault, if I could find one, is not have the adjustable stopper as per the previous global bar to stop the kite completely losing power when you let the bar go, some people I’m sure will like this though.

The 9m I found to be slightly less quick in turning, but it again had more bar pressure and feeling of lift than the 2010 obsession, when the winds dropped a little… more like the conditions that I would normal take it out (15 to 20 knots) it was fantastic, great unhooked, never giving me the impression it was going to fall out of the sky, and re-launching was a dream, even in waves.
I would recommend trying or even better buying these kites.