2023 Reedin Supermodel HTF Review

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Today, Pat and Aaron chat about the new Reedin Supermodel V4 HTF kite. Read on to find out what's new, what's great or not-so-great, and who this kite is for.

Pat: I've got the brand new Reedin supermodel HTF 9 meter. A big shout-out to Nick Baines for getting this sent up here. I've had one really good session on it so far. I was powered up on the 9 meter, but it was a little gusty so I was a bit all over the place with the kite. But it's a solid kite and I'm really happy with it.

It builds off of last year's V3, which is already a solid kite and was probably Jake Mitchell's favorite kite last year in the shop. They just refined it; they changed the construction layup of the leading edge slightly, and it made this kite a little bit snappier and a little more lively. I wouldn't necessarily say it's faster turning; while it is somewhat faster, mostly it's a bit crisper. That's the best adjective I could think of.

Aaron: So Reedin makes the one kite model, right? It comes in 4 to 16m, which is incredible. It's such a versatile, do-everything, all-around kite. I know those phrases can be thrown around a little bit haphazardly once in a while, but I feel like this is really one of those desert island kites that you could grab and roll with it. Get the size ranges that you want to cover, and have a blast. It's really cool.

Pat: The amount of stuff I've seen done on a Supermodel is crazy, from the big air things Kevin Langeree and some of their other team riders do, and even Nick Baines, our rep. The big air stuff he does on the kite is insane, but Nick will take that same kite and throw laps in the park and unhook, and he'll surf with it too. So Damien really did a great job designing a kite that will do everything and excel in every situation thrown at it. There are a lot of kites in the industry that market towards that and do that pretty well, but this one sneaks out a little bit further in front for some reason.

The cool thing they added this year with the HTF leading edge are the two different weights of Dacron. They have them stitched together in such a way that it is pretty strong. They overlap slightly so it's a strong connection. They have the lighter weight leading edge material down towards the wingtips. The whole point of this is to get those wingtips to flex out a little bit more, so a little less input does about the same amount of turning. All that steering power is coming from the wingtip actually flexing and turning.

Aaron: On the newer models, are we running with a little smaller leading edge diameter now?

Pat: I believe they did shrink the leading edge a little bit with the slightly higher PSI, but I would say the big difference, as far as the performance, is that changing material at the leading edge. I was out on the 9 meter throwing kiteloops and it did fine. It's a really quick, snappy turn through the kiteloop. It does have a little more pull through, I'd say, than some of the higher aspect five-strut kites. Those tend to be an even snappier turn and a bit less grunty through the pull. This has a little more oomph through that pull because it is somewhat more of that open C shape with a bit fatter wingtip. You're developing a lot more power through that loop, so you do get that little bit of punch.

Aaron: How do you feel the loops are? Are they pivotal or a big sweeping motion, or somewhere in between the two?

Pat: I wouldn't say it's super pivotal like it snaps right around on a pivot point. It has a bit of an arc to it, and I think that's where that power is coming through it.

Aaron: And how about the design through the sizes? When you talk a 4 to 16 meter range, sometimes it can be hard to design. In the past, we've read about brands making their design around the 12 meter size, and then they bump this one up and shrink those ones down. How do you feel Reedin did?

Pat: I haven't talked to Damien yet, but from talking to Nick and some of the other people that work with Damien at Reedin, I think he probably started out on a 12 meter, but then every single kite got its own design.

Aaron: And that's what you want to hear. When you talk kite design, you don't want them to just start with the 12 meter and inflate one, shrink another. So that's good to hear. That means that they're taking into account how you're going to be flying it. Obviously, on small kites--anything below 9m--you're going to be in higher winds. Anything in the middle might be moderate, and lighter winds on the big sizes. So we fly those kites differently depending on the conditions and I would expect that they would design accordingly, so that's really cool.

Pat: Yeah. There's one thing I've heard about Damien time and time again: that he will not release a kite unless he thinks it is perfectly up to his standards, which is great for the end user. Their kites have been in the market for four years now.

Aaron: That's it? It seems like so much longer.

Pat: Yeah, it's been four years, and they're doing a great job. They hit a home run right out of the gate, and they've been incrementally refining it year by year.

Aaron: If you had three things to talk about on the Supermodel, what would you say? What three important takeaways would we have?

Pat: I'd say that no matter what you throw at this kite, it can do it. It's going to make you have that much more confidence and give you the ability to push yourself that much further out of your comfort zone than what you're used to.

It's got a little bit more bar pressure than some of the other kites in this field, but I wouldn't say it's heavy. It's not an overly heavy bar pressure like an old Crossbow where you sheet in and you're getting a forearm workout, but you have control of the kite; you feel it. I can appreciate that. When you're 30 feet up the air backwards and upside-down, you want to know where the kite is at, and you know exactly where the kite is at all times in these turns.

One gripe I do have about it is they're running the Max Flow system.

Aaron: You kind of either love it or hate it.

Pat: I don't hate it, especially with the improvements that were made with Liquid Force over the years where they had a better seal on it, but it's an adapter you don't expect to bring out.

Aaron: They do give you two, right? They give you one on the pump and one extra in the bag. The Max Flow, if you're not familiar, is a bigger diameter inflation, about an inch. I liked it. I remember when LF came out with that back in the day. You just pressure fit the nozzle in, and as you generate pressure by pumping the kite up, back pressure keeps the trap door shut. It's quite clever.

Pat: Now they've added an extra o-ring on the internal of the cap itself to help it seal. There's nothing wrong with that valve; it's just different. The kites in the demo room here rarely have the valve with them, but that's our fault. If you're buying the kite, it does come with two, but I would probably pick up an extra two on top of that, just to have.

Aaron: Yes, grab an extra one if you're a little bit dropsy, because you absolutely need that valve adapter to use it.

Pat: I guarantee there are three or four on the floor somewhere in my truck, and I've got no idea where they're at. They're buried under something. But it's a great kite and it'll do everything you throw at it. I would put anybody from a beginner to an expert rider on this thing, and they'll fall in love with the kite.

Aaron: I haven't flown these yet, and I apologize to the Reedin crew, but based on what you've talked about, I will absolutely make an effort to get out on these. I like what you were saying about the bar pressure being moderate so you can feel where it's at. It's not spongy, but it's not a bull ride. You're not going to get fatigued flying, but then you can always tell where the kite's at, and that's a big plus to know exactly where the kite's at based on bar feel. The versatility and the wide size range are absolutely killer.

Pat: It's very rare to find a kite that flies so well no matter what size you're on in the range. Usually, I have the sizes I like in a kite's range, and there are specific sizes I gravitate to more, but if you hand me a Supermodel any day of the week, I'll leave the water smiling.

Aaron: That's good; I love it.

Pat: This has been Pat and Aaron with MACkiteboarding.com. Thanks for checking out the new Reedin Supermodel V4 HTF.

Aaron: See you on the water!

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