CORE’s best big air kite just got even better! The major improvement with this release are lighter struts, a new canopy material and subtle changes to the wing profile. These have resulted in an 8% lighter, faster looping, higher jumping kite. 4 of our team riders have been in the photoshoot in Cape Town and Mexico with this kite for the past few months so we can tell you first-hand how the XR7 performs.
Major upgrades
CORETEX® 2.0 TRIPLE RIPSTOP CANOPY: Improved durability and UV protection.
EXOTEX® LIGHT STRUTS: Super tough yet lighter than the original.
Kite design
The 5 struts make for a rigid wing, ensuring it maintains an aerodynamic shape even when you’re lit. Flatter kites like this are characterized by power on demand (aka sheet in and go), long hangtime, a large wind range and great ease of use. The bridles and pulleys give the kite more possible angles of attack into the wind, which is what gives the kite its high jumping performance, but the trade off of this is less direct steering. This may take some getting used to for C-kite purists, but the rewards are massive once you’ve got a feel for the kite.
What we like
The XR7 is 8% lighter than the XR6, making it turn faster and catch faster after kiteloops. Our team riders who have been participating in the photoshoot in Cape Town can attest to this.
This kite makes big air, old school and high-performance big air such as that seen in KOTA more accessible to ordinary riders. For this reason, we’ve seen this style of kite, and this kite in particular, growing in popularity. You’ve got everyone from weekend warriors, right up to big air shredders like Janek Grzegorzewski ripping on this kite. Needless to say, the high demand for the XR6 also makes for great resale value!
Jump report
We’ve found the XR7 provides a more vertical take off and even more lift than the XR6. Incredible sheet-in-and go makes reaching big heights a breeze. It’s no wonder the top 6 of the top 10 WOO jumps were posted on an XR.
Loop report
We love looping the XR7! The 8% weight savings and faster turning make it catch faster, so we’ve been able to push the limits even harder on the XR7 9m and 10m. Although you’ve got to know what you’re doing to get the 10m to always catch you, the loops become extremely fun and high-performance from the 9m down. That being said, you can loop any kite if you’re high enough. When Janek Grzegorzewski gets lit on his 12m you’ll see him throwing massive kiteloop backrolls- something that simply wasn’t possible with the kites we were riding 4 years ago. The great thing about looping is the XRs is that it’s so much easier to get the height required for a kiteloop than some more technical kites, like the GTS6 or Nexus 2. This makes your jumps more consistent and thus your kiteloops consistently safer.
Unhooking report
As Steven Akkersdijk says, “I’m in love with the 17 and 15 for unhooked. I guess the 13.5 down to 11 can still be quite fun. Smaller than that the feeling on the bar gets hard for wakestyle and so does the pop.”
It feels like
Easy. There is quite a lot of bar-pressure, which makes it easy to know where the kite is. It’s got quite a lot of grunt, so be prepared to put your back into the harness to keep it down, such as when performing exit loops after slides.
This product is made for
Big air, old-school and freeride. It excels at these disciplines, whilst still being a beginner friendly kite. We don’t recommend this kite for foiling or wave-riding.
Quality report
The only flaw we have found with the XR7 is that the pigtails on the kite wear out a bit faster than we would like. To avoid this, we recommend you make sure there is no sand between the knots when securing them.
Weapon of choice for
Janek Grzegorzewski, Giel Vlugt, High Mike, Maarten Haeger, Josh Emanuel
Woo record on this kite
We’ll soon find out!
What’s included
Kite
Premium backpack
Repair Kit
Manual
Bar and Pump sold separately
Warranty
12 months
| Size | 5m, 6m, 7m, 8m, 9m, 10m, 11m, 12m, 13.5m, 15m |
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10 reviews for Core XR7 Kite
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Mike –
Amazing Product
rahman –
Great Product
Gorm Eriksen –
Fucking love my XR7 9m2
Its lighter, faster and loops like magic.
Magnus Danbolt –
Top kite
I got my kite delivered to my door, smoothly and quickly, really good service! The kite is so light! First time out I loved how the XR7 12m worked in light winds. Me and some foil kites were boosting while others with 12 or 13 had to work their kites just to stay afloat. Now after a few sessions in more wind I found the XR7 more responsive and nippier in the turns than the XR6. But still rock steady in the air. My only quality concern is that there was quite a few long white thread ends from the stitching hanging out here and there that I had to cut off. I just suppose it was a new-kite thing and that the stiching wont start ripping..
Szymon Dzionk –
Innovative XR7
Brilliant service, great communication through WhatsApp, quick and efficient responses. Enthusiastic in solving issues (PayPal payments) and willing to help when we needed kite as soon as possible because of holidays. Only BAK had the new XR7 in stock ready to send that time. Shipment was fast and took as long as BAK said.
I have never liked to ride a big kites because they were rough in motion until I bought 13.5m XR7. It reacts really quickly and turns easily as for the big kite, better than my previous 12m other brands kites. The hang time is outstanding, landing is super long and soft. The wind range is surprisingly wide, now I have a lot of fun when the wind is light, so I can ride more often. I can feel the innovative construction and high quality. That is definitely the kite that will take me to the next level. Supporting riders is fantastic idea!
Hugo –
Best kite you can buy if you like Big Air and Old School
I own a 8m and 13.5m XR6, so I was a fan before as the XR range finally allowed me to jump with confidence as I knew I wouldn’t just fall from the sky and fuck my feet as it happened before with other freeride kites from top brands like Eleveight and Cabrinha. This allowed me to move from simple jumps to +10m jumps and doing all kinds of front rolls and backrolls.
Now I bought a 10m XR7 after owning 9m and 10m freeride and big air kites from other brands with which I wasn’t happy as they weren’t as forgiving and powerful as the XR. Its range has an incredible fit in my quiver, whereas with my other 9m and 10m I always felt over or underpowered for that size. And it has all the great things about an XR and more. It has a great grunt and pulls you up in the jumps very fast, while allowing to fly down smoothly. And while learning how to do kiteloops the 10m XR7 feels not that differently than the 8m XR6!
Aya Eiffel –
Zero to Hero
I had the opportunity to test an older XR kite and fell in love with the handling and confidence it gave me to push myself. So I took the leap of faith and I ordered the XR7 from BAK. Mike was very generous with his time & expertise and personally guided me through my order. Top service!
Every purchase supports BAK team riders of your choice. This personal touch makes me feel a part of the growth of our sport.
As for the kite, the XR7 became a game changer for me. My second session I pulled my first frontroll kiteloops… from zero to hero… I never even tried normal powered kiteloops before this… The kite is so intuitive that I simply trust it will be where I feel when I am on my back in the blind during the rotation.
Jumps are so much fun with the XR7. This kite allows intermediate kiters like myself to launch some decent jumps without a lot of technical perfection. It could make me lazy but actually it tempted me to try harder on the technical aspects to achieve better jumps.
Highly recommend this kite and BAK is the place to get it!!!
Bastiaan Schelfhorst –
Shipped/Received within days
Thanks for the quick service! After testing the new XR7 in Tarifa I ordered one via BAK, it arrived even before I reached home!! Super happy with BAK service! Thanks a lot
Giel Vlugt –
Loops better, catches faster and I believe it will jump higher
Janek Grzegorzewski –
To be honest, I don’t even want to ride my XR6 anymore
After riding the kite I think there are three biggest changes that has made the XR7 even more amazing. – it is a faster kite, you can feel it while looping as it goes around faster and with more power – it is easier to jump higher. I have realized that right now it’s way easier to edge up wind before the take off meaning that it is easier to jump more vertical rather than horizontal. That also makes it easier to loop bigger kites like 9 and 10m – lastly the downloops are way liftier. It’s just like a helicopter. You will ALYWAYS be lifted up. This kite is like magic. I don’t even want to ride my Xr6 any more