This is CORE's high- jumping masterpiece. The 5 struts make for a rigid wing, ensuring it maintains an aerodynamic shape even when you're lit. Flatter kites like this are characterised 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
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
Incredible sheet-in-and go makes reaching big heights a breeze. It's no wonder the top 5 WOO jumps were posted using this kite. We find the flying stable and predictable as well, allowing you to keep down slowly and gracefully. Our team-riders even love riding the larger sized XR6s. We regularly see Janek going massive on his 13.5 and Maarten sending big board offs on his 15m.
Loop report
We love looping the XR6! We find that proper, big kiteloops become possible from the 9m down. Although you've got to know what you're doing to get it to always catch you. The loops become extremely fun and high-performance from the 8m 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.
A significant improvement from the XR5 to the XR6 is the faster turning speed, which translates to faster, safer kiteloops. 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 GTS5. 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 XR6 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
Maarten Haeger, Josh Emanuel, Janek Grzegorzewski, Steven Akkersdijk, High Mike
Woo record on this kite
34.8m
What's included
Kite
Premium backpack
Repair Kit
Manual
Bar and Pump sold separately
Warranty
6 months
