NAISH Draft
Sizes Available: 7, 9, 10.5, 12, 14, 17m
Size Tested: 9m
Naish Says:
The Draft is a high performance freeride kite that generates powerful lift for boosting big airs and long gliding jumps.
It features a state-of-the-art airfoil design that excels at hooked-in riding, upwind performance, and competitive speed. The Draft’s new reduced leading edge taper adds rigidity to the wing tip, moving the axis of rotation closer to the center of the kite, resulting in sharper turning and a more precise bar feel.
It has five struts on the 7, 9, 10.5, and 12 sizes for optimum performance and added control in strong winds & three struts on the 14 and 17 sizes for light wind performance, smooth power delivery, and faster turning.
Visit for more info: https://naishkites.com/2014-15-draft-high-performance-freeride-big-air-race-new/
TKB Says:
The Draft is a 5-strut high aspect kite with swept-back wingtips which Naish promotes as their race and freeride platform. The Draft comes with Naish’s internal octopus inflation system which uses standard 9mm inflation/11mm dump valves on the leading edge and one way internal distribution strut valves which require 9mm deflate valves on each strut for deflation. The Draft uses a medium length static/no-pulley front bridle and a rear bridle with two attachment settings to adjust bar pressure and steering. The Draft had medium-heavy bar pressure on the forward setting so we chose to move the rear bridle to the back setting to achieve medium bar pressure. The Draft’s power delivery is amazingly crisp; the kite builds an impressive amount of power with small movements of the bar which helps for explosive jumps with big boost and decent hangtime for such a high aspect shape. Compared to the Ride, the Draft has more bar pressure and doesn’t turn quite as fast but it creates an incredible amount of lift for big jumps and goes upwind very well. The Draft is a lively and fast kite that intermediate and advanced kiters will enjoy for freeride and racing.
We tested the Draft with the Universal Control System (pictured above) but for dedicated racers Naish produces a race bar with double purchase pulley system and above the bar cam cleat tuning. The Universal control system which came with our kite features a push away quick release, single center line safety depower, below bar tuning cleat, above bar swivel and innovative adjustable length bar ends (45 to 51cm). The bar has a smaller diameter grip with a new Memory Core plush grip that we found very comfortable. The quick release is a clean, compact mechanism that is easy to reassemble. The below the bar tuning allows for longer throw and easy to use cleat tuning but shorter armed riders may want to grab a fin key and relocate the stopper ball lower in the throw to keep the bar within reach. Overall the bar is clean, lightweight and rich with well thought out features.
For info on the UCS Bar that we tested: https://naishkites.com/universal-performance-4-line-control-system/
For info on the Race bar: https://naishkites.com/race-performance-4-line-control-system-for-racing/
