BEST Roca
Sizes Available: 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17m
Sizes Tested: 17m
Best Says:
After three years of development the new Roca was born in Cabo da Roca at Europe’s west coast. The Roca was fine-tuned and calibrated to excel in all conditions for incredible grunt, easy handling and outstanding jumping characteristics.
The sizes 14 and 17 can be ridden in winds below 10 knots. Also looking at its depower characteristics, the Roca covers a huge wind range. Just perfect for traveling, even a two-kite-quiver will cover any conditions.
Visit for more info: www.bestkiteboarding.com/en-us/2016-roca
TKB Says:
The 17m iteration of the Best Roca features a 3-strut platform with a fairly high aspect approach to the light wind option in the Roca quiver. The Roca offers good grunt with medium turning speed and a more swoop-style steering arc. We liked the medium to light bar pressure and noticed most of the sheeting action is fairly close in, which is good for those riders with short upper torso reach. We found the Roca to be fairly friendly towards over-sheeting and offered a solid sweet spot even in the lighter winds. Overall, the Roca is a well mannered light wind option that will get you out there in the lightest winds.
The Roca came with a fixed length bar (47, 52, or 57cm lengths) that features a stronger red and black color coding than previous years. This year’s bar comes equipped with a new push away quick release with hand swivel that doubles as a quick release travel guard that also features a molded donkey dick, and a low V with a single center-line safety depower that has a fifth safety line running up along one of the center lines. The center lines end in a knot and the outside lines end in loops and the length of sheeting/throw can be adjusted by a very small amount at the cleat. The sliding stopper provides a noticeably shorter throw but the new bar ends feature non-retractable bungees and integrated floats, while the tips of the bar are soft and the leader lines allow riders to adjust the length of the outside lines for stretch or tuning. We liked the nice ergonomics of the smaller diameter and pleasing tactile grip.
Visit for more info on the bar: www.bestkiteboarding.com/en-us/2016-red-bar
