Sizes Available: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17m
Sizes Tested: 9, 12m
Airush Says:
Totally new shape for 2020 with increased high end performance and lighter bar pressure. Ideal for the rider that spends countless hours on the water, the Lithium offers premium freeride versatility while remaining predictable and stable in the air. The focus on wingtip and strut layout in conjunction with the Delta Hybrid design ensures the quickest response through the air as well as an instant relaunch. With amazing park power, stability, and ease of use, the Lithium is simply the perfect kite.
Visit for more info: https://airush.com/kites/lithium-v11/
Our Testers Say:
“Absorbs gusts and delivers easy to manage power, predictable and never overpowering with performance most freeride kiters will enjoy. Seems less grunty than previous versions and more geared to the high-end of its wind range.” // Dray Murray
“A very comfortable kite to fly with great stability, excellent turning speed, flies upwind and delivers noticeable hangtime. Great beginner friendly setup to advanced.” // Dan Lerer
“Smooth and stable kite that delivers solid hangtime, great bar and kite combo with smooth boosts in its high-end.” // Ray Borg
TKB Says:
The Lithium is back in its 11th version as Airush’s celebrated do-everything freeride kite that has something for everyone in its 3-strut medium aspect canopy with delta-style sweptback wingtips. This year’s Lithium looks like it has seen some small changes (higher aspect ratio, reduced wingtip sweep, smaller LE) but otherwise the construction details Airush is known for seem largely the same. It’s worthy of note that Airush now sells the Lithium in two trim levels: regular and progression we tested the regular Lithium model. Like all Airush kites, the Lithium inflation is served up through a large diameter Boston valve that requires the standard hose attachment for easy and quick inflation and deflation. The Lithium now offers a dual setting front bridle that allows riders to choose between two settings: less bar pressure and more bar pressure. The bridle utilizes three pulleys to change the kite’s angle of attack and the front bridle pigtails end in loops while the wingtip attachment pigtails end in three knots with nifty tags for tuning guidance. The wingtip comes with three attachment points (larger kites feature only two options) for fine-tuning the bar pressure and turning speed, with less bar pressure and faster turning set towards the wingtip. The Lithium features Airush’s load frame canopy design with an overall solid build quality that impressed the test team.
After toggling between the front bridle settings, we found that we could choose between medium-plus bar pressure from year’s past or dial down lower bar pressure with a little less feedback but a lighter and more comfortable bar feel. The Lithium is clearly one of those freeride kites that is intended to cover a ton of ground, from entry-level learners to freeride cruising/casual jumping and now freeride foilboarding ”” and it does it with a solid blend of user-friendly handling and well-mannered power control. Testers found the Airush’s turning response fairly crisp with decent middle of the road turning speed that felt fairly quick and snappy with strong inputs but not so fast to ever catch you off guard or feel sketchy. Some testers noted a little bit of windup in the turning speed e.g. the Lithium accelerating through the course of the turn and highlighted its fairly tight pivotal turn. There seems to be a bit more power delivery in the last few inches of sheeting the bar in and testers highlighted the kite’s good high-end power delivery that offered excellent depower when needed. Testers gave the Lithium high marks for its user-friendly boosting, delivering solid lift that yielded really fun jumps with decent hangtime. The Lithium always seemed to be dependably in the right place with its nimble handling and that gave our testers the confidence to push their limits. The drift and depower worked great for carving across swells while foilboarding and the relaunch was extremely reliable. With a small amount of bar input the kite would flip and launch from nose down at the bottom of the window. Overall, testers gave the Lithium high marks as a kite that checked the reliably and user-friendly box while also delivering solid performance to keep up with more advanced freeride demands.
The Airush Cleat bar is a dual length adjustable bar (50/60cm) that has received one very significant upgrade for 2020: a completely redesigned quick release system Airush is calling the Intelligent Quick Release (IQR). The Cleat bar features 24m lines (21m + 3m ext) and an above the bar clam cleat with a spectra tuning strap that has Velcro so that it locks into place. The sheeting/power line features double plastic coated lines that feature a sliding speed control stopper to adjust the length of throw for those with shorter arms or to set the bar on longer tacks. The safety is a single center-line safety that runs down one of the PU lines and through the new quick-release design for a clean and tidy system with a low V split in the center lines. The newly designed quick release features a push-away quick release with a larger hand swivel on top that also acts as a quick-release travel guard. The swivel dial is bigger this year for easier leverage on untwisting the front lines and the swivel action is smoother and more effortless compared to the previous design. The newly designed push away quick release features a new cocking mechanism that leaves the quick release handle cocked open upon release. The reset is fairly straightforward; just insert the open end of the loop back into the release and then shift the QR handle so that it springs shut. The internal stainless heart of the quick release is a bit larger to allow for the safety line to travel through the release with less friction. Airush is one of the few companies to offer four different harness loops to fit your style of riding: wakestyle (XL), freestyle (L) freeride (S), and/or surf metal loop (S). You can swap through loops with the use of a surf Allen key. The cleat bar features integrated floats and adjustable bar ends that allow you to swap between 50 and 60cm effective bar lengths. The center insert is aluminum and featuers a printed logo that is visible when you are holding the bar correctly. The color coding uses a visually clear light blue on the left float and bar end which will help those that are familiar with the bar. The bar ends are densely padded for safety and feature a bungee for keeping lines stowed when not in use. The grip features a dense EVA texture with horizontal bars under the grip and a ribbed pattern on top with a rubbery diamond pattern near the center of the bar with a grip diameter that borders on small to medium. Overall, testers gave the Cleat bar solid marks for its new quick-release design and mix of functional features in a clean and comfortable medium weight bar.
You can also fly the Airush with the Progression bar which features an above the bar power strap adjustment (with handles) for tuning the kite’s power and 24m lines (9m + 14m ext) that are divided with a shorter bottom half for teaching on short lines. The Progression bar is a dual adjustable length (45/54cm) bar and skips features like integrated floats and padded bar ends; the power system is a bit bulkier compared to the Cleat’s clean setup. The grip on the Progression is a little thicker and features less EVA texture and more of a rubbery grip.
Visit for more info on the bar: www.airush.com/kites/#kite-bars
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