Bought my new Kraken kit off Mark at Boardworx, pre ordered I was one of the first in the UK to get the SAB Kraken kit,
I have rounded up my review and thoughts on the new kraken masts 933k and 103K below.
I have used the kraken masts 93k and 103k, along with the new 703k and 753k fuses, first day to get the set up right and then for a solid 3 hours of hard fast carving and boosting fun in building winds that made me change down to my 9mtr Evo on my 110cm kite foil board
I have owned and used most of the moses masts, series 1 and 2 over the last 4 years, and most of the kitefoil wing range, I weigh 90kg and only kite foil, love speed, waves and boosting all the time, I am not light so put a lot of stress on my kit, some (many) dodgy hard landings make me wince and wonder when my small mast to fuse connection will give way given the abuse I sometimes subject it to.
Sometimes when I have used my 101 mast in turbulent water instability can be felt, but not as bad as I have experienced on the 91, I have always had to put up with limitations to my speed when in less than ideal water conditions, the nervous feeling of my less than solid mast holds me back at times, especially when bearing off deep downwind to reach full speed, the 91 mast just felt like a pool noodle when pushed hard, turbulent water had me believing I had a faulty 91 mast, but I discovered many heavier riders had these instability issues if conditions were not ideal, after buying a number of 91cm masts over the years hoping they would get better I gave up on the 91 and stuck to the 101, which has been the best mast for me, but with the kraken mast have they finally cracked it for guys like me?
O my god! its a yes from me!
The weight issue which I thought may be a real issue turned out to be no issue at all, and if that's the price to pay for the experience I had today then well done SAB, you have done a great job for me, trying one, flying one, pushing for speed and not hitting any drag or spin out issues holding me back like the 2 series masts certainly do when used hard under kite power.
Jumping with the kraken is to experience landings that feel much more secure, carving hard and fast deep lines at top speed with no slip or spin out like the 2 series masts.
For the first time I am able to keep bearing off downwind over choppy water feeling hard fast acceleration that is eye watering but without any overwhelming feeling of instability building as speed builds, then able to keep that speed to carve hard up into wind and then use that new found speed to boost high and very long knowing that the landing will never damage the mast is a great relief, the feeling entering the water with such a stiff mast is felt instantly, I can certainly feel the 1 series mast deflect if I enter the water at the wrong angle or too fast, the new found solid stability from both kraken masts has for the fist time allowed me to instantly throw in a loop to carve hard downwind or upwind like on rails, so good to feel it so securely locked into the line I choose to take, no wibbles no worry, no slowing down.
These are big differences for me,
Pauline my wife and someone who tells it like it is, even noticed the extra speed I was keeping up, fastest she has seen me go, especially in the turns and the boosting height and perfectly landed dry entries I made, O! and the smile on my face as I came ashore, and I was worn out after my session which I put down to the average speed I was able to keep up, pushing me to work harder, more like a good work out, so that's another positive.
The kraken kit is not needed for everyone, owners of the earlier series can still have a great experience on their kit,
but if your heavy, maybe 90kg or over who loves to boost big and push hard and fast, always using foot straps, or anyone diving into the wing foil department, or trying the windsurf foil experience then kraken makes a lot of sense, the worry of maybe a slower less efficient mast are a worry no more, the kraken masts are stiffer, faster, even cheaper when buying a few lengths after the initial base plate and quick release pin purchase
The niggly little issues like the loose front mast to fuse screw are no more, and the ever present fuse corrosion that gets quite annoying as it devours the fuse over time should now have been eliminated with the added zinc anode.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galvanic_anode
The weight issue is a price to pay that will be the reason many will use to shy away, It made me think in a negative way as well, but as its turned out its no issue at all, yes of course you can feel it as you pick up your full board with one hand to balance the whole rig on your shoulder for the walk to the water, but its a small price to pay for the positives.
To add to this round up, the two fuses I used were the 703k and the 753k the faster fuse certainly feels like its the 653k but this was attached to the 103k mast, so its likely to be a combi...
