Hi Oz.
Some very valid points and I can help you with a few.
With my many years of riding waves behind a kite. Todays kites out on the Market that are wave specific work well if you are riding strapped or un strapped. Drift and turning speed being key.
There are a few that have a good drift but do not react making it hard on the strapped guys that tend to want to fly the kite more to get the power. The Element5 has both of these making it a great strapped and strapless kite.
The only reason we have not featured strapped guys in our Element footage is that they are a little hard to find in our locations.
They are out there loving the kites.
We have had some great feed back regarding foiling on our gear having a mixed bag of preferences regarding Nitro and Element.
Lot of guys enjoying the Elements due to their great drift.
The Nitro6 has also stepped up in the foil world getting some great feed back..
A little feed back I received from a Demo Center in Melbourne Australia.
Happy New Year.
"The people who tried the Nitro6 just loved it. Feedback from riders is the beautiful colors and noticeably fast turning speed, easy to ride.
I had a go with my hydrofoil and was just amazing looking other kites from the top when jumps. No matter how high I was the kite keep the tension in the center lines and glide nicely without loosing its position.
In my opinion, the Nitro6 has reached a very good stage.it feels really light,fast and easy to control and still powerful.
I noticed that on a brand new bar, to balance the tension of the center line. I set the rear lines on the top knot and boosts even more."
Also some foiling action in the Caribbean Nitro6
https://vimeo.com/197828825
Lot of stoke out there. Awesome to see.
Cheers
Felix.