Naish Triad review: 10 findings for ambitious kite surfers

At first glance you may not see much difference in the appearance of Naish kites. After all, they have almost the same appearance in terms of pattern per season. However, if you kitesurf with it, you will experience big differences. That is precisely the intention. Like many kitesurfing brands, Naish also wants to deliver the perfect kite for every kitesurfer. You name the sailing styles such as freestyle, wave kite surfing, kite foiling, freeriding, and there is a kite in the range that is suitable for this. However, the new Naish Triad s26 positions Naish as the suitable kite for 99% of the world population. That's quite a bit and that's why this Naish Triad review.

Naish Triad s26 review

First about the focus of the review. In this review we will discuss the properties of the Naish Triad during kitesurfing. I do not go into qualitative aspects such as the quality of the canvas, the construction, the weight, et cetera. Naish is a so-called A-brand among the kitesurf brands which I believe these sorts of things are 100% in order.

'Sheet in and go' not an empty slogan

The Triad gives quick power when putting on the bar. naish calls this 'sheet in and go'. This is very noticeable. This is nothing new I hear you think, because kitesurfing kites generate power when you pull up the bar. So 'sheet in and go'. Still, it is noticeable with the Triad that when you pull up the bar, the Triad does not take off with much forward speed and still builds up power. The power is there almost immediately with the Triad without making much forward speed.

The fact that the concept of 'sheet in and go' is not just a slogan has to do with the so-called 'luff strut'…

Advantages 'sheet in and go'

• Ideal if you are going to start kitesurfing, then you don't have to send in very hard every time you need to build up strength or are just a bit shy. Very good and close steering skills are therefore less necessary.
• Also nice for the advanced kite surfer: where a kite sometimes unexpectedly shoots forward and dives into the corner during a trick, a gust of wind, turning over the top of the wind window or a combination of these, the Triad does not have this. It will not surprise you unintentionally.
• The fact that the concept of 'sheet in and go' is not just a slogan has to do with the so-called 'luff strut'. The middle strut is not directly attached to the canvas, but there is a piece of canvas in between. So between the strut and the canvas. This actually allows the kite to breathe without much forward speed.

Very stable in gusty winds

I'll go on about the impact of the 'luft strut' in this Naish Triad review. I take my experience with the 9 meter Triad at about 29 knots and gusts of over 40 knots. The Triad handled this surprisingly well during this experience. He remained calm and you could literally see him absorbing the wind gusts without the kite itself becoming very restless. That was cool to experience. Moreover, this stability gave a lot of confidence on the water. I don't want to come across too enthusiastic and test it again with gusts over 100 km/h. Because then it is important for me to see what a kite has to offer in this area in terms of stability and confidence based on the behavior of the kite.

My conclusion is that if you kite on spots with gusts of wind, which is typical for the Netherlands, for example, and on inland waters, the Triad is very suitable for this.

I also think I can conclude that the Triad directly above you is more stable due to the operation of the 'luff strut'. Despite the fact that it is of course strongly discouraged to keep your kite directly above you during gusts of wind and over land.

Sends fine and not too fast or radical

As stated: when you put on the bar you will feel the power released quickly without the Triad flying off its place quickly. I think this is mainly due to the deep profile of the kite and the so-called 'luff strut'. For example, the Triad is a lot less wide and slim than the Naish Pivot. That's good to see. There is more fabric in the middle of the kite between the top (leading edge) and bottom of the kite (trailing edge). The Naish Triad s26 is therefore not too fast. However, as can be seen in the video, the 12 meters is fast enough to have a lot of fun with.

As an advanced kite surfer you will encounter a few contradictions here. As Johan Cruijff put it: 'Every advantage has its disadvantage'. See for yourself how the Naish Triad deals with this.

I explain this as best as possible based on my knowledge and experience. What is striking about the Naish Triad s26 is that:

• As you jump gradually increase in height. You will not be ripped off the water and shot into the air like other kites do. This is great for many kite surfers. However, there are also kite surfers who want to be pulled into the air very hard. Because then you often go extra high. You can jump very high with a Triad. My experience is that he is less direct and therefore jumps less high than, for example, his brother, the Naish Pivot. Less direct means less surprises but also less freestyle. Picking a wave between the waves and angling your kiteboard in a fraction of a second and turning your kite around to then do a trick requires just a little more timing and thinking ahead with the Triad. You can see how well it works in the videos.
• Once in the air, the Triad continues to give lift for a long time in its gradual manner. That way you stay in the air for quite some time. Ideal for learning tricks. 'Hang time' is great for 'air style' tricks. The glide down is pleasant and that is also worth a lot.
• The Triad is obviously less fast than the so-called 'high performance freeride' kites. That's nice and gives confidence to learn tricks. I do a high jump with more confidence with a rotation in higher winds because I know the kite won't take off in a gust or clumsiness. However, for more extreme tricks such as kiteloops you need a kite that turns quickly. With the Triad 9 meters I keep the bar setup wide to have this speed. You also see in the videos that I make a kiteloop with the 9 meters and land while it is not even blowing very hard. With the 12 meters you can see that transitions can be made neatly in combination with a loop. The Triad is therefore fast enough to perform such tricks. Even the 12 meters.
• The deep profile, a wide setup of the bar and the average bar pressure in my opinion make you feel good that you have a kite in your hands. I think the big advantage is that I can feel where the kite is in the wind window and that there are fewer surprises at this point.

Conclusion Naish Triad s26 review

It was already clear that the Triad is a good beginner kite. It is not obvious to everyone that as an advanced kitesurfer I started kitesurfing with the Triad. My first impression is that my estimate has been correct.

The Triad will help me realize my kitesurfing ambitions step by step.

In my opinion, I will master the aforementioned tricks sooner and with more confidence than with a more direct and aggressive kite. Mistakes are not immediately punished harshly and that gives confidence to try and expand things again. It is been a long time since i was a beginner used to be. But I estimate that the Triad is a very nice kite to start with that you won't get tired of quickly.

You do not quickly rise above the Naish Triad and can therefore grow into a very advanced kite surfer.