Katana

Jumped a Katana for the first time recently. It was a 120 loaded about 1.7 to 1; put two jumps on it. Not enough to really wring it out, but I did get a sense of how the canopy flew.

Openings were Stiletto-like but a bit less twitchy; it hunted a little but settled out and opened within 90 of heading both times. Opening took about 400-500 feet which was fine with me - soft without sniveling forever. Flight with brakes stowed was nice and stable, without the small-Diablo tendency to want to spin up before you've released the brakes.

Front riser turns up high revealed low front riser pressure and a nice long recovery arc. It got up a good head of speed and kept that for at least 5 seconds after releasing the front riser. It is trimmed pretty steeply; the first time I set up for landing I overestimated how much it would glide and had to fly a low pattern with a flat turn to land. The steeper approach angle requires a more aggressive flare from full-flight, but there is plenty of flare to be had throughout the stroke.

On the second jump I set up higher and did a front riser 90 to landing. It kept the speed nicely, and I had to use a little brake to pull it out of "the corner." Resulted in a decent 40-50 foot swoop in no wind conditions. It did a good job of stopping me; when I put my feet down I slid for a few feet then ran it out without much effort. It was clear that I wasn't using the canopy to its full potential yet. Once I get used to the canopy I can set up a lot higher for the front riser turn and not have to use the brakes to plane it out. That should result in much longer surfs without any other tricks.

Other notes - toggle turns put you into an aggressive dive as well, but I'm not a fan of toggle-turn hook turns so I didn't play with them much. You can flat turn them with no problem as long as you counter its desire to dive.

Pluses:

-Nice long recovery arc, good for swoopers
-Strong flare, with flare continuous throughout toggle stroke
-Good openings, not too snively _or_ too hard.

Minuses:
-Steep trim; not a canopy that will get you back from a long spot
-NOT a beginner/intermediate canopy; it wants to dive if you give it even moderate input

Overall I gave it a 4. It would be a 5 if not for its steep trim; the ability to get back from bad spots is important to me.

Review is in comparision with Stiletto of same size.
Like the Stiletto the Katana is quick to respond to inputs and has some similar flight characteristics. The canopy required less force for harness input and responds very quickly to them. The same is true for riser and toggle inputs.The riser pressure is lighter than that of the Stiletto. The canopy has a steep dive, and recovers well making for good plane out and swoop. The openings have been consistantly soft and on heading.
This is not a canopy for inexperienced canopy pilots.