Hi team,
I've started kite foiling in Darwin which is pretty light wind most of the time. My 8m Duotone Neo will be my go to when the wind is on but it's just not enough to launch again in light wind if I crash (and I do at the moment). My bigger kites are Rebels I keep them for twintipping. That means it's time for a new kite!
I am tossing 2 options:
Option 1: 11m or 13m Juice - recommended by locals here but they are all heavier than me (I am 58kg). The DLab is not within my budget.
Option 2: a 10 or 11m EVO sls - no one uses EVO here so I don't know. I am keen to hear about the EVO sls performance in light wind and foiling + relaunch. I like that it's such a good allrounder.
Would love to hear from anyone who can compare. Especially from hotter places with our kind of wind.
Hi Aliz!
If you are looking at Duotone .. I suggest have a look at the Duotone website to give you some info and make comparisons between the 2 kites 2023 . As you state you are looking at a light wind kite for foiling above the Neo 8.
If you look at the stats on the website the smallest juice is only 13 . . As you know we have found the juice is a good foiling kite and all rounder
But I get your point about weight.
The evo sls seems to have pretty good stats for foiling and other . and they make it 7 m to 13 m
So you have good choice about size .. I would lean towards 11 or 12 than 10 to cover our 10 - 12 knot days where canopy size is king for the kite to fly . Just some thoughts . and have a chat to others .
At your weight the Slingshot UFO in a 9m would be perfect.
They stay in the sky pretty much in anything.
Relaunch isn't hard just let the breeze fill the tip and it pretty much launches itself.
Grant
If you're buying a kite for foiling, go with a single strut (or none I guess). If you awant to stay Duotone then the Mono is decent and friendly, although not a standout in the pack of single struts.
My experience with the UFO v2 is that it's a decent all round foiling kite that sits deep in the window. It doesn't have a great power spike to get you going in light wind, better suited to 60kgs than 100kgs....
I have had twice in the last few years where 2 different foilers struggled with the evo SLS as it's too heavy when the wind is light. Once your kite falls in the water and gets wet you're on struggle street.
I'd suggest something really light like the Ozone Alpha V1, which has great low down grunt, and excellent light wind performance with easy relaunching.
And a bargain can be had too!
www.kitepower.com.au/collections/used-kites/products/alpha-v1-10m-used-gear
OR
www.kitepower.com.au/collections/used-kites/products/alpha-10m-ozone-2019-used-kite-only
I would talk to Geoff or Tony at Fun Supply, Johnny on the spot and a duotone dealer to boot. They have been giving great advise and service to the guys in Darwin since forever. The Dlab juice is insane for its low end, but it is on the pricey side. In its defense, you do get a lot of performance and relaunch for that price, and even though its a big kite, they really do feel and turn like smaller size,
Wendelien, our ex school manager snapped up our 13 ex demo DLAB Juice as it turns and feels like a 10m, but gives the same wind range for her as a 15m does for us regular sized guys. She is on the light side too at 50kg.
Legends!
Thanks heaps for the mention guys!
Much appreciated.
Hope you are still getting some sessions coming into your main winter season?!
If you are in Darwin and wish to keep your money in the local economy by supporting a local shop that has been operating here since the windsurfing era of early 80's, was on the ground floor with kitesurfing's first kites imported into Australia, started the Sup craze in Darwin on the ground floor of the sport and same for Wing Foiling, Sup Foiling and Prone Foiling.
Then check us out on
Facebook : Fun Supply
Instagram : fun_supply_darwin
Website : www.funsupply.com.au and our recent
Online shop : www.funsupplyshop.com
Unfortunately shipping is not set up yet due to the high cost of shipping to and from Darwin at extremely low volume!
But you can call us and we will definitely see if we can help.
However, we prefer the old school way of supporting your local business in your local city, town etc if you are able to and IF you wish for it to still be there for you when you need it.
