Ocean Rodeo innovation - the all new Aluula material.
Half the weight, amazing strength and rigidity.
Looking forward to getting these in
Actually out of all the game changers that we have had in the last 2 yrs lmfao. This has the most potential as its half the weight twice the strength and can be used on canopy and le. Halves the weight of a kite straight up. Lets just hope they have done vigorous uv exposure test to see if it falls apart or delams. Time will tell. But if I can get a12m under 2kg thats pretty awesome. And ocean rodeo are actually innovative but they don't harp on too much. Just grt job done. Pm me east cc when you have some in oz please
Will this material be exclusive to Ocean Rodeo or will all kite manufactures have access to this material?
Yep this is true innovation!! A true game changer. Twice as light 10 times stronger and the the valves fail before the material. We are gonna need bigger pumps!!!
What wasn't mentioned is cost per square metre.
My assumption would be like Naish has exclusivetivity on quad tex then OR will have the same. Not official just my guess if you are going to release a game changer you would want to have exclusive rights to it no doubt.
Only time will tell
Interesting. A replacement for dacron. He mentioned it was stiffer a number of times... So couple concerns i would have is folding on same point repeatedly due to its stiffness the aluulaa? May fail sooner (bending something rigid vs something not)
Also... New material manufactured in canada? Being used for things other then sporting goods aka inflatable tents for war zones refugees medical disasters etc etc may take a preference and in a new factory? Old factory new machines? In developed country? In developing country? All sounds a bit expensive.
But at end of the day im all for new fabrics materials etc
i know cabrinha had a bit of a "dacron" change few years ago something they started to privately produced i believe.
But apart from that i i havent heard much in the way of new reinforced fabric being used.
I like the possibility of skinnier leading edges and struts as much as the weight savings. Would do quite a bit for flight characteristics
Let's face it, kite design is pretty much flatlined, miniscule adjustments that really no one can really notice and even if they do, have little bearing on performance for most.
Weight savings...rigidity and longevity must be the next phase. Material innovation.
but they aren't strong ... This material apparently is lighter but 10 times stronger...used for inflatables with inflatable characteristics.
This material equals a much, much more responsive kite, longevity and a lighter frame, all positives imo.
I can tell you when OR changed from the standard Dacron LE to the new Polyant KPE Dacron LE and struts it was very noticeable with the kite in the air due to less stretch and distortion in the KPE material frame.
The weight of a no strut kite with the stability of struts? I think at the least it'll be very interesting to see where this material heads in the future.
OR have been working on materials for a long time now and have been in the kiting industry over 17 years so I'm sure the UV exposure, abrasion etc has been thoroughly tested for kiting.
Lighter and stronger, yes please. Wish they were more local, I've a soft spot for OR.
Is Crave a new kite?
I think some people are getting a little confused in here.
Fabrics measured in gsm grams square meter. Within that fabric you may have something commonly known as ripstop. This is just a thicker thread woven amongst thinner threads.
Now the "new material" which doesnt belong to ocean rodea at all but they are useing it on theyre kites is according to the salesman half the weight 75gsm as dacron (allegedly 150gsm) but just as strong... Or stronger?
Now the RIP TEST was always marketed on the actual canopy of kites not the structual parts (leading edge and struts) and it was basically just a little leaflet book to show you d2 (2 thicker lines woven in) was harder to rip then d1
Heres where some of you seem to be getting confused. 75gsm is obscenely heavy for a canopy fabric but allegedly light for a kite frame. Canopys particularly in foils are more around 20gsm
And with some ultralight gliders apparently being reported by repairers to be somewhat akin to opening a chip packet after a few hundred uv hours www.flyozone.com/paragliders/products/gliders/ultralite-4 you can read the stats below were talking 27gsm for bottom skin and what looks to be 20 for top. On a 19 square meter wing keep in mind 2 skins and all the ribs!! So close to 40square meters cloth coming in at 2kgs!!!
Same manufacturer so simular build methods 13 square meter kite in what they consider ultra light is simular weight 2kgs ozonekites.com/products/water-kites/hyperlink-v2/
Obviously your going to use a more durable fabric for kiteing due to the added wear and tear that can occur.
Point is material selection is a choice. Weave had lighter stronger heavier weaker whatever characteristic you want available for years and years. Theres always a positive and a negative with every choice. One heavier denier line 2, 3, 2.5, 4. Then youve got your coating options before its woven and after even different weaveing methods and patterns can be achieved to give fabric strengths in different directions bit like torsion on your boards.
Saying some hinky dink kite brand invented or own a material created by whats usually an enourmous business that then sells a few reems to a kite brand or might even give them a contractual agreement to only supply them and no other brand a particular cloth doesnt make it THERE'S.
Id say theres a good chance the canadian boffins who worked on the aluuulluuu who happen to also kite will be closely entwine with ocean rodea tho given theyre a local company to them.
Ill be interested to hear who is actually making the fabric and what country its being made in.
Anyways a quick google showed me a few years old paragraph on the cabrinha contras build with some fabric weights to give you an idea. A
Cabrinha kites are designed and built on a Skeletal Frame foundation. We start by placing the most durable, 160 gsm Dacron material into a framework that locks in the intended shape. We then create the canopy shape and profiles with a light weight yet highly durable 53 gsm polyester woven material. We build on the durability of the canopy material with a second layer of 53 gsm two-ply material over the high stress strut sections. Next, we layer into the perimeter a 75 gsm, double ripstop reinforcement material to combat the extreme loads that are placed on the trailing edge and wing tip areas of the kite."
Anyways i think i can see my tail now and this has been fun going in circles and all
Tldr
People dont do tear tests on dacron they did them on canopy material i doubt anyones tearing a sheet of dacron. So his little tear test was a bit stupid tbh
Dont get kite frame fabric and kite canopy fabric confused.
Btw in 2011 best were using a 50 gsm dacron
So numbers alone altho give you a good idea they arent the be all and end all.
If its really good stuff i just hope its affordable and can be rolled out quick and easy
Sh!t that sounds awesome! I love seeing brands experimenting with different products and materials etc. stoked to see how these go! Well done ocean rodeo !!!