Rider: 100kegs after a morning cleansing ,intermediate
Style: Foil
Weather: whatever
Build Quality: 9/10
Satisfaction: 7/10
Disclosure: Pay for my own gear without the wife knowing !!
So i recently made the move from LEI to foil kites . Having never flown a self inflating kite i had NFI what to expect but hey the cool kids were all using them on their foils so i had to get one . I went with the 11m Sonic from in the loop after speaking to people who had flown all the foils the Sonic seemed to be more user friendly .
I'll say it now but i have one complaint and it's a pretty big one. The race bar . Pure and simply it's****** **** . Hard bar ends, a safety system that snaps after 10 or so hours , no extended trim rope and a ****ty ckicken loop and donkey dick . Ozone's latest race bar with soft ends is far superior and can be used with the sonic's as long as you run the flysurfer lines .
Now that is out the way, WOW . What an awesome kite . I've flown my 11m from 20 knots all the way down to this on monday .
i was out from around 2:30 to 4:30 on melville . At times the kite dropped out of the sky but the sonic seems to not take on water as quick as i had assumed a ram air would . At one stage i was down in the water for nearly 20 minutes and eventually enough wind came through to reverse launch and bobs your uncle . The biggest difference i found to a LEI was the way it pulled . My first time out in 18-20 knots i was getting pulled everywhere like a rag doll . After crashing the kite fell down in what i can only describe as a clusterf#ck . Now if this was an inflatible ---- gmae over , pack down and swim on , but after some gentle coaxing this thing just unravels on its own and relaunches . The lift from the sonic is simply amazing but once you get over the different handling quirks wow . I think for foiling and raceboards the foils are just another step up from a LEI . The angles both upwind and downwind constantly shock me .
My next one will be a 9m sonic after i sell a kidney and then a 15m sonic which i will more than likely have to sell my spleene to afford .
Good honest review. The bar needs work and this is due for replacement in due course - FLYSURFER have begun work on the new one. Have you replaced the safety system with the upgrade - it does away with the small steel block above the trim strap ? Your kite may or may not have been delivered with the upgrade depending on when it was ordered.
I just purchased an 11m also from Marvin.
I have to say that the power is quite unbelievable for the size.
The first time out I saw guys on 12m kites and surfboards walking back upwind, meanwhile I was still tracking upwind on my twintip (146x46@84kg), I was able to maintain ground down to about 8 knots.
The Sonic is a beautifully made kite and looks great in the sky. I'll be using it for foiling and have sold my 18m inflatable kite as the Sonic does a better job without the extra work of pumping up and hauling a big slug around the sky.
I'm very keen to try the 9 and 15 too.
I'd be interested to hear what size you guys would recommend for say 8-18kts for 100kegs on a foil board... seems really hard to pick 11/15/18. I hear good things about all the sizes...
Dusta. A few tips on foil flying. Let the bar out. To much bar in chokes it. If your being tea bagged in high winds. Slow the board speed down. Control the board speed, control the power.
Keep the kite in the window. If you need to slack line it for what ever reason. Do it with the kite deep in the window. Then it wont collapse.
Red thumbs on the OP because...?
I like the Infinity 2 CL. I like that I can see the rope inside it and replace it easily. There's even a shorter version...
What snapped? The Sonics I've seen are single front safety...
FS race bars I've seen all have long dangly ropes too... did you get a Freeride bar instead?
10 to 15 on a TT and the 18 and I'm having a lark, and I weigh more than you. My S3 15 has a surprising good low end, I bet the Sonic is better and with the foil board...
If if I was replacing the S3 21 for TT riding, I go Sonic 18 without a second thought; but I'd have to ride the S4 18 and 21 if I was going for the "more delicate" race kite...
Standard lines on the 18 and it's a PITA to work as you don't get much of a power stroke before you have to redirect to avoid the ground; shorter would be horrible. First thing I did was kite loop to start, and dragged the tip across the beach
BTW the local club house has a foil in; he's thinking of renting it out but can't decide on a suitable hourly rate...
dave if you are going to get one then get the 11 . The reason i went with an 11 to start with was my 11 edge was my most used kite . 10-low twenties at our weight .