Airush Ultra: one strut kite that meets expectations of a ram air lover

[Bletti]

Still a fair bit heavier than the new clouds. Airush ultra 8m is 33% heavier than cloud d at 2.18kg and 1.65 respectively.

[Peter_Frank]

I think you guys underestimate the design and need for overall use

Going as light as possible is at huge costs, especially for jumping powered, and if it gets washed in small breakers.

I would never consider a performance race foil kite for jumping (eventhough they are good at this, particularly hydrofoiling), because the bridles will wear out pretty quick for the lowest drag ones.

Same goes for waveboards - some love the superlight ones, they have to change quite often because of dents and breaking, others (like me) prefer an extra layer of glass, as if you get your "perfect" board made, you want it to last very long, and be able to jump and everything without risk.

Looking at the numbers and comparing "on the internet" like this, actually says close to nothing about a kite.
Even those just a bit lighter than your overall (heavier) freestyle/freeride/wave kites, when designed well, are awesome in marginal wind for hydrofoiling - and then they can be used on twintips and waveboards or even for learning, thats the upside.

Go out and ride the thing!
Or listen to reviews, knowing it can be biased

Peter

[Starsky]

Design simplicity and tech makes a huge difference.

I certainly wouldn't go buying a Cloud for jumping or twin tip riding, but as a foil/wave kite I fully expect them to last every bit as long as the other kites in my collection. They are simply, cleanly, but well built. No excess, but well put together with all the classic techniques and materials.

As to boards. I laugh whenever I hear pro wannabes talk about a fresh board feel (people do it with kites too). I never buy gear with the intent to sell it when its "fresh" feel is gone. I love those people, they are who I look for when shopping.

Feather light surfboards that stands up super well to the loads of kiting and airing exist. Roughing up the glass and puncturing the shaped blank to allow ingress of the resin and fibre are definitely a viable way to stop delimitation.

Know what your buying and use it appropriately and the gear is out there and will not disappoint.

I think its very valid to point out that some of the single strut kites are more show than substance. The LF solo has never shown itself to be very light or quick and it shows when you fly one next to a cloud. In my opinion the solo was a simple knee jerk reaction without much thinking through the use of materials and construction to fully embrace the concept. Its a kite like any other with a couple fewer struts. The first gen was not very good, the next ones are likely better. Same goes to companies who chop the nose off their surfboards but change nothing else to get in on the band wagon. Just look at the foils put out by Naish and Cab compared to those that actually do R&D on foil design like Zeeko or Moses. The products are light years apart.

Kiting is ruled by fashion and whim. Remember how fast every manufacturer switched to below the bar trim systems? and now were back to above the bar. You have to have a modicum of brain to weed through the imitators to get to the genuinely good gear. Simple statements like lighter will be weaker, is not dependable in a market like ours.

The cloud or the true Tomo design boards, or any of the foils from the top foil producers on the other hand are designed from the other end of the spectrum. They are not a stripped down off the shelf designs, but gear built from the ground up that fully encompass a design philosophy. Durability is not sacrificed in any real way on any of the top products on the market be it kite board foil or wetsuit.

In the end it does come down to the numbers. Weight in a kite for foiling in light wind is one of the biggest factors influencing performance. Just as you would not expect a racing foil to be an appropriate tool for jumping, neither is a cloud. I feel for the guy who goes and buys a solo, a naish foil, and a slingy angry swallow in hopes of covering both their foiling and wave goals. The gear will do neither well. A Cloud, a Zeeko and a Tomo cost about the same and would be an entirely different experience with the same or better durability.

[IainMacaskill]

I picked up a 12m Ultra last Thursday and I'm happy to say its awesome. I ride on the Solent, Great Britain, which is home to gusty winds that lull to the point you're fully powered and then your kite falls out of the sky but I had none of these problems with the Ultra. I tested the relaunch in wind to lite for me to launch on my twin tip, about 6-8kts and I still had to pull on the trim to force the kite out of the sky, once on the water it went to the edge and relaunched with minimal efforts on my part. I've never experienced a kite to relaunch so easily in such lite wind and I've flown the Mono, Neo, Evo & Flite.

You can tell the Ultra was built to work with the hydrofoil, the power is there to launch and then once you're up and riding it just drifts along with you. Its one of those kites you don't have to watch you can ride happily on the feel off the bar to know where the kite is. Once launched I can just sheet out and focus on riding the wing, I was practising for over two hours in winds with an average of 10-16kts and I never had an issue with stalling or fluttering, indeed there is only flutter on the inside tip when you pivot the kite hard and its a very fast turning 12m kite.

On a negative note the bag is a daft design with a central zip, I'll probably substitute it for an Ikea zip bag as the bag zip is to close to the kite and I think it could pinch the material.

If you're looking for a kite to Hydrofoil get a demo of the Ultra, I'm still full of new kite glow so less than fully objective but I've flown the Mono and the Flite and I prefer the Ultra but as you know kite feel is a personal thing.

[socommk23]

I picked up a 12m Ultra last Thursday and I'm happy to say its awesome. I ride on the Solent, Great Britain, which is home to gusty winds that lull to the point you're fully powered and then your kite falls out of the sky but I had none of these problems with the Ultra. I tested the relaunch in wind to lite for me to launch on my twin tip, about 6-8kts and I still had to pull on the trim to force the kite out of the sky, once on the water it went to the edge and relaunched with minimal efforts on my part. I've never experienced a kite to relaunch so easily in such lite wind and I've flown the Mono, Neo, Evo & Flite.

You can tell the Ultra was built to work with the hydrofoil, the power is there to launch and then once you're up and riding it just drifts along with you. Its one of those kites you don't have to watch you can ride happily on the feel off the bar to know where the kite is. Once launched I can just sheet out and focus on riding the wing, I was practising for over two hours in winds with an average of 10-16kts and I never had an issue with stalling or fluttering, indeed there is only flutter on the inside tip when you pivot the kite hard and its a very fast turning 12m kite.

On a negative note the bag is a daft design with a central zip, I'll probably substitute it for an Ikea zip bag as the bag zip is to close to the kite and I think it could pinch the material.

If you're looking for a kite to Hydrofoil get a demo of the Ultra, I'm still full of new kite glow so less than fully objective but I've flown the Mono and the Flite and I prefer the Ultra but as you know kite feel is a personal thing.

Last thursday? Was that a down wind leg?

[tegirinenashi]

...I think its very valid to point out that some of the single strut kites are more show than substance. The LF solo has never shown itself to be very light or quick and it shows when you fly one next to a cloud. In my opinion the solo was a simple knee jerk reaction without much thinking through the use of materials and construction to fully embrace the concept. Its a kite like any other with a couple fewer struts....

Yes, I often doubt they [kite designers/manufacturers] know what they are doing.

Exhibit#1: humongous inflation valves on light wind kite:

This is understood, using the same valve among all the product variations is simple, so why bother?

Exhibit#2: Self rescue handles (AKA "safety handles" on that Airush Ultra). I did self rescue enough times to assert those are just useless dead weight.

Exhibit#3: "Integrated Dyneema". It seems that Airush designers thought that normal canopy is not heavy enough, so they were compelled to add those strings. That may be harmless for normal kites, but why not to revisit this decision for light wind kite?

[IainMacaskill]

I picked up a 12m Ultra last Thursday and I'm happy to say its awesome. I ride on the Solent, Great Britain, which is home to gusty winds that lull to the point you're fully powered and then your kite falls out of the sky but I had none of these problems with the Ultra. I tested the relaunch in wind to lite for me to launch on my twin tip, about 6-8kts and I still had to pull on the trim to force the kite out of the sky, once on the water it went to the edge and relaunched with minimal efforts on my part. I've never experienced a kite to relaunch so easily in such lite wind and I've flown the Mono, Neo, Evo & Flite.

You can tell the Ultra was built to work with the hydrofoil, the power is there to launch and then once you're up and riding it just drifts along with you. Its one of those kites you don't have to watch you can ride happily on the feel off the bar to know where the kite is. Once launched I can just sheet out and focus on riding the wing, I was practising for over two hours in winds with an average of 10-16kts and I never had an issue with stalling or fluttering, indeed there is only flutter on the inside tip when you pivot the kite hard and its a very fast turning 12m kite.

On a negative note the bag is a daft design with a central zip, I'll probably substitute it for an Ikea zip bag as the bag zip is to close to the kite and I think it could pinch the material.

If you're looking for a kite to Hydrofoil get a demo of the Ultra, I'm still full of new kite glow so less than fully objective but I've flown the Mono and the Flite and I prefer the Ultra but as you know kite feel is a personal thing.

Last thursday? Was that a down wind leg?

Yup, straight down wind from the Ice Cream van to Salters Park, thankfully a very nice man gave me a lift back up the road.

[omg]

so comoon guys; give us some more feedback on the 12 and 15 meter kites, pretty please! =)
Do they truly hang in the air in very low winds and most importantly, do they have the power spike needed to get on foil (and what wind speed do you consider the absolute minimum for foiling on the 12 and 15)?

Thanks and good winds!

[dr511]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=sAyiOHXCjW8
Yes it does

[martino86]

Do you guys think the Ultra in 15 will be a good kite for fun TT freeriding in light winds at 140lbs?