13m sonic 2 review

[Adventure Logs]

No, but I was at a regatta this weekend and it was prrtty clear from the guys on Diablos that theyre a bit more prone to tip collapse. Still awesome kites, but I think Flysurfer hit a home run with the sonic2.

Interesting. There are 3 of us that have diablos and no tip tuck issues at all. 3 others have flysurfers v1 and v2 sonics and this weekend I saw the v2 have plenty of tip tuck issues.

Do you know what size were the sonics? I think the smaller sizes are more unstable.

[davesails7]

Full disclosure, I got sone discount on my sonic 1's and sonic 2s, but they are still the most expensive kites I have ever purchased (previously rode chrono, dynos, edges, rebels)

Ibe been riding the 9, 11, and 15 sonic 1's since August 2015 and have been happy with them.

I got my new 15m sonic 2 last week just in time for a race this weekend. Also borrowed a 13m sonic 2 for the weekend. Haven't tried the smaller sizes yet.

Biggest changes from sonic 1:
-more solid in the air. No matter how loose the lines get, it just wants to stay fully inflated.

-the lotus material really sheds water. Trough user error I crashed the kite twice over three days of racing and dipped the wingtip while looping through several jibes (still getting used to short lines) where I would have expected lots of water coming off the kite after relaunch, barely any water went up with the kite. Relaunch seemed really good. During one of the crashes it was pretty light.

-No backstalling. To go fast downwind on the sonic 1 I had to constantly play the bar to let it breathe. With the sonic 2 I just let the depose all the way out, and pulled the bar to the chicken loop, and followed it downwind. This led to more consistent speeds downwind and lower angles.

-At first I thought the turning speed was slower, but I realized with the sonic 1 it would easily backstall and pivot in place. The sonic 2 just keeps moving forward steadily through the turn. Was not a problem after a bit of adjusting my jibe process. Once I adjusted my starting point for the loop a bit higher, it was a lot easier because the power delivery was smooth through the loop.

Didn't get a chance to try back to back with the sonic 1, but I'll post back when I get a chance.

The only other foil kites I've flown were the chrono v1, speed 4 and speed 5, so can't comment vs diablos or r1s. Based on my results relative to other riders I race with regularly, I think sonic 2 is competitive with the r1v2 and Diablo 2 for less cost. We didn't really get down to survival light wind conditions though, so will be interesting to see how it compares to diablo 2 and r1 v2 which I think are quite a bit lighter.

[socommk23]

No, but I was at a regatta this weekend and it was prrtty clear from the guys on Diablos that theyre a bit more prone to tip collapse. Still awesome kites, but I think Flysurfer hit a home run with the sonic2.

Interesting. There are 3 of us that have diablos and no tip tuck issues at all. 3 others have flysurfers v1 and v2 sonics and this weekend I saw the v2 have plenty of tip tuck issues.

Do you know what size were the sonics? I think the smaller sizes are more unstable.

It was an 11m that was having issues. not just on initial launch but even once inflated and going a tip would occasionally tuck. Not saying it's always going to be the case. But an observation during a buggy race.

[Adventure Logs]

Would make sense. My Sonic FR 18m is solid as a rock but the 11m blows

[davesails7]

Would make sense. My Sonic FR 18m is solid as a rock but the 11m blows

My sonic 1 was 11m super solid, 15m with tip curling after about 10 sessions. Who knows haha. I was able to fix it easily by adjusting the mixers.

[kiter4fun123]

What bar size for the sonic 2 13m?
Can i use the same as for my speed 5 9m (50cm)?

Anyone can compare with speed4 lotus 12m, user friendliness, launch, landning, gusty winds, low end?

[davesails7]

What bar size for the sonic 2 13m?
Can i use the same as for my speed 5 9m (50cm)?

Anyone can compare with speed4 lotus 12m, user friendliness, launch, landning, gusty winds, low end?

All I have is a 55 cm bar right now, but I'd rather have a 50 cm for all of my kite sizes (9, 11, and 15). I think it's just personal preference.

I haven't really used the Speed 4 much at all. I didn't like them when I tried them. I really liked the Sonic 1's the first time I used them.

I did ride a Speed 5 12m the same day as my Sonic 11m on a twintip a few months ago. For me the Speed 5 seemed to have 90% or 95% of the performance (jumping, hangtime...) of the Sonic, but easier to use. The Speed 5 12m kept it's shape and didn't over-fly/backstall when you messed up a jump. It's been a few months since I've ridden the Speed 5, but seems like the Sonic 2 has nearly the same ease of use of the Speed 5 with even more performance than the Sonic 1. I'll have to give them a go back to back to see for sure.

[davesails7]

Got to try the new Sonic 2 15m back to back with my 15m Sonic 1 in light wind the other day. I hate to give windspeeds, since one persons 4 knots is another persons 8 knots, but the conditions were at the minimum I need to get foiling with a 15m foil kite. On a wind sensor 100 ft up above the water 1.5 miles offshore, it was reading 7-11 knots. I was out from 2:15 to 4:00 on this graph:

The Sonic 2 definitely seems to hang more solidly in the air better than the Sonic 1.

Both kites had about the same power when you did get them moving, just the Sonic 2 stayed up easier with no input needed.

It wasn't great conditions for breaking speed records, but I was able to hit 29.3 mph on the Sonic 2.

[davesails7]

Got out on the 11m Sonic 2 today. Same great characteristics as the 13m and 15m I'd tried. Very stable and no tip tuck at all.

It was choppy and only 15 knots dropping to 10 knots, but still hit a personal best speed on the foil, 33.8 mph. 10 sec average of 32.1 mph, 30 second average of 30.3 mph.

Swam in at the end because I messed up and hit the water while downlooping through the jibe. I kept foiling for about 20 feet as it rolled on itself and bowtied I was really impressed though how even when the kite was wet, the sand didn't stick to the top skin lotus material.

[fernmanus]

I have an 18m Sonic 2. I still have 18, 12, 9m Speed 5 and I have owned 18m Chrono 1 & 2, 18, 15, 12m Speed 4 and all of the older Speeds. As others have said, the Sonic 2 is the best foil I have flown to date. Power of the Sonic, stability of the Speed 5. Just an awesome kite all around. I flew the kite on the snow in shifty, gusty conditions, the tips did not want to tuck.

The only downsides are small. 1. I would have liked to see a wider TE port for pre-inflation. However, the Sonic does have a much lower profile than a speed 5 so the amount of inflation was less, but still it needs a wider port or better yet two ports. The kite is a little more difficult to inflate once it is in the air. Perhaps, that is just because I get bored of waiting for the kite to pre-inflate in light wind, but it reminded me of a Chrono when it first goes up in the air. The tips are a bit resistant to untuck, but once it is inflated, the kite is just a joy to fly with loads of power on tap and crisp, precise handling.

It boosts big with loads of hang-time. It is also a gliding machine on the snow. We are gliding low to the ground these days, so it is great, flying a kite with tons of lift and precise handling for a glide.

Bar pressure is low, seems to me it is about the same as the prior Sonic and Speed 5. It is a lot easier to roll up then a Speed 5, as the lower profile means less air volume to expel, so packing up is fast!

The Sonic 1 while awesome was a bit odd to fly. It was a step forward in power on tap, but a step backward in stability and intuitive control. The Sonic 2 retains the power, but is so much more fun to fly. If we were comparing kites to cars, the Sonic 1 would be more like a Corvette and the Sonic 2, more like a Porsche 911. Both have ample power, but the latter is much more stable and intuitive.