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Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3 and now 8.5

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LesFoilZ
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Fri Jul 14, 2017 8:12 pm

New session today with the 4.5. Wind was from 20 to 30 with some lulls around 17/18 and some gusts 32/33 knots at the weather station. No waves, only an awful very short wind swell. Not really interesting ... sort of bump & jump session. Very sunny and 30°C, a nice windy summer day otherwise. I was using a Surftech Strech 5'10 tri-fin, a quick board with a low rocker but with still some volume (i.e. not a freestyle board for strapless but still funny for bump & jump sessions).

The smart wave 4.5 performs very well ... I have nothing to complain about: Very good upwind, turns quickly but still controllable, drifts very well, depower very efficient and it is very very solid in the air, no tips moving, no flaps ... rock solid. I was even asking for more wind in the gusts :-) Fake bottom turns strapless -- going quickly downwind in 50cm wind swell :-) -- in strong winds are easy, the kite is not pulling me out of the board.

More (in French) about the session >> Here on LesFoilz.com << together with the comments from two other riders. We are now three French riders with a smart wave 4.5 and our tests lead to the same conclusions.

Stef

LesFoilZ
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5

Postby LesFoilZ » Fri Jul 21, 2017 6:41 pm

After many back and forth emails, Benoît Tremblay finally decided to design a smart wave 3m and here it is, lying in my garden:

Image

The last tests of the 4.5 in high winds were so successful that I think this 3m will be a no limit kite for strapless wave riding for lightweigth riders (I am 63 kg) and also certainly interesting for people riding hydrofoils, in waves in particular.

It is really tiny in a nice small bag (I put my shoes aside to give an idea of the size once in the bag -- I am 9 in US size).

Image

It is very close to the 4.5 in shape with air entries only in the center, scratchs on the tips and no opening in the back of the kite unlike the 6.5 and the 4.5. Very compact and really nice.

Benoît Tremblay has done some good testing but I now need a good high wind day to assess what she can do ... I wouldn't mind giving it a try at Guincho for instance.

I am ready for nuclear days 8-) That would be nice that the wind range starts at around 30 knots, we will see...

http://www.lesfoilz.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=3613

Stef
Last edited by LesFoilZ on Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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mig27
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby mig27 » Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:42 pm

Very interesting developments!
I wish one of the big brands will pick up this niche market very soon!
Liquid Force knew where to find Benoit when they needed a high performance foilkite in their program. I wish they would contact him for this wave foilkite concept!

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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby LesFoilZ » Sat Jul 22, 2017 9:51 am

mig27 wrote:
Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:42 pm
I wish one of the big brands will pick up this niche market very soon!
Why would you want that?

plummet
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby plummet » Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:10 pm

Have you tried it on a foil board?

PS it looks a little like a closed cell version of a 2008 ozone access that I used to own.

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mig27
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby mig27 » Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:46 pm

LesFoilZ wrote:
Sat Jul 22, 2017 9:51 am
Why would you want that?
Because Benoit will never be able to distribute this kite in large quantities. He only makes kites on request.

I would love to test one for example. The same for the concept'air Pulsion! Not possible unless i meet up with one of the French kite owners.

Regis-de-giens
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby Regis-de-giens » Mon Jul 24, 2017 9:44 am

I understand your point but let's take it the other way : it is a rare opportunity to ride a kite that only few people have ... And regarding the second hand market, up to now almost all concept'airs I know have found a new happy owner in very short time (1 day just by 3 phone calls for my first Pulsion 12m that I just changed for a new one to test another cloth, and similar for a friend);

borist
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby borist » Mon Jul 24, 2017 7:19 pm

Regis. did you (or anyone) tried ozone hyperlink and how it compares to pulsion?
in 12m size?

Regis-de-giens
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby Regis-de-giens » Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:12 pm

I did not try sorry. I am curious about the weight of the Hypelink which is currently not in light cloth as far as I know.

The very light weight of the Pulsion was one of the two parameters that made me take the risk to buy one (and overall agility for waterstarts and loops). And what I like on the pulsion the most is :

-its wonderful loop radius and power (I suppose hyperlink has a similar)

-its impressive stability and plug-and-play (I suppose the same for the ozone)

-its unbeatable light wind zenith and ride ability for both snowkite and hydrofoil (I would bet that Ozone will not be as effective)

-its performance comparable to a FS speed 3 and 4 (I would bet that Hyperlink is a bit behind due to a thicker profile from what I see on pictures).

Maybe Hyperlink is more robust toward kite crashes, and overall seems (pure personnal intuition) more beginner oriented than Pulsion. Anyway I am so happy that foilers discover with pleasure (through Hyperlink or Pulsion whatever) the medium Aspect Ratio fun and advantages for non-competitors.

ps : a test with the 4.5 wave should come soon.
Last edited by Regis-de-giens on Tue Jul 25, 2017 7:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

borist
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Re: Concept Air Smart Wave 6.5 & 4.5 & 3

Postby borist » Tue Jul 25, 2017 2:06 am

Regis-de-giens wrote:
Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:12 pm
-its unbeatable light wind zenith and ride ability for both snowkite and hydrofoil (I would bet that Ozone is a step behind)
That would be my guess. Heavier weight will probably slow down acceleration a bit as well.


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