Aluula? New Revolutionary Material from Ocean Rodeo

[pmaggie]

After so many years reading "game changer" for every small (and often useless) "improvement", 50% less weight definitely IS game changing. FS Soul 8 is declared at 1,72 kgs. Less than 2 kgs. for a 10 mts 3 struts lei means flying a kite with the weight of a foil but without all the cons of a foil. The price will be for sure quite high in the beginning but is a FS cheap? Also, in the foilboarding era, a small size super light sail is a must. Many compliments to OR, really.

[Greenturtle]

Yeah he does say we’ll be “seeing a lot of aluula out there in the market” so doesn’t sound exclusive to OR. Still, props to them.

I personally would be excited seeing this hit the whitewater rafting industry as well assuming its lighter and stronger (and slides over rocks slicker) than hypalon at thicknesses useful to that sport... I reckon that might possibly be another, larger side, of what this was developed for...?

[jumptheshark]

OR have always had an eye for innovation. They have never shied away from being different. They worked with venting their canopy in effort to relaminate air flow on the back side of the canopy and reduce stall, they came up with the ever lasting meme of the go joe, they have put stock in altering the shape of the LE of their kites near the wingtip in effort to put bridle attachments in more ideal locations compared to center or effort. They were key in the better designed rear bar trim and have always been out front with their drysuits. They even made a crazy surfing drysuit for a few years. A joy to use,,,,, once you were in it! I'm not surprised they are the ones to bring new materials to the sport, and predict they have indeed done their due diligence in testing. I bet this will work out well not only for them, but for the sport in general.

I am rather amazed that boards and more or North or cab or Naish with all their deep pockets were happy fritting away cash on glossy promo materials rather than get down to some actual materials R&D. While the kite industry players are all chasing the quick cash wing hype, OR is going to steal their lunch with actual improvement to our sport.

I wish them massive success.

[nixmatters]

It would be enough if OR get the ALUULA at cost for their input in the development and have the 1st to market advantage.

And as Hypalon was mentioned above, I'm very inclined to believe that the black coating/laminate is something of the sort.
The structural yarn is no doubt some sort of UHMWPE (white yarn clearly visible in the video). Only Zylon is on par with Dyneema/Spectra as regards tenacity and elongation, but is 50% heavier and has low UV, abrasion and moisture resistance. And much more expensive than generic UHMWPE.

Higher kite prices - if calculated per hour riding rather than per sq.m... might be well worth it

[chibern]

What's that "Crave" kite in the background? I don't see it in their current line-up...

[Jfoil]

I am rather amazed that boards and more or North or cab or Naish with all their deep pockets were happy fritting away cash on glossy promo materials rather than get down to some actual materials R&D. While the kite industry players are all chasing the quick cash wing hype, OR is going to steal their lunch with actual improvement to our sport.

I wish them massive success.

I don’t think you can assume the other brands aren’t going to use it too. Maybe they just aren’t putting out marketing videos until they have something ready to sell

[nixmatters]

What's that "Crave" kite in the background? I don't see it in their current line-up...

The kite (technology) we've been all craving for

CRAdle to graVE is less likely in the context of modern sustainable product lifetime concepts

[GregK]

Ocean Rodeo also were involved in the stick shift bar but ....

Ocean Rodeo own the IP ( intellectual property ) on their Shift bar and are licensing it out to other brands, like Ben Wilson Surf and Harlem, just like Slingshot did with the 1-pump inflation system. Wide adoption through licensing maximizes the return on investment to develop new technology. Trying to maintain exclusivity means wasting huge effort and cost in litigating patent infringers.

O.R. definitely have a head-start on other brands with the Aluula fabric, and maybe a short term exclusive-use contract with the company, but to maximize the ROI to develop the new material, wide industry adoption would be the plan.

[bragnouff]

While the kite industry players are all chasing the quick cash wing hype, OR is going to steal their lunch with actual improvement to our sport.

Can't wait for some Aluula wings!

[Mossy 757]

This is rad, I'm glad they're the ones putting this out because they have a dedicated and loyal following that will battle-test this stuff immediately.

Wouldn't it be sick if this was the answer to kiteracing and we finally got great, super-light-wind inflatable kites that finally put ram-airs to bed?