Aluula? New Revolutionary Material from Ocean Rodeo

[ap888]

I tested the « Roam 10m black » this afternoon on my Hydrofoil (ketos pocket board 107 and front wing « wave xl »).
I first spent 90mn with my Neo 10m and then 90mn on the Roam aluula. Wind was about 12knt average but more 7 to 15knt. On a lake.
I must say some of the marketing claims are true and I had a blast!
- not sure about power given how up-and-down the wind was. It did feel as powerful as my Neo.
- stability in gust and lulls is unbelievable. At some point wind was too low to waterstart and pretty sure I would not have been able to keep my Neo in the air. With the aluula kite it was no problem. And it absorbs gusts extremely well with zero « deformation » of the kite...
- drift is also excellent, way better than with the Neo in that wind range.
- but the most impressive part is the responsiveness and turning speed. It does move like my neo 7 To the point that when doing downloop transitions you have to slow down the loop to get enough power! I loved it!

That being said, I think Ocean Rodeo is doing the right thing not rushing to production. I was checking some of the Flite Aluula on the ground and the Aluula leading edge had « scratches » all over. Same type of « scratches » you can have on carbon board if you are not careful... it looks superficial but you wonder how the material is going to hold after months of abuse.

Anyway i’m really looking forward to see how this material is going to impact kite design in the future.

More feedback getting excited now

[droffats]

Aluula is harder to tear, but not harder to scratch. Because it is so tear resistant some people might forget that they still need to treat it like a kite -- avoid scratches and punctures. Think of it like other high-end products -- like carbon fiber bicycles for example. They may be lighter than other materials and have the same or better stiffness, but that doesn't mean they can be kicked around or abused.

[Toby]

What I wish for is a kite that gives me the power of my 18 in 20-25 knots, but for 15-20 knots... Like a big foil kite delivers...

You answered your own question. A 21m especially race type foil like Sonic will do what you want. I am sure too if you wanted more power Flysurfer would mail you free a one off of any size you wanted, 25m?. The Rhino 20m is not even as good as a 15m foil for lift and hang..

But in want a tube not a foil.

[SENDIT!]

I tested the « Roam 10m black » this afternoon on my Hydrofoil (ketos pocket board 107 and front wing « wave xl »).
I first spent 90mn with my Neo 10m and then 90mn on the Roam aluula. Wind was about 12knt average but more 7 to 15knt. On a lake.
I must say some of the marketing claims are true and I had a blast!
- not sure about power given how up-and-down the wind was. It did feel as powerful as my Neo.
- stability in gust and lulls is unbelievable. At some point wind was too low to waterstart and pretty sure I would not have been able to keep my Neo in the air. With the aluula kite it was no problem. And it absorbs gusts extremely well with zero « deformation » of the kite...
- drift is also excellent, way better than with the Neo in that wind range.
- but the most impressive part is the responsiveness and turning speed. It does move like my neo 7 To the point that when doing downloop transitions you have to slow down the loop to get enough power! I loved it!

That being said, I think Ocean Rodeo is doing the right thing not rushing to production. I was checking some of the Flite Aluula on the ground and the Aluula leading edge had « scratches » all over. Same type of « scratches » you can have on carbon board if you are not careful... it looks superficial but you wonder how the material is going to hold after months of abuse.

Anyway i’m really looking forward to see how this material is going to impact kite design in the future.

Very much the same things that I observed when I flew both the Flite 14.5 and prototype 9.5 Prodigy at AWSI last month. I wasn't foiling it, so I didn't really get a chance to "drift" it, but the turning speed/responsiveness was incredible. The day I flew the 9.5, it was super gusty conditions and it just didn't do any deforming/fluttering, etc...it's just stable. Loved it and can't wait to get one in my hands again!

I also think that maybe the scratches are just more visible b/c the material is black and kind of glossy. I look at a lot of used kites that people bring me to sell on consignment and that's something that seems to be pretty universal on the LE, especially if you do a lot of self launching. Time will tell, I suppose.

[ap888]

Who cares scratches don't affect anything but looks... if u buy a new car it's gonna get scratches they are a part of life

[nixmatters]

'No scratches' is the new 'still crispy'

Aluula permanent marker anyone?

[iriejohn]

If a 3 strut 12m, for example, weighs less than 2 kg exactly who gives a flying f.uck whether the LE scratches, 'cos I don't!

Sorry to be technical about this.

[pmaggie]

John, I completely agree. I will for sure love those beautiful scratches while I'm the only one with the kite in the air! ))

[jyka]

^ until LE explodes because of the scratches and the kite falls from the sky..

[Pierrot]

I have no idea how the kites I saw got « scratches »... and those are demo kites that probably don’t receive the love they deserve...
but I’m sure we would be seeing tons on negative comments if OR was releasing $3000 kites getting cosmetic problems with normal use.
So this is where their launch strategy makes total sense and give them time to collect feedback from real life usage and adjust if required.