Can't comment on the Pulse as I don't unhook. I've only ridden the 8m in nuking winds and hated it, but I'm not a fan of freestyle/crossover and only used my crossovers for surfing, so ignore me.Dutchman wrote: ↑Sun Aug 29, 2021 9:23 am
Just a question from my side related to the Orbit vs other kite discussion. Currently I am having a full quiver of Dice kites (7,9,12, 90kg) I am doubting to change the 7m and 9m for a 9m Orbit and my 12m Dice for a 12m Pulse, as I don't kite anymore after 40+ knots and I like to unhook with the 12m Dice but seems the Pulse is more or less similar. Do you guys have any experience on both and can be tell a bit on the differences?
What I notice now is that when having 10m+ jumps on the 9m Dice, you need to be very precise when helilooping/downlooping as the float/catch is a hit-or-miss. Steering too far to one side and it won't catch you anymore when helmlooping/downlooping. Catching is not right word in this but hopefully you understand what I mean. Besides that, the bar pressure is quite heavy, especially when having multiple days in a row, my lower arms feel sore in strong winds. I am doing kite loops now at around 7/8m but the dice is not always catching me, so which kite is quicker in looping/catching after the loop? Or is it similar?
Happy to hear your thoughts.
9m Orbit has enough float and super easy to heli. If you use it on the soft setting, just be aware it's super fast and you can't crank it. If you do, it will swing through 12 oclock way too quickly and not provide enough lift. I sometimes deliberately almost fly it out of the window to bring it back overhead for a nice touchdown. Soft setting is also very lightweight bar pressure. I started looping it on the soft, but ended moving to the hard to slow down the kite a bit to do lower loops (and stop the previously mentioned 12oclock pivot). Also, if you don't kite in 40kn+, you don't need anything smaller than the 9m. I only swap to the 8m when it starts gusting 45-50. 8m is the lowest I'd go on an Orbit 90kg+. The 7m was extremely droppy for me. A few of the others I ride with thought the same thing.
As for catching after a loop, a Dice should easily catch you from a 7/8m kite loop. I guess it depends how low you're bringing it, but typically, people start with late pulls and high loops. Unless it's really gusty and the kite is stalling a bit on the climb? The other option is you're not going as high as you think you are, which is pretty much everyone when they first start looping.
So, in summary:
1. Dice vs Pulse for freestyle - no idea.
2. Orbit is much more forgiving and floaty than the Dice. However, if you pull too hard, especially on the soft setting, it will pivot in place and provide no lift.
3. Orbit bar pressure is light on soft, soft/medium on hard settings. (subjective)
4. Orbit will be quicker to loop as it's more pivotal. However, I suspect something else is wrong if the Dice isn't catching you after an 8m kiteloop.