Next Slingshot UFO/Ghost Kite Generation

[Turbaani]

I would think maybe 8m in 10-12 knots for you but best to ask nak.

IMHO, for 10 -12 shouldn't change or might get stronger = 8m. For 10 - 12 with a decent risk of getting lighter = 11m.

6 - 8 knots it depends on the spot. If it's going to reliably blow 6 - 8 knots all day, or at least give fair warning of dying, then I wouldn't hesitate to go out on an 11m. OTH, 6 - 8 knots and could die at any time, it's going to depend how easy the swim will be and how long it's been since I've ridden.

Those winds are mostly thermals, and it will blow very steadily untill sunset. But your analogy sounds about right. Mostly its 12kts peak, and will stay that strong for only 1-2h, then slowly fade out. 11m makes sense.

Yea haha totally agree on the level of stupidity rising when there is no wind for long time.

They seem to adress that those new smaller diameter bridle lines make a difference. How about flying lines, are you guys using normal lines, or should you use thinner lines too, race lines? And line length, do they work well with shorter lines? That new SS sentry bar looks nice, but its minimum of 20m lines.

[Nak]

They seem to adress that those new smaller diameter bridle lines make a difference. How about flying lines, are you guys using normal lines, or should you use thinner lines too, race lines? And line length, do they work well with shorter lines? That new SS sentry bar looks nice, but its minimum of 20m lines.

Very good question, I've often wondered about changing out to thinner lines for foiling...

[Foilfreddy]

I don’t own a UFO but a quiver of Clouds. I read you post so gave it a try today on the 8 mtr cloud on the Naish 810 foil, 110 pocket board. Without trying I easily hit 23 knots, so I’m guessing 25 knots would be possible. Wind was 15-18 knots.

Thank you for the test, 25kts is already alot with 8m kite. But you probably dont want to ride these kites very overpowered like you can a 5 strutter.

But I want to try ufo for wave riding, it looks awesome. My heavier 5 strut kite isn't very nimble in waves, and when the wind is below 12kts, wave riding is basically impossible.

The no struts are very versatile, but, pretty crap for jumping and upwind angles aren’t the best.
They are also not the best for learning new transitions due to the lack of lift through tacks.
You do seem to use a smaller kite than anyone else due to them sitting deep in the window, making them perfect for wave/swell riding as they are light and drift really well.
The Peak is the king of drifting, but the lack of 100% relaunch is a problem. No struts are one of the easiest to relaunch of any kite up to 7mtr, after that the lack of wind on the water surface can make it harder and patience is your friend.

Hey guys,
Long time reader of the UFO forums.
In my experience, the UFO actually jumps better than three strut wave kites. The upwind angles are also the same.
My main reason for switching to the UFO from the SST was the higher lift. I needed something that would give me more time for my upwind tack tricks. If you're comparing it to a high aspect Machine or foil kite than yeah, it has left lift. But those don't drift at all, and carving on them is unpleasant. The Peak has no lift but drifts great.

The UFO has the lift of a slightly higher aspect kite but more drift than a wave kite. Thats why I ride it.

[galewarning]

I appreciate all the comments on the UFO V2, but any new experience on the V2 Ghost over the summer?

Edit: I started a Slingshot Ghost V2 thread.

[a99]

Finally got a chance to ride a V2 smaller than my 11m. I ride my 8m today at Stevenson... Pretty much everything I wanted from the V2. Some updates are just marketing; the V2 is not. If you loved the V1 UFO, you will FU*&ing LOVE the V2 UFO.

The V2 8m compared to the V1.1 7m and 9m IMHO: The 8m feels slightly faster than the 7m and is lighter on the controls. It "feels" smaller to me than the 7m, but has more power. It also handles being over-powered much better than the V1.1 kites. i.e. It has better low end than the 7m and better high end as well. The 9m V1.1 felt heavy to me, the 8m feels much lighter than the 9m, and somewhat lighter than the 7m. The 8m has better drift than the 7m or the 9m, it also has better control when de-powered.

TLDR: the V2 8m is a better replacement for the V1.1 7m and 9m. It's just better at everything that makes a UFO a UFO.

Thank you for nice Ufo v2 8m review!
From that i understood v2 8m has the same low end as v1.1 9m kite and quite the same high end as v1.1 7m ?

Also could you tell how in general UFO dealing with gusts, it is eating gust very well or not (what is always problem for strutless kites)

[purdyd]

Finally got a chance to ride a V2 smaller than my 11m. I ride my 8m today at Stevenson... Pretty much everything I wanted from the V2. Some updates are just marketing; the V2 is not. If you loved the V1 UFO, you will FU*&ing LOVE the V2 UFO.

The V2 8m compared to the V1.1 7m and 9m IMHO: The 8m feels slightly faster than the 7m and is lighter on the controls. It "feels" smaller to me than the 7m, but has more power. It also handles being over-powered much better than the V1.1 kites. i.e. It has better low end than the 7m and better high end as well. The 9m V1.1 felt heavy to me, the 8m feels much lighter than the 9m, and somewhat lighter than the 7m. The 8m has better drift than the 7m or the 9m, it also has better control when de-powered.

TLDR: the V2 8m is a better replacement for the V1.1 7m and 9m. It's just better at everything that makes a UFO a UFO.

Thank you for nice Ufo v2 8m review!
From that i understood v2 8m has the same low end as v1.1 9m kite and quite the same high end as v1.1 7m ?

Also could you tell how in general UFO dealing with gusts, it is eating gust very well or not (what is always problem for strutless kites)

I have a 6,5,4 and v1 3

I don’t feel like there is any appreciable increase in low wind and in fact you might feel it has a bit less pull but for me at least, I am using it in the same low wind as the v1.

The v2 flies a bit more forward in the window, and it flies faster. So it gave up a little bit of park and go grunt but gained a significant upper wind range.

And if you move your kite around, and get used to the slightly lighter feel, you get the low end back.

I had. 7m v1 and it was just too darn slow for the wind that I could fly it in, I have another friend who said the same thing. I felt if it was faster it would have more usable low end, so it is entirely possible the v2 8m, if you fling it around could be more like v1 9m in low end. And I am pretty sure the top end would be at least as good as the 7m.

Maybe nak can clarify this.

And

One thing slingshot did was improve the balance of the kite with slack lines. The v1 tended to go into a nose down position while the v2 will float more evenly.

That and the light weight has improved the slack line float time and recovery.

I’m with Nak on this, it is noticeable improvement.

And I think the generalization for no strut kites, is a bit premature. There has a been a fairly small sample size of designs.

[Nak]

Double post

[Nak]

I had. 7m v1 and it was just too darn slow for the wind that I could fly it in, I have another friend who said the same thing. I felt if it was faster it would have more usable low end, so it is entirely possible the v2 8m, if you fling it around could be more like v1 9m in low end. And I am pretty sure the top end would be at least as good as the 7m.

Maybe nak can clarify this.

Absolutely, that is exactly what I meant. The 8m is fast enough that I can get going in the same wind I could with the V1.1 9m. It doesn't have any more "park and ride" grunt, in fact it has less. (8m vs 9m) But it is faster and easier to toss around, so I can get going in about the same low wind, maybe even a bit lighter. That would be hard to verify... I do know that today I was riding my V2 8m while a buddy was riding his V1.1 9m in fairly light winds initially. It sure seemed like I was having an easier time of it than he was.

It's been pretty gusty in Stevenson, WA the last couple of weeks, and I've not had any issue with handling gusts. My 5m has eaten gusts up to 40 mph according to the iKite sensor. Was I myself actually exposed to those gusts? I can't answer that with any certitude. I do think the V2 handles gusts better than the V1.1, but I have no hard data; that's just my impression. It does make sense though; if the kite sits a little more foreword it should handle gusts better. Certainly the V2s do a better job when overpowered.

[wavy navy]

My main reason for switching to the UFO from the SST was the higher lift. I needed something that would give me more time for my upwind tack tricks.

Sorry, but I absolutely cannot confirm. For me the SST has way more lift and is way more suitable for tacking than all versions of the UFO.

What´s other people´s opinions to this?

[Nak]

I took my 4m V2 UFO out today at Rooster Rock in the Gorge. Lulls to about 14 mph, gusts to about 44 mph. So, pretty gusty by most people's definition. No issues at all with the UFO handling the conditions. It was actually a pretty darn pleasant session. Just saying...