16m Eleveight FS

[runner1]

Has anyone tried this kite for unhooked freestyle?

Keen to hear opinions

Cheers

[Werito]

YESSSS! And I love it! Gets going pretty early, especially with 3m line extensions and works really well for freestyle, and for hooked-in stuff if wind picks up. The kite has crazy high end (like smaller sizes of FS). Only thing I kinda don't like is that you have to pump it up more than suggested pressure... otherwice the thin leading edge can fold when crashing and relaunching. Overall I still love the kite and hope that it stay strong since they don't produce it anymore I would buy it again!

[RidingRobi]

YESSSS! And I love it! Gets going pretty early, especially with 3m line extensions and works really well for freestyle, and for hooked-in stuff if wind picks up. The kite has crazy high end (like smaller sizes of FS). Only thing I kinda don't like is that you have to pump it up more than suggested pressure... otherwice the thin leading edge can fold when crashing and relaunching. Overall I still love the kite and hope that it stay strong since they don't produce it anymore I would buy it again!

Hey Mate,
Thanks for the feedback - pretty interesting for me as well.
How would you rate its lowend and upwind compared to a 17m RS, Turbine, Zephyr or similar?
Would you say it has similar overlap to a 14m FS or would you choose a 17m delta instead?

Thanks!

[Werito]

Haven't tried any of those 17m, but they might have a slight edge...not a big one though and it's also a lot about riding skills, since I have been kiting when some other people struggled with their 17m Turbines and the other way around...
I personally have had 15,5m LF Solo in the past and I think 16 FS has similar low end, maybe a tad better since it's flying forward better while Solo was kinda pulling you downwind. Both starting from 11ish knots for my 75kg naked + freestyle board.

With 14m I might take 17m delta, since there might be too much overlap. With my 12 it's kinda perfect match, and I think you could get along with 10m bcause the good high end of the kite. I've actually swapped directly to the 9m few times when the wind has picked up.

[Desert kite]

YESSSS! And I love it! Gets going pretty early, especially with 3m line extensions and works really well for freestyle, and for hooked-in stuff if wind picks up. The kite has crazy high end (like smaller sizes of FS). Only thing I kinda don't like is that you have to pump it up more than suggested pressure... otherwice the thin leading edge can fold when crashing and relaunching. Overall I still love the kite and hope that it stay strong since they don't produce it anymore I would buy it again!

I have a 9m fs and its a great kite i really love it. But its 5 struts make it really heavy, isnt that a problem for a 16m kite? I bought the rs 12 just so it wont be so heavy

[Toby]

which jumps higher and has more hangtime: RS, XS or FS ?

[Desert kite]

which jumps higher and has more hangtime: RS, XS or FS ?

I tried both the RS and XS on a 9, I have a 9FS and a 12RS and the XS jumps the highest, its really an incredible kite. The hang time also is much much longer than the FS since the FS leans more to unhooked and big air. On their website they say that FS jumps highest but from that session I can say for sure XS was higher, more hang time and also it was pulling like crazy. depower was non existent, although I didn’t pull on the depower..I was struggling to keep control on my board while edging, conditions were 21-23 side shore steady wind.
If you’re not doing unhooked definitely get the XS but with that said I don’t do unhooked and I’m really happy with my FS, I bought mine before the XS came out and I ride it in 30-36knot gusts in the winter with 2m waves and it does it’s job.

[Toby]

They should make an XS in 18 then