Postby Dan-at-Duotone » Tue Nov 02, 2021 5:14 pm
I'm as biased as it gets, I work for Duotone, but I've ridden Dice for years and I consider myself a pretty honest reviewer. Last year I switched to Neo SLS in part because I'm riding park and kitelooping less (getting old sucks) and spending more time on a surfboard, but mostly because the SLS Neo was everything I wanted. I got sample Dice SLS a couple months ago and am back on them pretty regularly now, happy with either the Neo SLS or Dice SLS as a daily driver. The weight loss of the Dice SLS vs older Dice makes a huge difference in performance, low end is noticeably better as the kite climbs more quickly. Jumps are more aggressive for the same reason. Hooked-in kiteloops are quicker to get around for same reason. I like how the SLS kites in general are less prone to 'sagging' at the edge of the window when the kite is low if you know what I mean, you don't have to pay attention to them to keep them off the water.
More noticeable to me for the Dice SLS is the added feel/performance from the stiffer LE... When it was introduced in 2014, I immediately loved the dice, but I felt it had stability issues at the high-end; when you were really lit the kite would deform and flap and performance would suffer. Every year since, the stability and high end has improved, but with more and more marginal improvements in stability each year. The SLS treatment in my opinion is a giant step forward again. High end is improved and the kite feels crisper and more responsive in all conditions. I read another review of an SLS kite, think it was the 2021 Evo, where people said they felt the gusts more, in a negative way. I haven't particularly noticed that, however it's possible that this reviewer and I are noticing the same thing and I describe it positively as 'crisp' and they disliked it and therefore describe it negatively as 'too much feedback from gusts'. I've found that most beginner riders prefer lighter bar-pressure while more experienced riders tend to like more feedback to let them know what a kite is doing at all times. This jives with how our design team seems to generally be designing SLS kites with more feedback and aiming it towards experienced riders while the original construction design (at least for the Evo) is aimed towards being the 'every-man's' kite with lighter bar pressure and less feedback. I guess we consider it a tradeoff between comfort and performance, if that makes sense, with the SLS version being tweaked more towards maximizing performance. Don't get me wrong, I am far more comfortable on a higher-feedback kite, I hate when I can't feel what the kite is doing, just letting you know what I'm seeing from the market and how our designers appear to be approaching the differences in construction. Also note that I haven't gotten this info from the designers, just what I hear from customers and see from our newer designs, meaning I could be dead wrong and I reserve the right to change my opinion going forward... I have not tested the 2022 Neo, Dice, Evo, or Evo SLS at this point, only the Neo SLS and Dice SLS.
Therefore, as always, I recommend you try to demo any kite before you buy if possible. If it is not possible then I hope this review helps. Anyone else with experience on these kites please chime in, I don't mind at all being disagreed with and like hearing more opinions, especially since Covid has kept me from normal demo events the past few years.
-Dan