Aluula Kites - for those of you who already have some hands-on experience

[Kril]

I have never owned a kite larger that 12m.. they are all pigs! Then in 2020 on a hot summer no wind 5-8 knot day, Jeff from Kitesource.ca had some demos and I demoed a Ocean Rodeo 14.5 flite Aluula riding a HK custom Carbon TT ( mako style). and WOOOOWWW, absolutely amazing kite. Light fast stable jumps floats turns like a 10m, loops decent, and works in 7 knots on twin tip. Heres the bad news, the price,$$$$$. I wanted one and decided to wait till price drops or used one poped up... NOT.. I then demoed the 14.5 again in 20 knots of wind and it was still amazing. I am 85 kg. A few months later my new 14.5 alulla flite arrived! Happy me. .... NEXT... the RISE aluula debuted and what can I say.... get the $$$ out for a 10m and then a 7m. Alulla is the future, nothing else is close to be compared. I have demoed lots of other kites and : the CORE XR 7, in a 9m is best kite core has made ! for big air loop smooth floaty soft land , very comfortable high performance for every level of kite, much improved ... make this in Aluula please.

[RadDrDuke]

I don't have an Aluula kite but I do love light kites (just got another Airush Ultra).

However I have an OR Glide Aluula wing for winging and it is FAR superior to tradition wings, noting there are much different forces on the wing compared to a kite and also much less power input typically. It's remarkably light compared to other wings, everyone who holds it comments instantly on the lightness.

[branislav72]

I'm 215 Lb, kiting 5 years, TT only, currently have Cabrinha Switchblade 9m,11m,14m, Moto 8m,10m,12m, had Contra 17m (sold), Flite Aluula 14.5m since Dec 2020 and Flite Aluula 17m since maybe May 2021. I live in Toronto, so it's mostly super gusty wind, typical forecast would say 12kt gusting 28kt. Typically we do not have enough wind so light wind performance was what I was looking for when buying Flite A. I never flown OR kites before buying.

My opinion:
To summarize, the Flite A 14.5m works for me, I pretty much don't ride anything else now. People make fun of me because I'm always on the same kite, others are on 9m kites and I still pump Flite 14.5m first. This is one happy kite - you just want to be flying it. Lower bar pressure then Switchblades or Contra, kite does not try to kill you, or make you hurt. I can ride to around 20kt on Flite A 14.5m when I'm lazy to go back to pump smaller kite. This kite will not drop - this is big deal for us, we sometimes kite when air is 2-3 degC in 8 DegC water and if your kite drops and you can not bring it up because the wind dropped it can quickly become scary. That's one of 2 benefits of Aluula - the weight means kite will not drop and you have better chance to bring it up, and it feels super light in air.

Aluula material will NOT give you more pull compared to the same Dacron kite - you will need pretty much the same minimum wind speed. Do not expect to kite on TT in 5kt with it. You still need 10kt or whatever your weight, size of board and skill is.

Second advantage: extra frame stiffness - this means that kite reacts fast and turns much faster than you would expect based on size. My Flite A 14.5m turns as fast as my Switchblade 11m. I started low powered kiteloops this year on Flite 14.5m. Honestly every kite looping video says you should start on small kites - now I find this advice strange - I was doing backroll transitions before, one day I just decided to try to add kiteloop and with this Flite 14.5m it's so easy - you just bring the kite slowly up, do your normal backroll transition motions, pull hard on back hand side and by the time your body rotates around the kite looped. I'm talking low height backrolls at 10-14kt, I'm not talking about jumping 15m high and megalooping. Once I started on 14.5m, few sessions and I can do the same consistently with Flite A 17m. Later I started to do it in stronger winds on smaller Switchblades. There are very little forces involved. Very easy. Just try it. Now I do 50% of transition as backroll kiteloop. Could Contra 17m do it? Probably yes, if you are really good at it. But those Flite A kites turn much much faster so it's much easier at the beginning when you suck at it.

Best way I can to describe the feel of these Flight A kites is that they are happy kites. One day snow-kiting I pumped by Contra 17m and switched to it from Flite 14.5m. Contra felt like if you tried to fly a pile of bricks. Honestly I packed the kite after few tacks. Once you fly the A kites there is no way going back (at least in low winds). Nothing wrong with Contra, I had it for few years and if there is enough wind for it, it does what it needs to do, but there is just no comparison to these Flite A kites - you don't want to be on that thing anymore. It's like upgrading from 15 year old car to a current model. Both will get you to work but once you drove the new one you don't want the old one anymore. I sold my Contra for cheap to my friend and started saving for Flite A 17m. I did not fly my Switchblade 14m this year at all and unless my sons want to use it, I'm going to sell it. I was my first kite and I'm gonna cry like a baby. Maybe I don't sell it and just keep it hanging in my garage an. It is a great kite. But I don't see scenario where I would be pumping it again if I can take the Flite A.

Flite A 17 flies very similarly to 14.5m but just being a larger size it's wind range is quite smaller, once the wind picks up there is a lot of force going through your body. If the wind is reasonably stable and the size is just right, it is almost as good as 14.5m. Yes it gives you maybe 1.5kt extra on low side, so if you can afford to get one it's great to have it, but the 14.5m is much better value for money. I actually prefer the 17m sometimes when trying to learn some trick - I find it easier because you have little bit more time when you do not need to worry about it and you can focus on the trying to do the trick.

I think that most important for anyone considering Aluula kites is to figure out what shape/style kite makes best match to what they are looking for. Just because it is some fancy material it will not bring you magic skills, happiness or joy. But if you are looking for the best there is for light winds and Flite is the right kite for you, and you can negotiate with your wife or somehow sneak out $3K from the bank account, it might bring you a lot of joy.

[fluidity]

I have 5 wings from 2.8 to 6 m and every time I pick up my 5m O.R. glide I'm blown away by how light it feels. it's only a centre alula strut, but being alula it'a about half the material in the centre. and being O.R., they are reputed to have the lightest bladders. This thing packs small, is super stable luffed, handles well when some other wings of the same size would be over powered and it's so light to hold over head.
Don't underestimate the difference from lighter bladders alone.

[Richard81]

I have a Duotone D/Lab Juice 13m and an Ocean Rodeo Rise 10m.
They are both significantly faster than a similar kites made of the traditional materials and just hang in the sky when the wind is light.
With these just these two kites I would have a wind range from 4-40knots (obviously with some board changes)

[McLovin]

For those of you following the SLOW release...a question on the new RISE

Just saw these pics and looks like a new rounded wing tip? Is this the public version?
Curiously the old pic is also on the same page - image from MAC kiteboarding in USA
Also what's up with the 20% price increase from the PENDING ORDER to now...D/Lab

Confused...

MC

[azoele]

Dear all,

there are somewhat sparse posts in various threads on this, but, as I'm contemplating going Ocean Rodeo Aluula...

would anybode care to share their experience foiling?

I'm interested not much in the low end, but in how they react when powered, because that is when it gets most difficult for me.

Can the Roam pivot turn with little power when lit?
Friends tell me the new Contras 1 strut are super gentle in looping.
My current kites are killers when looping when lit love them, but... am also ready for something milder.

So: if you foil with the Aluula kites, I'm all ears!

[apollo4000]

Was intrigued by Aluula until someone pumped a kite on a pebble beach and gently turned it over for it to immediately puncture. Not withstanding an overly pumped kite or a sharp object, it nevertheless made me wonder just how robust Aluula kites are. Light yes, but More fragile? No doubt they are lighter but does it make for a more fragile kite. What does the hive mind say about how robust they are?

[Pana]

Was intrigued by Aluula until someone pumped a kite on a pebble beach and gently turned it over for it to immediately puncture. Not withstanding an overly pumped kite or a sharp object, it nevertheless made me wonder just how robust Aluula kites are. Light yes, but More fragile? No doubt they are lighter but does it make for a more fragile kite. What does the hive mind say about how robust they are?

Hi, are you shure it was a puncture ? I have had a allula bust a strut bladder while resting on the beach (because of bad installation) and i hear it has happened to others, but have not heard of punctures, pls detail if possible. PersonI do not find them more fragile (LE) would actually presume the opposite.

[leeuwen]

Dear all,

there are somewhat sparse posts in various threads on this, but, as I'm contemplating going Ocean Rodeo Aluula...

would anybode care to share their experience foiling?

I'm interested not much in the low end, but in how they react when powered, because that is when it gets most difficult for me.

Can the Roam pivot turn with little power when lit?

So: if you foil with the Aluula kites, I'm all ears!

I think this answer is somewhat hard to answer.
In general I would say my 10m roam behaves very well in its upper range on the foil. Eg 20 knots or so.
However, I would no longer loop the kite usually in its upper range unless for a big downwind movement where I start to outrun the kite. In this scenario it seems to work fine but that’s basically reducing apparent wind first before doing a loop.

Not sure how representative this is for you.
It very much depends on your definition of “lit” on a foil, how and when you loop and what you expect of it. What size of kite might also change things since it’s usually easier to tune more backstall in smaller kites.