Duotone NEO SLS 2022 - where did the quality go?

[GregK]

... The difference to OR A-kites weight wise is truly big, wonder where can it come from?

Duotone have not committed to minimizing the weight of their kites. Instead they weigh down their kites with convenience / cosmetic features and unnecessary reinforcements such as :
- very big 1-pump valves, hoses, pinch-clamps and their covers
- a LE deflate valve out near the right wing-tip
- a LE access zipper
- rubber scuff pads on every LE shape section seam

[omg]

Could the biggest factor be the bladder thickness - I don't think the valve or zipper etc. minor things cumulate to the difference. Rubber scuff pads might weight a bit, but cannot see them being the explaining factor either?

[Toby]

... The difference to OR A-kites weight wise is truly big, wonder where can it come from?

Duotone have not committed to minimizing the weight of their kites. Instead they weigh down their kites with convenience / cosmetic features and unnecessary reinforcements such as :
- very big 1-pump valves, hoses, pinch-clamps and their covers
- a LE deflate valve out near the right wing-tip
- a LE access zipper
- rubber scuff pads on every LE shape section seam

doesn't sound that negative to me, rather good to have such features?

[GregK]

Could the biggest factor be the bladder thickness ... ?

Possibly a factor, but definitely not the biggest. Here's why :
- 10m Dlab Neo's website-posted weight is 700 g higher than a 10m OR Aluula Roam
- the same comparison of a 12m Dlab Neo and 12m Aluula Roam yields a 710 g weight difference.

If there was a significant difference in bladder thickness, one would expect about a 20% increase [( 12 - 10)/10] in weight difference between 10 and 12m sizes.

With an almost-identical weight difference for 12m, it's got to be the minor things. Little things can add up !

[PoweredbyNorth]

Recently switched to the new Neo DLAB, 7 and 9. I only had like six sessions on them, but man, this really looks like a game changer so far. There is a huge difference in upwind capability, in drift and in light wind behavior, compared to the SLS. I would even go this far as to say that the standard Neo and the SLS version are pretty much the same, but the DLAB is of another category. You might call it excellent marketing, and yes, they are crazy expensive, but so far it seems to be worth it. I have a Mono 11m for light wind foil conditions, but I already experienced that the 9m Neo DLAB outperforms it. In other words, my Mono will be for sale soon and my quiver will be smaller, so indirectly saving money that way.

Looking at the stats from the Duotone page, I am surprised to see that the dlab is only 200 grams lighter than the SLS. Of course the material is different so perhaps leading to a different kite experience, but still. OR Aluula kites are like 700grams lighter in the similar size like 10m to dlab. German Kitemagazin recently tested all three Neo versions back to back and it was interesting that dlab had quite a bit wider turning arc compared to SLS version. They wrote the dlab drifted better, but in real life conditions, I don't know how much difference it would make ie. in onshore waves where you still need to swing the kite around. The difference to OR A-kites weight wise is truly big, wonder where can it come from?

Topic seems to be drifting (!) to the DLAB... On that, most likely have been said before somewhere, but I guess it's about the whole package and not just weight. Although weight is important, stiffness is at least equally important. Then there is profile, canopy shape, arc, wingtips, struts and lastly bridle. Regarding the wider turning arc as observed by the German Kitemagazin, I understand the DLAB bridle is different than the bridle of the SLS, maybe that explains the difference. Regarding drift - based on my own real life experience - the difference is in fact real and it is surprisingly significant. As is upwind capacity.