Duotone evo sls 2023

[nothing2seehere]

We’ve seen video of Lasse Walker and Andrea Principi on the evo dlab in South Africa.

The regular evo has essentially been on a two year cycle and was released in March of last year. The evo sls was shortly before that.

I expect we will see sls and dlab evo in the next 2-3 months.

I think it is interesting that Andrea Principi was using the standard evo 6m in competitions and lasse walker the evo dlab.

I wonder if that will impact future development of the evo kite line.

Lasse and Andrea are very different weight classes of rider - so different sizes of kite. I'd guess they develop the standard sizes 12-8 first and get them tuned before moving either side.

Plus Andrea may be less happy to ride prototypes for big competitions - or may not have developed the sensitivity and vocabulary to explain why prototypes need tuning. He's young and hungry for success after all.

[Irish Big Air Kiter]

I don´t know anything about evo sls 2023 vs 2022, but I know that there will be an evo DLAB Aluula coming out soon (better prepare your wallet!) and I guess there will also be a SLS version and a normal EVO version around spring this year.

My hope is that they make it more radical again like the evo SLS 2021. The 2022 SLS was a bit more forgiving, but the 2021 was much more sportier, almost like a dice, and it just loops so well.

I recently heard the designer from Duotone in a German podcast saying that the 2021 Evo SLS was too radical for most people's liking and they reversed that on purpose for 2022 and made the kite more forgiving. There won't be a more radical version of the EVO SLS since the EVO is supposed to be the freeride kite for everyone.

What podcast is that? Think it's true? Thats interesting as I got hooked when Tried the eve 2021 sis and quite happy with the 2022. But would be interesting to do a like for like comparison.....

Wonder should I be hunting for an old 2021 sls rather than looking at getting a 2023 sls.

[rafd]

I wonder if DLab is really a good marketing strategy.. people will want to ride what they see the pros riding. If the pros do all end up riding Dlab kites and the pricing is out of reach then people will look to other brands where they can afford to ride the same kites as the pros.

It's already the case to some extent with SLS but not quite so drastic. If you are looking for a big air kite for example you could probably get a North Orbit or Pivot on sale for about half what a rebel SLS goes for and there are plenty of pros riding those cheaper kites and doing well in comps.

[purdyd]

We’ve seen video of Lasse Walker and Andrea Principi on the evo dlab in South Africa.

The regular evo has essentially been on a two year cycle and was released in March of last year. The evo sls was shortly before that.

I expect we will see sls and dlab evo in the next 2-3 months.

I think it is interesting that Andrea Principi was using the standard evo 6m in competitions and lasse walker the evo dlab.

I wonder if that will impact future development of the evo kite line.

Lasse and Andrea are very different weight classes of rider - so different sizes of kite. I'd guess they develop the standard sizes 12-8 first and get them tuned before moving either side.

Plus Andrea may be less happy to ride prototypes for big competitions - or may not have developed the sensitivity and vocabulary to explain why prototypes need tuning. He's young and hungry for success after all.

Actually Andrea like a lot of riders switched to a smaller kite for the double loops.

Nit because if any weight difference.

I thought it was interesting he used an evo.

It was interesting that Lasse Walker used an evo dlab during the Kota and that Andrea Principi was seen riding it because that would mean it is close to release.

I don’t think that says anything about their abilities to test things.

[purdyd]

I wonder if DLab is really a good marketing strategy.. people will want to ride what they see the pros riding. If the pros do all end up riding Dlab kites and the pricing is out of reach then people will look to other brands where they can afford to ride the same kites as the pros.

It's already the case to some extent with SLS but not quite so drastic. If you are looking for a big air kite for example you could probably get a North Orbit or Pivot on sale for about half what a rebel SLS goes for and there are plenty of pros riding those cheaper kites and doing well in comps.

Duotone seems to be picking specific segments and kites for dlab and sls treatment.

For example, the rebel is all in on sls but no dlab.

Dlab in the neo only goes to 7m

Sls in the evo only goes to 7m

The Vegas has neither.

It was interesting last year lasse walker eschewed the 8m dice sls for the non sls version in the Kota.

This year he rode the evo dlab 8m.

I still see a lot of sls neos in competitions in spite of the dlab availability.

It will be interesting to see where this goes as duotone is not the only company offering more expensive fancy material kites.

I’d say right now aluula hookipa, etc are not the answer to everything so we will see a variety of materials and constructions even ridden by the pros.

Wingsurfing, especially racing, I think will gravitate more and more to the fancy materials.

[cor]

For example, the rebel is all in on sls but no dlab.

yeah, but I would be surprised if there would not be Rebel DLAB soon.

The Vegas has neither.

To be frank, I am surprised that Duotone still keeps the Vegas at all. It´s a niche product for a niche kiting category. A lot of shops do not even keep them in stock anymore.

It was interesting last year lasse walker eschewed the 8m dice sls for the non sls version in the Kota.

hmm... the reason could be wind condition. In very, very gusty wind, the non-SLS versions can perform better because simply, they do not translate all the gusts as direct to the bar because the frame is not as stiff/rigid as with the SLS versions.

[purdyd]

I know I saw 5 strut duotone prototypes 2 years ago and it would not surprise if there is a rebel dlab in the works

Duotone elected not to use it.

The point of the vegas it didn’t have the same feel with sls.

I know slingshot had some ufo prototypes and said the same thing.

At least for kites, the answer may not always be stiffer is better.

I think winging will go all in on the stiffer lighter material.

As for Lasse Walker

I think things are evolving in the big air world and it will be interesting to see what happens.

[radeon89]

Hi all,
thanks for feedback. To be honest i would not follow top rider comments for the following reason:
- first (more obvious one): they are brand ambassadors so they will need to highlight the most positive aspects fron all kites so they will try to stay in the middle.

- secondo (the most important one): they will fly with all kites in the market regardless material and brand. to be honest i think andrea will go for megaloop even with an ikea
bag (blu one XD) connected to a 2006 bar.

when changing a kite i just follow feedback from “normal” guys. i hope someone will comeup with sone picture leaked, at least we can see colours in advance

[Durum]

If Duotone didn't choose to use the Vegas SLS, it is weird that I saw the kite with production print on an IG story two days ago.
Rebel Dlab is definitely in the making(couple weeks ago Aaron hadlow was riding a white and grey Rebel (sls 2024? Dlab?))
Dice Dlab is also in the making (see thread I made about it, with pictures).

[purdyd]

If Duotone didn't choose to use the Vegas SLS, it is weird that I saw the kite with production print on an IG story two days ago.
Rebel Dlab is definitely in the making(couple weeks ago Aaron hadlow was riding a white and grey Rebel (sls 2024? Dlab?))
Dice Dlab is also in the making (see thread I made about it, with pictures).

Well because for 2022 and 2023 you could not get a Vegas in sls construction. As I read and I can’t seem to find the article, the riders thought the sls version didn’t feel right.

We saw Aaron Hadlow on an aluula 5 strut pro type several 2 years ago. Right now you can only get the rebel in sls.

Right now, the only duotone kite you can buy that is sls that is smaller than 7m is the neo and the neo dlab only goes to 7.

The ceo of duotone discusses this in the duotone now magazine and there is a food discussion of materials in there too.

https://www.duotonesports.com/booklet/D ... 022/92-93/

Obviously things change as riders change, the competition changes, the sport evolves, and designers becomes more experienced with materials,

I wonder if DLab is really a good marketing strategy.. people will want to ride what they see the pros riding. If the pros do all end up riding Dlab kites and the pricing is out of reach then people will look to other brands where they can afford to ride the same kites as the pros.

I held up the example of Lasse Walker on the dice as an example where a duotone pro picked a regular version of the kite rather than sls. So I’m not convinced right now, the pros will all ride dlab versions.

I might change kites because they are cheaper but I can’t imagine changing to a cheaper kite just so I can ride what a pro rides.

On the other hand, if all of these fancy materials aren’t giving a competitive advantage to the pros, that might be a marketing issue.

And after the recent Kota it doesn’t surprise me that there are some dice and rebel prototypes running around as the double loop seems to be a necessity now. And the young guns shut out the old and even not so old guard.

Anyway, I don’t think good ole Dacron is done. I believe we will see more use of stiffer lighter materials and it will be interesting to watch.

The segmentation of the kite lines is an evolution of a maturing market.

I agree the risk will be if the price gets too high it will just become too expensive of a sport.