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Duotone Mono 2021

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skyhill
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Duotone Mono 2021

Postby skyhill » Tue Sep 14, 2021 6:10 pm

I have been on Ozone kites since the Instinct kites in mid 2000's. Most recently I've been riding the Enduro V2 and I was planning to get Alpha V2's for foiling. Well the wait time was too long so I started looking for options. The Naish boxer was my next choice since I had a 3.5m S25 that I liked but again the wait time was a no go. So the new Mono's were available back in June and I have a few friends that love them so I went for it and ordered a 3.5, 5, 7 and 9m. I also went for a small Click bar and small/med Trust bar. For reference I'm 165 lbs and ride a Kanaha shapes with a Lift Classic 170 foil.

After a windy summer in the Gorge I can share a few thoughts. Overall I really like these kites for foiling. They perform exceptionally well in the medium to lower end of their wind range. They turn plenty fast, drift well and don't backstall. Relaunch is really good as well. Over powered they can be a hand full which is probably true of most single strut kites. The canopy is fairly tight and you can control some of the flutter with bar pressure but they are a lot more playful and fun when you're on the right size. I also found that I would really like a 4m in the Gorge. There are a lot of 15 to 25 mph days with higher gusts where the 5m is a little big and the 3.5m is a little small. I didn't find many days when I wanted something smaller than the 3.5. I also found the 7m to be perfect the lighter days and didn't use the 9m much.

Bar wise I'm not all that excited by the Click bar. The square covering on the lower section binds too much for my preference. I ended up using the Click bar with 20m lines on the 3.5 and 5m where the steering angle of the bar isn't as great. I use the Trust bar in the medium length and 22m lines for my 7 and 9m and it works great. To be honest I prefer Ozone bars but they don't have a high Y set up. Just my thoughts your mileage may vary :thumb:

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Dan-at-Duotone
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Re: Duotone Mono 2021

Postby Dan-at-Duotone » Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:04 pm

Good review, thanks for chiming in.
I also don't love the way the depower line can momentarily bind up when sheeting and steering simultaneously, this is exacerbated when riding with little power in the kites, as in foiling with small kites. It's a tradeoff, we used to get yelled at on this forum by Cabrinha fans when we only offered the Trust bar, which has smooth rope depower with easy sheeting and Cabrinha had the TPU covered depower, they claimed the extended lifetime from the TPU covering should be on all bars. Now we have an option for either preference. Personally I eventually got used to that 'bind' and work around it without a second thought now, but I don't blame anyone who says they prefer the rope. There are advantages to each.

On another note, Ken specifically advises using 24m lines on the 3.5. He says it'll give you a longer power stroke and steadier power. Just a thought.

-Dan

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Re: Duotone Mono 2021

Postby leeuwen » Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:26 pm

Dan-at-Duotone wrote:
Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:04 pm
Now we have an option for either preference. Personally I eventually got used to that 'bind' and work around it without a second thought now, but I don't blame anyone who says they prefer the rope. There are advantages to each.
Other brands don’t have the binding issue with the PU covering though. The PU cover that was used is just way to sticky.
I own clickbar/core/or shift all with pu and I only have an issue with the clickbar.
I am selling my 2021 clickbar because it’s just to uncomfortable to my hands when riding with one hand in the middle of the bar (fingers on both sides of the pu covering) + binding when turning issue. (And safety line wear issue and durability of the bar grip doesn’t seem great)

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Re: Duotone Mono 2021

Postby leepasty » Wed Sep 15, 2021 8:50 pm

The sticking issue on Click bar will go after time but if you want to stop it right away simply take a bit of sandpaper and lightly sand the square edges off the pu tube.
Once the edges are rounded off you won’t have any probs.

It will round off by itself if you use it in waves after about 3 hours of riding if you sheet in and out lots but on low powered foiling it prob never has enough friction to round off.
if I set up a new bar as spare in a comp then I use the sand paper technique so I know it’s ready :D

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Re: Duotone Mono 2021

Postby rnelias » Wed Sep 15, 2021 9:09 pm

leeuwen wrote:
Wed Sep 15, 2021 7:26 pm
Other brands don’t have the binding issue with the PU covering though. The PU cover that was used is just way to sticky.
I own clickbar/core/or shift all with pu and I only have an issue with the clickbar.
I am selling my 2021 clickbar because it’s just to uncomfortable to my hands when riding with one hand in the middle of the bar (fingers on both sides of the pu covering) + binding when turning issue. (And safety line wear issue and durability of the bar grip doesn’t seem great)
Duotone should sell the bar grip as replacement. It doesn't last accordingly a premium priced bar :cry:


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