Flysurfer Soul

[andylc]

Also what are you on about talking about pulling the bar to the hook and then reaching for straps? Presume you mean your snowboard straps. Why not let it go to the edge of the window, let go of the bar so it sits on the ground, sort yourself out then relaunch it again, much as you might do with an LEI if you want to sort something out with both hands whilst flying the kite. Pulling the bar right in is going to backstall it or power you up depending on what the kite is doing at the time.
Regardless whether you like the kite or not, the one thing I'm not sure anybody else has found it to be is unpredictable, so there has to be something strange going on either with the kite or the way you're flying it. See video of random people flying it having never done so before. Light wind and not gusty, BUT I have flown it in gusty wind and it's a bit scary when you power up, but otherwise it behaves very well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90LL-Kxqp0s

[Kristan]

Also what are you on about talking about pulling the bar to the hook and then reaching for straps? Presume you mean your snowboard straps. Why not let it go to the edge of the window, let go of the bar so it sits on the ground, sort yourself out then relaunch it again, much as you might do with an LEI if you want to sort something out with both hands whilst flying the kite. Pulling the bar right in is going to backstall it or power you up depending on what the kite is doing at the time.

Oooh, that's a funny one.

No, kite does not sits on the edge like you have described. It folds and rolls on the leading edge, gets blown off and cause trouble to people and kites downwind. And I'd rather have a backstall, yet for some reason kite goes nosediving, like it overflows out of the edge window, yet it's not what actually happens, since it's on the breaks and powered to stay deeper in the wind window. It's all because of turbulent winds.

[Breze]

Kristin,im feeling with you. Flying foils since 2004 i know your szenario of gusting winds 8-24 knots and trying to get the snowboard bindings closed with kite in the sky. The permanent need of steering Input in this case makes every foil more demanding than a tube. Some of us are willing to adapt their habbits to correct foil technic and benefit of the pros a foil offers. I learned to start the foil with snowboard on my feet, natural learning curve.
Same with the bowties, with some training you learn to recover while the kite is falling out of the sky.
Foil spezific skills are coming with some time. But not everybody wants to learn. So your decision for selling and going back to tubes is consequent.
I think your case is a good example of a victim of the new foil hype, it's not the kite ( for you).

[andylc]

To be fair foils have never been the sensible choice for gusty winds. I'd think a wave oriented kite would be a good choice, and if you want jumping then perhaps Naish Pivot or something like that. My ideal setup is going to be 12m and 8m Soul, then 10m and 6m Pivot so I have the waveriding option and high wind options of the Pivot, and the Souls as well for big floaty jumps. Of course I'm talking mostly about the water, I get to snow kite about every 3 years when we get decent snow (we do live on top of a big hill so have managed it twice in 7 years so far...)

[Tomlutz]

This is it, I'm done.
...
I've tried to put it on 2 o'clock again, but it collapsed again, fell down and automatically relaunched itself. ... This time I'm going to buy me a 14m LEI and go kiting with less of a headache.

I wouldn't say that a Soul is an easy kite in all situation and for all purposes. But let me tell you that I have teached my son snowkiting. Tried on a Blade Trigger, and it was a mess, always frontstalling and more difficult to relaunch. Then Soul 12, and my son was able to fly it after half an hour. You have to get used to it but overall I think the Soul is a forgiving kite, although it needs to be flown and controlled actively and would not sit on the window edge like a LEI.

[Adventure Logs]

Also what are you on about talking about pulling the bar to the hook and then reaching for straps? Presume you mean your snowboard straps. Why not let it go to the edge of the window, let go of the bar so it sits on the ground, sort yourself out then relaunch it again, much as you might do with an LEI if you want to sort something out with both hands whilst flying the kite. Pulling the bar right in is going to backstall it or power you up depending on what the kite is doing at the time.

Oooh, that's a funny one.

No, kite does not sits on the edge like you have described. It folds and rolls on the leading edge, gets blown off and cause trouble to people and kites downwind. And I'd rather have a backstall, yet for some reason kite goes nosediving, like it overflows out of the edge window, yet it's not what actually happens, since it's on the breaks and powered to stay deeper in the wind window. It's all because of turbulent winds.

You have a picture of video of your spot because you narrate pretty extreme enivorments. There’s absolutely no reason for your Soul to be acting like that unless there’s something wrong.

[Kristan]

You have a picture of video of your spot because you narrate pretty extreme enivorments. There’s absolutely no reason for your Soul to be acting like that unless there’s something wrong.

I'd really love to provide some video evidence, but I left my GoPro mount on the other helmet and I can't find to buy a new one.

My spot is on the small field that is on top of the hill. We don't have that much of obstructions here, some small houses, some patches of trees, but they are relatively far. But still, yesterday I saw that the wind on my spot is absolutely not consistent. It doesn't move like one big mass of air, no. I saw it going by "stripes". Where you go the wind is calm, but right ahead in about 50 meters you see how wind just blows the snow off the field. You hit that spot and wind is actually nuking. Of course between those air flows there would be air twists and turbulence. Last year, while I still had an inflatable, I've been thrown to the snow by gusts of wind so sudden and so strong, it felt like someone threw a huge rock into my kite.

But here I am, with the kite that people praised for "stability in the gusts". Apparently, we have different definitions and kinds of "gusts". And now everyone talking that I should have not picked that kite for my "gusty" conditions. I feel myself quite deceived.

But that's not the only reason why I'm getting rid of this kite. There are plenty of those reasons. Some of them concern me for my safety when I will go for the water. Besides, comparing to LEI kite I've come to conclusion that LEI kite would give me much better functionality and safety than the Soul. But for now... I have to find somebody who wish to buy a kite with such of a ridiculous pricetag for our country.

[andylc]

You have to do your own research! I would say the Soul is excellent in gusts for a foil kite, but I’m not sure any foil kite would be first choice in very gusty conditions. This is pretty basic info I would say.

[br44]

This is not a Soul issue. All foil kites will do crazy things in very turbulent winds, some more than others. The issue is the user not really knowing what to expect, and selecting a kite that is not a good fit for the conditions.

Some inland places can be extremely gusty, so gusty that only LEIs should be flown there. I actually know a place like that. I used to blame the foil kites until I realized that it was my fault (user error) all along.

Fly the Soul in cleaner winds next time and you will like it a lot better.

[Kristan]

This is not a Soul issue. All foil kites will do crazy things in very turbulent winds, some more than others. The issue is the user not really knowing what to expect, and selecting a kite that is not a good fit for the conditions.

Some inland places can be extremely gusty, so gusty that only LEIs should be flown there. I actually know a place like that. I used to blame the foil kites until I realized that it was my fault (user error) all along.

Fly the Soul in cleaner winds next time and you will like it a lot better.

I have based my choice for a foil kite instead of LEI because I have already used the foil kite on that spot. I had absolutely no issues with it and it was much more stable than the Soul and I really loved that kite. Except that it was slow as heck and absolutely refused to jump. FS Pulse 2, a dinosaur from 2008 era. I mean it has lower aspect ratio, bulkier shape and those... "jet flaps", which helped with the kite stability. Also I did not use it in the stronger winds, 12 knots at max, when wind is a bit smoother. I did not have to untangle lines and bridles all the time, had less collapses, better backstalling for small breaks and to park the kite, much more reliable behavior when parked, not getting blown off. The Soul is an exact opposite.

Unfortunately, this time nobody makes kites like Pulse. Everyone aiming to make kites like Soul, with aspect ratio of 5.2 and above or even semi-race kites. Except for Pansh Genesis, which is a no-no for me.