Flysurfer Soul

[irwe]

"But the Soul does currently have the best relaunch and takes on the least amount of water compared to all the other models/brands."
Adventure Logs what tests are you basing this statment on?
I fly Concept Air Pulsion LW, Wave and FireFly and have no issues with water relaunching.
Horst has stated the FireFly water relaunhes better then Peak. I also have a Peak
I would put more faith in this type of statement coming from GL (on this forum) who has only ridden foil kites for the past 20 + years. Always water launches and lands his foils. Flys a number of different brands and picks the best foil that day for the type of riding he wants to do.

[nothing2seehere]

of course it's not specific to Soul however, some people try to sell here some BS for example that this kite doesn't take water or if does always drain it, another one is that it always relaunches which isn't true either.
It was windy day and I was on TT however, after jump I think kite overflown me lines go slack and it went tacko-mode and fell to water.

Still like my Soul a lot and not changing it, had some ideas about trying Sonic 3 in same size but if my problems will more likely appear than now with Soul it isn't worth for extra hassle.

ALL foil kites at some point will take on water and there will always be situations where any kite just won’t relaunch. To believe otherwise is naïve. But the Soul does currently have the best relaunch and takes on the least amount of water compared to all the other models/brands.

Been riding my Sonic3 more lately in good stable winds and I’ve been impressed. The handling/stability are greatly improved over last generation but I’d still recommend the Soul in unstable air, for those inexperienced, and if you like to loop.

Interesting to hear about the looping. My soul (10m) reminds me of the 5 line North rebels when I loop it (lots of power and don't bottle it part way through). I wonder if its the difference between riding in twin tip strength winds and foil strength winds or whether the small sizes loop quicker so feel more friendly?

[slide]

hey jason , i always pull the steering lines to land and attach to a long stake , with a landing line across the balls , but i've been looking at your video 8ways to land and i like the backstall at the edge of the window idea , now when you run you go past the edge of the window ,how come the kite does'not move , i was thinking you would have to run to the centre so the kite sits downwind ,it is difficult to work out where your window is from a video plz can you explain this ,i think i'm explaining it right, and how crazy is it doing this in high winds -pete

[Adventure Logs]

"But the Soul does currently have the best relaunch and takes on the least amount of water compared to all the other models/brands."
Adventure Logs what tests are you basing this statment on?
I fly Concept Air Pulsion LW, Wave and FireFly and have no issues with water relaunching.
Horst has stated the FireFly water relaunhes better then Peak. I also have a Peak
I would put more faith in this type of statement coming from GL (on this forum) who has only ridden foil kites for the past 20 + years. Always water launches and lands his foils. Flys a number of different brands and picks the best foil that day for the type of riding he wants to do.

I base this statement on the 12 years I've been riding foil kites exclusively. I've flown most of Flysurfer's foils since Speed 2/Physco 3 days, many of the Ozone models, a couple Peter Lynns(including a couple Arcs) and HQ, and the Kitech RS. I haven't gotten my hands on the smaller company kites because it's hard to get those stateside and I can't financially buy kites to just test them out. Anytime I can get my hands on something I haven't flown, I jump on the occasion.

I'm very blunt and forward about my reviews as well. If there's negative things to be said, I will say them(should check out my Pixto bar review lol). You are totally free to take my advice and knowledge to help make your own decision or not, it's all good to me.

PS most modern foils have "no issues" with water relaunching except when you start leaving them on the water for periods of time. This is where the Soul shines. Better than the Sonic3, better than all the Ozone's I've flown(and since these new models coming from Ozone don't really have an improved intake, they still are inferior. the fabric does help but intake placement is key as well)

Of course the Firefly relaunches better than a Peak, that's what the closed leading edge was designed for. But you do loose some of that Peak/drift goodness I've been told by a couple people who have flown both. I'm trying to get my hands on one now to test it to see first hand.

of course it's not specific to Soul however, some people try to sell here some BS for example that this kite doesn't take water or if does always drain it, another one is that it always relaunches which isn't true either.
It was windy day and I was on TT however, after jump I think kite overflown me lines go slack and it went tacko-mode and fell to water.

Still like my Soul a lot and not changing it, had some ideas about trying Sonic 3 in same size but if my problems will more likely appear than now with Soul it isn't worth for extra hassle.

ALL foil kites at some point will take on water and there will always be situations where any kite just won’t relaunch. To believe otherwise is naïve. But the Soul does currently have the best relaunch and takes on the least amount of water compared to all the other models/brands.

Been riding my Sonic3 more lately in good stable winds and I’ve been impressed. The handling/stability are greatly improved over last generation but I’d still recommend the Soul in unstable air, for those inexperienced, and if you like to loop.

Interesting to hear about the looping. My soul (10m) reminds me of the 5 line North rebels when I loop it (lots of power and don't bottle it part way through). I wonder if its the difference between riding in twin tip strength winds and foil strength winds or whether the small sizes loop quicker so feel more friendly?

The smaller size foils loop better because they do it quicker so there's less power and surge which makes it more manageable. I use to powerloop my Soul 8m without problems, and my 6m is super easy. You could possibly do the same on the 9m. I would think the 10 would be a little bit of a handful lol. Yesterday in about 20kts I was flying my Sonic3 11m and pulled my downloop a little early which turned into a powered loop. That was VERY intense and I ended up skipping across the water for quite some distance lol. But what a surge and feeling. I think with some time and a little pain, it could be managed.

good to hear ya getting on well with the sonic3's, i did consider the 9 but i went for a second hand spd5 9,which is more my thing for landboarding really, and that kite is astonishing , a bit more in ya face than a soul but i love em both - the sonic3 doesn't look like a great landboard kite ,but i would like to see someone landboarding with them , i did wonder if lewis wilby had any sonic3's , he has all the souls

I think you made the right choice with the Spd5 9m. I don't land kite but I can't imagine needing the higher AR of the Sonic3 and all the quirks that come with that unless you were competition racing.

hey jason , i always pull the steering lines to land and attach to a long stake , with a landing line across the balls , but i've been looking at your video 8ways to land and i like the backstall at the edge of the window idea , now when you run you go past the edge of the window ,how come the kite does'not move , i was thinking you would have to run to the centre so the kite sits downwind ,it is difficult to work out where your window is from a video plz can you explain this ,i think i'm explaining it right, and how crazy is it doing this in high winds -pete

Kite doesn't really move because while I'm running I'm adjusting the bar to keep the kite there. Sometimes the kite may slide slightly but that's easy to stop by reducing some of the back line pressure on whatever side is appropriate to keep control. This takes practice to get the feel right, start in low winds and work your way up.

[mattin]

I have a 10m soul, want to get a 15m or 18m soul as a compliment. Ive been kitesurfing for 8 years I ride TT, Hydrofoil, snowkite on skis and skates. Ride mostly on gusty lakes. My weight is 80 kg.

What do you guds recommend 15m or 18m? Looki g for new input to my analysis

[airsail]

Go the 15 Sonic3, I rode the 15 Soul and it felt like a truck. I only use it hydrofoil.

[Adventure Logs]

I have a 10m soul, want to get a 15m or 18m soul as a compliment. Ive been kitesurfing for 8 years I ride TT, Hydrofoil, snowkite on skis and skates. Ride mostly on gusty lakes. My weight is 80 kg.

What do you guds recommend 15m or 18m? Looki g for new input to my analysis

What wines do you want it for? Havnt flown the 18m but I did love my 15m. For hydrofoiling at your weight, the 18m isn’t going to be as useful as the 15 but on TT is should be a hang time machine.

Go the 15 Sonic3, I rode the 15 Soul and it felt like a truck. I only use it hydrofoil.

He stated gusty winds which is why I wouldn’t then recommend the Sonic3 over the Soul.

[mattin]

I have a 10m soul, want to get a 15m or 18m soul as a compliment. Ive been kitesurfing for 8 years I ride TT, Hydrofoil, snowkite on skis and skates. Ride mostly on gusty lakes. My weight is 80 kg.

What do you guds recommend 15m or 18m? Looki g for new input to my analysis

What wines do you want it for? Havnt flown the 18m but I did love my 15m. For hydrofoiling at your weight, the 18m isn’t going to be as useful as the 15 but on TT is should be a hang time machine.

Go the 15 Sonic3, I rode the 15 Soul and it felt like a truck. I only use it hydrofoil.

He stated gusty winds which is why I wouldn’t then recommend the Sonic3 over the Soul.

Thanks for your input.

Leaning towards the 18m since I love hang time and old school on TT and also for snow and ice kiteing those days when the wind is really light.

The sonic3 looks nice but I think the soul fits our gusty inland lakes better. Sometimes the wind dissappears and the kite needs to be able to waterstart after a few minutes on the water. That's why I love my 10m soul

[airsail]

The Sonic 3 is crazy stable, and mine has had swims and relaunched no problem. I have the Soul 10, had the Soul 12. Now with the 15 I’m am much more confident going out in stronger gusty conditions that I wouldn’t use the 12 Soul in.
Being thinner the Sonic just eats the gusts, powering upwind. A friend has the Soul 15, he is very tentative using it as it gets too much for him quickly.
We had a play race the other day, similar foils and similar weight. After 5 minutes I was at least 200mtrs further upwind and ahead of him. Back in the beach he said his 15 Soul was getting difficult, not nice to use. I offered him a go on the Sonic, he jumped at the chance. 15 mins later he came in, ordered a 15mtr Sonic 3 that night.
Kite Elements is Flysurfer outlet shop in Germany for ex demo kites. 19% discount if your outside the EU

[nothing2seehere]

As I have lost weight in the last year, I'm finding my smallest kite (9m Rebel) is now a little too big for my weight (71kg). I'm enjoying the 10m Soul I have so was thinking of a smaller one instead of a tube kite. I was thinking of getting a 7m soul but then saw that a new version is due out this year. However it doesn't look like the new version will be launching in the 7m size so I'm wondering which option to go with. 6m seems like it might need a lot of wind on a twin tip and lose some of the hangtime in that size and the 8m seems like it might be a bit of a handful to land it if no-one is at the beach in powered conditions.

Has anyone of a similar weight used the 6 or 8m on a twin tip in moderately strong winds (I've seen Adventurelog's video in light wind and I'm discounting anything done by a Bridge family member because they are in a different league skill wise)