Breze wrote: ↑Sun Nov 01, 2020 10:03 am
Hi Sshantt
You are looking for a foilkite to get going when your 10m Alula Roam doesn`t pull you onto the foil?
Or a better upwind, Vmax etc.Or you want a foil to replace the Roam with a better lowend but also a 11kn range?
Few things to say about the lifespan which weren`t mentioned jet.
The thin bridles ( all lines on a kite) never stretch, they allways shrink. The coating of the thin FS bridles can get damaged very fast if they get kinked 180°
This can happen if you produce a line nest and pull on sleeves and get knots in the Liros DC100/60. A good pack down procedure(not kinking fabric and bridles) is also key for a long lifespan of a foil . Sand and dust can be bad for the Sprenger or Ronstan pulleys, if you land with dry pulleys on thicker sand or grass they last forever. The internal construction of the Soul is very robust, much stronger than your Diablo or the Ozones.There is a reason why the FS are a bit heavier than the lighter but weaker constructions . With common sense there is no danger to rip the seams or cells if the Soul is full of water. ((Common sense and experience should prevent that too)
Never you will have to tune the Soul monthly if you handle the bridles right. You can check the long MT once after few hours of use and then after one year, more or less. Don`t wash the kite if it was in saltwater. Let it dry in the shade.Why noodling around the poor kite twice as often? When dry, gently shake the sand off, roll it , don`t compress it and the next time flying it the sand will fall out.
Three of my buddies own the 15m Soul, one of them on TT/ directional only. For him it`s the most important kite bc of his wind range.
The other two are 90% on the hf, with a full range of tubes, 14m Ultra, 13m Juice, 12m,11m,10m Pivot,... they barely use their 15m Souls.
Why? Lack of experience with foils. And more importand if they use their Souls then the wind is light and on- off, their desperate minds hungry for a session , of course then they swimm a lot.Yes the 15m Soul pulls their 90 kg (naked) on the foil when their bigger tube won`t, and 16-18 kn gusts are rideable but the 15m Soul has a thinner sweet spot than the 10m Soul which i use very often.
The 10m i can use when they are on their bigger tubes, with better success if it`s on & off. But with 16 years of foilkite experience.
The larger, thinner ,racier foilkites are imho better ( range, speed, jumping) but are expensive bc a foil newbe will have no fun with an older model.
The development of the new freerace foilkites like Sonic3 or Chrono4 (with the same fabric like the FS x-light) makes it possible for non pros to enter these fields of performance but they cost some money.
To be honest to you, you have already one of the best kites for having low to mid wind fun. With a little more exercise( and longer lines) you will lower your needed wind speed by one or two knots.
If you want more zoom to your Roam get a Sonic3 11 or bigger. If you want a versatile- performence- big wind range foil kite, which gives you a bit more low and same high end then think about a 10m Soul.