2022 Duotone Unit Review

[RadDrDuke]

Bio: 75kg, advanced winger, mostly wave riding, east-coast Florida USA

Pros:
-Nice construction, great looking
-Solid handles which are great for wave riding
-Excellent low end, really stiff canopy that pumps great
-Good jumper
-Decent price (paid $1050 for a 5m new).

Cons:
-Not the best high-end (very tight canopy)
-Heavy handles (could be carbon fiber or lighter for sure)
-Windows are useless...like most windows
-Duotone proprietary pump adaptor is a piece of garbage and leaks while pumping AND is not industry standard. Also essentially requires that it must be deflated with the dump valves.
-Has one-pump which is bad for wings as the tubing can get knocked off causing a massive deflate and you can't fine tune the pressures.

Overall:
4/5 stars.

Nice wing, flies well, good pull and great low-end with awesome handles. Lots of cons as detailed above which I didn't expect given the hype around these Duotone wings and the fact this is at least a 3rd generation wing. My prior wing was an Ocean Rodeo and it was better in everyway except low end and handles were not as good (but still good). I know this wing is coming out in Aluula version but that won't affect the flaws including heavy handles, bad windows, crappy duotone inflation, and one-pump. If you have the money for Aluula get the OR.

[StellaBlu]

Out of curiosity, what would you call your usable range for a 5m A-series Glide vs a 5m Unit? Im on a OR A-Series as well and agree its a sick wing, but definitely lacks some low end.

[RadDrDuke]

I'm on a 75L fanatic and was riding in 8-13knots last week with the 5m Unit. Not sure I could have done that on the OR, I think this wing gives me 2-3 knots better low end. That being said, I was riding the 5m Unit in 20knots this week and was quite overpowered but would have been fine on the OR.

[jkrug]

Cons:
-Has one-pump which is bad for wings as the tubing can get knocked off causing a massive deflate and you can't fine tune the pressures.

just curious....are there any non-one pump wings out there?

[Frankieboy]

BRM
Takuma RS from what I see on pictures

[Axis1050]

I now have the 4m and 5.5m Duotone dlabs.
3 sessions on the 5.5m in sub 10kn to a bit over 20kn and all good. 4m in 15 to 30kn and comfortable. Dlabs have a lock off in the tube between the leading edge and strut. Very happy with these as a 2 windwing quiver.

[Travis-the Ronk-Ronk]

Good review of the Unit!

I have a bit of water time on the new Unit and I’ve ridden sizes 3.5 through 6.5 and some of the Unit DLabs, my experience with the new Unit is somewhat different from yours. I agree with your pros but respectfully disagree with some of your cons: I have not flown the OR Glide so I can't comment on the two in a side-by-side comparison.

Here's my thoughts...

-The tight canopy keeps the draft forward which makes the wing handle much easier in gusts. I've found riding overpowered is much more controlled on the Unit because of the tight canopy and it gives the wing more range on the top and bottom end.

-The injection molded handles are heavier than carbon fiber and webbing straps, that's true, but the direct handling and the direct and comfort of the hard handles is a huge benefit over web handless, they feel like two kite bars, they are small diameter and oval shaped to fit your hands well and are in the right position. The cost benefit of carbon fiber is probably not worth the few grams of weight savings. Each molded handle weighs about 3.8 oz (not including the screws) which is about 110 grams... Webbing handles absorb water and almost every brand has different sizes, thicknesses and quantities of handles so a direct weight comparison is difficult to quantify.

-The tight canopy helps the wing maintain it's airfoil shape which allows the wing to create lift, like an aircraft wing, while luffing, which minimizes any extra weight the handles might add. The lift the wing creates was one of the first things I noticed along with the stability in gusty conditions.

-Most of the big brands have their own inflate valve and which requires some type of unique adapter, there's not really an industry standard. The Duotone Airport valve has been around for almost 10 years, since the North Kiteboarding days. The larger opening allows it to be inflated quicker, however, it does take a little getting used to, like pre twisting the hose about a quarter turn before you connect it, and when disconnecting it you have to fully twist the valve closed before you remove the hose or else it will leak...if you do that and tighten the cap the valve shouldn't leak. I agree that it's an inconvenience if you don't have a Duotone pump or a Duotone Airport adapter.

-I love the dump valve in the wing tip on the Unit. Being able to open the valves and roll up the wing from one wing tip to the other is the only way to go and much cleaner and quicker than rolling wing tips to the center.

-One pump systems have been around the kite world for many years and people have come to expect them on wings as well...they are very reliable and decreases setup time considerably. If you have ever had to remove the hose you know how tight they are on the valve, they are almost impossible to get off if the hose clamp is on. There's really no need to fine tune the pressure in the strut on the Unit.

Have a great weekend and I hope you get some good wind!

[StellaBlu]

Cons:
-Has one-pump which is bad for wings as the tubing can get knocked off causing a massive deflate and you can't fine tune the pressures.

just curious....are there any non-one pump wings out there?

OR glide

[ronnie]

Cons:
-Has one-pump which is bad for wings as the tubing can get knocked off causing a massive deflate and you can't fine tune the pressures.

just curious....are there any non-one pump wings out there?

This one and the Echo didn't have those one-pump tubes. 2019

[Foxi]

later this year next Slick Gen will be launched. I wonder if those of you coming from Slick would have prefered the new Unit shape (inl DLab) with a full boom ?! Watching videos of Slick pilots I detect them to slide along the boom throughout their sessions. No interuption or regripping. Apart from packing there's hardly any argument to be found against it - what du you think ?