Strutless Gong Kite Reviews?

[Erik de Berik]

Hi There,
Just tried the 12m V3 Strutless in 8/10 knots of wind and I’m impressed, stays in the air like a feather, very very stable, generates lots of power and reverse launch is a piece of cake.
For a 12 this kite is pretty fast, ok there is some fluttering in the powerzone while depowering but I've never seen a kite with these features that don't have that.
After all, you can’t loose with this one.
Enjoy!
Erik

Below some link’s to my vids and a link viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2403908&hilit=gong+unik to my other post about the Gong Unik’s !

[Huib]

Last week I flew my friend’s newest generation 8m Cloud Kite. Comparing the 8m Cloud to my 8m Gong v3 Strutless:
The Gong has a higher Aspect Ratio design than the Cloud.
The Gong weighs about 1 1/4 lbs more than the Cloud.
The Gong is a fraction of the price of the Cloud.
The Gong has a good backpack while the Cloud comes in a sack.
The Gong glides faster than the Cloud.
The Gong goes up wind better than the Cloud.
Both the Gong and the Cloud have excellent drift characteristics.
Both the Gong the the Cloud sit nicely at the zenith.
I fly my 8m Gong Strutless with a surfboard when all my friends (who weigh essentially the same as me) are flying their 9m and 10m Strutted Kites with a surfboard. It is also my go to kite for most days that I foil.
I live in the San Francisco Bay area, kite almost every day there is wind, and fly my 8m Gong Strutless about 90% of the time. I also have the 6m and 10m Gong Strutless. I had the 12m Gong Strutless but recently sold it as I had only flown it twice over a period of 6 months (too powerful for our winds).

1 1/4 lbs more weight then the Cloud!? That is huge!!
At that weight, it's hard to believe that the Gong can match the Cloud with speed and drift in low winds.

[mar menor]

Had the Gong 12m V3 Strutless ,OK but seems to get overloaded quickly (narrow wind range) Think that is fairly typical of strutless hence the popularity of single strut kites .Prefer the PLKB synergy single strut ,lighter and good price.

[UKSurf]

Had the Gong 12m V3 Strutless ,OK but seems to get overloaded quickly (narrow wind range) Think that is fairly typical of strutless hence the popularity of single strut kites .Prefer the PLKB synergy single strut ,lighter and good price.

I also have the 12m and you are absolutely right it has a limited wing range and is really for people who want to hydrofoil in light winds which it excels at. This kite will stay in the air when other mono struts will fall out the sky, also produces great grunt to get going but will be over powered very quickly in a force 4. But who would use a 12m in a force 4 for foiling?

[mar menor]

Yes , I'm am not being critical of Gong, it is a strutless issue (tried the Storm Voyager 12m same thing) not a problem ,per se, just people should not expect much range.They are really good in their (limited) wind range .Above 10 kts 1 strut are better (in my opinion) as weight is not so critical

[jumptheshark]

12m is just a big for the strutless platform. I can't imagine how soft the old 17m cloud must have felt. I remember having a chuckle at people that judged the strutless concept on the basis of experience with 17 m cloud on a twin tip. That is like the absolute worst set up I can imagine!

I get the trade off that you want absolute lightest possible kite at the ultra low end, but I really feel 12m is the absolute biggest you want in this concept. They really suit 8m and down, where the lack of structure doesn't equate to such a massive loss in top end range.

I have a 12m cloud that never gets used now. Its old and bagged out, and drifts to one side on a well trimmed bar, so despite providing power in 8-10 knots, I just don't enjoy those sessions much any more. 9m is the biggest I will likely ever go with a strutless kite moving forward. With the right wing and a bit of skill that's a 10knot low end.

[AndersP]

I have a 12m gong strutless v2 on 25m lines. It's a session saver for foiling in 7-11 knots.

[nayy]

Try the 12 with line extensions.... incredible low end, but overpowered in 12 kn on foil.

[matt_81a]

Got a 10m Strutless - what a fantastic kite. Just keeps on staying in the air. Love it!!

[jyka]

I have used v2 12m strutless a lot this summer. It's a great kite, super stable in light winds.
With limitations of (all) strutless kites = it doesn't like higher winds. But I use it only hydrofoiling in light wind between 4 - 7 m/s.