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Gong kites reviews and tests

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codifilo
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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby codifilo » Mon Aug 24, 2020 3:43 pm

What is your opinion the Gong Alu board? It looks great and I'm thinking about getting one when they are back in stock.
How does it go upwind? Does it feel heavy with the PVC sandwich? is it fun in the waves?

Erik de Berik wrote:
Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:41 am
Hi all, my Kauper XT Maverick experience 👇🏼

viewtopic.php?t=2403644&start=240

And/or 👇🏼

https://oaseforum.de/showthread.php?t=175914&page=33

I still love the Gong Unik’s and Strutless too 😘

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Erik de Berik
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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby Erik de Berik » Mon Aug 24, 2020 4:34 pm

Hi Godifilo,
Gong Alu built quality is superb, I sold it because it was not quick enough for my weight 99kg. I bought (advice from Patrice owner and shaper) the Pie! Indeed magic as described on their website. Very fun and very quick, not the most radical of course but very forgiven and fun in decent wind, above 6 bft you are losing control but It’s my favorite board till 25 knots. Above 25 knots still possible but the magic is gone.Perfect light wind board, if you like speed take a piece of the pie!
If you like waves and you want Gong and super strong quality buy the Lethal, very snappy and radical but not as fast for my 99kg. I wish they made a 6.0 but they won’t.
Cheers!

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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby Veko » Wed Nov 11, 2020 9:33 am

Erik de Berik wrote:
Wed Jul 15, 2020 7:41 am
Hi all, my Kauper XT Maverick experience 👇🏼

viewtopic.php?t=2403644&start=240

And/or 👇🏼

https://oaseforum.de/showthread.php?t=175914&page=33

I still love the Gong Unik’s and Strutless too 😘
How would you compare Kauper XT and Gong Unik, what kind of differences do they have in terms of wave riding and possible occasional twin tip use? I'm thinking of buying one of these as my high wind (30-40+ knots) kite for wave surfing in onshore winds (only conditions we get big enough waves here in Finland) with occasional use on twintip if the conditions get too sketchy for surfboards and my skills.

I've been thinking of going with 5.2m/6.8m Unik or 5m/6m Kauper XT. How is your experience with high end wind range with your 6.8 Unik and 7m Kauper XT? I weigh around 95kg, which is going to be ~105-110kg fully kitted out in winter gear on the water.

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Erik de Berik
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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby Erik de Berik » Wed Nov 11, 2020 12:46 pm

I use the Unik’s and Maverick’s most of the time for foil.
In very gusty conditions with more than 10 knots difference and especially in 30kn + the uniks flapping a lot but controlable but not to compare with a good wave kite (in my case Dt Neo)
Mavericks can do but not a beginners kite in high winds because of it’s agility and difficult to water relaunch
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Veko (Wed Nov 11, 2020 2:05 pm)
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apollo4000
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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby apollo4000 » Thu Nov 12, 2020 8:14 pm

A few weeks back went out to Camber on a windy wet day, started on a 7m Rebel which was okay but too much effort, came back for 9m Unik. Awesome in the same conditions. Maybe I should have taken the 9m out straight away but it was windy and big waves. There was a guy on an 8m Soul having it.

For the money, I absolutely loved the Unik. Took me on a big boost as well. It feels powerful when you’re walking to the water, need a bit more attention....but smooth when riding. Yeah it luffs a bit but it’s no biggy. It’s a great kite and for the price, an awesome kite.

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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby Alfman » Tue Jun 22, 2021 9:15 am

I'm interested in replacing my solo 15.5 for a unik 14m. I'm 68 kg and I'm mainly doing freeride and surf.
With the 15.5 solo i was able to twintip with small jumps in 6 to 7 knots and I would like to have that low end but the unik seems to have a 12 knots as a low end. I think that that is a really strange low end for a 14 m single strut. I has the same low end as the 12.9 m unik from last year and the same low end as the freewave. That just strange.
Does anyone have a unik och a freewave 14 meters that can report the low end ?
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rnelias
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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby rnelias » Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:22 pm

I'm looking for more info about the Maverick XT.

It seems a nice alternative as lightweight kite for squeeze some low end on hydrofoiling sessions without losing too much high end as 1-struct kites.

There's not much info about The Maverick. In the website there's some information from the designer. The kite has a thin leading edge compared to other 3-struct wave kites. It probably makes the kite less rigid and prone to torsion while turning.
Last edited by rnelias on Wed Sep 01, 2021 2:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby mountain_lake » Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:06 pm

rnelias wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:22 pm
I'm looking for more info about the Maverick XT.
I own one in 10 qm. I had a bit of a hassle with the manufacturer (he sent me a leaking kite and I had to pay for the repair myself).

That's by far the thinnest leading edge I've seen so far. This makes the kite quite sensitive to pressure. You need to pump it up really hard until the valve seems to be popping out. If it's not pumped hard enough it will fly like a sponge and it hardly relaunches.

On the plus side, the kite is very light and it stays in the air quite long. Longer than a single strut I don't know and I don't think so, but maybe comparable. Definitely longer than my three strut kites. The kite flys fast and turns fast, it creates power through movement which is advantageous on a foil. The kite likes to be flown on its lower end and is overpowered very quickly. You can depower it, but it quickly gets hard to steer without enough pressure on the steering lines.

Do I like the kite? Some days yes, some days no. I don't fly it often and it flys differently from my normal LEI kites, so I always need to get used to it. And I don't always pump it hard enough because I'm worried it will explode, then I have this sponge in the air and it's not fun flying a sponge :lol:.

I have the bar as well, don't buy the bar it feels more like someone assembled it in his garage than actually a professional product. And the quick-release is near to impossible to re-assemble in deep water.

Would I buy the kite agein? No, because of the hassle with the manufacturer and due to its flying characteristics. But it doesn't fly so bad that I have the feeling I would be better of with a one-strut kite that much.

Probably good to know: I only use it with a hydrofoil and not with a directional.

@rnelias hope this helps. Obivously highly biased... :lol:

If you happen to speak German there's a long thread in the German kite forum about the kite. With a lot of details about the flying characteristics and all the problems, people have with the kite and the bar.
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rnelias (Wed Sep 01, 2021 2:29 am)
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rnelias
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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby rnelias » Wed Sep 01, 2021 2:33 am

mountain_lake wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 8:06 pm
rnelias wrote:
Tue Aug 31, 2021 7:22 pm
I'm looking for more info about the Maverick XT.
I own one in 10 qm. I had a bit of a hassle with the manufacturer (he sent me a leaking kite and I had to pay for the repair myself).

That's by far the thinnest leading edge I've seen so far. This makes the kite quite sensitive to pressure. You need to pump it up really hard until the valve seems to be popping out. If it's not pumped hard enough it will fly like a sponge and it hardly relaunches.

On the plus side, the kite is very light and it stays in the air quite long. Longer than a single strut I don't know and I don't think so, but maybe comparable. Definitely longer than my three strut kites. The kite flys fast and turns fast, it creates power through movement which is advantageous on a foil. The kite likes to be flown on its lower end and is overpowered very quickly. You can depower it, but it quickly gets hard to steer without enough pressure on the steering lines.

Do I like the kite? Some days yes, some days no. I don't fly it often and it flys differently from my normal LEI kites, so I always need to get used to it. And I don't always pump it hard enough because I'm worried it will explode, then I have this sponge in the air and it's not fun flying a sponge :lol:.

I have the bar as well, don't buy the bar it feels more like someone assembled it in his garage than actually a professional product. And the quick-release is near to impossible to re-assemble in deep water.

Would I buy the kite agein? No, because of the hassle with the manufacturer and due to its flying characteristics. But it doesn't fly so bad that I have the feeling I would be better of with a one-strut kite that much.

Probably good to know: I only use it with a hydrofoil and not with a directional.

@rnelias hope this helps. Obivously highly biased... :lol:

If you happen to speak German there's a long thread in the German kite forum about the kite. With a lot of details about the flying characteristics and all the problems, people have with the kite and the bar.
Thanks a lot for you feedback. You've basically confirmed some of my suspicious. The smaller weight comes from less dacron used on the structure and, of course, it has a price. In order to make the kite more rigid we have to put an insane pressure or fly it like a sponge.

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Re: Gong kites reviews and tests

Postby alpaia » Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:13 pm

Hello, quick feedback on the unik 12.9 sqm 2019, surfing, alaia and foiling. 90kg, used it from 8 to 18 knots.

Light wind / low end :
flies well in very little / unstable wind, still responsive to bar input, no backstall, no hindennburgh. hard to drop it. when you do, relaunches well. good low end power
ideal to learn foiling, you can just forget about it it will stay up no matter what.. very efficient for its size, I use long lines.

High end :
good for single strut kite, no flapping if you keep it sheeted in, but not itQs cup of tea, the unik is designed to take the minimal size to get you going.
Not as fan of the unik for surfing, it does drift etc but flaps a bit when turning - the small sizes are likely better.

Build & price
Very good build quality aligned with major brands - teijin 3 ripstop etc.

Overall great value for money, very pleasant allround single-strut kite for foil, freeride, surf.
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