Had my first chance to play with my 4.4 Gong Unik. Took it out on the grass to test it in light winds. I also had to shorten the outside lines considerably to get it to fly nicely. I would estimate 4 inches of outside line shortened to get the kite to turn well and pass the slight back stall test flying at the top of the window and pull the bar all the way in. Then it was a very nice little kite. Fun to fly around and look forward to a water test but need a bunch of wind to fly this little sucker. Anyone else having to adjust the bridles?
Hi Wallydog , so far I flew it with the Duotone Clickbar and no issues.
I made an extra not in the pigtail of the Unik at the steering lines just to see if I can get the maximum of power out of these flying machines, this shorten the steering lines for 5cm's but this was to much and the kite was stalling so I removed the knot.
So far all good with equal lines.
Please check your lines for equal length, most good quality lines are prestreched that means that the lines with the less power are shrinking.
I'll check this on the next flight with a different bar.
Erik, great info and nice that you pointed out the shortcomings as well. One question, where did you buy the pulleys you changed to the kite, please? And what are they called? Thanks!
Ronstan Shock blocks 5mm.
You can buy them in several colors at any good marine shop and/or online.
Last edited by Erik de Berik on Sun Sep 08, 2019 12:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Yes, bar is not the best. Safety line protection started to break down after 2 months of use and the black rubber above the chicken loop also. Lines seams to be good quality and you can connect it to any kite since endings are with loop and knot on top. I’m thinking about buying 6.8 unique, will be happy to hear more impressions about the kite.
More impressions will follow soon, as also a for the bar (especially the bar) and directional Alu and Lethal.
Hello Erik thanks for writing a detailed review of the Gong Unik.
Hereunder I am sharing impressions about other single strut kites I owned or tried, could you tell how the unik compares ?
The storm voyager was high aspect ratio, light kite flew really well in low winds, not a lot of pull but really good upwind/edge of window,
but the high end it was really fluttering so overall a shorter wind range than 3 strut kites.
Ozone alpha, naish boxer had a more solid frame (thicker leading edge/strut) , less flutter, lower aspect ratio; were very responsive, turned fast and generated more power when turning, were very stable but sitting a bit lower in the wind window - so nice drift but less upwind finesse.
What was your impression with the Unik ?
How is the high end & fluttering ? Is it a kite that packs a lot of power for its size and then you can't use it overpowered ?
It looks like it is fast turning & responsive with moderate aspect, so do you have good upwind / edge of wind window or is it sitting low ?
The Unik's packing a lot of power indeed, compared to my Duotone Neo's they are powerful and lively.
Many times I fly the Unik's with my surfboard and tack some waves because the kite is so light and yes, the high end is not as much as a 3 strut kite and it's fluttering when you depower in high winds but the Unik sits far in the wind window so upwind is a piece of cake.
Just flew the 6.8 in very gusty 35knots on directional for a test, fluttering all the way, heavely overpowered and depowered all the way, but hey.... upwind as easy as it gets and for such a rigid one strutter I accept the fluttering.
I love the Uniks, It's a kite that can do a bit of all, but take the correct size for the correct winds and then it's super smooth
For foil and light to mid wind conditions I use the Unik's all the time, for heavy conditions I take my Neo's.
Price/quality/flying charateristics you can't loose your money!
I was tempted to buy a Gong kite for hydrofoiling but they are heavy (compared to other lightwind kites)...
Strutless 10m weighs 2,7 Kg
Unik 10.2m weighs 2,9kg
Hi,
Kite is very light and tight, I use the 10.2 a lot and I’m laughing all the way.
Yes the Ozone Alpha is much lighter and more expensive, not to speak about the new OR Aluula fabric, half the weight of Ozone Alpha but €2300,-
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Thanks for your feedback Erik, good to know the unik has good upwind and behaves decently in the high end for a mono strut.
I understand the purpose of a single strut kite is to ride low end foil or surf but when the wind picks up or is gusty you do need decent high end too.
I also feel like keeping my 3 struts (naish slash) for big conditions, but checking options for low wind kites / foil.
I don't understand the logic in trying to market a LEI kite for 2300e that is the price of the best foil kites out there for ultimate low wind performance.
The unik seems like a very good price/perf ratio and a lot more versatile than a pure strutless kite.
Also for low wind GTC do not consider weight only but the way the kite will behave will very little wind/line tension, is it still responsive, can it backstall, hindenburgh etc.