Eleveight RS 2020 review

[john a]

Review of the allroundkite Eleveight RS 2020

[nothing2seehere]

Had a chance to get a test on one a couple of weeks ago. Thought I would add a few points in case anyone needed a little more information in deciding what to demo. I tested a 9m RS in probably 22-28knots of cold gusty wind. Left the kite on the default out of the bag settings (freeride on the front and possibly (can't be sure) soft on the rear lines) on a 47cm universal bar on 22m lines (No idea why the dealer didn't give me the bar to go with it but the bar had only had about 10 sessions so was in good tune).

Its a fast turning kite. Probably the most responsive kite I have ever flown (and that include the OR Flite). Really playful
The canopy material is gorgeous. The anti UV layer really makes the water bead and run off which is quite satisfying when you are packing away.
Although the website says its a grunty turn, its not. I was perfectly happy downlooping this kite right at the top of the wind range. You won't get extra low end by working the kite like a bridled C style kite.
It jumps well (wide sweet spot as the video above says) and I got a new height record which is nice - but that's more a reflection of how friendly it is rather than it being a one trick pony.
Reassuringly stable at the top of the wind range. You know you are really powered but it doesn't feel like things are going to get hairy. The kite shifts in the wind window to smooth the wind surges so you get a much smoother feeling on the bar and its easy to keep an edge in choppy water. I came in at the end and pumped my regular 9m to test and it wasn't fun in comparison (and I struggled to get anywhere near as high due to the gusty conditions).
Hang time was good but not in the same league as the really flat kites like the XR5/Rebel etc. Landings were soft but not as soft as those kites either.
Its fairly back stall resistant and it stalls gently and is easy to recover.

Didn't get a chance to test the low end so can't comment on that but I can see this kite suiting a lot of people like me who only get to kite once a week or so and don't have the luxury of specialising in one discipline

[john a]

Had a chance to get a test on one a couple of weeks ago. Thought I would add a few points in case anyone needed a little more information in deciding what to demo. I tested a 9m RS in probably 22-28knots of cold gusty wind. Left the kite on the default out of the bag settings (freeride on the front and possibly (can't be sure) soft on the rear lines) on a 47cm universal bar on 22m lines (No idea why the dealer didn't give me the bar to go with it but the bar had only had about 10 sessions so was in good tune).

Its a fast turning kite. Probably the most responsive kite I have ever flown (and that include the OR Flite). Really playful
The canopy material is gorgeous. The anti UV layer really makes the water bead and run off which is quite satisfying when you are packing away.
Although the website says its a grunty turn, its not. I was perfectly happy downlooping this kite right at the top of the wind range. You won't get extra low end by working the kite like a bridled C style kite.
It jumps well (wide sweet spot as the video above says) and I got a new height record which is nice - but that's more a reflection of how friendly it is rather than it being a one trick pony.
Reassuringly stable at the top of the wind range. You know you are really powered but it doesn't feel like things are going to get hairy. The kite shifts in the wind window to smooth the wind surges so you get a much smoother feeling on the bar and its easy to keep an edge in choppy water. I came in at the end and pumped my regular 9m to test and it wasn't fun in comparison (and I struggled to get anywhere near as high due to the gusty conditions).
Hang time was good but not in the same league as the really flat kites like the XR5/Rebel etc. Landings were soft but not as soft as those kites either.
Its fairly back stall resistant and it stalls gently and is easy to recover.

Didn't get a chance to test the low end so can't comment on that but I can see this kite suiting a lot of people like me who only get to kite once a week or so and don't have the luxury of specialising in one discipline

Well said! Did you get to play around with the tuning setting on the bridle?

[nothing2seehere]

No, I didn't get around to changing any of the settings. I'm just a typical free rider so the stock settings seemed the right ones to try and I only had a moderate time window to ride.

It looked fairly easy to change the settings and aside from a quick check to see they were both on the same setting, I left it alone (I guess the Ozone style might be a little easier to visually verify as both changes are next to each but I'm sure most people will find a tune that they like and generally stick to that)

[LeoLeal]

Any more review ? Does anyone tested in foil, waveride or strapless freestyle?

[andrzej351]

Hi. I have a question about the bridle settings but RS 2021.
How do you set your RS to big air? Is there a difference between the Tip and Pivot settings?
Write your impressions from Tip, Standard, Pivot.
Andrzej

[Saltyman]

The RSv4 jumps higher on the freestyle setting.
It's also excellent as a foil kite on the pivot setting.
The standard setting is pretty much perfect.
The pivot does has a bit more hangtime about same height but it seems so slow compared to the RS that you have to adjust your riding.
Some good points for people learning tricks front rolls etc are easier on a slower kite.
But for a downloop transition the RS is awesome especially if you have some height.
The build quality of the Eleveight kites are the best I've seen and I've been kiting/retailing for over 20yrs just check out the trailing edge.
It doesn't hold you up as long as XS or Raptor V1 or rebel but for a freeride do it all kite it's the best I've ridden without a doubt closely followed by the pivot.