flysurfer sonic3, any news?

[joriws]

Example of Sonic3-candy at 9m size swim out and deep water launch sitting on top of HF board..

a deepwater packdown would be nice to see too..

On facebook thread he mentioned about this kite session:
"Sorry, but my film crew (wife) quit after the shown footage. In the end I rode it low and landed in some shrub at the shoreline, about a meter above water. Was lucky to come out of it with a dry kite. Usually, I ride close to shore, fly the kite to edge of the window right tip touching water and engage the safety."

Deepwater packdown, there are a lot of self rescue videos on foil kite at youtube.

[juanpasala]

Yes, we designed the SONIC 3 for more performance and also to be even more user friendly for its class.
We also continuously learn how to make foil kites relaunch better and better.

Have fun, Armin

Armin, got a question for you.

I am seriously thinking about changing my Sonic Race quiver for the Sonic 3, as I am not a competitive rider, and frankly, the durability of the race kites is kind of a bummer for me.
So, how does the performance (upwind adn downwind angles), and speeds of the Sonic 3 compare to the previous generation of race kites? Do you have any date from Pros riding the kite?
I dont expect it to be the same, but I hope it is not much worse either.

[voodoospirit]

i used a speed2 15 for some years then my actual speed3 15 dlx for the past 10years (already?) in mountain lake conditions ( and snowkiting in non flat areas)
my speed3 is dying slowly ( i should check a mixer test soon if i can revive her) probably non waterproof anymore ( but it almost never fell in water), it did 90% of my snow/water conditions ( i have a unity10 almost in new condition.....dunno if it did 10 cessions....)
i use a small TT for regular wind and a directionnal board for low wind/low end of the kites.
10 knots minimum, i usually can use the TT instead of the directionnal.i took some weight so i have hard time to waterstart at 8 knots now with the directionnal

what should i aim for, a soul or a sonic3?..
does the sonic3 drift correctly with the bar in?
would it be ok for snowkiting uphill and downhill?

last time i checked the kitesurfing news, the psycho4 just came out....so i m aa bit lost now

[Adventure Logs]

i used a speed2 15 for some years then my actual speed3 15 dlx for the past 10years (already?) in mountain lake conditions ( and snowkiting in non flat areas)
my speed3 is dying slowly ( i should check a mixer test soon if i can revive her) probably non waterproof anymore ( but it almost never fell in water), it did 90% of my snow/water conditions ( i have a unity10 almost in new condition.....dunno if it did 10 cessions....)
i use a small TT for regular wind and a directionnal board for low wind/low end of the kites.
10 knots minimum, i usually can use the TT instead of the directionnal.i took some weight so i have hard time to waterstart at 8 knots now with the directionnal

what should i aim for, a soul or a sonic3?..
does the sonic3 drift correctly with the bar in?
would it be ok for snowkiting uphill and downhill?

last time i checked the kitesurfing news, the psycho4 just came out....so i m aa bit lost now

Yea you’ve been out of the loop for awhile, you’ll be amazed by the performance leap in technology.

To answer your question. It all depends on what you plan on using it for and what size/conditions you are interested in. You mentioned drift, which makes me lean towards the Soul it drifts much better. If you want big air with tons of float then the Sonic. On surfboard I’d pull out a Soul.

If you aren’t worrying about relaunch and really want a foil to drift and great on the snow, look at the Peak 4 thread. They’re not that great on a twintip though.

Both Sonic and Soul will work on the snow as well. The biggest different is profile and AR. Soul is lower, and has more of a D shape like a LEI and behaves more like one. Sonic will give you great hang time, better low end performance, and more speed.

Lastly my rule of thumb is in bigger sizes, I’d pick Sonic, smaller sizes(my cut off is right around 10m), Soul.

[Armin Harich]

Armin, got a question for you.
I am seriously thinking about changing my Sonic Race quiver for the Sonic 3, as I am not a competitive rider, and frankly, the durability of the race kites is kind of a bummer for me.
So, how does the performance (upwind adn downwind angles), and speeds of the Sonic 3 compare to the previous generation of race kites? Do you have any date from Pros riding the kite?
I dont expect it to be the same, but I hope it is not much worse either.

Sorry, I didn't see your post before.
The Sonic 3 is easier to get the performance out than the Sonic Race.
Upwind the the Sonic Race is a bit better due to less line drag.
Overall, the difference is very small. I defiantly can recommend the Sonic 3 for you. The Barfeedback is a lot better at Sonic 3. Jumping, Backstall is a lot easier to control.

[fernmanus]

VoodooSpirit,

i recommend the Sonic 3 for kiting in fairly stable wind. So, ocean wind or big lakes with smooth laminar wind. The Sonic 3 is higher performance than the Soul, it also has better range and packs down faster. The Soul is more stable, it drifts better and it relaunches better. When I first bought my 18m Sonic 3, I thought I could sell my Soul 18m, but then I took it for a late season snowkite session. The Sonic 3 did not do well in turbulent mountain wind. I had the Sonic bow tie in spots where the Soul would just drift. Overall, the Soul is a more versatile kite It can handle gusty wind better than any other foil kite I have tried. A Soul 9m is a great high wind kite, but a Sonic 3 9m is only good in smooth, strong wind (a rarity), it is better suited as a kite for hydrofoiling.
Both kites will work for gliding on the snow. You might think that your Speed 3 DLX might be a higher performance kite than a Soul, but I think you would be surprised by the stunning performance of a a Soul compared to ANY of the Speed kites. A Soul far outperforms a Speed 5. You may recall that Flysurfer held onto the Speed 5 for awhile, but the Soul was a far better kite.

If you ride in smooth wind all the time, buy a a Sonic 3, it is a boosting machine. I have an 18 and 13, I find that to be the perfect quiver. If you ride in gusty wind, buy Souls, they are far better suited than Sonics for inland lakes and/or mountain winds.

[Nem0]

Today first ride with my 13m
It is not jumping, it‘s flying!!!
Unbelievable hangetime and easy jumping in rough seas!

[Adventure Logs]

After having a couple sessions with my Sonic3 11m, I would agree with fenmanus. For stable winds, I'd pull the Sonic3 out everytime. Compared to the Sonic2, the next gen has more depower, relaunches have been extremely improved, better high wind behavior, and launches are much more tamed. Also the bar pressure has increased(I say it is still slightly less than the Soul but more than Sonic2), hang time is improved, and I feel that you have more bar control(backstalling, spirals, etc). Also water drainage is insanely better, it just pisses it out.

If you are at a gusty spot though, Id still recommend the Soul. My lake in MN is very gusty and shifting winds is the norm and the Sonic3 can be a little bit of a handful. I forgot all about bowties with the Souls but the Sonic3 quickly reminded me about them. With the MUCH IMPROVED relaunch of the Sonic3 it isn't much of an issue though and there are times where I've thought "no way I'm relaunching, gonna have to swim in" but with a little patience I'm able to get it back in the air. And man those jumps, you really are flying. The Sonic3 is my new high wind boosting monster.

[Armin Harich]

Floh Gruber did 7x360 in a row with the Sonic 3:

[kitexpert]

Very impressive 360's in a row It seems like hf is easier or works better than skis on ice/firm snow. I've only had few times when 360 is kind of easy and even then to continue immediately to next one has not been possible because of too low speed. 360 is a funny trick in which you get feeling of turning around a bit like you were on the other end of swinging pendulum.

For kites I've used several LEI's, and only three times foil kites. Easiest ones have been LEI's 8-10m. Speed5 15m couldn't make it, not by me nor its owner when FS Boost13 flied it through pretty easily. I've done 360 from riding blind but that actually makes critical point of 360 easier. Some skills/courage is needed though because starting speed has to be relatively high.