2021 LEI kites for airstyle

[Skywalker7]

Hi,
I tried the 2020 Rebel 13m and they are very nice kites. Jumping very well, but most importantly turning and looping surprisingly well. Definitely a good choice. Flysurfer Boost series is also very good one, not to speak the Core XR6 which I belive is the woo record holder now.

By the way as you write you have a Flysurfer Soul. None of the 15-16m tubes will beat a Soul in lightwind jumping, but in order to utilize the power of the Soul I would suggest to try a few things: If you have a Soul 12 then just add 2m line extensions (to the standard 20M lines). If you have Soul 15 I would add 3m line extensions. The Soul 15 should be used on the 60 cm bar so the kite turns fast enough. If you have a pretty new Soul than you might want to shorten the control lines (green and red/orange) by 2 cm what gives faster turning reactions as well.
With the above changes and with a bit of practice you will jump higher by 2 meter on a Soul 15 than any other 15m tube kite in lightwind. My record is 17 meter on a Soul 15, and 18 meter on a Soul 12 and 19.2m on a Soul 10. All of these on flatwater spots. In spite of thoose I do like to ride tubekites as they are better for kitelooping.
In lightwind I would go with a Soul 15M and under it I would go with a Rebel 13 which is already a fun kite. On 13M Rebel you will definitely jump higher than your recent record.

[FLandOBX]

This topic always blurs the important distinction between boosting height and hang-time. The OP mentioned both, but said he's interested in a kite for "airstyle". To me, that means that, for the OP, hang-time (i.e., time in the air) is more important than maximum height or a woo record. IMHO, airstyle is primarily about what you can do in the air, not so much about how high you can go, although we'd like both. Longer hang-time = more time in the air = more time for airstyle tricks.

There are a lot of kites that boost high but don't provide slow floaty descents and, therefore, have shorter hang-time. The Core XR6 and most Core models fall into this category. They're great kites for boosting big and mega-loops, but not great airstyle kites.

The kites that are best for airstyle are the super high aspect kites that provide very slow descents. The best mentioned so far are the Rebel and the Edge. They deliver good (but maybe not the best) boosting height, plus maximum hang-time, which is where you want to be for airstyle.

[SMJ]

This topic always blurs the important distinction between boosting height and hang-time. The OP mentioned both, but said he's interested in a kite for "airstyle". To me, that means that, for the OP, hang-time (i.e., time in the air) is more important than maximum height or a woo record. IMHO, airstyle is primarily about what you can do in the air, not so much about how high you can go, although we'd like both. Longer hang-time = more time in the air = more time for airstyle tricks.

There are a lot of kites that boost high but don't provide slow floaty descents and, therefore, have shorter hang-time. The Core XR6 and most Core models fall into this category. They're great kites for boosting big and mega-loops, but not great airstyle kites.

The kites that are best for airstyle are the super high aspect kites that provide very slow descents. The best mentioned so far are the Rebel and the Edge. They deliver good (but maybe not the best) boosting height, plus maximum hang-time, which is where you want to be for airstyle.

100% agree with everything said here. Good point about emphasizing the hang time over the boost height. This thread is all about the search for 2021 "super high aspect kites that provide very slow descents."

FLandOBX,
Have you flown the Cab AV8 14m yet (or perhaps an older Apollo)? IMHO, I would put this kite in the same hang-time class as the Rebel and Edge.

Here's a good vid showing the AV8 14m's hang-time:

[FLandOBX]

FLandOBX,
Have you flown the Cab AV8 14m yet (or perhaps an older Apollo)? IMHO, I would put this kite in the same hang-time class as the Rebel and Edge.

Here's a good vid showing the AV8 14m's hang-time:
.....

I haven't flown the AV8, but I have a quiver of 2017-18 Apollos. I'm a huge fan of the Apollo (large sizes for airstyle, small sizes for foilboard). Now you've piqued my interest in the AV8. I'll check it out.

[NorthernKitesAu]

Dutone Dice is a fast booster in moderate winds. I live in the dry tropics of Nth Queensland, Australia and most guys here are on Dutones now. 13m minimum but when it gets around 20-25knots, they are really amazingly fast floaty kites.

[Blackened]

I haven't tried the 2021 Rebel, but the 2020 has about 15% more hangtime (my rough estimate) over the previous 2018/2019. It was just a change of materials. For the 2021, I think they lightened it again and added the flex strut for better quicker turning. Very interested to see if they release an SLS version next year. I suspect it would be another leap in hangtime with the weight savings.

[SolarSet]

My record is 17 meter on a Soul 15, and 18 meter on a Soul 12 and 19.2m on a Soul 10. All of these on flatwater spots. In spite of thoose I do like to ride tubekites as they are better for kitelooping.
In lightwind I would go with a Soul 15M and under it I would go with a Rebel 13 which is already a fun kite. On 13M Rebel you will definitely jump higher than your recent record.

Wow these are nice results. I wonder how you jump on Soul 15m? I was told slowly bring kite to zenit when jumping because if it pass to much through power zone its hard to keep edge and there would be more vertical than horizontal jump.
Keeping edge on my 15m Soul is a hardest part.

[Toby]

This topic always blurs the important distinction between boosting height and hang-time. The OP mentioned both, but said he's interested in a kite for "airstyle". To me, that means that, for the OP, hang-time (i.e., time in the air) is more important than maximum height or a woo record. IMHO, airstyle is primarily about what you can do in the air, not so much about how high you can go, although we'd like both. Longer hang-time = more time in the air = more time for airstyle tricks.

There are a lot of kites that boost high but don't provide slow floaty descents and, therefore, have shorter hang-time. The Core XR6 and most Core models fall into this category. They're great kites for boosting big and mega-loops, but not great airstyle kites.

The kites that are best for airstyle are the super high aspect kites that provide very slow descents. The best mentioned so far are the Rebel and the Edge. They deliver good (but maybe not the best) boosting height, plus maximum hang-time, which is where you want to be for airstyle.

100% agree with everything said here. Good point about emphasizing the hang time over the boost height. This thread is all about the search for 2021 "super high aspect kites that provide very slow descents."

FLandOBX,
Have you flown the Cab AV8 14m yet (or perhaps an older Apollo)? IMHO, I would put this kite in the same hang-time class as the Rebel and Edge.

Here's a good vid showing the AV8 14m's hang-time:

how much wind was that? Looks pretty light?

[Toby]

My definition of Big Air and Airstyle:

Airstyle: Hooked only, any kind of tricks, including Surface tricks like Jesus Walks, Barefoot Slides, Darkslides, also Transitions, Water Start, Beach Start, Beach Landing
e.g.: www.strictlyhooked.com

Big Air: as high as possible, anything hooked or unhooked
e.g.: King of the Air

[Paleofit]

The Ocean Rodeo aluula Flite kites might be worth a try. The regular flites had very good hangtime with a much more controllable loop than some. I imagine that a stiffer leading edge is only going to make it better and its probably going to hang in the air during lulls better than a lot of kites.

Based on the videos coming out of the duotone social media I'd probably hold off choosing duotone for a bit to see how the new models pans out as that might be a better bet for light wind airstyle?

+1 for the 17m aluula flite if your looking for more hangtime than a 14 Av8. Preface this with I don’t have the normal flite but love the 14.5 aluula and considering the 17 for the same thing. Aspect is higher and turning is faster than a 2020 rebel 12 my friend has (24m lines). The fast turning can be slowed with longer lines and what you gain in lowend and power (aluula being half the weight) and high end (stiffer airframe) might make that high cost justifiable. You’ll be out in wider range of conditions in one kite. Flite is floaty.