Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Cloud d/e in large sizes

Forum for kitesurfers
User avatar
Greenturtle
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 980
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 6:51 pm
Local Beach: Presque Isle, Erie PA
Favorite Beaches: Bahamian Cays
Gear: Edge 19, Flite 17, 14.5, 12, 10, 8, Cloud 13.4, 10.4, 8, 6.2, 3.7
Tons of boards for water, land, and snow
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 241 times
Been thanked: 277 times

Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby Greenturtle » Mon May 17, 2021 9:17 pm

10.4 , 13.4 How are you using them?
Anybody on here use them with surfboards? or just foiling?

I couldn’t pass up an absolutely killer deal on a pair of cloud e kites 10.4 and 13.4 , I have them in hand and both appear to be unused. Stoked on that, whoop!

I think (?) the 10.4 would be the biggest I would use for foiling, I use naish thrust large and XL wings and I weigh 74kg/160lbs
The 13.4 I have visions of downwinders using directionals. Maybe I would use it foiling too but not sure I would even go out in that light of wind.
Stoked on the packed down size and weight for airline travel. I had a strutless 17m rrd emotion for a while and it was so nice for that.

I have a soft spot for big kites that are lightweight. Trips to the Caribbean and summers around the northeast usa will do that to a man.

I like my Flites a lot for all purposes, but - doing downwinders of several miles with flite+surfboard requires a lot of looping/paying attention since they fly so forward. Thinking these clouds will be a nice addition for this application, hoping for brainless drift in comparison. Not planning on getting rid of anything currently in my quiver, still love to boost and scream upwind on a tt with lots of power too so the flites are staying.

A couple impressions I get just looking these clouds over- first off they are true to size or maybe even a little big (eg their lightweight stats are not achieved by undersizing). Canopy seems to have an extra thick n shiny coating even for double ripstop, looks and feels the business. The le dacron feels heavier/stiffer than on my flites. Both these observations lead me to believe that there is even more room for weight reduction, I know, a ridiculous statement. The 13.4 weighs only 2.3kg. But, If lighter dacron was used, with lighter coated single ripstop canopy, and an old school small inflate/deflate, I do believe these kites would achieve another measurable click down in weight. Just sayin.

No wind for at least a week so .. In the meantime please offer me your stories of stoke (or failures) using these!

User avatar
McLovin
Medium Poster
Posts: 169
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2020 10:52 pm
Kiting since: 2017
Weight: 124 kg
Local Beach: The Columbia River Gorge
Favorite Beaches: Rufus & Rooster - sandy ones with smooth wind
Style: TT - Newbie Foiler
Gear: Armstrong FOIL - SS Dwarfcraft - North Code Zero 7,8 - CORE Section 4,5 XR 7,9 Ocean Rodeo RISE (A) 9/10/11 Ocean Rodeo Flite 14.5(A), CARVE Imperator 151cm TT and Crazy Fly Raptor 140cm Neon TT - Ocean Rodeo Ignites Drysuit - Mystic Majestic 5/4 4/3 other stuff...
Brand Affiliation: Just stuff I like... THANKS Armie!
Has thanked: 42 times
Been thanked: 70 times

Re: Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby McLovin » Mon May 17, 2021 10:24 pm

Hey Greenturtle,

Don't give this too much sway but anecdotally - I tried a 14.5m Cloud earlier version tho last summer and struggled to make it work - it's a high possibility that I may not have rigged it right or something else was off - but it was super flappy and didn't pull in a way that worked for me - clearly it's not the best tool for TT riding, but hard to see how much better it might be on a surfboard - (another topic I think is over-hyped IMHO)

That said, I did have the Flite dacron 14.5m which I loved and worked beautifully right up and until I jumped in to a new Aluula 14.5m Flite which wait for it...was a game changer. Trite I know but as much as I really had many super stoked sessions on the old /Flite the (A) series is simply that much better. I have found over many sessions now it not only flies in light air which is nice, but more of the benefits of the new build are the stability and smooth power delivery in higher winds, oh and not least of which the light build leads to dummy proof drift and float. Meaning you can boost swing under the kite cause you aren't great at boosting and don't have a heli-loop down yet and still come up to find a kite overhead, trust me I have this move down. Riding in swells the kite is simply dreamy and spins on a dime as needed to scoop more power. I keep getting leg cramps from riding so long toe side slashing the swells on my 14.5m so there's that comparison.

Hope you have better luck than I did on the Clouds, all the videos look great with Greg zipping about - worst case if they aren't your favorite you could always give them a new home and probably make a few bucks based on your great BUY.

Cheers,

Mc

:dance:

User avatar
jumptheshark
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2169
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:36 pm
Local Beach: Shhhhh
Favorite Beaches: Nude
Gear: The good stuff
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 387 times
Been thanked: 707 times

Re: Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby jumptheshark » Tue May 18, 2021 1:56 pm

I bet you'll love em. 10.4 particularly, but from your description you are likely a great candidate for making the most out of the biggest cloud too.

Range is super small but definitely useable. Had an old 12m C2 that I either loved or hated. On the right day, it felt like magic to be that powered on dead flat water. Planning ahead in transition and waiting for the kite along the way were preferable to waiting on shore. The days with any kind of gusty shifty wind or when it picked up a bit, I had such a hard time with it.

I'm pretty sure they have come a long way with respect to range and speed since then!

Sounds like you scored. Hope to hear how it goes.

User avatar
Greenturtle
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 980
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 6:51 pm
Local Beach: Presque Isle, Erie PA
Favorite Beaches: Bahamian Cays
Gear: Edge 19, Flite 17, 14.5, 12, 10, 8, Cloud 13.4, 10.4, 8, 6.2, 3.7
Tons of boards for water, land, and snow
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 241 times
Been thanked: 277 times

Re: Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby Greenturtle » Sun Jun 06, 2021 5:02 pm

Well Ive flown the 13.4 twice now, yesterday was a good low-end test session, when the wind died I pulled it out and did 3 miles downwind on a surfboard. Starting out the breeze was so light I had concerns about making it to the destination. I had to wang the kite around the power zone constantly with full aggression , figure 8’s etc just to stay planing. It performs this task well but doesn’t build a ton of power no matter what you do (great for repositioning the kite with no spike, not as great if you need more power). In the absolute lightest breeze it is remarkably responsive etc. Power would have been improved with more sq m. Not really sure why 13.4 is biggest size, but whatever, still impressed with what I could milk out of it.

Anyway mid-run the wind did improve the tiniest bit and bang! Wow that kite came to life. 10knt tops. And it felt full of pep. Pep pep pep! Very very impressed. Pushed the drift the whole time then to test it best I could and even in these light conditions it was quite amazing. Kite can simply be choked to sit back if it creeps forward too much and it loves it. Steering, really everything, felt super light. The kite just feels so light, in actuality, and in the handling. Really great.
Relaunch will be the easiest ever, because the kite will never touch the water in the first place. Next time it is so light I will use hydrofoil and be confident that any breeze is enough to keep the kite up and stable.

It doesn’t flutter much at all. Bear in mind this test was at the very low end. When looping there is some in the corner of wingtip for sure that drags and slows the flow down. But overall I was struck with how very little it flutters unless sheeted way out.

The flites I normally ride (i know , comparing apples/oranges) have this lovely forward-surge in the air when you sheet in, so you get a power burst beyond simple sheeting in. This cloud is the opposite, sits completely steady when sheeting in/out normal amounts. No power burst ever, but rather very smooth tame predictable pull. Overall I can say even with very limited testing Im keeping these clouds, and the flites! Whats the perfect number of kites to own again? 11? Getting there

User avatar
jumptheshark
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2169
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:36 pm
Local Beach: Shhhhh
Favorite Beaches: Nude
Gear: The good stuff
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 387 times
Been thanked: 707 times

Re: Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby jumptheshark » Sun Jun 06, 2021 7:00 pm

Yes 11

elguapo
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 945
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2019 6:01 pm
Favorite Beaches: pattaya
Gear: ..
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 169 times

Re: Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby elguapo » Sun Jun 06, 2021 8:37 pm

[i LOVE clouds...
in small sizes.

small sizes meaning..6.2(MAybe 8m) and smaller


the big sized inflatable kites...just not feeling them.

Image

bigtone667
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 582
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2015 7:24 am
Kiting since: 2013
Local Beach: Birdie Beach, Budgewoi Beach, Lakes Beach
Favorite Beaches: Umina Beach, Birdies Beach, Lake Munmorah, Canton, The Swamp, Le Morne
Style: surf, foiling, jumping, lawn mowing
Gear: Kites: BRM Cloud D's, Duotone Rebels, Peaks
Wings: Cloud W1 2,3,4,5, Duotone DLAB Unit 4.5/5.5/6.5
Boards: Bit of everything
Foils: AXIS and Triton Foils
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 70 times
Been thanked: 55 times

Re: Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby bigtone667 » Sun Jun 06, 2021 11:24 pm

Greg Drexler was not riding foils when he originally designed the Cloud. It was designed with the BRM Paipo in mind (and surfboards). I used them for exclusively riding surfboards or a door TT for quite a few years until I picked up foiling as well.
They are a brilliant kite for downwind surf riding because of their drift and only average for upwind riding (compared with a Rebel).

User avatar
Greenturtle
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 980
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 6:51 pm
Local Beach: Presque Isle, Erie PA
Favorite Beaches: Bahamian Cays
Gear: Edge 19, Flite 17, 14.5, 12, 10, 8, Cloud 13.4, 10.4, 8, 6.2, 3.7
Tons of boards for water, land, and snow
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 241 times
Been thanked: 277 times

Re: Cloud d/e in large sizes

Postby Greenturtle » Mon Sep 27, 2021 2:41 pm

Well just an update, Ive given both the 13.4 and 10.4 good workouts with surfboard this season, and the drift is amazing, the power delivery buttery smooth and so so predictable, to the point of inspiration and breakthrough in so many aspects of my riding.

I am somewhat surprised to report that the steering reactivity and overall turning speed is slightly faster on the equivalent size flite, basically I find the flites slightly easier to postion precisely and quickly when downwinding, especially looping, they are snappier, the canopy stays tight throughout loop so loops are completed faster. But the drift on the clouds is beyond next level, not even comparable, I can be really sloppy with the clouds kite positioning with no consequences, so that more than makes up for it.

I find these clouds to have pretty good upwind performance, not that I care or am using them for that at all. But I tested it out a few times when I got decently powered and got upwind fine. Also tested jumping off some wave lips and they perform adequately there too. Not fantastic or anything but enough to throw a little air into a session.


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: andylc, Bing [Bot], cmilea, headintheclouds, knotwindy, mrcrss, Puddle Pirate, purdyd, rStorms, vela99, VElars, Vivo3d, vladi elthve, voodoospirit, Windwarrior and 363 guests