The first issue I had was the intake mesh. It grates sand and dumps it into the kite. Maybe they listened?gwicke wrote:Just got a 12m Aurora 2, also in the ultralight fabric. First impressions:
- Weight: 2.15kg
- The fabric is much stiffer and crispy. Basically the same as good quality silnylon spinnakers. Compared to the standard fabric, the ultralight fabric should stretch and distort a lot less under load. It will also take on less water. I would not be surprised if it was also stronger.
- The vents are covered in a much lighter and more open mesh than the relatively heavy and closed PVC mesh I have on my 8m regular Aurora 2. The new material is close to what Ozone uses. I cut large squares into the PVC on my other Aurora to improve inflation speed and pressure, so this is a nice improvement.
- Slick bridle, thin enough to minimize shrinkage.
- Bridle attachment loops switched from webbing to a more closed / non-woven material. Seems a bit stiffer, which could be good for weight distribution along the seam.
- No magnetic blow-out valves. This reduces weight, avoids the magnetic sand collection, and should make the kite hold air a bit longer, but also increases the risk of blowing a cell when crashing the kite hard.
Overall, to me the ultralight looks all-round higher quality. The fabric should perform better, and I expect it to have a longer useful life than the standard. If I were to get another 8m, I would consider getting that in ultralight fabric as well.
I keep getting tempted to buy a light weight aurora2. But must resist , still need 15m diablo first.