Hey gents, its almost time for an upgrade. Current quiver of 2016 7m and 9m airush ultras and 4m switch element.

I like single strut kites cause i foil and ride a surfboard.

Any suggestions on what's leading the market at the moment?

Cheers

I think you'll probably get the usual.. people nominating their kites rather than "what's leading the market".

So to get the ball rolling my main kite is a 9 Mono. It's a great kite for foiling, I always found it super friendly & easy going. Very nearly a one kite quiver.

A few that I trust have said the Boxer was very close but slightly better.

Various others have said the Alpha is better again, and being an ex ozone rider I wouldn't be surprised.

People nominate their kites because they do their research, try different kites, and buy what they think is best - nothing wrong with recommending what you have - unless you tried nothing but claim what you have is best :-)

The only single strut kites I tried were Ozone Alpha and Gong kites. I prefer my Cloud D series kites (strutless) and for me Clouds are way better (faster, better looping, more uniform pull through the turns, amazing depower and drift). I had one C series Cloud kite and did not like it at all. Cloud kites are not available in Australia but you u can get them second hand occasionally second hand in US.

If you are in Perth you can try my Clouds.

I've got alpha boxer and duotone mono I prefer mono then alpha last boxer for foiling

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Swavek said..
People nominate their kites because they do their research, try different kites, and buy what they think is best - nothing wrong with recommending what you have - unless you tried nothing but claim what you have is best :-)

The only single strut kites I tried were Ozone Alpha and Gong kites. I prefer my Cloud D series kites (strutless) and for me Clouds are way better (faster, better looping, more uniform pull through the turns, amazing depower and drift). I had one C series Cloud kite and did not like it at all. Cloud kites are not available in Australia but you u can get them second hand occasionally second hand in US.

If you are in Perth you can try my Clouds.

I have Clouds and agree with the above also have a 9 m Gong strutless.
I have demoed Alpha and Boxer.
If I could not get Clouds then the other 3 would be ok.
I have been on the 9 m strutless Gong in 25kn wind riding a Moon Patrol hitting just over 20knots speed with excellent upwind performance . The Gong performed perfectly and is excellent straight down wind. It just does not fly like a Cloud in very light wind ie under 9kn.

I love my Ozone Alpha, very light and just stays up.

Checkout this thread www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Foiling/Ideal-12m-kite-for-foiling

My recommendation would be to first try local dealers if possible, whatever the brand. That way you can demo before buying and if you're not happy then seek further afield. I'm an Ozone tragic so a bit biased. I have a 10m Alpha. I think it's the lightest in the class (correct me if I'm wrong). If I can get it off the beach I can foil on it. Not as quick as a Reo (3 struts) but that's to be expected, but it will fly when the Reo falls out of the sky. It flies on the front lines with a little bit of lower quadrant flutter but a touch of rear line tension solves that. Quite often in very light winds all 4 lines will go slack on a down loop (my poor technique) but with a little bit of edging the wind will catch it and it won't tear you off the board, very forgiving.

Probably best to read the blurb on each manufacturers website about the particular design considerations that went into each product.
Most don't even mention foiling.
most single strut kites are primarily designed for packing light and small for travel. My Zeeko Notus Air was primarily designed for foiling. With the added advantage of working great in waves.

the particular foiling design goals were power range and control at low line tension. Quick turning that compensates for using longer lines.
reverse relaunch for when you push those lower wind limits and flying stability in those marginal winds.
add some tuning attachments to kite tips and with the now proven strength and durability of the Build quality and some pretty decent jumping is added.

Best way is to organise a demo of whatever your considering and do a back to back all in the same conditions. Ive done that with Ultra and Mono and the difference is apparent.... Mono more power...Ultra lighter. I demoed a Alpha having 3 sessions in marginal conditions which were all enjoyable with that kite. The Alpha would be my choice but a comparison in equivalent conditions would still have value.

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RAL INN said..
Most don't even mention foiling.
most single strut kites are primarily designed for packing light and small for travel. My Zeeko Notus Air was primarily designed for foiling.

I din't disagree that zeeko had a great early lead on foil gear and made a top notch kite for foiling (by all accounts) which should be considered in the list.. but I gotta call shenanigans on the rest of that. Mono, boxer & alpha weren't designed primarily around packing size/carrying weight.

There's a brand showing up on the beach here that does a strutless, looks like a Cloud copy.... Hyde kites, I think. Their web page puts me off though...

Nobody tried a Helium?

The Slingshot Ghost is also in this field, heavier than most, not a lot of flutter at all, but plenty of low end to get you up. It stays in the air when my 9sst falls out.
First session I didn't like it at all the wind came in and overpowered it. It wouldn't stair well and slow to react.
Second session around 10 -12 knots was much better for the 10m
You do have to adjust your riding style but hey it is a on strut 10.
From my local beach the mono and ultra have been popular.
Demo demo and demo again if you can.
I wanted to get a little more low end so replacing the 9m sst with the Ghost V1 has worked out well.
As usual bomb proof cunstruction.
My 2cents worth
Horey

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KBGhost said..

RAL INN said..
Most don't even mention foiling.
most single strut kites are primarily designed for packing light and small for travel. My Zeeko Notus Air was primarily designed for foiling.

I din't disagree that zeeko had a great early lead on foil gear and made a top notch kite for foiling (by all accounts) which should be considered in the list.. but I gotta call shenanigans on the rest of that. Mono, boxer & alpha weren't designed primarily around packing size/carrying weight.

No problem. It's been a few months since I looked at others descriptions.
seems everyone has decided to say their product is 100% foiling.

With the rapid rise in the popularity of foiling we are in uncharted waters (excuse the bad pun) when it comes to light wind performance from inflatable kites. Forget efficient relaunch when you are kiting in less than 15 knots so a kite must be super light and well designed to stay in the air and not fall out of the sky in the lulls. Apparent wind will keep you going but you will come unstuck in the transitions unless you can maintain momentum. Wait for the gusts, however minimal, before attempting a change in direction. Down looping is mandatory to maintain line tension and the light fast kite will do the rest. Lines will go slack so work out how you can recover. I love the art of light wind kiting since it has its own challenges and rewards. Somebody start a thread on light wind foiling.

Some relevant discussion here
kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=196&t=2405381

Weights etc.

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snalberski said..
Best way is to organise a demo of whatever your considering and do a back to back all in the same conditions. Ive done that with Ultra and Mono and the difference is apparent.... Mono more power...Ultra lighter. I demoed a Alpha having 3 sessions in marginal conditions which were all enjoyable with that kite. The Alpha would be my choice but a comparison in equivalent conditions would still have value.

We've done that with boxer alpha and mono

I am a long time fan of the ultra and have only had 1 brief run on the 8m alpha so admittedly I am biased!

Only valid feedback that I will give is I feel the alpha is a bit smoother all round, less power spikes but it also doesn't have the forward speed of the ultra. The ultra is more aggressive, it can often rip through the wind window but it does have really good forward flying speed and excellent upwind. That was the most noticeable difference and something I really enjoy about the ultra is it's ability to really fang it upwind.

Both are excellent kites

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lucy5 said..
I've got alpha boxer and duotone mono I prefer mono then alpha last boxer for foiling

I reckon that's thread done

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Kamikuza said..
There's a brand showing up on the beach here that does a strutless, looks like a Cloud copy.... Hyde kites, I think. Their web page puts me off though...

Nobody tried a Helium?

Looked at the facebook page - Hyde kite looks like 3 strut kite???

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KBGhost said..

lucy5 said..
I've got alpha boxer and duotone mono I prefer mono then alpha last boxer for foiling

I reckon that's thread done

Based on an individual posters preferences?

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snalberski said..

KBGhost said..

lucy5 said..
I've got alpha boxer and duotone mono I prefer mono then alpha last boxer for foiling

I reckon that's thread done

Based on an individual posters preferences?

... Maybe? Not being 100% serious hence the Winky face. But I don't see anyone else commenting who's tried all 3. And I love my Mono.

For what it's worth the Boxer just won "best single strut" in a big mag mega test.

Personally I reckon they're all so close you'd do well on any of those.

I'd personally choose a cloud if they were available here, or wait till aluula is proven and Ocean Rodeo or another licenced aluula manufacturer makes a single or no strut..

I am curious about the Ocean Rodeo 2020 Aluula frame and Aluula bladder concept.

weight saving should allow rider to have 3 strut kite that is lighter and more rigid that 1 strut.

that is the theory/marketing from >6 months back...

be interesting to see a review and pricing for this highly anticipated realease.

Am OK about delayed release, this season hasn't see the conditions of previous seasons on the East Coast. Or maybe it has been hard to enjoy when the country is on fire.??

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snalberski said..

KBGhost said..

lucy5 said..
I've got alpha boxer and duotone mono I prefer mono then alpha last boxer for foiling

I reckon that's thread done

Based on an individual posters preferences?

It's based on a few people who foil a lot and own all
kites and used in our conditions and used back to back and taliking used on foils only

I've got a 10m ozone alpha with bar and lines hardly used as I've got foil kites.ur welcome to demo,I ride at st kilda most days there's wind