Here we go!



Personally, as i'm in the market for a light wind kite, this is exciting. Also - new tech spreading to other mainstream brands - hell yes.

*yawn*

I have to say this is not a "Yawn" at all... Allula on Duotone is very exciting news. I love light wind kiting with a twin tip or surfboard you get some mad clean waves. Guys are sitting on the beach wishing they had one... Especially at Rosebud on a northerly when it just does not come in enough.

Please Please let them do this material to a NEO wave kite all I would need is a 15m Juice 10m & 7m Neo's that's it

Well allula was the game changer and other brands are catching up, sorry if I misunderstood that this was another "look how little wind I can get going in" video. The backline relaunch is an interesting technique.

Rosebud in a light wind, yeah been there done that. There are enough cranking days in winter to not need anything more than a 7m there.

Great that they design the 13 more toward foiling and 15 for heavy weight TT riders.. The foil kite guys will not be impressed if an inflatable flys pas a 6 knots will there swimming and though I love foil kites for their specific design purpose - its always more fun to drop an inflatable kite in the drink and have it open ready to go on the smallest gust... which maybe a tad more than the video suggests if wet etc.
And having to count only 1-2-3-4 Lines- is the magic trick

Canopy material can be as light weight as you claim but still have three struts, certainly the overall weight of the kite is not going to be lighter than the current no strut kite such as the Slingshot UFO. I call bull**** on a 3 strut kite being able to kite (twin tip or foil) in 4 knots as you claim......

Plus, looking at the disruption to water surface in your video (small wavelets) and you claim it was only 4 knots....4 knots my arse.... 4 knots is almost (nah, it is...) a glass out and I'm heading out to the reef for a fish and bragging about how flat it was....

So full of crap!

aye aye captain

They actually claim the kite will "fly" in 4 knots (as in not fall out of the sky). They then talk about required winds for different disciplines . They say a 165 long twin tip will "go" in 7-8 knots on the 15. Note that "going" mostly = holding your ground, and coming back to your launch point without a long upwind walk. That is not an outrageous claim. Most of the wind conditions they have there when they are actually powering along, look like 8 -12 knots guessing from the surface conditions- the foilers look like they could be down to the 6-7 knots or less.

It would be great if there was a kite that gave you enough power to stay upwind and do some old school floaty jump tricks in under 10 knots.
I will reserve judgement until I get an opportunity to ride the 15 in 8 knots.

In the meantime my Core LW 17 earns its place in my quiver for 9-13 knots. (over 11 knots it gets fun!). - downside is the narrow window for optimum enjoyment)
Given the inconsistencies in our local conditions all options for "sub optimal" wind are open for consideration.

There is a flag in the background at the 3.45 minute mark.

so at that point kite looks impressive in 10knots(?) of wind.

I find it difficult to gauge wind speed from drone footage, even at my local spot!

autumn down here I am kiting with a small kite in through glassy patches as the wind is way up higher, kinda weird but it works

so yes I call BS on 4kn as the wind could be 10kn more 20m higher, you only need to stand on a cliff to experience this

Just got my 7/9 11 sls neo to add to my mono 5/7/9 initial thoughts the sls neo is a beast so fast so light and the new click bar is fantastic light lines smooth. Monos are great but I have yet to try them in consistent wind

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Capt.Gumby said..
Canopy material can be as light weight as you claim but still have three struts, certainly the overall weight of the kite is not going to be lighter than the current no strut kite such as the Slingshot UFO. I call bull**** on a 3 strut kite being able to kite (twin tip or foil) in 4 knots as you claim......

Plus, looking at the disruption to water surface in your video (small wavelets) and you claim it was only 4 knots....4 knots my arse.... 4 knots is almost (nah, it is...) a glass out and I'm heading out to the reef for a fish and bragging about how flat it was....

So full of crap!

Hopefully we get one shortly at the beach and we can see if anything like Duotone reckon

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Capt.Gumby said..
Canopy material can be as light weight as you claim but still have three struts, certainly the overall weight of the kite is not going to be lighter than the current no strut kite such as the Slingshot UFO. I call bull**** on a 3 strut kite being able to kite (twin tip or foil) in 4 knots as you claim......

Plus, looking at the disruption to water surface in your video (small wavelets) and you claim it was only 4 knots....4 knots my arse.... 4 knots is almost (nah, it is...) a glass out and I'm heading out to the reef for a fish and bragging about how flat it was....

So full of crap!

Tell you what Capt. Ocean Rodeo have made the same claim on their website for the Light Weight Roam model
( Foil in 4 kts on the 14 ,or 5kts on the 12 )

I have a north mono 12 meter which I can more or less foil on so long as it stays airborne ( around 6 kts ). Looking forward to reviewing them both back to back...

My 12 mono weighs 3.2kg on the kitchen food scales...... the Roam is 2.3kg

40% more weight in the mono compared to the roam, and much more leading edge / strutt drag....

I'll see how low it goes

Ocean Rodeo Aluula Flite 14.5m or 17m fly around the similar low kts.They are lightweight,turn faster than a lot of 10-12m kites especially the 14.5m Flite.
Suitable to as a TTip ,surfboard, or foil kite.
Have used mine for each of the above.

Foiling in 4 knots seems pretty doable based on the current Juice design + our experience with the Aluula from OR. We've already had the current Juice out foiling in around 6-8ish. The idea seems to be if the kite will fly you can foil, which is kind of already the case with the regular Juice, dropping weight etc. has got to add a bit to the bottom end so 4 or 5 doesn't seem too much of a stretch.

Will see how it goes, but very excited to get our hands on one. Been pestering DT for an Aluula Juice since we first saw the material, glad to see it's finally coming.

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dachopper said..

My 12 mono weighs 3.2kg on the kitchen food scales...... the Roam is 2.3kg

Yeah struts aren't everything. I think people are underestimating how much of your kites weight is in the LE. The Roam is incredibly light weight with the Aluula fabric even compared to single strutters.

The Juice has a decent size LE and currently uses a light weight dacron that I think is about 140 GSM, just going from memory here but Aluula is around 80 GSM I think? That's a big weight reduction there, almost half. Cutting the weight from the LE seems to do more than just save weight too, you're changing where the weight is in the canopy, shifting the centre of mass further back which seems to really help with drift and stability in light and inconsistent winds.

Having used the Roam a good bit and being blown away by just how efficient it is on the upstroke compared to regular dacron kites, very excited to see what this Juice is like.

It sounds like a great kite. It will be interesting to see the difference the Roam's lower aspect ratio has right at the bottom end vs the juice, and which kite is better for what exactly.

I was also blown away by the bladder weight and look, which looked almost invisible inside the alula leading edge.

One thing is for sure, I think most manufacturers can probably ditch the dacron 12+ sizes in favor something lighter.

They have updated their website......

13% heavier than the OR Roam 12 meter , or 8% heavier than the OR 14 meter ...

Will be interesting to see the benefits here..... higher aspect ratio normally means worse re-launch, better upwind and better top end, less grunt in the stroke.

80 to 90% more expensive than most 2021 kites on the market of similar sizes!

At $4359 for a 15m you'd better have some serious budget to get one of those.

I'll be sure to show this to anyone complaining about the prices of new kites

I'm a fan of super low wind kiting, but IMO I think having an ultra lightweight kite is only a real advantage when you regularly tackle sub 10 knots conditions... and even then with the right skill set you can easily manage with most single strut non-aluula kites down to about 6-7 knots.

Even 7 years ago I managed sub 10 knots conditions with a 5-strut 12m kite that weighted nearly 5kg

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cbulota said..
80 to 90% more expensive than most 2021 kites on the market of similar sizes!

At $4359 for a 15m you'd better have some serious budget to get one of those.

I'll be sure to show this to anyone complaining about the prices of new kites

I'm a fan of super low wind kiting, but IMO I think having an ultra lightweight kite is only a real advantage when you regularly tackle sub 10 knots conditions... and even then with the right skill set you can easily manage with most single strut non-aluula kites down to about 6-7 knots.

Even 7 years ago I managed sub 10 knots conditions with a 5-strut 12m kite that weighted nearly 5kg

Tried an Aluula kite yet Christian?

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EastCC said..

cbulota said..
80 to 90% more expensive than most 2021 kites on the market of similar sizes!

At $4359 for a 15m you'd better have some serious budget to get one of those.

I'll be sure to show this to anyone complaining about the prices of new kites

I'm a fan of super low wind kiting, but IMO I think having an ultra lightweight kite is only a real advantage when you regularly tackle sub 10 knots conditions... and even then with the right skill set you can easily manage with most single strut non-aluula kites down to about 6-7 knots.

Even 7 years ago I managed sub 10 knots conditions with a 5-strut 12m kite that weighted nearly 5kg

Tried an Aluula kite yet Christian?

yes but not in light wind yet.

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cbulota said..

EastCC said..

cbulota said..
80 to 90% more expensive than most 2021 kites on the market of similar sizes!

At $4359 for a 15m you'd better have some serious budget to get one of those.

I'll be sure to show this to anyone complaining about the prices of new kites

I'm a fan of super low wind kiting, but IMO I think having an ultra lightweight kite is only a real advantage when you regularly tackle sub 10 knots conditions... and even then with the right skill set you can easily manage with most single strut non-aluula kites down to about 6-7 knots.

Even 7 years ago I managed sub 10 knots conditions with a 5-strut 12m kite that weighted nearly 5kg

Tried an Aluula kite yet Christian?

yes but not in light wind yet.

Yeah.... the relaunch is simply amazing.

I was foiling on my 12 roam allula in probably 5 or 6 kts, I was more shocked about the fact it relaunched in less...

The 13 Juice can probably replace all kites from 12 meter upwards in a quiver if you are foiling, there just isn't a need for anything bigger.

So price wise for some people the 1 kite is replacing 2 or more.

So it turns like an 8 and pulls like a 14? I think I've heard that before...

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westozwind said..
So it turns like an 8 and pulls like a 14? I think I've heard that before...

I'd believe turns like a 9, won't pull like a 14..... but does pull like a 10 in the upstroke and 12 on the downstroke.... unlike most 12's

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westozwind said..
So it turns like an 8 and pulls like a 14? I think I've heard that before...

Is the Duotone 8m that bad?

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SaveTheWhales said..
Great that they design the 13 more toward foiling and 15 for heavy weight TT riders.. The foil kite guys will not be impressed if an inflatable flys pas a 6 knots will there swimming and though I love foil kites for their specific design purpose - its always more fun to drop an inflatable kite in the drink and have it open ready to go on the smallest gust... which maybe a tad more than the video suggests if wet etc.
And having to count only 1-2-3-4 Lines- is the magic trick

I wish LEI works like that in light wind so i don't have to buy any foil kites...but the reality is in really light stuff you can't match foil kites or foil boards for performance ...unless you consider lawn mowing fun
If you are not into airstyle then 7-10 kts is possible with LEI and hydro foil ..

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dachopper said..

cbulota said..

EastCC said..

cbulota said..
80 to 90% more expensive than most 2021 kites on the market of similar sizes!

At $4359 for a 15m you'd better have some serious budget to get one of those.

I'll be sure to show this to anyone complaining about the prices of new kites

I'm a fan of super low wind kiting, but IMO I think having an ultra lightweight kite is only a real advantage when you regularly tackle sub 10 knots conditions... and even then with the right skill set you can easily manage with most single strut non-aluula kites down to about 6-7 knots.

Even 7 years ago I managed sub 10 knots conditions with a 5-strut 12m kite that weighted nearly 5kg

Tried an Aluula kite yet Christian?

yes but not in light wind yet.

Yeah.... the relaunch is simply amazing.

I was foiling on my 12 roam allula in probably 5 or 6 kts, I was more shocked about the fact it relaunched in less...

The 13 Juice can probably replace all kites from 12 meter upwards in a quiver if you are foiling, there just isn't a need for anything bigger.

So price wise for some people the 1 kite is replacing 2 or more.

OR Roam is great but this Duotone kite is useless if yu look closely at the weights and the extra cash you have to dish out...another dissapointing game changer..

Would be great to see new lighter materials that reduce the cost of a kite.

I don't understand how materials that double the cost of a kite are viable. It can only stop people from entering the sport, and make it more difficult for shops.

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sonny2727 said..

SaveTheWhales said..
Great that they design the 13 more toward foiling and 15 for heavy weight TT riders.. The foil kite guys will not be impressed if an inflatable flys pas a 6 knots will there swimming and though I love foil kites for their specific design purpose - its always more fun to drop an inflatable kite in the drink and have it open ready to go on the smallest gust... which maybe a tad more than the video suggests if wet etc.
And having to count only 1-2-3-4 Lines- is the magic trick

I wish LEI works like that in light wind so i don't have to buy any foil kites...but the reality is in really light stuff you can't match foil kites or foil boards for performance ...unless you consider lawn mowing fun
If you are not into airstyle then 7-10 kts is possible with LEI and hydro foil ..

I think you need to try it before you dish it. I get the impression now.... these LEI's are superior to the foils they offer lower low wind and higher high winds. I recall one of the lighthouse to leighton races there was a wind shift mid course - and several of the foil kites ended up in the drink unrelaunchable while several of the big LEI's ... like the contra stayed airborne.....

Take the Ozone R1 19 meter.- advertised low end is about 5 kts - which matches duotone's claims .... the top end is 12 kts.
Not much of a wind range for $5000 AUD, and the 21 meter is even worse..... your comparing that to a 13 meter LEI.

The 13 meter DLAB juice has 5-15 kts, and is about 20% cheaper from what I can see, though in the promo material they mention 4 kts numerous times. I can vouch for the allula roam relaunch in the water in almost nothing..... now you get the benefits of effectively reverse launching an LEI without the penalty of having strings going everywhere to a rear edge relaunch line, and no drawback that it will eventually sink.

Upwind racing, you'd probably still get an advantage from having a twinskin foil, but the game is definitely closing. Lightwind Usability definitely favors the allula kites IMO.

Is the DLAB made to need the high Y? Because that's almost a deal breaker in itself for me. I want to use the bar I know not fork out nearly another $1,000 for a bar I won't use with any other kite.

I have tried the 14.5 A Flite and it certainly can hot launch in 2-3kts. It feels heavy to flip on the beach but has a ridiculous amount of sail area for that weight, so it's very light in the sky. If you flip it and tie if off to a pole it will float all day in very light breeze, a good party trick a mate does to dry it while packing up. It was great to foil in light light winds however compared to an ultralight foil kite, you could feel that weight if you slacked the lines by gybing or getting on a wave. All of a sudden it wants to drop. This is of course user error, but it reminds you that without the wind the weight is lurking there.

The weights of the DLAB kites are certainly a bit dissapointing being 8% heavier, but we're yet to see how they fly I guess. Shouldn't be long till the real world review come in.

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cbulota said..
even then with the right skill set you can easily manage with most single strut non-aluula kites down to about 6-7 knots.

Sorry but I call shenanigans on that. Not if you're 95kgs, if you're 65kgs maybe. I've tried lots of single strut 12s and it's 8-9kts for my weight even with big surf wing. And even then not "easily".

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KBGhost said..

cbulota said..
even then with the right skill set you can easily manage with most single strut non-aluula kites down to about 6-7 knots.

Sorry but I call shenanigans on that. Not if you're 95kgs, if you're 65kgs maybe. I've tried lots of single strut 12s and it's 8-9kts for my weight even with big surf wing. And even then not "easily".

95kg is how much I weighted back in the video above with the 12m kite, the wind was probably 6-8 knots but cold and dense.

My comment about managing to get out 6-7 knots with most single strut kites was not about any specific size. Of course, you often need a kite larger than 12m in sub 10 knots!

Wind quality, consistency, air temperature, etc. are such important factors to consider in sub 10 knots. I'd take a 6-7 knots session in consistent cold, dense wind (also the type of wind you have in the Duotone video above) over a 10 knots hot wind with lulls (the type of light wind we often get in warm parts of Australia).