I previously replaced my kites from 2015 - 2020 every year, and have not replaced since. 2015 to 2020 I only replaced them as I kited every day but to be honest didnt notice too much progression (2010 to 2015 there was heaps of progression) Wave kiter onl, . Is it worth updating to 2024 kites???

In my little opinion 2024 is the year that next gen materials have been rolled out by all manufacturers. I think 16 now have Aluula kites and probably a handful that I'm aware of have their own equivalents.

How they use these materials differs, for example Duotone just manage to release an Aluula kite that's heavier than the standard predecessor. So it's not all about weight, airframe stiffness is the big drawcard as well.

The next gen material kites I have flown a lot (OR, Airush) were definitely a jump forward from standard kites. I would expect that all of these kites would be similar.

In short I would not update and by a base model kite, only do it if you're going to buy the good ones

Hi Jono,

I agree withKBGhost above, it's really worth at least trying the new generation materials like Aluula or Hookipa.

We can organize a demo for a Session Team kite in Perth airush.com/kites/session-team/

Send me a message if you're interested.

Christian - KiteBud

Hey Jono ,
We are now stocking ventumkiteboardingaustralia.com/ kites in the school and had them in the school all last summer. So after a summer of use in the school I can defo say these kites are well made!!
Ventum have just released a wave kite , REEF , it's made with the new lighter, stiffer dacron and with the new lighter bladders , all the dets are on the Ventum website.
Ventum are the guys who used to do Zian and have taken over Switch.
Reviews so far on the REEF have been great , we will have some for demo in September on the river at Applecross or down at Safety Bay. This kite comes in at about 1400 bucks for a 9m , thats this years model brand new !! If you keen to have a blast hit us up .Ant

Move to QLD and you will never have to upgrade ever again..

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Underoath said..
Move to QLD and you will never have to upgrade ever again..

Lol is it really that bad up there? Been to Cairns and Port Douglas a few times and wind seemed to be howling with a few kites out... Biggest issue I noticed was there are no waves as far as the eye can see...

Hi Jonopark,

To be fair, the actual performance of standard kites has only incremently improved. Most have pretty good drift, most are quick and responsive and most have good relaunch. The benefits of some of the more advanced fabrics have made the kites faster and drift better in several areas.

I'm still not sold on the value of the Aluula kites. The cost is so high and performance is definitely better, but the durability is questionable. I'm only going on anecdotal evidence from people that see lots of kites and have commented on how fast they age. Does the colour fading reduce the performance? Don't know, perhaps??

The reason I brought this up is today a customer of ours came in to replace his Ozone V4 Reo with a new one because his bladder valves had cracked and were leaking. I asked him to bring the kites in to evaluate whether he should replace or not due to their age. He brought in two kites, both V4's which he uses every windy day throughout the season. These are 6 year old kites and were in perfect condition with exception to the bladder valves. Canopy and struts/LE were mint after 6 years of continuous use. We will install a new bladder set with upgraded valves and tubes which should see the kites go for, at the very least, 3-4 more years.

The materials like that in the new Ultra Reo's and SLS Neo's for Duotone seem to age really well. The extra $300 or so per kite is good value imho. If you are pro level and have the money, Aluula is fine, but for everyone else, hmmmm.

I'm still watching Aluula to see how it ages but for now, I'm Mr tight arse conservative

DM

My 2 cents

Alula - when implemented to save weight in bigger kites is amazing :)

My 2019 12m A Roam is going strong without any issues.

I find the Duotone Aluula kites in the larger sizes are great but when its windy and gusty the air fames so stiff it transfers all that energy through to the rider. Much prefer the SLS versions when its cranking.

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ActionSportsWA said..
Hi Jonopark,

The reason I brought this up is today a customer of ours came in to replace his Ozone V4 Reo with a new one because his bladder valves had cracked and were leaking. I asked him to bring the kites in to evaluate whether he should replace or not due to their age. He brought in two kites, both V4's which he uses every windy day throughout the season. These are 6 year old kites and were in perfect condition with exception to the bladder valves. Canopy and struts/LE were mint after 6 years of continuous use. We will install a new bladder set with upgraded valves and tubes which should see the kites go for, at the very least, 3-4 more years.



DM

I've been using Ozone Reo kites for years (before that Slinghsot Revs) - still have a 6M Reo V3 going strong (from 2013 I think it is) - I have about 6 Reos at the moment from 8M to 5M (latest is V6) - and they're so good - incredibly durable for their weight, I can't believe what they hold up to when dropped in the surf.

Great kites - which brings me around to their version release process - they only release a new version when there's an improvement to be had - they don't do a new version every year - tells you something about their philosophy, The only issue I ever had with a Reo was the know bladder nipple failures - which was apparently the result of their supplier (unknown to Ozone) changing the ingredients in the bladder materials to save a few cents (you know where).

So, back to the original poster - I think you will find some improvements in 2024 kites over 2020 - I think Aluula is way over priced for the negligible (if any) performance gains and a marketing gimmick, and not worth it.

Well try an Ozone Vortex and I am sure you will change your mind regarding Aluula.