Rider: Weight 105kg,Level (advanced)
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle, today FUN SURF
Weather: nice-12/13 knots



Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Disclosure: ( Own at a shop/ rider F-One most of the time)

My Comments: 12m Slingshot Rally 2013. Light wind large 7" surfboard.
Just finished my first down winder at Kawana on the 12m Rally. This kite is Fantastic, I was never a fan of the Rally's before this as I felt they lacked power & the turning of the kite would change, if the kite was sheeted in it would pivot on its centre strut & if the bar was out it would turn from its wing tip, this was a bit weird to get dialled in for surf riding.
The new 2013 Rally has one extra strut on each end of the kite & the cut (shape) of the kite has ever so slightly changed. The kite had no back stall at all. I had the back lines on the topknot & the front on the bottom knot; with the kite fully powered up the wind was light, 12/13K, almost directly on shore.
I found that the kite had a great consistent pull & at the top of the wind window it would drift well when under the kit in the surf with out back stall or falling out of the sky, even when flying the kite up to 12' fully sheeted in the kite didn't stall, rather the kite seemed to flare out, the centre section & trailing edge seemed very flat & strait to allow airflow & produce quite a lot of power with lift to the top of the wind window. “Lots of low down consistent power”. If the kite was sheeted out ever so slightly it would fly forward quite fast & this would generate power with speed. I had no trouble cutting up wind; it was very surprising how easy it was to get off the beach. The 12m Rally may not be the fastest 12m kite to turn but it makes up for it with its stability.
I put it down once in the water & it re-launched with out a problem.
The bar much better not so hard on the hands & love the raised piece in the centre of the bar to stop your fingers from rubbing on the centre depower line.
On my beach run at Kawana. I passed several kites / kiters that had the same size kite & definitely not as heavy as I, that either could not get going or just got going along the shore line until the waves pushed them in. Also exchanged boards with someone on the beach riding a new EVO & he could not get past the shore & in frustration had the kite back staling. He could not believe I could get out & back to where he had come in, I grabbed my board & kept going, the only other kite out was Mike's partner on a 15m Ozone on a race board, I was cutting up wind almost as well as her, but not quite, I thing those race boards are a bit of a hand full in the surf & chop. She was definately coming back in at a better across wind tack.
I would recommend if you have tried a Rally or had one in the past you should try the new 2013 as it is the same but different “more refined” & much better consistent flight characteristics compared to the last three years, “definitely a improvement. Nice kite”!
We do have demo's here on the sunshine coast if you would like to try one.
Happy days

Hi

Just wondering how you would rate it against the Bandit 6. (I looked at your website and see you distribute F-One.)
I am looking at a few new 2013 kites (probably a 9, 12 combo or 8, 12m) Rally, Bandit, Evo, or Catalyst.
I want a great stable all round kite that I can ride in the surf on a twin tip and change to a surf board when the conditions suit.
I like boosting on the way out and riding waves on the way back in. I will rarely be unhooking and dont do new freestyle powered tricks.

My current kites are RPM's and while I like them I want to get away from the pulleys. I don't mind pulleys if they work but the RPM's are so cheap, the plastic pulleys stop working as soon as they get near sand or salt water and wear the bridle prematurely.

Also I tend to need something with good low end power, I weigh 85 Kg and my local beach tends to be a little bit shy on good stable wind.

Thanks in advance

Brett, I love the F-One B6 & the Fuel more C shaped kites, Have been on Wipika & Then F-One, so I have been through that Delta / Evo stage. But I must say The New Rally & Lithium hybrid Delta C kites are great. it's not that one is better than the other just different characteristics. My best advice on this would be try before U buy If you can, Take a look at the bar & see if it is of good quality.
Sweet! Have fun Demoing.

Select to expand quote

sckitesurf said...
Brett, I love the F-One B6 & the Fuel more C shaped kites, Have been on Wipika & Then F-One, so I have been through that Delta / Evo stage. But I must say The New Rally & Lithium hybrid Delta C kites are great. it's not that one is better than the other just different characteristics. My best advice on this would be try before U buy If you can, Take a look at the bar & see if it is of good quality.
Sweet! Have fun Demoing.

Thanks
I will definitely demo, although I am not sure if there is any dealer in Sydney that has Bandits to demo hence the question about the comparison. (I think maybe Newcastle is the closest.)

I have been on the Rally's since the first model came out. The first two were good kites to some and i enjoyed riding them. The new model on the other hand is awesome. It does not pivot turn like the original so it has more power through the turns. It has a much better bottom end than last year. I first took out my 12m in about 17 to 20 which was fine on last years kite for my weight 80Kg, but the 2013 model pulled like a truck and i threw on a bit more de power than i would normally. The 12m is slightly slower turning than the old model which is a good thing and it has plenty of guts for holding you up on decent jumps. Like the last two models, re launch is effortless and would be perfect for any level of kiter.

Two days later got to try out the 9m in 30 to 35. Once again a bit lit but awesome fun. Not having that twitchy pivot turn on these kites allows you to know where the kite is at all times. Screwed a couple of jumps on the 9m and found the kite behind me where it nicely floated back into the window and didnt drop. The bar seems a little easier on the hands as the last two models grip was rough as gut's. The mini strut added is a bonus as previous models without them used to flair out at the tips of the kite and look like it was going to fold inside out. This only happened if the kite wasnt pumped up rock solid. The new model is consistantly stable no matter how fast you take it across the window. The 12m was taken out last week in 8 to 10 knots with a race board and it performed very nicely.

Anyone who tried the last two models and did not like them should try the 2013 as they are completely different kites.