Anyone have details about Duotone's latest kite - the Capa? It's a foil/ram-air kite and comes in pretty much all the standard sizes up to 15m. Some exciting videos already out there, but nothing on their official website as yet.

.be

Hi NKA,

Yes, I have had a ride on the Capa. The Capa was designed to be the Soul Destroyer. That was always a pretty ambitious project in my opinion as the Souls is an absolute ball tearer of a kite.

I was sent a 9m to evaluate and unfortunately, I've only had one day where we had enough wind for me to fly it. The day I did ride it was gusty, and definitely on the lihghter side of it's wind range. This coupled with me riding it on my race foil on 13m lines has probably been anything other than ideal and fair conditions to evaluate and review.

What I can say is that the kite is SUPER easy to launch and fly. It's the most stable ram air kite I've flown. It inflates quickly and even in the light and gusty winds I was using it in, with short race lines it just did as instructed. The 9m has a very low aspect ratio shape with a generous profile, all which make it stable and easy to relaunch.

My findings were at odds to all other testers so I need to retest it on longer lines in a decent breeze, then will add more info. My initial feelings are that it doesn't tread on the Souls toes too much but fits in between the Hyperlink and the Soul in terms of performance, but is even easier than the Hyperlink to fly, if that's even possible. A perfect first Ram Air kite with reasonable performance.

I have now been sent an 11m which will be a better size for getting it lit up in Perth conditions. The previous test was vs a Soul 10m

Caveat : This review could change dramatically with better test conditions. Stay tuned ...

DM

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ActionSportsWA said..
Hi NKA,

Yes, I have had a ride on the Capa. The Capa was designed to be the Soul Destroyer. That was always a pretty ambitious project in my opinion as the Souls is an absolute ball tearer of a kite.

I was sent a 9m to evaluate and unfortunately, I've only had one day where we had enough wind for me to fly it. The day I did ride it was gusty, and definitely on the lihghter side of it's wind range. This coupled with me riding it on my race foil on 13m lines has probably been anything other than ideal and fair conditions to evaluate and review.

What I can say is that the kite is SUPER easy to launch and fly. It's the most stable ram air kite I've flown. It inflates quickly and even in the light and gusty winds I was using it in, with short race lines it just did as instructed. The 9m has a very low aspect ratio shape with a generous profile, all which make it stable and easy to relaunch.

My findings were at odds to all other testers so I need to retest it on longer lines in a decent breeze, then will add more info. My initial feelings are that it doesn't tread on the Souls toes too much but fits in between the Hyperlink and the Soul in terms of performance, but is even easier than the Hyperlink to fly, if that's even possible. A perfect first Ram Air kite with reasonable performance.

I have now been sent an 11m which will be a better size for getting it lit up in Perth conditions. The previous test was vs a Soul 10m

Caveat : This review could change dramatically with better test conditions. Stay tuned ...

DM

Hi Darren

Will you be doing one of your demo days for the Capa like you did with the Flysurfer Soul last year?

cheers

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your patience. I've since had a couple of sessions on the 11m Capa in very light and also powered conditions. I still haven't had the opportunity to retest the 9m as the winds have not aligned on my day off.

The 11m is a really nice kite. The Capa is fairly grunty and very stable. I was able to power away from the beach in 10-12 knots and fly upwind. I have generally chosen the Capa when conditions have been really strong or gusty as non race days tend to be where I do my learning of new stuff and I'm much happier to crash the Capa instead of my VMG's which don't like it.

It inflates quickly and holds its shape with no evidence of tip folding or luffing in gusty winds.
Bar pressure progressively increases as you sheet it in to full power. For long sessions it may be a little tiring on a twin tip but for the most part it wasn't an issue for me on the foil. Turning speed is pretty quick and I had no problem down looping to start in light winds on 13m lines.

Jumping is pretty impressive on the foil in just 18 or so knots, good height, good hangtime. It's just such an easy kite to fly, really plug and play.

My only criticism of the kite is the bridle material. Unsheathed, it tends to tangle really quickly in winds where the bridle can be flicked around when on the beach.

Fun kite, that I've yet to ride on a TT, but for foil, it's really quite good.

DM

Had another chance to try another of the Duotone Capa's today during a publicity photo shoot. The 13m was a beast

Man, the power was amazing. Foiling in light winds ~12 knots raising to 15 knots. The kite really is an excellent piece of gear. No bad habits even when I was making mistakes on the foil. Late downloops, huge boosts with pillow soft landings and more speed than I was comfortable with on a couple of occassions. I think Jerome said we hit 34 knots racing downwind.

We have 9m, 11m, and 13m in demo if anyone wants to have a crack at some performance foiling or some serious hangtime on a TT. We rode the Capa's with the standard Duotone Foil Bar which has 19m + 4 m extensions, with the 19m setup. Oodles of power and plenty of room to downloop.

The more I ride these kites the more I like them. They are not a race kite, but for everything else they are a lot of fun.

DM

It's on the website now www.duotonesports.com/kiteboarding/kites/capa/

Looking forward to some honest reviews.

Hi Alysum,

I think you'll find my reviews are always honest. I've been reviewing kites for almost 20 years and selling them for 15 years. What would be the outcome if you purchase a kite from me on my say so, and it wasn't anything like the review? Would my credibility be in question? Would you let everyone know I'm a lying bastard? I would. I'd be pissed!

Integrity, and honesty builds trust, and trust sells kites. We welcome anyone to come and try any of the kites to see for yourself. Use my review as a guide to decide what you may like to demo, then it's up to you.

DM

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ActionSportsWA said..
Had another chance to try another of the Duotone Capa's today during a publicity photo shoot. The 13m was a beast

I don't think you can get more honest than those pics mate! Awesome.

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ActionSportsWA said..
Hi Alysum,

I think you'll find my reviews are always honest. I've been reviewing kites for almost 20 years and selling them for 15 years. What would be the outcome if you purchase a kite from me on my say so, and it wasn't anything like the review? Would my credibility be in question? Would you let everyone know I'm a lying bastard? I would. I'd be pissed!

Integrity, and honesty builds trust, and trust sells kites. We welcome anyone to come and try any of the kites to see for yourself. Use my review as a guide to decide what you may like to demo, then it's up to you.

DM

Sorry I never said your reviews were not honest

Look forward to seeing *more reviews.

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Alysum said..
It's on the website now www.duotonesports.com/kiteboarding/kites/capa/

Looking forward to some honest reviews.

here's an honest review

That's was as informative as the west Australian.

Alex Sanz? OMG!

Alex should know better as he has had experience with foils in the past. The small drain holes are not "Dump Valves". The kite is pressurized by the "ram air" effect. The little holes in the tips blow the sand and water out of the holes. Having large holes in the tips allows the kite to lose pressure more quickly when down on the water. If he had tried a water relaunch, he would have known that the Capa relaunches very quickly without taking in any water. Even if it takes in 20 liters of water (which is very unusual) 20 kilo's of water will drain in under a minute. My race kites which also have small drain holes will drain that fast.

The colour thing? On a sunny day they actually look pretty awesome I think (see pics above^^^).

The bag is a generic kite bag so they don't have to go and make a completely seperate run of specialized bags just for Capa. I'm sure this would increase cost and you could also carry your mates pump for him when his hands are full :-P

BTW, It's not Duotones "first foil kite". Duotone/North Kiteboarding made two editions of the North Ace (The Red and the Blue), before they made the Capa, so this is in effect, their third foil kite.

I do however agree with you Alex, that the kite flies beautifully and has great performance. It's a foil kite, which needs to work with foil boards, so the bar is what it is.

Enjoy!

DM

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SimonTheSailor said..

here's an honest review

It may have been honest - but it wasn't much of a review.
Reviewed the bag, the dump valve?, a grizzle about the graphics (twice).
Not much about performance.

I'll take Darren's review thanks

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ActionSportsWA said..
Alex Sanz? OMG!

Alex should know better

Well, he does really. It depends on what you're going to use the ..err.. Crappa for. Racing where the wind window is far smaller for the kite to sail through much faster, of course the small little valves are ok. But for twin-tip (remember that sport?) riders, you need a bigger .. yes it is.. dump valve, especially in light winds. Besides the velcro on the dump valves auto-open when under pressure so no air should escape normally.

But come on you Dughtounge and OzCronie lovers and fan-bois.... for the price... really... bring it down guys... bring the prices down. Who the hell (yuppies?) has $3,000 to spend on doonah?

Pansh are winning.

Here is another review of his -fresh off the press.

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NorthernKitesAUS said..

ActionSportsWA said..
Alex Sanz? OMG!

Alex should know better

Well, he does really. It depends on what you're going to use the ..err.. Crappa for. Racing where the wind window is far smaller for the kite to sail through much faster, of course the small little valves are ok. But for twin-tip (remember that sport?) riders, you need a bigger .. yes it is.. dump valve, especially in light winds. Besides the velcro on the dump valves auto-open when under pressure so no air should escape normally.

But come on you Dughtounge and OzCronie lovers and fan-bois.... for the price... really... bring it down guys... bring the prices down. Who the hell (yuppies?) has $3,000 to spend on doonah?

Pansh are winning.

Here is another review of his -fresh off the press.

True re-price ...who will buy Capa for more than Soul? At least this time Duotone got the design right but there are better kites for the price ...My pick is Nova for beginner or Soul which is better upwind, Hyperlink lighter bit more expensive but super easy...

Nothing wrong with Pansh ..got 15m Aurora and honestly not much deference to Soul 15 in some conditions...problem with Aurora is it does not handle gusts well so only good in steady 10-15 breeze ..

Reviews are useful if they can compare kites or highlight what's not good ...just saying a kite is great doesn't mean much at this stage of the foil kite development ..all kites are good and if you want to know what's good about a kite just read the official marking blurb...

Bring the price down? Why? If you own a business would you sell less than what you can get? It's just simple demand and supply and we are not talking about life saving medicine to poor kids in Africa WTF get real...Kite companies are not registered charities and why would you expect a kite company or shop not to charge as much as they can? Capitalism and making money is not a crime - at least in Australia. Why don't you complain about Apply selling iphones for $1200 or rather my Audi so expensive sob sob ....first donate 1/2 of your earnings to a charity and then complain about kite companies ..if u need a car to get from A to B get a Toyota Corrolla ..if you want to kite cheap get Switch or last year model..second hand.....
How much did you spend on a stupid diamond ring or kitchen reno...happy to pay all that *** on some unknown company but complain about kite companies ?? Get real man ..

Stupid question...
Can you fly a North bar on a Pansh? or any better bar on a Pansh?

They seem very cheap for a kite...

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HappyG said..
Stupid question...
Can you fly a North bar on a Pansh? or any better bar on a Pansh?

They seem very cheap for a kite...

No need for a bar for a Pansh, just throw it straight in the trash to save yourself time.

(Yes i stupidly bought one earlier this year)

Straight up, Pansh is one of the ****test kite companies I've ever seen. No one and nothing will change my mind. The price on Duotone gear is high, but so is its performance. Kiting isn't a cheap sport, to get the most out of your riding and progression you need to be smart with your gear and invest in the better stuff rather than spending on the cheaper stuff. Higher end gear is going to enhance your progression greatly and in the end could actually save you some $$$. Cheap kites are going to break, Pansh is cheaping out on almost all the material used. The kites fly like the flysurfers from 2009. They're horrible. Alex Sanz has some of the worst reviews I've ever seen. There is nothing he could say that I would ever agree on. Overall, Duotone > Pansh.

any views on 13m vs 15m size Capa...

im looking to go out in super light conditions (6-15knot) and also have enough power on both a twin tip as well as foil board so figure 15m May be best (I'm 80kg). Also hate that feeling of being underpowered! I note the Flysurfer soul goes up to a whopping 21m so relative to that 15m doesn't look excessively big. however some people said Youre generally overpowered on 15m (particularly on a foil board) and recommend the 13m?

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TMoles said..
any views on 13m vs 15m size Capa...

im looking to go out in super light conditions (6-15knot) and also have enough power on both a twin tip as well as foil board so figure 15m May be best (I'm 80kg). Also hate that feeling of being underpowered! I note the Flysurfer soul goes up to a whopping 21m so relative to that 15m doesn't look excessively big. however some people said Youre generally overpowered on 15m (particularly on a foil board) and recommend the 13m?

I've never even seen a Capa, so this is going to be a relatively uninformed post from that perspective...

However, I'm the same weight as you, and I live for the days where I can foil before the wind kicks in, and then switch to the twintip if the wind comes up. I also live in Brisbane, so the wind 'coming up' means most likely under 15 knots - so I would say 60%+ of my riding is well under 15 knots. I just thought that matched up well enough to your target of 6-15knots split between Hydrofoil and Twintip that my input might be relevant.

I currently fly Flysurfer Sonic FRs (2015-2016), so a bit different to the Soul and the Capa (slightly higher AR), but I would guess close enough in performance that it's relevant.

For two reasons - I would go with the 15m.
- If your low end target is really 6 knots - I would want the bigger kite. If your target was ~7 knots - it wouldn't matter as much, but a true 6 knots is hard, and I find the bigger kites make it much easier both to get going and to keep momentum. The bigger the kite, the more the the turning sucks (extremely slow), but if you can keep momentum in the foil, the 15m has a lot of grunt to help you keep flying through the turns. I find the 15m to be an absolute blast in the 7-11knot range.

Above 11-12knots knots is where I start to feel overpowered on the 15m and foil, but I'm on a 1000cm2 surf wing. I could hold 13-15kn on the 15m and foil, but it would be really hard work, and I would most likely be looking to change down kites, or swap to the twintip. If it was 10kn when I got to the beach, I would most likely put up the 11m if I was going to foil.

- Second reason for the 15m - Twintip in < 15knots. 11+ knots, big board, and 15m kite = Awesome fun. 13 knots+ consistent - normal twin tip and having a blast. 11kn+ and I'll be unhooking and jumping. At 15knots, I would be pretty much fully lit - enough that if I turned up at the beach and it was already 15knots, I would really be tossing up whether to take the 15m or 11m (I could handle the 15m, but I would likely be too powered for comfortable unhooked tricks).

So... That's my experience based on the type of conditions here (because we do get a lot of true 6-15 knot days). You probably will start being overpowered on the 15m and a foil pretty early on in the double digits (which the 13m would help with), but the trade off is that the 6 knot end should be easier, and in anything over 12 knots you should have ample power on the 15m and twintip.

Your conditions in WA are going to be very different to Brisbane, but after a few drinks I just felt compelled to chip in...

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Jonesey32 said..

TMoles said..
any views on 13m vs 15m size Capa...

im looking to go out in super light conditions (6-15knot) and also have enough power on both a twin tip as well as foil board so figure 15m May be best (I'm 80kg). Also hate that feeling of being underpowered! I note the Flysurfer soul goes up to a whopping 21m so relative to that 15m doesn't look excessively big. however some people said Youre generally overpowered on 15m (particularly on a foil board) and recommend the 13m?

I've never even seen a Capa, so this is going to be a relatively uninformed post from that perspective...

However, I'm the same weight as you, and I live for the days where I can foil before the wind kicks in, and then switch to the twintip if the wind comes up. I also live in Brisbane, so the wind 'coming up' means most likely under 15 knots - so I would say 60%+ of my riding is well under 15 knots. I just thought that matched up well enough to your target of 6-15knots split between Hydrofoil and Twintip that my input might be relevant.

I currently fly Flysurfer Sonic FRs (2015-2016), so a bit different to the Soul and the Capa (slightly higher AR), but I would guess close enough in performance that it's relevant.

For two reasons - I would go with the 15m.
- If your low end target is really 6 knots - I would want the bigger kite. If your target was ~7 knots - it wouldn't matter as much, but a true 6 knots is hard, and I find the bigger kites make it much easier both to get going and to keep momentum. The bigger the kite, the more the the turning sucks (extremely slow), but if you can keep momentum in the foil, the 15m has a lot of grunt to help you keep flying through the turns. I find the 15m to be an absolute blast in the 7-11knot range.

Above 11-12knots knots is where I start to feel overpowered on the 15m and foil, but I'm on a 1000cm2 surf wing. I could hold 13-15kn on the 15m and foil, but it would be really hard work, and I would most likely be looking to change down kites, or swap to the twintip. If it was 10kn when I got to the beach, I would most likely put up the 11m if I was going to foil.

- Second reason for the 15m - Twintip in < 15knots. 11+ knots, big board, and 15m kite = Awesome fun. 13 knots+ consistent - normal twin tip and having a blast. 11kn+ and I'll be unhooking and jumping. At 15knots, I would be pretty much fully lit - enough that if I turned up at the beach and it was already 15knots, I would really be tossing up whether to take the 15m or 11m (I could handle the 15m, but I would likely be too powered for comfortable unhooked tricks).

So... That's my experience based on the type of conditions here (because we do get a lot of true 6-15 knot days). You probably will start being overpowered on the 15m and a foil pretty early on in the double digits (which the 13m would help with), but the trade off is that the 6 knot end should be easier, and in anything over 12 knots you should have ample power on the 15m and twintip.

Your conditions in WA are going to be very different to Brisbane, but after a few drinks I just felt compelled to chip in...

Cheers Jonesey - seems pretty comprehensive and balanced advice. What can I say - Went and got the 15m today !! Been pining for a good foil kite for many years so super pumped to now go out on it. as you say, for around the 6knott very light wind mark, the extra size is important. And having the flexibility to go for a twin tip rather than foil board when wind starts picking up should work well.
thanks for the perspective, will see how the Cappa turns out! ??

Posting Sanz in this forum should be a straight up banning offence

I know nothing specifically bout the Capa kite, but foil kites generally come from paraglider companies.

We all know about Ozone. F-One kites come from Gin, Flysurfer come from Skywalk, and Duotone come from Advance paragliders.

They're all at the absolute forefront of paraglider design and innovation. Advance have been probably the number one paraglider manufacturer in terms of quality and design for the past 25 years. They're considered a bit of a luxury brand.

You should be able to buy a Capa and at least have no concerns about the quality of the product. Whether you actually like it is a different issue.

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Gorgo said..
I know nothing specifically bout the Capa kite, but foil kites generally come from paraglider companies.

We all know about Ozone. F-One kites come from Gin, Flysurfer come from Skywalk, and Duotone come from Advance paragliders.

They're all at the absolute forefront of paraglider design and innovation. Advance have been probably the number one paraglider manufacturer in terms of quality and design for the past 25 years. They're considered a bit of a luxury brand.

You should be able to buy a Capa and at least have no concerns about the quality of the product. Whether you actually like it is a different issue.

Do F-one still get designs from Gin? I thought that was only the first generation Diablo? I thought the Halo was in house.

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TMoles said..
any views on 13m vs 15m size Capa...

im looking to go out in super light conditions (6-15knot) and also have enough power on both a twin tip as well as foil board so figure 15m May be best (I'm 80kg). Also hate that feeling of being underpowered! I note the Flysurfer soul goes up to a whopping 21m so relative to that 15m doesn't look excessively big. however some people said Youre generally overpowered on 15m (particularly on a foil board) and recommend the 13m?

I have a friend with a Soul 12. It's as big as you need for foiling at your weight, not sure about 6kts but defo 7-8kts gets him going easily when others are on the beach - but only by a knot or two.

For me the Soul 12 is already too slow to enjoy that much. It makes the power but coming from other kites it feels like you can pull the bar then go make a cuppa and come back when the kite starts to turn. I'm sure you adjust but all the same I'd be hesitant going to bigger foil kites. Just my 2c.

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KBGhost said..
For me the Soul 12 is already too slow to enjoy that much.

I hear you. Lots of guys hear you. A very big disappointment from what I hear, and an expensive mistake.

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NorthernKitesAUS said..

KBGhost said..
For me the Soul 12 is already too slow to enjoy that much.

I hear you. Lots of guys hear you. A very big disappointment from what I hear, and an expensive mistake.

If you're pushing pansh with that comment I would rate them as a worthless mistake. At least with flysurfer you get a quality product that holds its value. As opposed to a cheap Chinese knockoff made with the absolute crappiest materials by people who don't give a rat's about kiting.

All large foils are slow, right? Perhaps we can agree on that.

for the record the Soul is actually a great kite, very easy to fly, well mannered, huge hang time, heaps of power etc. The owner of the one I flew absolutely loves it. Just too slow for me, coming from LEIs.

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KBGhost said..

NorthernKitesAUS said..

KBGhost said..
For me the Soul 12 is already too slow to enjoy that much.

I hear you. Lots of guys hear you. A very big disappointment from what I hear, and an expensive mistake.

If you're pushing pansh with that comment I would rate them as a worthless mistake. At least with flysurfer you get a quality product that holds its value. As opposed to a cheap Chinese knockoff made with the absolute crappiest materials by people who don't give a rat's about kiting.

All large foils are slow, right? Perhaps we can agree on that.

for the record the Soul is actually a great kite, very easy to fly, well mannered, huge hang time, heaps of power etc. The owner of the one I flew absolutely loves it. Just too slow for me, coming from LEIs.

Totally agree with you re pansh, they are just knock offs of other kites on the market and done as cheaply as possible, they are like so many knock off manufacturers in China just selling cheap crap. On the other hand if you are on a very limited budget and don't mind tinkering they might be of some value. There are a lot of better used options though IMO.

Anyone who would say that the 12M soul is an expensive mistake is a fool.

Foil kites, especially flatter high AR ones are not able to turn tightly without having other issues, but they do turn nicely just they turn in a wider arc and generally with a fair amount of power all through the turn. Thats not ideal for foiling at all.
Foil kites around 12/13m are at least as powerful as 14-15M tube kites I've proven this in back to back tests with my 13M Chron3 UL and 13M Hyperlink V2 with 14M Enduro V2, 14M Alpha V1 and 17M Zephyr V6, so turning speed needs to be compared to larger LEI kites, and if you do that then they are comparable. No-one I know who foils outside of racing uses a foil kite larger than 13M.
Which leads on to racing and this is where large foil kites are definitely not slow, in fact the fastest kites and foilers on the planet are all using foil kites and their best VMG ratio to wind strength is in the mid to larger foil kite sizes.

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SimonTheSailor said..

Alysum said..
It's on the website now www.duotonesports.com/kiteboarding/kites/capa/

Looking forward to some honest reviews.

here's an honest review

That was to painful to watch all of it fark

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KBGhost said..

NorthernKitesAUS said..

KBGhost said..
For me the Soul 12 is already too slow to enjoy that much.

I hear you. Lots of guys hear you. A very big disappointment from what I hear, and an expensive mistake.

If you're pushing pansh with that comment I would rate them as a worthless mistake.

No, but go on... you and Steve are the Ozone fanbois ,,,, you point me in the right direction where foil kites don't cost more than a 2nd hand family sedan!

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NorthernKitesAUS said..

No, but go on... you and Steve are the Ozone fanbois ,,,, you point me in the right direction where foil kites don't cost more than a 2nd hand family sedan!

Hey Fernando

What sort of sh1tbox car could you get for the price of either one of these excellent kites (about $1200)? If money is tight for you thats unfortunate but it should not mean that you should try to rubbish reputable kite manufacturers that just happen to sell kites that are out of your price range. These same manufacturers are the ones that do the real R&D and invest large amounts of money and employ lots of fellow humans in jobs they enjoy.

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing-Kites/~ld0s2/2019-Flysurfer-Sonic-11-metre.aspx?_page=1&search=yxrOHND3sv6FPU3CbHYI%2BIiZcevG2%2B3k

www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing-Kites/~ldoq1/2018-Ozone-Hyperlink-9-metre.aspx?_page=1&search=yxrOHND3sv5F24tFzP3ek0wJKhDVTMwm