Has anybody out there given the new 2010 octane a real test? Hard to find any feed back on the kite from everyday kiters. RPS the board store in Elwood have a 11mtre Demo kite ready to go but the wild weather has stopped me from getting out. Seems strange to me that the kites been out for a bit now with heaps of hype from the Slingy, but not much feed back from the Field. I'm looking to upgrade this year but like the previous year I'm not going to purchase a kite on hype alone. I will wait until the real testing has been done by everday kiters before i blow another $2k.

The reason why there hasn't been much said is because the kites aren't in Oz for the public to buy yet. There are a few 5 strut demos around. I've got a 13m but its been too wind to try it out yet. Been on the 2010 7m Fuel for the last few weeks.

I'll see if I can give the Octane a go this weekend.

i tried that kite and didnt really like it. am riding 13m and 9m rev2's, and at first thought that the wind had dropped off a bit as i found it not so grunty but when i picked up my rev again i had plenty and the wind hadnt picked up. turns a bit slower and less boost than the rev but at my very intermediate level thats not saying too much. i am sure lenton would rip on it.

5 struts, turns a bit quicker than REV II, improvement in the bar but far from perfect (specially the way that de-power is adjusted). Very light on the bar with factory set-up.
will try again with more wind

Come on guys and girls,
some one must have had a go in the westerlies on an Octane around Newcastle on sunday!
Baz.

I had a decent ride on the 11 over the weekend... Very fast turning, really light bar pressure and jumps like an Ozone Edge RX... Good relaunch too...

The kite has a definite sweet spot for it's trim, like on/off power all the time... it's pretty jerky untill you get the hang of it...

Bar's nice and the swivel ACTUALLY WORKS! very weird to have spinning front lines after so many years!!

jumps like an Ozone Edge RX you say ??
so what do they jump like ?
I rode one in really light winds and found it very nice also,unhooking was easy
Like to try it in some solid wind

By now there must be someone who have try the Octane in decent wind?

How is it for unhooked freestyle riding comepare to REV2 ?

I have REV2 and love it, what i hope from Octane is better for unhooked freestyle and more bottom end power for those light windy days.

'Good wind!

I rode our 11M demo for 2+ hrs last night in 16-23 knots, its a sweet kite.
The bar feel and quick depower remind me of the Rev1, but it has a much better bar feel and overall is less on/off.
The kite has less swept back tips, they are more upright, this gives a short depower range at the bar, which can take a bit of getting used to.
Took me about an hr of riding to begin to get it dialed.
When I did I found it an extremely easy kite to ride toeside due to easy one handed steering and power control, and to rip fast toe to heel turns and back again.
I was on choppy flat water but was trying (imagining) to test it for waves, etc.
Unhooks without trimming, I had the trimmer all the way out (full power).

I really really like the bar this year although my winter hands need to HTFU. The function, toughness and cleanliness of the bar is simply standard setting for most other brands.

Relaunch, self launch and self landing are a cinch. Big floaty jumps, just need to hold the bar in and redirect late for a swish soft landing.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

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Blownaway said...

jumps like an Ozone Edge RX you say ??
so what do they jump like ?
I rode one in really light winds and found it very nice also,unhooking was easy
Like to try it in some solid wind

High, floaty jumps with plenty of hangtime... Rode our 11m yesterday in 20-25 knots and it was pretty cool... Was nice, but still trying to get used to the narrow range on the bar...

Relaunch and self launch/land was fantastic...

So when is the ss gear going to be available?

Late sept

I've written before about the 4 strut 13m prototype. I pretty much stand by what I've already said, although I was a bit overexcited then. I've now had 2 days on the 5 strut 9m. 10-15 knot in surf & 20-30 knot flat water.
It's a bit hard to quantify the improvements without a direct comparison, but you only have to do a few beach hops to see it has something more than the REV2. It jumps high! The bar sheeting is very light & very agressive. Loads of depower at the bar. I ended up just leaving the depower rope fully out in gusty 20-30 knot cause the sheeting gave so much depower. Having said that, on the 1st day, playing on the beach with the kite depowered overhead & letting go of the bar to adjust me bits, I felt the kite was too luffy & nervous. Maybe there's too much depower at the bar? Sliding the stopper 3 inches down the rope it felt much more stable. The stopper is a big improvement by the way, rope holes are slotted & there's a nice firm grip on the rope. I'm a big fan of slingshot's heavy front lines, but still you're going to have to keep a close eye on line lengths with such sensitive trim. I didn't try the new safeties, as I'm writing this I can see I'm a dickhead. 20-30 knot, a dozen guys nearby, new safeties. I had to pull enough warning labels off for god sake.
COL

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COL said...

I've written before about the 4 strut 13m prototype. I pretty much stand by what I've already said, although I was a bit overexcited then. I've now had 2 days on the 5 strut 9m. 10-15 knot in surf & 20-30 knot flat water.
It's a bit hard to quantify the improvements without a direct comparison, but you only have to do a few beach hops to see it has something more than the REV2. It jumps high! The bar sheeting is very light & very agressive. Loads of depower at the bar. I ended up just leaving the depower rope fully out in gusty 20-30 knot cause the sheeting gave so much depower. Having said that, on the 1st day, playing on the beach with the kite depowered overhead & letting go of the bar to adjust me bits, I felt the kite was too luffy & nervous. Maybe there's too much depower at the bar? Sliding the stopper 3 inches down the rope it felt much more stable. The stopper is a big improvement by the way, rope holes are slotted & there's a nice firm grip on the rope. I'm a big fan of slingshot's heavy front lines, but still you're going to have to keep a close eye on line lengths with such sensitive trim. I didn't try the new safeties, as I'm writing this I can see I'm a dickhead. 20-30 knot, a dozen guys nearby, new safeties. I had to pull enough warning labels off for god sake.
COL

I have to agree you front line length question is one I'm still asking. The Rev2 is outstanding in every respect except the front lines. It can't be that hard to get pre-stretched lines like all the other manufacturers.

Well I got to fly the 13m on the weekend and were very impressed. Honestly didn't think they could improve over the Rev but first impressions said "Slingshot, you bloody beauty" Felt just like a rev but much, much nicer.

Big noticeable difference with the 13 was how it pointed upwind better, better depower throw, lighter barpressure when fully powered up (13 rev was quite heavy when fully powered) and BOOST!

Comparing to the Rev, the 13 had more lift and height in the jumps, but the extra hangtime was unreal. I had to really dial into the jumps because of the extra float. Cant wait to try the 9m.

Oh yeh, the canopy flutter has been reduced heaps (except between the 2 side struts but that was minimal) and the kite keeps rearline tension when fully depowered. I did have it tuck up and loose steering response on some big gusts but the kite I flew was a bit under inflated for the big winds I were in. Wind was 20-25knts. So overall the stability of the kite in the top end was a huge improvement over the rev, plus I reckon the kite initiated the turns a bit quicker too.

Top end was the same if not a bit better than the rev. Didn't try the bottem end.

Overall with the new bar this year, slingshot are onto a big winner. That bar is the syhte! Only downside is the grip is pretty hard and with the thinner depower line, it is a bit hard on your hand. A good improvement for slingy next year will be to look at Naish with that black knob thing at the end of the depower rope. Naish are onto a winner with the double ball and red leash attachment thingy.

I purposely did excessive amount of roll in one direction and the bungee doess start to twist up a bit. After about 30 rolls I just unclipped my leash, untwisted the bungee and she was good as gold again.

Honestly the improvements didn't warrant a name change, but the extra hype of a new kite made me go out and buy some. So I got sucked in but I'm stoked that I did cos the kite is awesome.

Boost the kite in its upper windrange if you want to learn to fly. I had a ball on it.

Heres a few pics from kiteforum:

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COL said...

. I'm a big fan of slingshot's heavy front lines, but still you're going to have to keep a close eye on line lengths with such sensitive trim.
COL

What do you mean by this?

I think what he means is that if the lines stretch a bit (esp front vs back, (although also do left vs right) the kite performance will be different (for the same setting on the pigtail knots) -- i.e. your angle of attack.

...funnily, I actually found the thicker lines to cause a bit of drag on the 7m rev (in stronger wind) and think (personally) that thinner lines would have worked better... on the 11m it was not noticeable (less wind) and probably a good option for the constant pull to have a bit of extra strength.

Front lines do all the work & also do all the stretching. The thick slingshot front lines minimise stretch, to an inch or 2. Also with your safety leash attached to a front line I feel more secure knowing it's 100% reliable. There's still a weak link though ie. the elastic through the bar.
My point was that with sensitive trim even a little front line stretch will have quite an affect exagerating the oversheeting of the kite. It's just something to keep an eye on.
On the 9m I think this extra responsiveness & quick & massive depower is the most significant difference from the REV2.
cheers
Col

Tried the 11 and 13 today (thanks Paul and Kate!).

Very nice and easy kite to fly. If I closed my eyes I could have sworn I was on a 9 and 12 2006 Waroo - very similar feel and ease of use.

The finish though was much much better and the bar looked A1. Think it was 50cm which worked fine but I would have liked my custom 55 bar on the 13 - just personal preference.

For those of you who loved the 06 Waroo I would definitely try this kite out.
Light on the bar - easy to fly but a much better finish.

I was on 14Hp and 13m 09 Waroo as well and these kites felt much bigger but also had way more horsepower on the day.

Would be nice to try a 15? if they made one.

^^^Thats a big call Kurt! I know how much you loved your 06 Waroos

It would be good to see you up the coast some time dude!

Luke

Had a great test run today of the 11m Octane in 14-18kts cross-onshore surf. I got to ride waves, jump and of course ditch the kite in the drink! I went upwind and downwind.

I could not ask for a more enjoyable kite to use. Relaunch was super quick. The kite feels very predictable and solid and responds smoothly to gusts. The power delivery is even and you can get alot out of it as it flies quickly and turns fast. Not a huge amount of outright bottom end grunt. Very responsive when on a wave in tight turns. Jumping was easy and the light bar pressure lets you know where the kite is in the air.

Very glad I bought this kite.

One final but important thing about the Octane. It comes rigged for beginners (I think this was mentioned in another comment). If you look closely at the attachment point on the bridle for the rear lines, you'll see that there is an additional pigtail extension of about 2-3inches. This extension was put there to prevent beginners oversheeting and stalling the kite. I have removed these lines and BANG... extra power. I've been told that once the extension is removed you get a true feeling of what the kite should feel like and then you can adjust to your own preferences. Hope that helps.

I've been using the 11m Octane for lessons this week and i'm very impressed...

It's a great light wind performer, plenty of depower on demand, and it's quite controlable even with the bar out a fair way. Learner's are having a blast on it right from the start - it's super easy to fly. It doesn't fall backwards as easy as a Switcblade does, and there's the perfect amount of bar pressure.

Only problem i had was that it's quite unstable at the very top of the window - it's occasionally luffs and falls from the sky in variable winds (yesterday it fell so neatly i actually caught it while standing next to the student lol) But this might be due to the longer back lines Voitek just mentioned...

I'm super stoked with it - it's definately Slingshot's version of the Cabrinha Switchblade. It does most things very well, and is a kite that will take you from body dragging, into the surf & right through to passes (if that's your thing)

Hi guys
Have used the OCTANE 7 & 11 for teaching quite a bit now all over its performed well. Very responsive but still controllable, great relaunch and doesnt stall. Have had it out in a very wide range of conditions even had the 7 out in sub 7 knots did have to reverse launch then but still flew easily with little input. Will say its not a rev it is different and some will love it and some wont but it certainly has some great features (constant pull through turns, doesnt stall when unhooked, fast turning, good depower without loosing control) but still recomend having a go if possible.

Have fun GEORGE

Hi All,
What wind range would you expect from the 11m for a 70kg ish rider on a 132 FLX.

Hi toppleover
Im 72 kgs but usually ride a slightly bigger board.

If you don't mind working the kite you can easily get up and going in around 10-12 knots. Not alot of fun excepton on a downwinder, but at a solid 14 plus even on your small board you would be having fun and holding ground.

Any questions, PM me or give us a call.

Have Fun
George

Ok, So I'm going to give my 2 cents worth.

Kite- 2010 Slingshot Octane 9m.
Rider- 90Kgs.
Ability- 4 years.
Board- LF Recoil 134.
Wind ridden in- 25 knots approx.
Rider Satisfaction- 8.5 out of ten (Though will probably change higher after further riding)
Build Satisfaction- 9.5/10. The only thing That stopped the ten was the valve covers. Harsh I know ut I'm being honest in my opinion about these kites.
Disclosure- None apart from I've ridden SS for years.

Ok, so I've had my new kites for 6 days, bought myself a 13 and a 9m Octane. Been riding Rev 1's for the last two years and considered it time to get myself new kites. Needless to say I was busting to get them out of the bag and onto the water!!

I got them at home and pulled them out of the bags and took a look at the bar. The new setup looked awesome. Nice and neat, very solid and simple. Loved the new chicken loop setsup and donkey dick. The push away safety sytem looked excellent as well. Not like the old one which always had a chance of getting caught. While it never happened to me, I heard a few people complaining that it was always letting go on them so this should keep them happy and assured it wouldn't happen again. I let the QR go and it was simple as simple to put back together. Would be easy enough to do in the water if need be.

The de-power strap and toggle thing was once again small and I don't think it could be adjusted on the fly (Just like the Rev's) though it doesn't bother me it may bother some. Like Walshy said, the strap is skinny so grabbing it and pulling on the toggle might be a struggle for some with week hands. Once agin, not a bother for me.

The donkey dick is great for quick removal. The old one had a screw which always kept coming undone with constant movement and towards the end started to ruse badly. Safety leash connection was simple and out of the road as well. The only complaint I have about the bar set up is the leash that SS provide. They are too long and seem to flap around a lot. If they shortened them by a foot they would be unreal so I choose to use another one which I have done for some time now.

The new bar had a great feel and look to it. Once again solid and I thought the grip felt nice. I can't see this grip peeling away like the old Rev 1 grip did which became a pain in the arse after a while. The swivel for the the lines for looping and rolls etc was solid also and ran smoothly without any feeling of getting stuck. The bit I liked was that the connections to the swivel were big enough to not let sand be stuck in and not washed out easily. It doesn't look like it could get caught or become a victim of wear and tear easily.

So today it was blowing a gale in Adelaide, averaging around 25 knots but gusting to 35 at time. I was pretty excited about having a chance to try the new kites but a touch nervous about putting a new kite up in 25 knots.

Pulled the kite out of the bag and had a quick look before blowing it up. Loved the little covers on shut off valves on the struts. So neat and tidy. When I went to pump it up, I wasn't so sure about the valves covers though. Seems they over complicated something that didn't need it. I like how the covers keep it all nice and neat, plus it looks good but I found them fiddly. I like the idea of the clips to hold the inlet valve in place and was also impressed with the outlet one also. As I said, the only thing that perlexed me a bit was the little covers for them. With a kite flapping aound in 25 knots in was hard to get right.

The kite looked to be as tough as. It seemed to be awesome in build quality and the materials were A1. Stitching all looked great as well. Really nothing you wouldn't expect from SS. Loved the bag, the extra big pump and all the little hooks and straps etc. It was all a tight little package. (Does that sound right?)

Pumped up, wound out the lines and started to hook it up. I liked how well marked everything was, especially the bar pressure settings. I like a bit of bar pressure(!!!) so changed the pig tails to the medium setting for the first ride.

Put the front lines onto the end knots (furthest away from the kite) and the rear lines onto the middle knots. I saw this written above-

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One final but important thing about the Octane. It comes rigged for beginners (I think this was mentioned in another comment). If you look closely at the attachment point on the bridle for the rear lines, you'll see that there is an additional pigtail extension of about 2-3inches. This extension was put there to prevent beginners oversheeting and stalling the kite. I have removed these lines and BANG... extra power. I've been told that once the extension is removed you get a true feeling of what the kite should feel like and then you can adjust to your own preferences. Hope that helps.

Has anyone removed these? I saw them there and thought about it but thought it best to leave them on for a start and then customise to suit if I wasn't happy. Any feed back would be appreciated.

So had it all set up, did a quick check over and launched it into the air. The first thing I thought was where was all the power?? I had it powered up on the beach, in 25 knots and had bugger all bar pressure. I pulled in the bar but nothing happened. No little launch off the sand though I didn't jump but I was surpised considering how the Rev used to do this.

Jumped in the water, swooped the kite down and away I went. I felt strangley underpowered for some reason and had to swoop the kite a few times to get it going. I know I'm a heavy rear heeled rider but in 25 knots?? It seemed I would get going then stall and almost stop dead in the water so I tried riding it like I used to ride the Fuels in that I beared down wind a bit then dug the rear heel in to bear upwind. This seemed to work a treat and though it took me a while to get used to, once I did it was fine.

I still felt I had no bar pressure but this didn't bother me, I was up and running. I could feel the kite and where it was nicely, but found when I pulled in the bar I didn't get the same acceleration I got with the Rev's. It wasn't until the wind really gusted and the kite filled with air that this happened.

The first thing I noticed with the kite up and running, and being able to have a chance to look at it is that it didn't have canopy flutter like the Rev's had. Sure it still had some but not to the same extent. The other thing I noticed is that when turning the kite didn't have the feeling of occasionaly wanting to stall in the sky and possibly fall back in the window. I liked this because there is nothing worse than being out the back in big swell thinking your kite might fall. It just stayed there and did it's thing.

I caught a couple of big waves and a couple of times got further forward than the kite thinking that it would once again stall and maybe fall out of the sky. The lines went very slack but the kite kept flying until I got back into position again. Fantastic! The kite was very predictable and even with little bar pressure I knew where it was at all times. The one good thing about the light bar pressure was being able to use one hand on the bar all the time and use the other for balance and ripping power!

The kite was quick in the sky as well. Just as quick if not quicker than the Rev's but seemd to turn nicer or sharper or something that I can't put my finger on right now. Either way it was just different but in a nice way.

The bar felt awesome in my hands, I didn' think the grip was too hard .

It took me a while to get used to this kite. Probably around 40 minutes to dial into it semi properly but I tell you that I was loving riding it. It was so smooth and stable it was ridiculous. I never felt out of control or like I was getting into any hint of trouble. A mate of mine was riding a North Rebel 9m, was fully depowered and thought at times it was a bit hairy and quite gusty. I didn't feel the gusts, nor did I feel anything but great things about this kite. Riding the waves was awesome and once dialed into the riding stance and getting board control right I was flying.

I had a great ride but still need further time to get into this kite properly. To me it is a completely different kite than the Rev. I guess this happens after 2 years of new R&D. I didn't get into any big air like I usually do but will give it a go tomorrow.

So I'll say that on first impressions I love this new kite. It in my opinion, completely different to the Rev 1 at least, (not sure on the Rev 2) and there wasn't anything I didn't like about it so far! If it was called a Rev 3 I would be a bit dissapointed because it's completel;y different to what i'm used to. Pretty keen to dial into it some more and start getting some decent air on this thing as well as a few basic tricks, rolls and loops etc. I'll update tomorrow night after tomorrow arvo's session.

I'll be interested to try out different settings on the kite, try moving the lines in different spots on the pig tails and maybe removing the extra line attachments as mentioned in the above quote. I'm really keen to find out if this increases power on the kites but I'm not sure if I'm happy to increase power and lose the safety on the stalling issues that have been suggested in a previous comment. It's a bit of a double edged sword really but I'll give both a crack over time.

Apart from that so far so good!! Can't wait to get out tomorrow arvo! Will give an update on boost, roost and drift!!

Good winds. Jordy

Take off that pigtail Jordy.

I'm a bit heavier than you but have removed that pigtail and use the middle knot on the rear lines (even in 25knts). Kite still wouldn't stall so don't know why it is there.

Man up and boost that baby, you'll be impressed.

A bit heavier Walshy, 25kts you would still be out on your 13m.lol..

Does SS this year have a bunch of supper light weight R&D team testing this gear, as a larger rider i have found the RPM lacking in a lot of power, does the octane have the same thing going on. Will the bigger guys have to have like a 14-15m and a 10-11m quiver like what you see with the switch blades?

A couple of years ago the kites were getting smaller and more grunty, but now we are seeing a lot of companies kites having reduced bottom ends. It feels like soon we will be ridding the same sized gear we were on when ridding c kites back in the day.

I'm a bit with you Waxy. I think that even removing the pigtails won't give the Octane the same amount of grunt that the Rev 1 had. In saying that thought I think the kite has to be ridden a little differently with a different style of board control. I'm heavy in the rear heal but I did find find myself having to lighten up a bit at the start when getting on the plane. Once I was up then I could dig the rear heel in and bear upwind again.

I'll pull the pigtail off tonight and give it a crack and leave the other settings as they are. I'm interested to see how it will affect the kite.

And yes, in 25 knots Walshy would still be on a 13!!!

I think you'll be supprised by how much removing the pigtail on the 9m will make. Like I said, I'd also power it up a bit with the middle knot on the back lines.

The octane seems to depower more from less bar movement, So that extra couple of inches will make a big difference.

From the few times I've had mine out, I thought the 13 & 9 Occy had the same, if not a slight bit more bottom end than the rev.

Wasn't a huge difference like I were hoping after seeing the wind range graphs. They seem to be a size out.