gmb13 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 10:18 pm
kitexpert wrote: ↑Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:33 pm
Ok. Unfortunately there are no Hyperlinks around (yet) and old FS kites are more or less out of tune and/or don't keep their pressure. That was one of the reasons I started to move to LEI's.
It is of course totally unfair to compare new foil kite to old and used one. I have sometimes almost laughed when owner of the new kite has sincerely wondered how much better kites have become...
I'm not going to get Hyperlink because I have Ultras which fill very well my need for that kind of use. For sure they don't have comparable hangtime but their handling (bar feedback, turning speed, ease of use) is much above any foil kite. I have couple high AR race foil kites, but I don't use them that often nowadays.
It is true Unity was a bit strange kite, it felt so soft and gutless. Also P4's wingtips were too unstable, but in practice it wasn't so big thing. P4 wasn't big hangtime kite for sure and Speed3 offered higher performance with not much drawbacks. I've thought that was the reason FS quit producing mid AR kites.
I remember all the big words during the years for example for Frenzys. In practice they were low aspect low performance kites, slow and unefficient. We used to ride circles around them with Speeds and own kites. Frenzys evolved through the years, but it still is what it is: low aspect kite.
If Hyperlink really has near Speed3 performance with much lower AR it is unbelievable achievement. I don't know how it could be possible but if it is true Hyperlink is probably universally best foil kite ever.
Have you seen this video of mine:
https://youtu.be/Wc5rcWvzwgM
Compare that to my old speed 3 video. In that video I am on a 15m Speed 3 in similar conditions. In my VLOG vid I am on a 9m Hyperlink. About 20 knots wind, same spot. Pretty much the same height and hangtime with 6m2 less and 6 years older.
https://vimeo.com/25942918
--
Gunnar
Well, to me the Speed 3 video looks like to have way more jump height and hangtime. Even though just to compare a 2017 product to a Speed 3 which was designed and produced from 2009 is a joke, not to mention the earleir kites like the Psycho 3 or 4. Kinda like saying that the Ozone Enduro2 is better kite than the 2009 Cabrinha Crossbow and way better than the 2007 Switchblade.
Ozone is great in figuring out new productlines when they are realizing that they are unable to make a marginal improvement in a product, then they are creating a new product in a totaly new segement where there is practicaly no serious competition. They have done it quite a few times in paragliding industry and also in kitesurfing. It is very good that they can think outside of the box.
Per my viewpoint Foil kites has 3 areas where having obvious advantages over tube kites: landkite/snowkite usage (easy packing, no pump, durability on land, etc) and because of perfomance (jump height, hangtime, upwind) and the lightwind factor( more stability in lightwind due being much lighter kite, better pull due to more perfomance and higher projected area, and possible relaunch in 4-6 knots of wind) . While foilkites has clearly one weaker area over the tubes and that is the stability/collapse/relaunch combo.
So for me the comparison would be makes sense either to any freeride Foil, like the Flysufer Speed 5. Or for water use it would make sense to compare it with an Ozone Edge V9 or a Flysurfer Boost 2, if it has more perfomance or not (jump height, hangtime, upwind) and for sure tube kites has way better relaunch .
I also understand Flysufer while they are only makeing high performance freeride foilkites like the Speed5 as on land relaunch is not an issue and for water they might think the foil kite has to give some performance advantages over tube kites unless it is not really making sense to have a foil kite as obviously the tube kites will have better realunch and stability in gusty wind then a foil kite.
And I also understand Ozone that they are creating such a low aspect simple foil kite product where no real competition exist really, while many new companies tries to make higher performance foils not just Flysurfer and Ozone but also Slinghshot, Liquid Force, Elf, PL Aero, North etc.