Received my GK Sonic 8m today. Was tossing up whether to get it or not as I have the 11m which has heaps of range. Decided to go for it as a small kite is just sweet in strong wind when you want want manoeuvrability over lift. The wind was around 10 to 15 knots and dropping but ya just gotta try new stuff whatever the conditions! I weigh about 65kg so I had a chance at planing.
Anyway I got the kite in the air, trimmed it and went out on a North Jaime 128 board. The only other person was out on a 15m F-One Tribal. The 8m Sonic rocks!! I was was comfortably planing, staying up wind easily, jumping, no problems even in the lulls. It doesn't feel twitchy as I thought such a small kite would. It feels very similar to the 11m Sonic so it's real easy to adjust to. If you've got to work the kite in the lulls it's easy and effective and light on the arms of course unlike some other bow style kites.

The guy on the 15m Tribal came in before me as he was having trouble staying upwind. He was quite a bit heavier. I stayed out till the wind dropped below 10 knots and still came back to where I started from. Can't wait to get it out in some decent wind.

So if you were thinking about the 8m Sonic, give it a try and I think you'll want one. Yet to try it in strong wind but if it's got the range of the 11m that should be no problem.

And of course I've got to comment on the GK Sonic bar. I like it. It's as simple as you can get so nothing to really go wrong, easy to adjust when you pull tension on the centre line and pull through the cleat and strong and safe. I know there have been many comments on the bar but seriously it just works without fuss and that's what I want.

Interested to hear others experience with the 8m Sonic so add your post.

Have fun, Dave (Dr Surf Australia ph: 02 4443 7665)

I and two friends go out with a Sonic 8 m2 .....waves and gusty wind 25-35 and some gust stronger ......All falling in love with......
Are the best kite that we tried ......in same time some people ride in vegas 05 7m and Naish Thorch 6 and 8 ......this people go overpowered in the gust and not have good session we stay more than 2h riding........like in stady termical winds ......realy very good feeling.....and the best thing no tired harms....

The best kite at the moment I tried.....

Hi GK guys,
I am considering to change my current gear ('05 Fuels 7, 11 & 15) with Sonic 11 as only kite but I am worried about its low and hi end – I would like to keep my old wind range (my weight 130lbs). Maybe is solution with two kite quiver; 8 and 14? What about 8 and 11 ?
Any idea?

http://www.kiteboarder.co.uk/kitesurfin ... sc&start=0

Check out UK forum, loads of sonic stuff, AJ UK importer.
Friendly advice, with no bull.

Kite007 i weigh about the same as you (128lb) and im using the 11m Sonic in 9-20 knot range and handling gusts up to 25knots with ease on my 125cm Lightwave. The Sonic 11 takes the place of my two old SS Fuels, 10m and 14m. Id buy the Sonic 11m first and 8m later.....14m if you live where there is no wind for months on end:)

For my two cents worth go to http://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topi ... C_ID=14317

Andrew

Hi,

I had a snowkite session this weekend with the sonic 8. I was surprised by the power of the kite.Also it was really easy and soft. Easy depower and really good power when needed. I found not really fast in the turn for a 8 meters. It was with the sonic 11 bar with 25 meters lines though. The sonic 8 original bar has 21 meters lines and should change the speed of the turn. But no time to set up the original bar as I rode with the 11 before and the bar was ready to go. Being not so fast for a small kite is not so bad imo. But I'm looking forward to try it with the original 21 meters lines.

It's maybe too early after only 1 session to give a good feed-back. But with the feeling I had with the sonic 8 after only 1 session I can't wait to use it again.

BTW I found really good the new protection (patch) which is now sewed on the LE.

Nico

I have the 3 sizes. My weight is 80 kilos. If I had to choose 2 kites would be probably 8 and 14. I used the 14 a lot and like it very much (with a 63 cm bar). I used the 8 only once at the moment but I feel a fantastic potential in this kite.

Nico

OK then...
Just came back from a trip in WA, and I've used the 8m 6 days out of 7 in various conditions from medium to strong winds on flat and waves.
Basically, every time was a blast, the kite delivering the power you're asking for and behaving as expected from a good modern kite.
The 8 can be used when the 11 starts to be well powered, so there is definitely some overlap between the sizes, which is good when you're sharing a quiver or when the wind changes a bit throughout the session. So basically, I was using the 8 as soon as possible which must be around the 18kts or when it is seriously whitecapping.
As a comparison, with 87kgs I used my 8m while my friend at 67 was still comfortably using his 11, on similar boards

The most remarkable thing was on a day when the wind was awfully shifty gusty side/sideoff the two 8m Sonic had still lots of fun and scoring a 2hrs+ session while all other riders who showed up gave up rapidly. Sometimes it was a hard work but despite this terrible wind, it was still possible to gain ground upwind and never being blown out of the edge. Speed and power control is just impressive. Upwindability is better than anythg I know, and it allows to explore the playground, and chase the best breaks, jump and surf on all tacks, nevermind the currents, the gusts, etc...

In terms of kitelooping, it's definitely not a pussy thing, you get the yank you've asked for, no cheating, and the kite curves in the air on a decent radius, unlike the flatter kites.
In the surfs, I really enjoyed it, not much else to say, it can be depowered when waiting for the wave behind to grow. And the kite is so stable it won't get wet even when the 4 lines are completely slack. The kite can be underlooped at the bottom or at the off the lip and any excess of power can be released later to adjust the curves. I have the tool for the job, now it's about practice and skills.

Unhooked? at my entry level of plain basic raileys it's working perfectly, without any need to adjust the power before or after unhooking, but that's all I can say.

The only thing I didn't like is that I have been overpowered a few sessions with this kite while I was expecting to be able to use it without limits. So somehow I'd like to have a 5 or a 6m Sonic for those days.


Stoked!

What is the high end for the Sonic 8 for fun range and what is the high end for survival kiting?

Thanks,

Ed