GKSonic vs. Rapture2

[paul s]

How's the relaunch of the sonic from le down and towards you - like when you have your kite resting on the beach? I am an expert at getting my Rapture 2 into this position and then have a really hard time relaunching it. It lies so flat on the water the wind just seems to blow right over it. This is especially hard for me to recover from if the wind is a bit light, very hard to get the kite to move away from directly down wind. Thanks - paul

[Dr.Gonzo]

hi pauls,

as I replied on the kiteboarder.co.uk forum...


Very rarely seen the Sonic end up in that position... literaly once or twice in light wind and both times teasing one back line has brought it around for re-launch no problem ... helps if you swim/move to one sid a bit.

Never had any problem getting the Sonic to re-launch... never had a tangle or wrap either. Even after seeing it roll around in waves.

Remember, the Sonic is no-where near as flat as the rap2. Being more between 'flat' and 'c' shape does give it some advantages like the re-launch and the fast and direct steering with power through loops etc.

[Carlos_C]

Saw a xbow onec flat down...poor fellow had a good half hour swim - leading edge seemed just stuck to the water

[OzBungy]

OzBungy, apparently your Rap2 settings were not correct. My experience is not bar pressure at all.

I agree the kite settings were probably wrong. I might try to get another shot on the Rap II and see how much better it feels properly setup.

Either way, in marketing terms, the Crossbow and Sonic were fantastic straight out of the box.

[aeberl]

Just tried the raptureII 16,5m this weekend in Paracas (Peru). Winds 11 to 13 knots, weight = 75kg, board = custom 150 x 39
Pros:
Smooth power, light bar pressure, jumping = A+, hangtime = A+, good speed.
Cons:
Droped it a couple of times and bridles tangled arrond trailing edge, could not be recovered (may be a matter of skill), slow or no response when depowered.
Comments: Overall interesting kite, requires some getting used to. However, in steady wind like that y stick to my 18m aero II (believe it or not, it turns faster), in gusty conditions the rapII will be the right weapon no doubt!
If the Sonic delivers power and develops lift as the rap II, and avoits the bridle tangling over the trailng edge it most definitely will be my next purchase.

[enrico666]

If the Sonic delivers power and develops lift as the rap II, and avoits the bridle tangling over the trailng edge it most definitely will be my next purchase.

For one thing, the sonic doesn't come bigger than 14. It is very good when it comes to lift.

Usually it gets out of the water so easily you don't have to do anything. BUT it is possible to get some tangling. I did this weekend, when the sonic I was flying fell and did a bizarre half turn. It landed with the LE facing down, with one of the bridles going on top of the canopy.

Imagine the situation
o == U
where o is me, == is the lines, and U is the kite, lying LE down, with one tip facing me. The bridle would keep the kite from turning counterclockwise if I pulled the back line.

Not nice. Perhaps with some practice, one can learn to do things in the water to disentangle the bridle, but when you are there, with the lines wrapping around your arms and stuff... well it's different.

[Windwing R+D]

Just tried the raptureII 16,5m this weekend in Paracas (Peru). Winds 11 to 13 knots, weight = 75kg, board = custom 150 x 39
Pros:
Smooth power, light bar pressure, jumping = A+, hangtime = A+, good speed.
Cons:
Droped it a couple of times and bridles tangled arrond trailing edge, could not be recovered (may be a matter of skill)

Aeberl:
The bridles are not long enough to reach the trailing edge. We purposefully designed it that way. It sounds like your flying lines got looped over which can happen to any kite. Can you be more specific about this?
Thanks!
- Bill Hansen

[aeberl]

You are right, LE down, facing me, one of the front flying lines wraped arrond the back of the kite and over the trailing edge (never happend with my C-kites before). Was flying with my Naish bar and lines. Again, maybe a matter of skill and setup, bar was definitely too short (50cm) for the rap II 16,5 is not enough. May have gotten faster response with a longer bar.
Tried the kite first with both pigtails (front and back) in the front position = slow turning. Changed the back pigtail to the back setting and turning speed improved a lot.
Again, overall a well performing kite but takes some getting used to (for which I had not enough time on the water). I am sure that those small annoying details can be overcome with some experience, the proper bar and some finetuning. Need some more hours on it and it will be a lot of fun!!

[TomW]

[quote="aeberl"]
Comments: Overall interesting kite, requires some getting used to. However, in steady wind like that y stick to my 18m aero II (believe it or not, it turns faster), in gusty conditions the rapII will be the right weapon no doubt!
quote]

Don´t agree: Only one hour on Rap 2 16,5 but i can say it turns faster than Aero 2 18. (had one for 2 years). You gotta power the kite to turn it. I could sine kite with one hand easy. Upwind ability of Aero 2 18 was really bad, it pulled and grunted downwind and had narrow range. Rap 2 "drives" upwind, set on rear-lightwind-piggys, which reduces upwind ability according to WW.

Agree: kite is unresponsive on slack lines, just hangs in the air parked. Is this not perfect for u wave guys? Don´t see this as negative or suprising.

TW

[aeberl]

Any experience on how the RapII compares to the Sonic or the new Waroo (Best?)
Are there any unbiased reviews of the Waroo on the web?