Today I did back to back testing of my Nano 9 and Pulse 2 8. Wind was gusty side off shore with 14g25, few 2 ft rollers in the bay with very flat water on the inside. These are both kites I own, paid for, and like a lot. Board was an old Spleene session.

Here is my comparison:

Setup/Takedown – The Nano isn’t bad with one-pump but the Pulse 2 is way easier and way faster to get in the air. Probably not a big difference as the Nano is going to be much easier to deal with if you bring it home wet. Also you better put that foil away right or your going to get a bridle tangle.

Self Launch – The Pulse 2 is the clear winner here. You can do the standard foil hot-launch without getting pulled as it just inflates slowly as it goes up. The Nano is a little trickier than your standard bow/hybrid to do the truck-bumper self launch as the top tip likes to move forward in a gust putting the kite down on its LE.

Stability – The Nano is very good but as it likes to sit forward in the window and is built tough it can hindenburg if a lull in the wind is associated with a shift. The Pulse2 is again the clear winner here because if you overfly it will simply drift back until the lines tension and it regains it shape.

Relaunch – You simply can’t beat the Pulse 2 relaunch. The Nano is good in higher winds but in light winds it doesn’t like to roll over from LE down.

Bar Pressure – Nano is much higher. It gives you a really nice feedback but can be tiring if you like a light bar pressure kite. I like the feedback. The Pulse has an option for harder steering but that slows turning.

Backstall – The Nano does not backfly in normal winds but will lose some of its pull if oversheeted. The Pulse2 will backfly and you have to develop the feel for it as the bar pressure is light. Overall, this makes the Nano more intuitive.

Turning – Both do decently well when depowered. Both can go from powerless spins when oversheeted to powerful loops when trimmed correctly. In absolute turning speed and responsiveness the Nano has an edge on the Pulse, but not as big as I expected.

Pull – The Nano has a more grunty pull and you can just pull in the bar, edge against it and pull slowly upwind. I think this makes the power more immediately accessible as you can just pull the bar to get some. Both kites generate apparent wind well but the Nano will start to pull you downwind sooner. The Pulse needs apparent wind to generate its power and is a front line flier. However when you keep airspeed up the pull is higher and the kite actually points better upwind. The Pulse must be flown actively to get power. Both kites generate power well by sineing or by pumping the bar.

Bottom end – I expected the Nano to win here due to its grunt but actually the Pulse kept me upwind longer. In the lulls both kites would drop my rear end in the water but the Pulse did it faster as I think it flies closer to the edge. A loop could get me going with both kites in the lulls. I think the Nano is more intuitive here but the Pulse does better once you have the feeling.

Upwind – I suspect I could point 5 degrees higher with the Pulse and with a higher board speed. But in chop and probably in bigger waves you have to be careful not to edge too much or it will depower. I wonder if the Nano would do better in bigger chop and waves as you can go upwind at a slower speed.

Downwind – Both kites do well and both drift well as long as the kite is deep. You can run under both kites if you let them get to the edge as you are speeding downwind.

Unhooked Jumps – The Nano is definitely a natural here with its grunt and no backstall. With the Pulse you need to pull the trimmer in but it still works well.

Sent Jumps – Neither kite is really great here. Both give a good yank and both set you down pretty fast. You can get good height with both but be ready to land hot.

Self-Landing – The bow kite self-landing thing is easy as can be. Flysurfers can be tricky in higher winds and it is easier to make a mess of the kite self-landing. Nano is a big winner here.

Safety – Both have side pull chicken loops when center-push should be standard. I think FS is going that way for their new bar. The Nano leashes to both front lines and has OS handles. There is no pull on the leash but I worry about the possibility of a death spin as it has a rigid form that will generate power if it starts to fly. The Pulse leashes to 1 front line and that can make a mess and may be unrelaunchable but it pretty much will always kill the kite so it becomes limp and stops pulling. A fifth line can be fitted for even more safety and easier relaunch after safety but who in their right mind wants a fifth line? The Pulse should have come with OS handles.

Wave Riding – Is not in season here so I won’t be able to speak from experience until October but here are the advantages as I see it:
Nano = grunt (big difference), and turning speed (small difference)
Pulse2 = stability and relaunch (both big differences)

Jake

Nice writeup jake
I love the nano... just to add the price difference in the kites:
Pulse2 Retail RTF: $1319
Nano retail RTF: $1298

I'm sure you can get great deals on both though

Hi there I have a 9m 08 Nano and was wondering what line length you were using in the test above and what knots on the bar leaders and kite bridal for the rear lines were you using with the 9m Nano?

Cos Ive noticed the settings make a lot of difference to the set up on the 9m Nano, so was curious as to what others are using.

Eclipse 2008 bar (50 cm?) with the line extensions attached. I used the knots closest to the kite on the bar and the 3rd knot from the end on the kite's rear pigtails.

Ive been using the knots closest to the bar at the bar and mid knot at the kite which = what your setup was.
I like the 9m on 20 mtr lines and it seems to get going in the lite fine like this and it doesn't pull down wind as much when powered and tends to point higher upwind in all conditions.

I have only had a couple of sessions on the 9m . I like its all round performance, and really rate it it for down wind wave riding with a surfboard in lite wind.

And like you I pay for my kites and ride only what I like.