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New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

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New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby R a i n e r » Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:56 am

Hi Forum!

Last Friday I had the opportunity to test the new Spleene kite "Q" in 12m, and I like to share my first impressions with you.
I'm 42 years old, 83kg, I'm kiting since 2000, 15-25 kite sessions a year, my favourite: WAVES!!
My quiver at the moment: 12m Switchblade '06 (which I adored until last Friday), 9m Waroo '07 and 7m Waroo '06.
The spot was Maasvlakte (Dutch coast), wind SSO, 4 Bft. (some gusts might have been 5 Bft.).
My boards: A "woody" copy of the '08 RIP Max and the '07 RIP 34 from Spleene.

I didn’t use the original IQ-bar (those where all reserved for the shops at that time). Mine was self-made:
Length: 45cm (original IQ-bar: 52cm)
Depower range: 37cm (original IQ-bar: 43cm)
The shorter length wasn't much of a problem. A longer depower range would be a problem for my poor spine/back.

OK, kite unpacked, lines connected (very simple, 'piece of cake) kite pumped up (my first one pump kite - nice), kite airborne - first impression:
WOW - that thing turns faster than my 9m Waroo!! In spite of the short bar!

On the water I felt that much at home right away that my very first jump was a rotation (although it was my first kite session since Oct. '08!). Usually I need some "warm up kiting" in advance - but that wasn't necessary at all - the "Q" immediately felt like a part of me.
Extremely low holding and steering forces - a 180° turn out of full force ahead can be steered with one hand only. The water was flat like a table that Friday - what a pity - that kite must be a blast in WAVES!!! Even when you're moving towards the kite (e.g. at a bottom turn), it still reacts and turns sensitively. That's ABSOLUTELY impossible with by 12m Switchblade '06 - OK, meanwhile anyone knows that the SB1 is no "turning-machine" - but in that situation the Q also turned better than my small Waroos! Very impressive!!

OK - no waves - so, I was forced to turn to my "second best" discipline: Jumping. Now, THAT used to be the Switchblade's thing originally (other than turning speed), but also in jumping the Q outperformed the Switchblade. Several times I "over rotated" because the kite had fired me much higher than my old kite would have done it in the same conditions - awesome!!

The "directly available" depower of my Switchblade might be a little higher, but that's definitely due to the too short depower range (37 cm) of my self-made bar. With 43cm (realized with my bar's adjuster) the Q can literally be "switched off". Furthermore the depower effect appears to be better distributed resp. more analogue compared to my Switchblade or my Waroos. That means every centimetre of depower has a clearer and more sensible effect on the kite than on my other kites. Now, if that appears a little "incomprehensible" to one of you guys, that's surely my fault / my lacking English - just send me a PM and I'll try to formulate it in a different way. ;-))

After 4 hours of kiting, at 4:00 pm the wind dropped ('must have been some union member ;-)). Normally I'm tired after 4 hours of kiting, but on Friday I had the impression I could kite 4 more hours without any problem. It's extremely relaxing to fly the Q!

Result: I got an awesome new kite!!


Take care!
Rainer (not the one from Spleene)

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby just do it » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:41 pm

Thank you for the write-up.
I took the liberty of adding a few pictures so that people know which kite you are refering to. :thumb:
Attachments
Spleene Q12 2.jpg
Spleene Q12 2.jpg (23.31 KiB) Viewed 8687 times
Spleene Q12.jpg
Spleene Q12.jpg (18.55 KiB) Viewed 8686 times
Spleene Q.jpg
Spleene Q.jpg (19.63 KiB) Viewed 8683 times

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby Lennart » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:46 pm

Sounds amazing!! A new kite from09 VS kites from 06-07 And it kicks ass

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby Toby » Wed Apr 15, 2009 12:57 pm

well, sometimes older kites are better than newer kites...

e.g. the Vegas06...if someone says kite xyz is better than the Vegas06...then that is a strong argument!!!

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby FranP » Wed Apr 15, 2009 9:00 pm

It looks like a CORE kite, with different strut placement ! .... is this an agreement between german brands maybe ?

any idea ?

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby just do it » Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:58 am

I guess the Core GT, the Bandit Dos and the Spleene "Q" fall into a similar category of Kites but when you ride them they all feel quite different from eachother.
The only way to find out is to try them.

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby just do it » Sun May 10, 2009 11:19 am

OK, now that I have had my 9m "Q" for a while I wanted to say a little more about its character and performance.
Straight up, Low-end is definitely one of the "Q"s strong points. :thumb:
For me the 9m works from 12-13knt(constant) up to 25-28knts. That is on a shortboard (HT-RIP32). Obviously it becomes the most fun when the windmeter starts to read 14knts or more but I generally have no problem staying upwind in less wind either.(warmer climates might be a little different)
It copes with lulls really well and keeps its speed up nicely. Judging by my experiences on the 9m I would say that the 10.5m "Q" would easily beat the 10m PS4 regarding low end because my 9m has already a similar lowend to the 10m PS4 but the "Q" is more fun for me as it turns a hell of a lot faster and tighter.
That leads me onto another point. Turning speed! The turning speed of the "Q" is excellent.
Fast, tight and with nice power through the turns and no signs of stalling. Bar pressure is also lighter than any other LEI (with a similar shape) that I have ever flown.
Despite its agile nature it still sits very solid at the edge of the windwindow and doesn't dip downwards as much as other kites of a similar shape. This is also a very positive feature when riding unhooked.
Unhooked the "Q" has a very broad trimm-band. What I mean by this is that it doesn't stall. So for lightwinds you can leave it pretty powered up when unhooking which gives you extra pop and power for tricks in the lower windranges.
Once the wind picks ups the bar pressure builts a little but is still well below most other LEIs.
Now, the "Q" becomes a Hangtime kite. Compared to all the LEIs I have flown in the past two years the "Q", even in size 9m, has lots of lift and pretty amazing hangtime.
At the end of every jump it seems to add another second as the kite swings back forward. It is also very easy to find the right take-off point on the "Q" which is something that I couldn't always say about other kites of a similar shape which can often end up too far behind you on take-off because you can't feel when the lift comes on. Not so on the "Q".
Last but not least the depower. The "Q" has a very broad windrange but because the lowend is so phenomenal you will have to use the trimmer when the wind picks up. Once you trimmed the kite accordingly you can get the front half of the profile to loose its shape and thus reduce lift and power. Like I mentioned in a previous post, the kite remains totally controllable and the turning speed doesn't change very much as the rear-lines still bite very well. As the kite only disturbs the airflow in the centre, the wingtips remain nicely shaped.
Before I forget it, relaunch is a doddle no matter whether the wind is light or strong.
To summarize, the "Q" is a kite with tons of lowend, excellent turning speed and power through the turn, lots of lift and hangtime and great stability. It is a very easy kite to ride and gentle on the arms.
One thing to keep in mind when thinking of getting a "Q" is the right size. I would say that compared to 95% of all other kites on the market you are probably best off getting a size down. I would say the 9m "Q" is comparable to an 11m Hybrid but not a full size more powerful than kites like the Evo or Bandit Dos which are also very good regarding lowend. Maybe one sqm more powerful than those but I would need to test this one out.
Obviously take my review with a pinch of salt as I am working for Spleene and thus have a very positive attitude towards our products. :thumb:

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby FredBGG » Sun May 10, 2009 1:55 pm

just do it wrote:For me the 9m works from 12-13knt(constant) up to 25-28knts. That is on a shortboard (HT-RIP32). Obviously it becomes the most fun when the windmeter starts to read 14knts or more but I generally have no problem staying upwind in less wind either.(warmer climates might be a little different)
How much do you weigh?

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby just do it » Sun May 10, 2009 2:51 pm

A pretty important detail which I should have mentioned, 75kg :thumb:

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Re: New Spleene Kite "Q" - tested in 12m - first impressions

Postby schmoe » Mon May 11, 2009 2:41 am

Thanks for the review. When you compare it to "other kites", can you be more specific which other kites? I think the comparison to Psycho 4 is not really relevant since most people have never seen or flown one. Also from all other kites in the world, why compare with a kite that is so different?
More interesting to compare to Waroo, Switchblade, Helix, Rebel, etc. This will give more usable reference points.


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