Chrono 15m kite review

[Okinawa Kiter]

In 12 years of kiting at the place I am at now I have only seen one person wear a life jacket. Even if we are 2km out it is side onshore and would be blown back within an hour. On top of that we have no less than 12 kiters who are watching each other and there is always 3 plus kiters coming out to help a kiter down. Grabbing their kite or board and pulling them in. Helmets are the preferred choice as we have a lot of coral and kite in water where our fins hit often in low tide.

Anyways back to the Chrono. As far as relaunch goes I'd say it's the same as FS both bow tie and get water in them. The aspect ratio made no difference in fact the Chrono has more stable wing tips in my opinion. I had me lotus 12 out in 16 knots and it was very fast moving, ripped up wind but it doesn't jump at all like my speed 3 ltd. sheet in then drop out of the sky. So only sheet in 3/4 of the way now but boost the same as my SB. I'll give it some more time to try and dial it in as I'm sure there is a bit of a learning curve. On the other hand there was no learning curve on the Chrono. Just pop sheet in and up you go. Really easy to fly. I'm thinking of selling my lotus 12 m to get a chrono 12. Just so fun boosting twice as high. The FS is a very good kite in all ways though. I just want that extra lift. And as far as range goes I had my 18m Chrono with just a tad depower in 16 knots while my friend was fully depowered on his speed 3 21m so think they have very similar range.

I completely disagree about the relaunch. The Chrono takes on water a lot faster than the Flysurfer kites.

If your 12m Lotus doesn't boost then there is something wrong with it!

12m in 16 knots nope it's a dud. 2 hours on it and maybe got 8 ft off the ground best. Plus can't fully sheet it or drop like a rock. I'm selling it if you or anyone else interested. And honestly the FS took on so much water I had to open trailing edge to drain it while the chrono could still be launched. That waterproof material just keeps the inside wet for days!
Just my experience. If they can't make them all the same then that's saying something for me. Can you fully sheet in on your and not drop like a rock?

[Tone]

In 12 years of kiting at the place I am at now I have only seen one person wear a life jacket. Even if we are 2km out it is side onshore and would be blown back within an hour. On top of that we have no less than 12 kiters who are watching each other and there is always 3 plus kiters coming out to help a kiter down. Grabbing their kite or board and pulling them in. Helmets are the preferred choice as we have a lot of coral and kite in water where our fins hit often in low tide.

Anyways back to the Chrono. As far as relaunch goes I'd say it's the same as FS both bow tie and get water in them. The aspect ratio made no difference in fact the Chrono has more stable wing tips in my opinion. I had me lotus 12 out in 16 knots and it was very fast moving, ripped up wind but it doesn't jump at all like my speed 3 ltd. sheet in then drop out of the sky. So only sheet in 3/4 of the way now but boost the same as my SB. I'll give it some more time to try and dial it in as I'm sure there is a bit of a learning curve. On the other hand there was no learning curve on the Chrono. Just pop sheet in and up you go. Really easy to fly. I'm thinking of selling my lotus 12 m to get a chrono 12. Just so fun boosting twice as high. The FS is a very good kite in all ways though. I just want that extra lift. And as far as range goes I had my 18m Chrono with just a tad depower in 16 knots while my friend was fully depowered on his speed 3 21m so think they have very similar range.

I completely disagree about the relaunch. The Chrono takes on water a lot faster than the Flysurfer kites.

If your 12m Lotus doesn't boost then there is something wrong with it!

12m in 16 knots nope it's a dud. 2 hours on it and maybe got 8 ft off the ground best. Plus can't fully sheet it or drop like a rock. I'm selling it if you or anyone else interested. And honestly the FS took on so much water I had to open trailing edge to drain it while the chrono could still be launched. That waterproof material just keeps the inside wet for days!
Just my experience. If they can't make them all the same then that's saying something for me. Can you fully sheet in on your and not drop like a rock?

I have the 15 lotus, it hardly takes in any water at all. With the bar pulled fully in the kite doesn't back stall at all. I'd get it looked at by your FS dealer as that kite sounds like it has issues. The 12m Speed is the best jumping kite I have ever flown, it's a rocket ship. If you're only getting 8ft off the water then something is up. Though to be honest at 16 knots, you're not really in the sweet spot for the kite but it sure as shit, should not be dropping you.

[Okinawa Kiter]

Ok I'm going to check into it. Can't really send it back as bought half way around the world. I weigh similar to you I think 102kgs now. What is the sweet spot? My old speed3 would be rocking pretty good in 16 knots. 18-23 being best.

[Kamikuza]

Not trying to be rude here, but anyone who says their kite is backstalling and hasn't at the very least checked bar tune aka relative line lengths, gets a very raised suspicious eyebrow from me.

If it is tuned stop being so ham-fisted let the kite fly, stop choking it with the bar! Easy to do win such light bar pressure... I kept meaning to put my 12 on the hardest setting but now I thnk it's better for me just to learn to feel the kite. I say this as my last session on the 12 recently was lightish and it did fine so long as I didn't choke it. And I should really check the tune

Which reminds me -- pull a bit of depower in light wind so you CAN'T choke it

15 knots I'd either still be in my 21 and floating around like a paraglider or my 15 hoping for a few more knots so I can really boost...

[Okinawa Kiter]

Not trying to be rude here, but anyone who says their kite is backstalling and hasn't at the very least checked bar tune aka relative line lengths, gets a very raised suspicious eyebrow from me.

If it is tuned stop being so ham-fisted let the kite fly, stop choking it with the bar! Easy to do win such light bar pressure... I kept meaning to put my 12 on the hardest setting but now I thnk it's better for me just to learn to feel the kite. I say this as my last session on the 12 recently was lightish and it did fine so long as I didn't choke it. And I should really check the tune

Which reminds me -- pull a bit of depower in light wind so you CAN'T choke it

15 knots I'd either still be in my 21 and floating around like a paraglider or my 15 hoping for a few more knots so I can really boost...

From the Brand New. Do I need to check if the maker made their kite right? No way! Not buying a new kite so I can tune it from day one. Sure if 2-3 years of kiting ya but not on a new kite. Anyways it didn't seem to backstall when fully sheeted in just dropped me when I jumped. In all fairness I will play around with it a bit more. Too early to be calling it a total dud at this time. This is just my two experiences so far, first filled with water the second dropping me from the sky.

BTW " I kept meaning to put my 12 on the hardest setting" There are settings on the kite? Where? I never saw. Maybe that's it!

[Tone]

Ok I'm going to check into it. Can't really send it back as bought half way around the world. I weigh similar to you I think 102kgs now. What is the sweet spot? My old speed3 would be rocking pretty good in 16 knots. 18-23 being best.

Yeah 18-23 knots would be pretty nice, I maxed the 12 out in 27-35 knots but that was a little on the "oh shittttt" side of things.

Pull in some depower and it should fly really sweet but it should also fly really sweet straight out of the bag so by all means get it measured up against a line plan (pain in the ass) but the kite really should be great.

[Kamikuza]

Always check bars, even new ones. Call me paranoid at least you've eliminated that variable if something is off.

The Hard/Soft steering line... the Speed4 doesn't have them though.

[s1buell_wl]

Okinawa Kiter / Anyone

I've been looking to add a 12m foil to the quiver for years.

I was going to buy the 12m Lotus but then the 12m Chono came out.

I see some people are confirming the Chrono is a better jumping kite with improved hang time.

Can you confirm either way.

Yes this is a high jack..... But looks like this thread has reached conclusions

I would test if I could be that's not an option where I live.

T

[Okinawa Kiter]

Hi T

Hmm can't go wrong with either. Without being biased to either this is as close as I can explain it.

1) Chrono is like a ferrari. Need to treat it as such. It will rip you high. Bridles are a pain in the ass big time and you will be cursing at it the first severel times. Never fold the kite in half and role the kite up or you will be untangling for an hour next time. Roll each wing into centre with bridles rolling in the kite. Keep bar attached if you like then there is a velcro strap on the centre trailing edge to attach the lines to. Flysurfer wins in the bridle department for me. Not nearly as much of a pain.

2) My Lotus 12 didn't jump well at all but others swear it does. Still I had a Speed 3 12m and can say the Chrono jumps twice as high and 2-3 times longer down wind.

3) Upwind Flysurfer wins. If you ever flown a Peter Lynn Venom before it is more a C shape and for some reason the foils with this C shape rip upwind and the Lotus has a more C shape compared to the Chrono which sits flatter. Even though the Chrono is much higher aspect the Flysurfer went better upwind. The Chrono still rocketed up wind though just that the Lotus was crazy upwind.

4) turning speed. Hmm maybe FS might have the upper hand. Not sure haven't compared the same size. Both are good turning kites.

5) The Chrono has a fair bit better low end. Lotus a bit better top end. Hard to say if that Chrono could take 25+ knots. The airtime would be so friggen scary in that wind on a Chrono I am sure it would be something worth seeing.

Here is a short video of an Ozone Edge 15m jumping (which I think would be similar to a Lotus 15 I feel) Then the Chrono 18m. Both kiters weigh similar. 6-8 m/s (I know one is an 18m and can't compare but it gives you some idea)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1pEb-oYXWo

So if you need lower end and big air Chrono. If you need higher end and ease of use and hate any bridle tangle then Lotus.

Both are good kites. I like the Chrono 18 for the light wind stuff as it adds a lot of new fun factor. Then in the higher winds either the FS or inflatables. I just need to figure out why my Lotus 12m is dropping me like a rock so I can enjoy it!

[Tone]

Hi T

Hmm can't go wrong with either. Without being biased to either this is as close as I can explain it.

1) Chrono is like a ferrari. Need to treat it as such. It will rip you high. Bridles are a pain in the ass big time and you will be cursing at it the first severel times. Never fold the kite in half and role the kite up or you will be untangling for an hour next time. Roll each wing into centre with bridles rolling in the kite. Keep bar attached if you like then there is a velcro strap on the centre trailing edge to attach the lines to. Flysurfer wins in the bridle department for me. Not nearly as much of a pain.

2) My Lotus 12 didn't jump well at all but others swear it does. Still I had a Speed 3 12m and can say the Chrono jumps twice as high and 2-3 times longer down wind.

3) Upwind Flysurfer wins. If you ever flown a Peter Lynn Venom before it is more a C shape and for some reason the foils with this C shape rip upwind and the Lotus has a more C shape compared to the Chrono which sits flatter. Even though the Chrono is much higher aspect the Flysurfer went better upwind. The Chrono still rocketed up wind though just that the Lotus was crazy upwind.

4) turning speed. Hmm maybe FS might have the upper hand. Not sure haven't compared the same size. Both are good turning kites.

5) The Chrono has a fair bit better low end. Lotus a bit better top end. Hard to say if that Chrono could take 25+ knots. The airtime would be so friggen scary in that wind on a Chrono I am sure it would be something worth seeing.

Here is a short video of an Ozone Edge 15m jumping (which I think would be similar to a Lotus 15 I feel) Then the Chrono 18m. Both kiters weigh similar. 6-8 m/s (I know one is an 18m and can't compare but it gives you some idea)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1pEb-oYXWo

So if you need lower end and big air Chrono. If you need higher end and ease of use and hate any bridle tangle then Lotus.

Both are good kites. I like the Chrono 18 for the light wind stuff as it adds a lot of new fun factor. Then in the higher winds either the FS or inflatables. I just need to figure out why my Lotus 12m is dropping me like a rock so I can enjoy it!

1) I roll the Chrono up like a roll my Flysurfers up, fold the wingtip over, tuck the bridle in and then roll the bar up from wingtip to centre. No real issues when unpacking. Just be very careful of the wing formers as you don't want to bend them too much.

2) I'd say the Chrono doesn't jump as high as the lotus but does keep you in the air longer.

3)Chrono wind upwind by a clear mile. I don't understand how you can compare such a high AR kite against the Lotus for upwind.

4)Lotus is FAR faster than the chrono.

5)The top end on the Flysurfer is better, the low end on the Chrono is outstanding. I'd love a go on the 18m.

I have some vids that I should upload of some quite cool jumps on the 15m Chrono, downlooping out of the jump and covering some serious distance given the wind speed.. Will try and upload them tonight.