bataleon wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2017 7:50 am
Great review! So many questions that I had have been answered.
I have been looking at the Cloud-system for a while now but it's really hard to get them here in Europe (Sweden).
Right now I´m riding LF Solo and I'm very close of buying their new Mission Control bar, for me it's "close enough".
Dude, the mission control bar is nothing like the BRM system! All the main distinguishing aspects are missing. Namely integrated leash, compact/minimal dual release, no trim cleat. The LF bar is pretty much like any other standard chicken loop based bar on the market.
The cloud and solo are also as different as any two kites in the same segment. Shape, strut, profile, bridle etc. They look to fly very differently, with the cloud being much faster turning with less straight line grunt.
Plenty of people can get upwind well on clouds, but they are not a kite that flies super far forward in the window. They are sensitive at the bar and easily overheated to sit even deeper in the window. Once there you need to prompt them forward by sheeting out or edging them. Takes a bit of time to adjust coming from standard kites. The clouds work really well when you are mostly feathering the bar and only backing, working or looping them into the window to produce bits of power. Definitely characteristics that suit foiling and surfboards a bit more than the constant power demand of twin tip riding.
The cloud is definitely a niche kite. Light, agile, and playful. As long as you pump them hard and size down early, they have a dexterity unlike anything else on the market. The only kite I would really say is comparable in how it looks to fly is the Gong strutless.