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neilhapgood wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 08, 2018 1:39 pm

on this subject in terms of landing my 12m soul in 12knots plus wind when I backstall it is come down quite hard onto the beach, is there anyway to prevent this and if not is it better for the kite to flag it out instead and prevent the impact?

thanks

Backstall and walk under it. If you backstall and plant your feet, the kite will come down very quickly; do this to initiate the downward motion, then walk towards the kite so that it still continues to come down but at a much slower rate. This way, you can not only control the kite with sheeting/oversheeting, you can control how much apparent wind there is in the kite by walking as well.

downunder wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 18, 2018 2:37 pm

I didn't really like it, but can't fault it since below is very personal feeling.

Here is why:

- quite high bar pressure
- quite slow, well not quite, sloooow. 12m, 15-17kn
- doesn't pivot (like I would expect from a Sonic and R1 background)*
- feels like a truck pulling me
- upwind on TT is average )*
- it really feels like a beginner kite
- it really needs a helper for landing
- the profile is huge, that thing will take enormous amount of water, trust me. I could not take out of water 11m R1 and Sonic 9m myself, after 45min swim. And they are way way thinner.

On that note, there are people who will buy it with no knowledge what so ever how to even fly a kite. Any kite.
Let me demonstrate:
- I looped the kite. A few times each side on the land. The guys approached and asking "How did you do that?" - did what?
"Yeah, how did you do that? What did you pull?" - my blank face

After purchasing a 15m Soul, he is asking which line did I pull? God save/help him, he'll need it.

Other than that, it is a great kite, just not for me at this stage.

Agreed. A beginner kite with a lot of hype and marketing. Certainly a good choice as a first foil kite. Excellent water re-launch and stays in the air very well in super light wind but that's it! Bar pressure and feeling is terrible and I get better performance out of my inflatable kites on a hydrofoil (GPS tracks).

Well a 15m soul just won a speed comp
Over in the Uk against R1s,edge, furtive etc

So it ain’t that slow..

If you consider bar pressure to be too high on the Soul, it's presumably because you are used to that spongey way too light feel of a lot of other foil kites, which I personally dislike. Much prefer having some obvious bar feedback.

james wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:30 pm

Well a 15m soul just won a speed comp
Over in the Uk against R1s,edge, furtive etc

So it ain’t that slow..

Slow moving through the window. How to make it faster? Use the short lines. Yeah, right. We know what that means, do we?

andylc wrote: If you consider bar pressure to be too high on the Soul, it's presumably because you are used to that spongey way too light feel of a lot of other foil kites, which I personally dislike. Much prefer having some obvious bar feedback.

No. I compare the bar pressure with Edge. As you said, a personal feeling. I also dislike a truck feeling, if it feels like truck, it is a truck.

But going upwind is not a personal feeling. It goes or it does not go. Simple. Now, everyone and anyone will jump of the chair. And the dog.

No need. It's a good kite.

The Soul is the best kite Flysurfer has ever designed for free riding. I have been kiting for 18 years. I have flown and owned every kite Flysurfer has produced and most Ozone kites.

Call the FS Soul a beginner kite if you like, but as an experienced kiter, I would recommend the FS Soul to every kiter, beginner or expert.

Bar pressure on the Edge is also unpleasantly light imho. All a matter of personal taste...

fernmanus wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 19, 2018 4:09 am

The Soul is the best kite Flysurfer has ever designed for free riding. I have been kiting for 18 years. I have flown and owned every kite Flysurfer has produced and most Ozone kites.

Call the FS Soul a beginner kite if you like, but as an experienced kiter, I would recommend the FS Soul to every kiter, beginner or expert.

That's funny, for free riding...And just above is

james wrote: Well a 15m soul just won a speed comp ...

. Make a decision please.

As said, "everyone and anyone will jump of the chair." - that's because you guys are slamming an earnest opinion with your purchasing power. Of course no one will criticize an expensive purchase. That is "built in" the human nature.

But cheap, that's another matter, right?

andylc, I said that, didn't I...Is going upwind personal as well

I've had my souls for about 3 months now. The kite loops are actually a bit powerful for my liking but I'm solving that by grabbing a steering line instead of turning the bar and doing a tighter / slightly back stalled loop.

I like the bar pressure but cause I ride it foiling the kites are always in the lower of their wind range. I might have a different view if I was flying them constantly in the upper of their wind range...

Upwind, my main foiling buddy has the chrono v3 and we have raced / compared the two kites pretty extensively now. They both have pretty similar upwind angles if that's anything to go by. Compared to a liquid force solo, the soul has significantly more upwind ability.

I've done a deep water self rescue on the soul after about 15mins. It only took on about 1 litre of water during the pack down and swim in. I was pretty happy with that but I haven't fully tested how long it would take to take on water.

P.s. I think it's good to get a balanced view. No kite is perfect.

My only criticism so far is the price, bar and excessive looping power.

Upwind seems comparable to Chrono V2, better than all of the LEIs I’ve had. It’s ok to not like it though....