plummet Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Ok gents heres a mini review. I happened to fly all these kites back to back the other day in 8-10 knots. I was flying in a sand dune bowl which had about 10m elevation to climb. It required looping the kites to get up the hill and then zooming down the hill to gain apparent wind speed to jump. Before i start i realize the 13m scorp was underpowered but these are the kites i rode and the impressions i had. 1 = best, 4 = worst Launch manta 1, pulse 2, zephur3, scorp 4, land manta 1, scorp2, pulse 3, zep 4 power manta 1, zep 2, pulse 3, scorp4 turning speed zep 1, scorp2, pulse 3, manta 4 biggest jumps manta 1, zep 2, pulse 3, scorp 4 loop power manta 1, pulse 2, zep3, scorp. Bar out stability scorp 1 pulse/manta 2nd equall, zep 4 The scorp was a pain in the arse to launch in the light wind in a slight wind shadow. it took 2 of us a couple of goes. once in the air it was sweet and had that familure arc feel. The scorp was underpowered but still managed to loop up the hill. i could ride around the bowl but not really jump. The pulse felt nice to fly but very boring. It was a reasonable amount less powerfull than the 15m manta. It did everything well, build quality was excelent. just not very exciting. Zephur was easiest to get around the bowl as the fast speed of the kite comined with the power. It had that familue lei fell about it. I could cut a high line down hill/upwind by letting the bar out with greater depower than the others. but let go of the bar with the kite parked and she's falling out of the sky in second. I reverse launched the zep and that worked sweet. The manta is my kite and i'm very familure with it. So potentially this is an unfair test. Its slow as a train but all that is forgiven when it pulls you up the hill like a train. The manta build the most power with apparent wind and i was able to lay to decent sized jumps in the marginal wind rather than silly little ones. For this reason the manta wins the dune bowl test. followed by the zep. easiest to get around the bowl but missing the glorious glide of the manta, Pusle 3rd OK at most things but not impressive at anything, Scorp is last mainly because of the pain in the arse launch process is a deal breaker for me. it was 5 years ago and it still is now. If the scorp had the launchability of the pulse it would have come third. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westwood Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 You basically need a Speed 3 in your life right? The pulse is a design of kite which is great in high winds 12m sizes and down hence the Unity is now only available in 6,8,10,12. Above those sizes we are into real low wind territory which needs a Speed 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kiter Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Not suprised the ARC came out badly, their not good in low winds. Same for the Pulse, so really it was 2 high wind kites and 2 low wind kites being tested against each other, in low winds. Crank the wind speed up and the order would change i think. Scorp never seemed that popular compared to other ARC's, however... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewjohn Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 Even a 16m Arc would have been underpowered in those winds. Not really a fair test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummet Posted October 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 i never said it was a fair test. why is a 14m pulse a high wind kite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slide Posted October 18, 2011 Report Share Posted October 18, 2011 (edited) its makes for an interesting thread , anyway .....if i had the monies for a delux flysurfer, i wouldn't pick a pulse tho Edited October 18, 2011 by slide Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parksy Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Nice one for making the effort Plummet. It is interesting to see how they compare in those conditions. Sure if the wind got up the ratings would change, but this revue is just showing what they did on the day, if anyone has this range of kites and wants to write another mini review in different conditions, feel free. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plummet Posted October 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 Yeah I really wanted to test the speed3 15m deluxe. but the local distributor doesn't have a demo and sent the pulse instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snab Posted October 19, 2011 Report Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) i never said it was a fair test. why is a 14m pulse a high wind kite? The design isnt effective in low winds, it's a high wind kite for riders who are +220 lbs... It's out of the range now 'cause there are to little +220 lbs riders who want a 14m pulse2. At least, that's what I think Don't get me wrong, I do like your comparison of all different models!! Edited October 19, 2011 by snab adding quote Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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