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Ocean Rodeo 12m Aluula Flite - KiteLoop, Sandbar jump and foiling.

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Created by SaveTheWhales > 9 months ago, 28 Feb 2022
SaveTheWhales
WA, 1869 posts
28 Feb 2022 12:08PM
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78 kgs - 53cm custom bar 24m lines
Kite weight 2.3 kg
Foiling
Bought this kite as a back up to my Sonic & Soul foiling kites when conditions are bad...
7 knot bottom end for 'reverse' launch.. great with Moses foiling gear and cuts upwind very well and enough lift and turn speed when I manage to pull off some tacks. usable top end around 15 knots and then it becomes a handful,
Twin Tip
135x41 free ride.
Promoted as a light wind kite, will get you out when other are using big slow heavy kites - weight makes a Huge difference, you wont understand it, until you try it, its not just a kg number (as I used to think)
As a twin tip kite, it has a very wide range. The most surprising thing about this kite is that it maintains its fast turn speed even at 30knots and overpowered.
To put you in the picture, most times when others are on a 9m, I'm having a ball with the jump and hang time of the 12m.
Kite Loop - seriously, who the hell loops a 12m these days?
Yes very easily unless the kook controller fluffs it ;)
Not much wind on the sandbar chop hop, was going to be a hit or mis event

www.facebook.com/677447913/videos/1108836139893068/

dachopper
WA, 1784 posts
1 Mar 2022 10:58PM
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Nice..... What are the boosts like? I found the Alulla Roam 12 meter is the type of kite that does not produce a lot of lift for jumps, and also as you mentioned... huge depower through the middle of the wind window with the bar out.... Looked like the Flite definitely better for jumping in light winds ? .... I managed 4 kt reverse lunch with the roam too..... not enough to kite, but I got it into the air

SaveTheWhales
WA, 1869 posts
2 Mar 2022 7:10AM
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Select to expand quote
dachopper said..
Nice..... What are the boosts like? I found the Alulla Roam 12 meter is the type of kite that does not produce a lot of lift for jumps, and also as you mentioned... huge depower through the middle of the wind window with the bar out.... Looked like the Flite definitely better for jumping in light winds ? .... I managed 4 kt reverse lunch with the roam too..... not enough to kite, but I got it into the air



The 12m Flite is an excellent all-rounder fun jump kite, you'll be jumping in lighter wind because of the light weight and how it responds to small increases in wind pressure while up in the air...
It reminds me more of how a foil kite flys with most of the loading on the front lines and makes full power with slightly slack rear lines. Felt odd to begin with but once you figure it out, the fun starts.
Like I mentioned, you can be out boosting some excellent height when others are on 9's and still jumping when the 9's won't fly.
It also makes a few other 12's I've flown - feel like your swinging a brick, it's definitely the 3 strut aluula weight that makes a world of difference. At 2.2 kg it's around the weight of a 7 or 8m kite..
To loop this kite and catch you, you have to be high enough in the air.. that's your answer to how well it jumps.
When I can't hold the 12 down I jump straight on my alltime favourite big air Core Xr 8m kite- and your perfectly powered. A great combination if you know how to send it.

Not forgetting this is my light wind foiling back up kite :)

SaveTheWhales
WA, 1869 posts
2 Mar 2022 10:45AM
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Next time i'll hit some waves for the easy big jumps..

sonny2727
VIC, 153 posts
2 Mar 2022 2:04PM
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Select to expand quote
SaveTheWhales said..


Great stuff ...

EastCC
QLD, 354 posts
2 Mar 2022 5:11PM
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Give the demo 10m Rise a spin while it is still over there

Gilly3
QLD, 794 posts
3 Mar 2022 7:32AM
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Select to expand quote
EastCC said..
Give the demo 10m Rise a spin while it is still over there


Yes, looks very impressive....

SaveTheWhales
WA, 1869 posts
3 Mar 2022 9:33AM
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Select to expand quote
Gilly3 said..

EastCC said..
Give the demo 10m Rise a spin while it is still over there



Yes, looks very impressive....



Does it jump higher than the XR ?
Does it Reverse launch and ride well on a foil board in 7 knots, like the Flite ?
Or are we getting off the Flite topic here ;)


EastCC
QLD, 354 posts
3 Mar 2022 12:36PM
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Select to expand quote
SaveTheWhales said..

Gilly3 said..


EastCC said..
Give the demo 10m Rise a spin while it is still over there




Yes, looks very impressive....




Does it jump higher than the XR ?
Does it Reverse launch and ride well on a foil board in 7 knots, like the Flite ?
Or are we getting off the Flite topic here ;)




yes.
yes.
and yes

SaveTheWhales
WA, 1869 posts
3 Mar 2022 7:08PM
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Select to expand quote
EastCC said..

SaveTheWhales said..


Gilly3 said..



EastCC said..
Give the demo 10m Rise a spin while it is still over there





Yes, looks very impressive....





Does it jump higher than the XR ?
Does it Reverse launch and ride well on a foil board in 7 knots, like the Flite ?
Or are we getting off the Flite topic here ;)





yes.
yes.
and yes


Good thing we don't believe the yearly marketing hype, jumps higher goes faster bla bla bla.
But we do believe we can trade a Lung or leg for one
Back to the Flite...

weebitbreezy
619 posts
3 Mar 2022 10:43PM
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Really useful review. If you get a chance to try the HL version it would be interesting to hear your views. According to the Ocean rodeo site, the HL version gets a bigger wind range for a small weight penalty.

dachopper
WA, 1784 posts
4 Mar 2022 11:28AM
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What is the difference?

weebitbreezy
619 posts
4 Mar 2022 7:56PM
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150g heavier for the HL (I think they use strips of aluula vs complete tubes) and 10-20 knots (a-series) windrange vs 11-23 knots (HL series) for a twin tip wind range. The HL wind range looks realistic based on my experience with the older Flite kites. I'd have expected the A series kites to have a higher wind range (more like your reported wind range) so not sure whats going on there.

oceanrodeo.com/products/flite-hl-series

Still priced higher than a conventional dacron kite for the HL. Looks more expensive than an SLS kite still(?) but I'm going off USD prices as they aren't listed in my local shop. That said, the HL crave was marginally cheaper than SLS kites so .... might be a worthwhile price difference in real life compared to the A series kites.

Leighbreeze
WA, 533 posts
23 Apr 2022 9:54PM
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Hey crew I have a HL 12m Crave,well in comparison to my A roams & Flites it has way more boost.
Still light but not as light as the 12m Roam.
If your after more boost and a general allrounda it ticks most of the boxes.
Not as much drift as the roam.
More lift than my 14m A Flite and quite a bit Quicker.
Can't compare as a foil kite ,I am a P5 convert mainly for unmatched drift and ease of use.



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"Ocean Rodeo 12m Aluula Flite - KiteLoop, Sandbar jump and foiling." started by SaveTheWhales