Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Please make all commercial, shop and industry postings here.
Post Reply
User avatar
OliverG
Old School
Old School
Posts:5326
Joined:Sat Feb 07, 2004 5:03 pm
Location:Oakland, CA
Contact:
Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Post by OliverG » Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:43 pm

Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Reposted from seabreeze.com.au, looks like some news is out there. Just returned from the Gorge and saw some amazing new stuff, but not authorized to say much, but it looks like others have...

Image
Image
Image

Various reports coming in...

staceyk47, who supplied the photos wrote:

I've just been at the Slingshot party in Le Touquet France were they had the new Misfit, Lunacy and Bamboo surfboard, as well as a Fuel 2011.

From what I have seen, all the twintips are now made in the states with full wood core, graphics will different on every board making them your very own custom board!!! They have a very clever way of making the rail, and the boards are lighter than last year. The surfboard I saw was absolutely amazing looking.

The Fuel has a few changes, more panels, only one setting on the tip for speed, but still two settings for wake or freeride. The canopy material is tighter on the leading edge upto above the first strut for less drag, all in all a very nice looking kite with the same construction you would expect from Slingshot.

From Kiteforum by Graeme at Surf Sales UK ...

Fuel. Same strut layout, but Loads more panels, those zig zag bits are panels, there are more panels and more seam shaping on the Fuel than I've seen in a while, almost back to the Glory days. (For those that don't know, seam shaping and lots of panels is a good thing, it's more expensive to produce, yields a better shape and gives added rip stop.)

It's got this tightening of the side panels on the wing tip to stop that flutter in loops yet the foil above the leading edge remains full at the entry to retain the powerhouse.

It's no point blathering on about a Fuel, a Fuel rider has got to ride it and see, but my money is on it being a step up from this and last years offering in genuine terms, if only more longevity.

The big kite news is The Rally, this is the new wonder of the age according to the boys. Its an absolute joy to jump, just the timing and ease of lift off amongst other things and it easily achieves more height and float than even an RPM.

It's a three strut Delta C (don't ask) has no pulleys yes I'll say it again, no pulleys and they seem to have managed to distance the front and back take offs in such a way that it relaunches if you just telepathically think it needs to.

It's light, well built, loads of panels and seam shaping, a lot of thought has gone into this kiddy and it'll be priced around the RPM and will sit between the Key which aint going to change and the RPM.

It also has.... take a deep breath and wonder wtf - split strut - er on a bow, well not a total bow but a hybrid Delta C swept tip whatever.. call it new Gen.

Either way, that's a bit of committment that they would do that, it's not the cheapest thing to build and I guess it's there to compensate for the three struts and the fairly rigid air frame the wide guage struts give.

In fact there are so many things going on I think maybe another thread might be necessary, they have made some real innovations in their board offering, featuring solid wood cores fused to solid urethane rails (no joins, none, nada,) tracks throughout offering multi stance widths, super super light weight, dialed flex and huge response to pop loading.

The Surf boards all get tracks and wood decks and an amazing line up with some killer smash and destroy weaponry, this year you simply mustn't make that buying decision without taking a look at Slingshot - they are lit right now...

User avatar
CdoG
Old School
Old School
Posts:1485
Joined:Sat Jun 16, 2007 6:12 pm
Location:AlAmedA
Contact:

Re: Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Post by CdoG » Thu Jul 08, 2010 6:10 pm

YuMmmmiE..


some of that, might juSt make me tuRn from my regular gear..

wjb
Resident
Resident
Posts:650
Joined:Mon May 22, 2006 7:16 pm
Location:Petaluma
Contact:

Re: Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Post by wjb » Thu Jul 08, 2010 11:06 pm

Any pics of the Rally?
It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind. T.S.Eliot

User avatar
OliverG
Old School
Old School
Posts:5326
Joined:Sat Feb 07, 2004 5:03 pm
Location:Oakland, CA
Contact:

Re: Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Post by OliverG » Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:45 am

Here's a few pics and some feedback from someone who tried them in Pismo followed by some pics, including the 4m and 6m we rode at Rufus:

"I just came from Pismo Beach from camping. Today slingshot rep. Chris stop by there on the way to LB expo and rig up new gear for 2011.
I didn't know who is it but I san new kites and I like it. After trying go out with 09 RPM 10m he approached me and offer to try new kites and boards.
Oh yeah guys, we gonna see new slingshot gear and you can fly it as well. I did try 2011 slingshot rally 12 m, he also has 14 m and new fuel. So what is new rally like, it is delta kite with like open C - shape canopy, kind of like RPM, but it has more low end power, it is fast and I really like it.
I kind of suck on waves and at Pismo Beach there are some, not like our cool Belmont place. But I manage go out with his new kite and 2011 misfit,
it was really cool.
The new Slingy kite Rally is fast, with loth of power, it has 3 struts and it is quite stable. I crashed in water and relaunch was much more easier then on RPM (even though RPM relaunch is not difficult). Bar for 2011 is same, I will post some pictures to. The Green is Rally 14 m, then in a sky you can see orange 3m Fuel and then I have one photo with 12m
The guy Chris was super nice, loaning new gear to everyone there who wanted to try, help, assist and explain.
Slingshot ROCKS. "

Image
Image

Here's a review from Angelo from the S2AS team:

"Ok so after five days testing the new Slingshot Kites and boards this is the one kite that really blew me away I was testing this kite in the Gorge, USA this is the testing ground for 3 of the Worlds top brands due to the varying conditions found in the Gorge.

As I pull it out of the bag the innovations on the kite this year are plan to see the biggest one being the return of Split strut and I’m a huge fan of this more info about this later in the review, the bar and lines is the Comp stick bar with 700lb line this is about 30% stronger then other kite surf brands lines as standard, also the Pig tails on the end of the lines have been re vamped this tells me that Slingshot is a company who listen to there customers as previous years pig tails had no problem but after a bit of use they looked very warn.

Other Features on the Slingshot Rally:

One Pump – no need to pump up your struts separately and gives perfect pressure to each part of the kite un like a single pump system

CSS – Slingshot’s Centreline Safety system the best Re-ride Systems on the market very clean and works time after time

Split Strut – Adds two connection points from the canopy to each strut one on each side of the strut this makes the strut part of the canopy and does three things really well..

1,Extra lift due to the tighter canopy when jumping what it does is hold the tension in the canopy more then normal to create more hang time,

2, Twice as strong as a single canopy to strut connection hence surf proof so if you do drop the Slingshot Rally in the surf your more likely to get it back out in one piece. It also improves the up wind drive of the Rally due to the canopy being more aero dynamic than other kites helping the kite to fly closer to the edge of the wind window.



Ok so I thought we should get the kite on the water asap to see what its really like the wind was blowing about 20 knots and I had a 10mtr kite.

Some of you may or may not know that the Gorge is the perfect testing ground for any kites this is the reason three of the worlds largest brand has headquarters there. Renowned for gusty winds the gorge is far from forgiving to kites that are not stable in the sky so I was to say a little nervous… but Slingshot tell me that the stability of the kite is amazing good so just get out on the water and give it a try.

So I’m connecting the lines to the kite and I can see the very small bridle has NO pully’s wow we have become so used to pully’s on kites that I did not even bother to check so just to make sure I was not about to launch a kite that a factory has released with no pullys in error I asked Slingshot “you sure this kite does not need pullys” nope its perfect without they said.. as they said that two kites on the inside of the Sandbar fell from the sky and I’m not talking unknown brands these kites are big players in the industry, As if I needed reminding how gusty this place in on the inside.

Great but I got to get out so one of the guys from Slingshot launches me and immediately I can feel the responseness of the kite with no pullys and its just so precise with the kite above my head (not the best place to have a kite in gusty conditions like these) I put my feet in to the straps still sitting on the sandbar power up the kite and sent it… the kite lifts me off the sandbar about 10 feet in the air and down into the water.. (water starts like that still turn heads) rode away to find some clean wind so I could test the re-launch and stability within 40-60 mtrs the gusty wind had gone and the conditions were strong but clean.. so the first thing I do is what 90% of beginners do wrong they over fly the kite when trying to learn to jump so I did this and the kite lost power now this is the point the kite should fall from the sky.. but not this time the Slingshot Rally kept its shape and rocked back in to the wind window to regain power above my head.. only the very flat kites normally do this and the Rally is far from a flat kite It’s a Delta Open C kite So super impressed with that I then un hooked the kite with it above my head and tried to make the kite over fly by pulling the bar from head height down to chest height but the kite just did not want to over fly. Even with the kite fully sheeted out, so at this point I was more than happy with the stability of the kite time to check out the kites performance on the water..

So to start when testing a new kite the key things that need to be tested are as follows:

Stability

Kite Speed

Safety System

Re-Launch

Build Quality

Up Wind Performance

So the first one Stability we have already covered so with that does I moved on the testing the kites speed in the air and though the turn.

Now the kite does turn very fast for sure faster then the Slingshot RPM but at the same time you have good feel of where the kite is even though the loop and I’m sure this is down the fact that’s there’s no pullys on the kite as for kite loops it kite loops well but not like the RPM or the Slingshot Fuel however with the kite flying fast though the air you can see where the huge lift comes from and also the low end power because you can sign wave the kite with ease to create good apparent wind.

Safety well if you have never flown a Slingshot kite from the last 2 years your missing out for sure because they have by far the best center line safety system on the market, Slingshot call it the CSS (Center line Safety System) This is a true Re-Ride system, Lots of center Safety systems from other brands say they can re-ride if activated on the water out of your depth but after testing over 90% of them I can tell you this is NOT the case 9/10 times your in for a long swim back to the beach but with the Slingshot CSS no swimming needed. As you fire the Slingshot Css the bar goes around 10mtrs away from you and the kite fully 100% depowers and will hit the water. Then your in the water with the kite down and to be honest just to look at it you would think.. no way I’m in for a swim back to shore but your not.. just pull the safety line until you get back to the bar then hook yourself back in and you will see the safety line feed it’s self back though the bar until it has got to the end of the line then the kite will be leading edge down in the same position as if you just crashed the kite so now just pull on the outside line and up the kite will go. This whole process takes no more than 30 seconds. Now that’s very good for any re-ride system

The Build quality on the Slingshot Kites have always been one of if not the best in the world well the Rally is no different and to add the construction Slingshot have re-issued the Split strut feature in the Rally kite so for all of you that do not know what split strut is and what benefits you get from having this feature in the kite first off it helps upwind performance how? Well the strut is actually part of the canopy so this makes the kite more aero dynamic and helps the kite to fly further forward in the wind window and in turn helping with de-power and up wind performance. Then it adds to the strength of the kite all other kites on the market have one connection from the canopy to the strut well the Rally has two one each side of the strut.

Now all that lift I was talking about early on in this review some of the extra lift is down to the Split strut too by having two connection points to the canopy instead of one this will make the canopy tighter and in turn hold more power in the canopy hence giving you more lift.. Remember when you jump this kite make sure you have a lot more space down wind that you would normally be happy with because the float you get when jumping the rally is unreal.. did I already say this? Haha that’s how good the lift is.

So what does the kite perform like unhooked? Is it as good as the Slingshot RPM? or even the fuel? well if you want a quick answer..

NO however I don’t think Slingshot even wanted it to be as good because if you want good wake style and unhooked performance 90% of riders will look at the RPM Kite but saying that it does unhook well a lot better than the Slingshot Octane. Unhook this kite and it will not pull you off your edge but if your looking for an all-round kite and want to learn to unhook then the rally is the kite for sure its easier to learn on and not as aggressive as say the RPM and Fuel so as a starting block perfect.

There is always a trade off Slingshot tell me you can not get any kite that offers top end performance/wind range and unhook performance its just not possible and any one who tells you there kite does that is wrong. I think Slingshot have made this kite to fit perfectly in with the range they have at the moment

Slingshot Key – beginner weekend warrior

Slingshot Rally – Intermediate lives by the water gets more water time

Slingshot RPM – Intermediate- Advance Wake style/unhooked

Slingshot Fuel – Power house – freestyle

I think Slingshot have pulled off one of the best kites I have ever seen from the company in years"
Attachments
DSC_1078.jpg
DSC_1078.jpg (21.44KiB)Viewed 6645 times
DSC_1079.jpg
DSC_1079.jpg (22.97KiB)Viewed 6645 times
P7030578.jpg
P7030578.jpg (298.02KiB)Viewed 6645 times
P7020568.jpg
P7020568.jpg (199.77KiB)Viewed 6645 times
P7020564.jpg
P7020564.jpg (167.5KiB)Viewed 6645 times
P7020543.jpg
P7020543.jpg (171.49KiB)Viewed 6645 times

User avatar
OliverG
Old School
Old School
Posts:5326
Joined:Sat Feb 07, 2004 5:03 pm
Location:Oakland, CA
Contact:

Re: Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Post by OliverG » Sat Jul 10, 2010 6:49 am

Another one ...
Attachments
ralley.jpg
ralley.jpg (119.62KiB)Viewed 6645 times

shymac
Valued Contributor
Valued Contributor
Posts:211
Joined:Mon Jul 30, 2007 10:18 am
Location:Hood River, Or.
Contact:

Re: Sneak peak at new Slingshot 2011 gear

Post by shymac » Wed Jul 21, 2010 9:07 am

some more good angles. :auto-driving: :auto-nascar: :auto-checkeredflag: :auto-checkeredflag: :auto-checkeredflag:
Attachments
15.jpg
15.jpg (69.37KiB)Viewed 6429 times
14.jpg
14.jpg (68.32KiB)Viewed 6429 times
1a.jpg
1a.jpg (152.73KiB)Viewed 6429 times
1b.jpg
1b.jpg (99.17KiB)Viewed 6429 times
COMPSTICK_BAR_DIAGRAM II.jpg
COMPSTICK_BAR_DIAGRAM II.jpg (24.85KiB)Viewed 6429 times
Track Plug.jpg
Track Plug.jpg (108.54KiB)Viewed 6429 times

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 13 guests