ID this PL kite ?

I bought this on-line from a non-kiter.
It was just sitting on the shelf in his art shop.
He did not know anything about it.
It is solid orange without any markings anywhere.
There are 3 vents in the center on each cell, 2 internal straps in vicinity of the LE and 1 close to the TE.
No adjusters on the straps.
There is one inflation zipper in the center towards the TE and one right on the TE.
LE is 662cm and sticks (looks like carbon fibre, one pc, measuring 104.5cm tip to tip.
There is one line connection at LE and two connections at TE
I think could be Bomba 13m but not sure ?.

yeah, its interesting. the guy had it listed as a bomba proto on fleabay. I read a little bit about the SLarc recently. I'm wondering if it is one of those.

I think it stands for single line arc. hopefully its a bomba proto, because I think that'd be more useful then an single line kite

I've compared the ebay pic and the ikitesurf pic and yes they do look the same :puzzled:
This dude must have had more than one, because I got mine and one on ebay shows it had sold for $255+shipping.
I paid way less than that, bar that came with it is Cabrinha with a clip on eye for depower line..
Lines look brand new (thick, good quality colored), chicken loop, trim strap (both exactly like Zero7 bar) and safety leash also looks brand new.

I'll take it out this weekend to see if it flies OK and if it was worth the $180.
If not, I just bought a bar and got lots of ripstop fabric for free

Quote:

Originally posted by Feyd ................

Feyd are you trying to say something ?

its a Bomba - review and comparison

It is definetely a Bomba proto 13m !!
Took it out last Sunday.
I forgot how great and stable these kites were !!
I also took my other two small PLs for a comparison; F1200 and CH10 (with center strap mod) here are my observations:
All 3 were flown on the same bar (65cm) and 25m lines with long depower travel, wind ~14knts with gusts to maybe 19knts, 92kg beginner/intermediate rider.

Compared was the launch and landing (1), inflated and underinflated (2), stability (3), gusts handling (4), downwind drift (5), power development (6), turn speed (7) depower (8)

Bomba 13m:
1- easy up and easy down
2- can take-off with almost fully deflated kite with some rear line tension juggling
3- like a floating rock :-)
4- what gusts !?, almost didn't notice any, and they were gusts
5- just opens up a bit and floats downwind, talking about easy to fly kite
6- very smooth
7- medium to slow
8- around 60-80%

F1200:
1- surprisingly not as hard as I thought it would be (never flown F-arc before)
2- needs to be at least 1/2 inflated, more to avoid bow-ties
3- very stable, I would say it was more stable than Bomba
4- excellent, you feel it on the bar and just work the bar a bit to compensate
5- requires attention of back line tension so it does not bow-ties
6- fast but smooth
7- medium to fast
8- around 50-75%

Ch10 (middle strap tip adjusters mod)
1- relatively easy
2- 3/4 to full inflation needed for hassle free take-off (no more tip clapping after the strap mod, loosened the straps and clapping again)
3- as stable as a bow kite of the same size, not anywhere stable as the other two
4- OK but really requires attention, as it will overfly and then inverts
5- poor, really hard to deal with, inversion prone
6- explosive, not good for beginner (at least this size)
7- super fast (for a twinskin)
8- 100%

Conclusions:
Bomba winner all the way, it is a superb learning kite with some room for advancement.
F1200, for 10year old design it is still a really good kite
Ch10, worst stability of all 3, needs cleaner wind and needs to be flow fast, not recommended for anyone with less than 20-30h flying time on full size kite.
(heck I found Ovando 11m more stable than CH10, I still hate it but I understand its potential and will keep it when skills improve to match its level of performance)

So it looks like over the years of development PL looses their user friendliness for performance to satisfy advanced riders, detering beginners from the brand.

Of all PL gear I have flown personally, Charger10 is my least enjoyable kite (own one for 2 years now), followed by Synergy12m (except for 19m)
My favorites (PL gear) so far; B-13 (flown 13 and 17), V1-16 (flown 13, 16, 19) and V2-19 (16, 19), although S840/1120 and G13 were ok too.

How are the latest PL prototypes ? any hope for us beginners ?

My comments are predominantly directed towards land base kiting in areas with sketchy, shifty and gusty winds, local soccer fields, farm fields, grass meadows and inland frozen lakes, etc.
Water based kiting is different animal altogether.