Flysurfer Review: Unity 12m Deluxe and 8m Standard

Flysurfer Review:
- Unity 12m Deluxe
- Unity 8m Standard

I arrived in Ft. Myers, Florida to visit my mum for the holidays. I had ordered the 12m early on, so it was waiting for me when I arrived on the 27th of December. A couple weeks later, I decided to get the 8m, so I have something for higher wind days and so my girlfriend (who also absolutely loves kiting) has something for the lower wind days. For my review, I will be referring to the 12m Deluxe, although the two behave pretty much the same with the 8m of course maneuvering more quickly.

First of all, none of my sessions have been in extremely high winds. In fact, sometimes the wind was too low. For the times I used it, the winds were at roughly 7kts to 14kts. I have just my Ozone Flow 4m and my Frenzy 9m to compare to.

Kite and Flying:
When I first launched the kite, I felt great pull, even in low wind. It turns pretty slowly, much slower than my Frenzy 9m, but I would expect that with a 12m of most kites. Depower is quite good, and can loft you pretty easily in the higher winds. I noticed this kite does not luff very easily...much less so than my Frenzy. If I let go of the bar, it will go to 10 or 2 on its own and sit there (except in lower winds where it wants to fall). At the edge of the window, the wingtips don't fold in very easily, but of course will if not paying attention. The bridal is a little more complex than my Frenzy, but this was done on purpose so as to help prevent the kite from folding in on itself. When crashing LE first at the window, the kite does just what it is supposed to do and rolls over where it can be launched. This is in higher wind only. Low wind needs some work with the rear lines to reverse launch. I had the kite out in the ocean doing body drags as well. Launching from water was a breeze, and much easier in higher wind. In fact, in the water the auto launch at the edge of the window seemed almost flawless in the higher wind. Keep in mind, when I say higher wind, I mean proper wind...wind that is not too low. When rolling up, the deflation valve at the bottom of the kite just has to be unvelcroed and the orange lining pulled out. IMO, this is too small, because rolling up the kite can take some time forcing the air out. From what I have read, some of FS's other kites have a zipper in the back, as does my HQ Hydra. This may possibly be better, because the air could escape more easily when packing up the kite.

Lines and Depower:
Lines are colored standard red for left, gray for power, green for right. The 5th line is red towards the kite and gray towards the handle. Usually that's no problem, but occasionally when working out any tangles, it would be helpful to have that a different color. Can be changed easily enough I guess. Also, one thing I feel is a mistake on Flysurfer's part with the 5th line is that it can not be undone with a larkshead. The only way to separate the 5th line is from the handle where it attaches to the safety ring. To me, that is just silly (unless there is some other reason for that I don't know of). The depower is of the standard pull/pull - red for depower and black for more power. It is situated a bit far for my arms to reach comfortably, but I don't fuss with it all that much anyhow. I could add little straps or shorten the distance of my spreader bar a little I suppose. In comparing with my Frenzy, I much prefer how my Frenzy uses one line for the depowering system - pull for depower and let out for more power. The red and black straps just add to the "unnecessary" bulk around the clam. It has also created minor wraps/tangles in the lines around that area. In fact, now when I set up, that is the first place I look if the lines aren't right.

Bar and Safety:
The bar is quite long on my 12m and quite short on my 8m. I suppose the 10m bar would be just right. The feel of the bar is good. The bar ends for wrapping could use a little work IMO. The shape of the Ozone bars is much better than those, and the rubber straps on the Unity bar are just kind of dangling when not wrapping the lines, not to mention they don't wrap around the lines all that well. Not a big deal, just something I noticed I like better on my Frenzy. The weight of the bar is similar to my Frenzy, yet it's a little longer. The donkey dick on the Unity is a little different than Ozone, but it works just fine, not better or worse. The safety release is perfect...works like a charm. And that's the most important, right? Just push away and it's released. Putting it back together is a breeze as well. Oh, a nice feature of this bar is that pulling back on the bar after doing any loops and you are tangle free. It simply twists the lines around as they should be. Slick.

Overall
I love this kite and my 8m (both of which can fit in the backpack that comes with it)! There are a few things I would change, but they are just preferences...and what do I know? I'm a beginner!

Nice one! Good review - now get some video

You're right, packing up with the velcro valves is slower but it goes to show just how well these things retain their air... Just roll it up then wait a bit, and let it deflate itself - unless you're in a hurry

The 5th line has to slide through the bar & that block (IIRC) so needs to be smooth and slick all the way up. LarS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s head on the ring is just fine IMHO :D

I'm not a fan of the straps being equal length either - even with my reduced reach on the seat harness, I don't have problems reaching the straps on the S3's... and I still have to think for a second before I pull red or black - it's not intuitive to me. I'm not a fan of the cam cleats though - too imprecise I reckon...