Zebra Slope 12.5 qm

Zebra Kites is the sister brand of libre - a german kite company. libre is known for winning snowkite - and buggy races at least in germany. Zebra kites are rather new but already have a good reputation for building low cost but high quality kites.

http://libre.de/typo3_2/index.php?id=1&L=1




Today, my Zebra Slope 12.5 sqm depower Kite arrived. First thing was taking weight ! And i was really pleased: just 1.660 kg !




assuming a projected area of 10.87 sqm (factor 0.87, as with vapor or similiar buggy kites), this gives a weight per proj. sqm of 0.153 kg / sqm_proj. this puts the Zebra Slope right below the Ozone Ultralite Paraglider. Amazing ! ( for reference, here is a list of collected kite data: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2360753 )

so - why is it so light weight ? first, the ripstop cloth seems to be 37 g/sqm or no more than 40 g/sqm. it feels silky and light. also, maybe more important - it has a minimalistic bridle with extremely thin lines !



these lines are as thin if not thinner than the lines on the ozone flow kites. i just hope they can carry the load..

regarding built quality: lines are perfectly spliced. no sharp line endings , no loose threads - just pure quality on par with what i know from paragliders. (ihmo better than some paragliders - i have seen some that have not spliced, but just sewn lines..)




Depower is hopefully very good, as the 12.5 slope comes with a double pulley depower system. pulleys are from ronstan.






The kite has dirtouts with a valve that you can turn inside out to empty the kite from sand while flying.




Kite comes with a lightweight bag that does not add alot weight to carry.



all photos here:
https://picasaweb.google.com/111510368262264907350/ZebraSlop...


more later - its raining at least till the weekend so no kite testing a the moment possible.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I thought you had already flown it and were gonna tell us! Damn Herc you tease.

here comes a direct shootout between PL Twister 7.7 sqm and the zebra Slope 12.5 sqm.

The rather hard to believe fact is: the twister gets you going better in very low winds (as it was in the videos below). what the f*ck? the twister has 4.8 sqm less surface, yet it has more power than the zebra slope ? maybe because depower kites always have less power per sqm than fixed bridle kites.

yet, the kiting dude who was testing my zebra slope told me that it was a smooth ride - perfectly for relaxed cruising. and you could handle gusts by pushing away the bar. the PL twister 7.7 in contrast was just pure, raw power. if you hit a gust with the twister, it will just lift you or pull you over the edge of your board. so at least you have the benefit of depower with the zebra slope 12.5sqm.

the lightwind handling of the zebra slope though is on par if not better than the twister. its absolutely amazingly stable in the lowest of winds.
ozone frenzy ultralite? eat dirt you overexpensive teabag

here - a long, uncut video of yesterdays boarding in very low wind. speed on board was rather good, because we had an asphalt road to built up speed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DuG5ddcsVyE




here - a funny crash:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIHHxp-4bsI&hd=1&t=2m...

dont know about the bar. i use an old hq apex bar. the slope works on any depower foil bar.
i would suggest to buy a bar you like (maybe the ozone access bar?) and use it with the slope. i heard somewhere that the bar that comes with the slope is "ok", but not top notch. so better buy the slope "kite only" and get yourself a bar.

after some months, the slope is still - besides the nasawings - the only kite that i would pull out of the bag if there is little to no wind.
its just perfect for light wind. cruising with the slope gives a smooth feeling. it turns a little slow but steady, and has a soft power built up. its like a tamed PL twister 7.7. the twister 7.7 will give a little better lowend, but it is quite more agressive and might rip you off your board if a gust hits you. with the slope you can depower.. to some extend. the slope depower effect is medium. its more than enough for riding gusty low winds, but it is not comparable to an ozone frenzy for example. but - a ozone frenzy will not fly in winds the slope can, simply because it is much heavier.

depower mod to the twister 1: little effect. because the twister 1 has both A and B row connected. i didnt like the effort to make a completely new bridle, so i just "depowered" the C-row with a single pulley. that gives maybe 1:2 depower. not worth the effort. i reverted back to the fixed bridle setup. i still like and love the twister for very low winds.

still remember the day in january, where i was slowly cruising and having fun with the twister, while a guy with his big 18 sqm flysurfer speed3 was unable to launch it. because there was simply no wind at the bottom. he was sitting there.. probably wishing he had a big fixed bridle at hand :D
i just put my twister 7.7 sqm on 30 meter lines, run backwards to pump it up, and catched the breeze at the higher air levels.
later, a bit more wind - took out the slope. still cruising, alone, but other started to prepare their kites. a little later the windspeed increased quite a bit and i felt overpowered with the slope, while others with 12 sqm depower foils were still ripping. yet - i am a lightweight guy and i do NOT like to be overpowered. hence, for me the upper limit for the slope is around 12 knots, other more heavy guys and girls might well handle the slope 12 sqm up to 16 knots maybe.

well - what more to say - ask again

p.s. maybe i find some time to upload a video from snowkiting in january.

here a video from end of january snowkiting at a local spot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US7Bd1_DpLQ

you can see the tubekite struggeling while i have fun with the twister
later, at min 4:00 you can see some slope footage.

it is not the ultra-low-wind situation beginning of january i was talking about in the previous post. i still need to upload that vid.