ITW : l'Ours talking about the Strutless V2 !!!

– Why did you create the Strutless? I wanted a Ram Air Kite without the inconvenience of the chambers. For Foiling and also for very light wind. When I was a child I played around with precision Kites with 2 & 4 Lines a lot. And when I say a lot : I’m saying that I did this at the small local Airport (Aerodrome) next to my home and fabricated my own Kites. It was expensive and we had a friend of the family who was a sailmaker who gave me leftover pieces of Spi Tissue. I spent hours in front of a sewing machine…
So, by designing my Kite Wings, I am in the continuation of this story. And it’s not far from the truth that with the Strutless is somewhat built like a Precision Kite with 4 Lines. – What are the advantages of a Kite without inflatable struts? It’s a Kite that flies with nothing, 3-4 kts, that re-launches with very little air, a quality that is indispensable when you want to navigate in serenity. No other Kite re-launches as easily.
The fact of not having an inflatable strut allows the Spi to deflate naturally. Not only is the Kite lighter but she auto manages her placement within the window. If the Kite goes into the zenith, sheet out, the Spi will gently flap and reverse itself a few meters until she re-inflates naturally. The Strutless is the most stable Kite on the market, ideal for when you’re needing to get your Foil in the good direction at 5/6 kts wind after a jibe fall for example…..
The other enormous advantage : It’s a Kite that’s ready to go in under a minute. Unroll it, inflate it and go!
Perfect for when you want to get in an hours session in between meetings.
And I insist on its precision Kite character. The Strutless is a Kite that is refined and that excels over other in the same category. She cuts through the air like a feather, it’s an incredible feeling. – Who will this Kite speak to? To all those who are looking to double up on successful sessions. In 17m and 5 kts on the Matata. It butter. In the same wind with a 9m and Allvator Foil, it’s smoother than butter!
Evidently, having your kite fall in the water in 5 kts tends to rhyme with swimming back to shore, even with a Strutless. But even with a lower skill level you can adore this Kite.
On the other hand she is not adapted to buffoonery. Hindenburg planting her hard into the sand : forget about it!! It’s a super light Kite, with very few reinforcements but with premium quality materials. So if your technique is brutish she will detest you.
So don’t think about getting crazy on you TT, or using it as a ‘learn how to jump and dookie dive’ Kite….. she’s reserved for clean piloting with finesse. – Does she re-launch easily? Yes, without a doubt she is what re-launches the best. With the leading edge laid out on the water, in 6/8 kts, you’ll just pull the back lines about 50cm and she’ll pop back up in reverse. Let go one of them lines and she’ll pivot, let go of the other : she’ll go straight up to the zenith without traction. Easy.
In 8 kts and up, she picks up just by pulling one back line.
The only limit would be if you had a Kitemare and slammed her down hard, which can happen when Foiling…… The wave created by this could push up a sufficient amount of water onto the SPI. With very light winds she could be harder to evacuate this water. Generally if you pinch one tip, the water will drain down to the other and will allow it to roll over and re-launch. But if there’s to much water on it the solution will be to sit on your Board and pull on a back line just until you reach it to get the water out, let the back thread out and re-launch her like normal. With normal usage this would only happen like twice a year.
We need to get out of this mindset that a Kite can only re-launch with struts, It’s totally false. Especially with the Strutless because they have bigger tips. The tips eft the Spi : the wind will automatically inflate if it’s in the water. It’s automatic. No need for struts to lift the Spi at the centre of the Kite. And for anyone who doubts make notice that there is a finer batten. – Why is this Kite so performant in Foiling? Firstly because she is so smooth and super fluid. When compared to a strutted Kite it’s like going from a dirt road to a race track. Your moving into a butter smooth world.That’s the term for it. You need to know that she has a high aspect ratio.The wing is slender and thin, so it puts everything on the apparent wind and heading. It’s ideal for Foiling because you fly much faster than the wind. A wider Kite will feel like it’s ‘holding back’ on a Foil, feeling like a big rig, it imposes you to reduce the surface to find the comfort. With the Strutless we’re really going overboard with over-speed and the upwind angle. Again we are at the peak of inflatable performance, just below the ram air.
The Ram Air has an almost limitless source of power, which is not the case with the Strutless. We are going to resist and oppose the Ram Air and focus on the glide of the Strutless. It’s a lot less physical and technical than a Ram Air, which is like the Formula 1 of Kites, and really dedicated to an elite few. The Strutless is going to offer you very similar performance but without the technical difficulty and less physical. – Can we use this Kite outside of its intended use (light wind-Foil)? First we need to look at the enormous progress we’ve made with the Strutless after 4 years of development. The Fiber Glass Batten, the Spi tissue and the super rigid Leading Edge, which have practically doubled the wind range in that amount of time. it’s flagrant on the incoming 2019 V3s.
So within its use spectrum « outside its intended use » will be to take it into some strong wind and have a big Kite. Of course you will augment the Foil performance with some extraordinary climbs/descents.
The second interesting usage will be Freeriding in Surf or TT : We have at hand a real Performance Kiters, and lovers of the glide and finesse. It’s playful. – Where does this incredible stability come from? First, its overall balance created by an architecture that ideally positions the kite by its weight in the air. This is a key point to have a good kite in low winds. Then as I explained above, by its flap that automatically adjusts the position of the kite in the window so that it never drops.
But also because of its Fiber Glass Batten that’s supple that allows some controlled flapping.
And finally by the use of materials of the highest quality, even major brands do not use anymore because they are very expensive and inhibit profitability. At GONG we use the best materials to have the most efficient kites possible. – What are the advantages of this Fiber Glass Batten? Contrary to an inflatable strut the Batten is supple and not immobile. Its role is to simply keep the tension in the tissue and keep it stretched out between the LE and back so that the Spi doesn’t flag when the LE back-up when you sheet out.
By rigidifying this length between the BA and the fall we control the trembling of the canvas, while allowing it to do so when fully sheeted. The architecture of the Kite cannot deform, only flutter.
We are the pioneers for this usage that is revolutionising the concept of struts on a Kite. I am of the opinion that good and solid tissues on a good profile are sufficient to block a profile when sheeted in. At the house of GONG the holo section doesn’t move. So why do we continue to make inflated strutted kites? Because they offer an immediate and perfect profile when you sheet in after a violent shock. In very low air, this quality is useless, but when you ride powered this is essential. I fly in 6/8 knots in 9m Strutless and Foil Allvator, but I’m also in 9m strutted in 25nds and up when I want to jump. These two uses are very different. In the strong wind we want a rigid kite that does not flinch. But in the light we want softness, precision and feeling.
In fact it’s a bit of history of windsurfing kitesurfing. We did the opposite way with the Strutless, reinventing the kite without cambering. The inflated struts are both rigid and locked on the leading edge, just like a camber. It’s great for a lot of practice, but the Strutless is aiming for a freer, more slippery navigation. We can really make this comparison with the cambers, and today the Strutless is the only wing without camber in the kite world. That’s why she has so many followers! It just needed some thought put into it;-) Shaper : Patrice Guénolé et ses GONG Kite Strutless V2. Source : GONG Kite Staff, this Strutless is magic.
Tags : GONG Kite, Strutless V2, kite, kitesurf, kitesurfing, foil, foiling, kitefoil, kitefoiling, gongkiteshop.com.