Aluula Kite Review

Kitesurfing Magazine's, Editor-in-Chief, John Bryja reviews the new Aluula construction Ocean Rodeo Roam Freeride-Foil/Surf kite. Aluula is a revolutionary new lightweight kite material that almost cuts a kites weight in half!
John Bryja took the new Aluula built Roam kite for a full week of testing in Cayo Guillermo, Cuba. Conditions ranged from everything from 0 to almost 30 knots during the course of the trip.
#kitesurfingmagazine #Aluula

[@sergemann5951]

Weigh in with bag? Really?

[@Kitesurfing]

Now that we are back at the office we will weight the bags and get you an official weight.

[@sergemann5951]

@@Kitesurfing 2.85kg or 6.3lbs for 10m.

[@Kitesurfing]

@@sergemann5951 The Roam 10 Meter in Aluula official weight is 4.4 lbs and 6.3 lbs in Dacron construction.

[@sergemann5951]

@@Kitesurfing thanks

[@markabril1275]

Nice, it can fly in, let's say, 4 knots but you can't do waterstart in 5 knots with a 10 mts kite. You need for that good skills in light wind and a big kite 14 mts and above that to sail with 5-6-7 knots.

[@GeckoCkCkCk]

Is there a 20m kite?

[@fredericsimard8628]

would you recommand for 7m , 5.5 m and 4 meter witch is my quiver? i live in a really windy place thanks

[@willembrussow309]

Also, that colour scheme! Great job!

[@fisurfvideo]

How would you compare the wind range to a ramair kite, and it's upwind ability on a foil? Does it come anywhere close, or is there still nothing in that league?

[@johnbryja3849]

The Roam missed our Head-to-Head tests in the Fall so can't even give an accurate upwind comparison compared to other inflatables at this point. Based on my experience during that week on the water it felt like it would be comparable to the best inflatable surf kites, and maybe even close to some of the higher aspect inflatable kites but that is just an estimate at this point. It's the first inflatable that we have ever tried that competes in the category of staying in the air in light winds with foils. I would be surprised if inflatables could challenge the foils for light wind upwind ability at this point but we might be surprised in the future.

[@igormelnikov9677]

Now I live in Egypt, here wind 286 days in a year

[@MyFirstReurveBow]

seriously weighing them with the bag...?

[@willembrussow309]

I can’t get over the relaunch in that light of wind!!!

[@larsw.larsen4173]

Any experience you could share riding Aula well powered and max powered on a TT and Surf board. Any benefits worth the extra 50% in price? Why could it be more tricky to self land?

[@GreKno63]

John - so am I correct to assume that at your 196 lb weight you need a 12m to get up out of the water and onto your foil in super-light ( 6 - 8 knots & warm weather ) conditions ? A 10m Aluula Roam in those super-light conditions doesn't have enough to get you out of the water and up on foil ? What size ( front wing area ) foil and foilboard ?

[@Kitesurfing]

We were hoping the 10 Roam might pull like a 12. It can generate extra power on the upstroke, but the downstroke power is similar to a standard construction kite. We were using a Naish Large Thrust Surf wing on the foil.

[@michelgoulet7538]

the LE dia is obviously smaller, meaning def more pressure, however that wasn't covered. can you tell us more about it? OR recommended pressure? its impact on the hang time, upwind capabilities etc.

[@Kitesurfing]

We have always been big fans of solid inflation of kites. The Aluula is so stiff that under inflation didn’t seem as big a detriment to performance as some other kites we have tested in the past.

[@marcmolto6622]

08:45 he said he was able to relauch in 3,5 to 4 kn, but in the background there are other kites flying, wouldn't be the case in 4 kn...

[@johnbryja3849]

Marc Molto That video footage is from a 10-12 knot session. That style of relaunch is an example of how simple the relaunch is when you only need to use one flying line. Not a big fan of riding with a GoPro in my mouth so only filmed a small sample of the riding.

[@jgascoine011]

@@johnbryja3849 Possibly, but that is very misleading

[@Kitesurfing]

James Gascoine There is an example of the relaunch in winds when zero other kites were able to fly around the 6:40 mark. The clip at the end was an example of relaunching without needing to grab the front lines.

[@BenjaminGauthey]

@kitesurfing: Thanks for the demo. Have you had a chance to compare the roam to the latest Duotone D-Labs?

[@superdeifi]

Hi, i wann to Foil from 4 to 15 Knots in Gusto Lake conditions. Deliver the 10qm enough Power or Need a 12?

[@denellgentry1189]

My husband kites keep deflating while he is out kiteboarding ???? What is the problem

[@duprazsnow9057]

Hi John, good review I tested as well the Roam 10M in Aluula , same model in Snowkite last week. Was about only 8 knots and it was very stable and flying easy.... I could ride on a snowkite and when I was stopping the kite was easy to fly at 12 o'clock ... I am sure the Flite Aluula will be even much better for light wind condition. I having Ozone 9 M Subzero V1 for my Snowkiting and probably the 10M Roam Aluula is the closest performance in inflating kite you can have to my Ozone 9M Subzero in terms light win performance and they both about the same weight too just different technology approach Roam 10M Aluula = 1.9 Kg vs Ozone 9M Subzero V1 = 1,95 Kg Continue the good job review and I am curious to see other Aluula test you made Francis

[@duprazsnow9057]

Correction , it is : Roam 10M Aluula = 2.1 Kg vs Ozone 9M Subzero V1 = 1,95 Kg

[@Toucan777]

What psi did you pump the kite during your week of testing?

[@julianganton4034]

Would have liked to see more video of kite actually performing. Good review though. Thanks.

[@martynholder1971]

are these new materials kite just as easy to repair around the world?

[@collegepros]

When will you be testing the Flite?

[@johnbryja3849]

We tested the Dacron construction Ocean Rodeo Flight in this upcoming issue. We understand we will have the Aluula version of the flight this spring or summer.

[@siddallj]

The Aluula is just on the leading edge and struts, which material are they using for the canopy? I just bought a new 2020 Switch kite and that uses X4 ripstop which feels stronger than last years material and way lighter. Noticed a big difference in bottom end performance.

[@jgascoine011]

No way, i just bought the switch too Which one did you get?

[@siddallj]

@@jgascoine011 Helium V4 8m, fricking amazing kite. Very lightweight. There's videos of it in action on my channel. You could get 3 switch kites for the price of one Aluula and they are awesome

[@russkielol]

You know that old bag weighed more than the new one!!! 😂

[@Kitesurfing]

It’s been amazing for travel. My full golf bag is always under 50lbs now.

[@likesyngates]

Looks like good kite for lightwind

[@igormelnikov9677]

Fucking marketing

[@hadrienduzan2447]

Can you tell us if the bladder is in Allula or in regular TPU material , pls?

[@maximlg253]

Bladder is also Aluula

[@archiekras6668]

Would be interesting to know how it behaves when a 200lbs guy uses it in 25-30kn

[@johnbryja3849]

I'm 196lbs. I didn't find any downsides, but I think the self landing might be more tricky in some situations. It's something we will investigate more fully this spring in Cape Hatteras.

[@davidl3115]

You really should get a windmeter if you intend to review a light weight kite your -it must be 2 knts ,,it must be 2 knts claims im pretty sure is completely inaccurate. Any experience kiter knws that a kite will NOT fly in 2knts .

[@johnbryja3849]

We will be sure to have a wind meter with us on the water during the Kitesurfing Magazine spring tests. The kite’s light wind abilities aren’t that far off an indoor stunt kite. It’s pretty mind blowing. I think we are going to see some pretty shocking performance gains from all the brands over the coming year.

[@sfazolek]

Subiective weight wind condition

[@ericmnr]

What will be the cost for a 9m? I want to understand the extra cost.

[@Kitesurfing]

It's a 50% increase. In the 10m Roam, if the Dacron is $1500, the Aluula construction will be $2250.

[@fuelbasti]

You have to think new which sizes you will need. Impressive. Looks unreal how the kite is acting in the air. Wow.

[@danulis]

I would like to test it as I break EVERYTHING all the time :D Would be cool to find a kite which I wouldn't break after my heavy crashes and 5 hours everyday riding in all types of conditions :P Anyway really looking forward to see it and test it. How is this kite for big air and loops? It's not made for that, but did somebody tried it for this type of riding?

[@johnbryja3849]

The kite missed our Fall test session with the full test team. Looking forward to having the entire Kitesurfing Magazine test team ride it this spring.

[@SchotJason]

I get the light wind benefits but does it also help for big air?

[@bernardkriel1]

..oh i thought they made the whole complete kite out of "aluula"....... so the kite can still rip thru the canopy like any other kite would ?

[@Kitesurfing]

Aluula is used only where Dacron would traditionally be used.

[@igormelnikov9677]

Speaking with guys who works in repeating places, all of them sad, it’s real shit!

[@Kitesurfing]

It’s the shit!

[@PaioBrasa]

Extra, super super extra extra aluula 2knots money I spent

[@igormelnikov9677]

Nobody do better till 2012-2019

[@andresmontesdeoca6833]

Hi John, first of all thanks for the review, must of us were waiting for this. Secondly I have a simple question, how does this kite/material will affect the performance on big air? I think is pretty clear that is a game changer for foiling, but this kite will replace my Edge V10 or XR6? Thanks in advance

[@johnbryja3849]

Andres Montes de Oca The materials biggest advantages right now seem to be lightness , and the added benefits of light wing flying and easy relaunch. I think any advantages in big air will be a result of future R & D advances influenced by new materials. I don’t think simply adding Aluula to existing kite designs will make them jump bigger.

[@Kitesurfing]

Test team raved about the Core XR6 during the recent Head-to-Head tests in this upcoming spring issue.

[@igormelnikov9677]

Revolution of repair)))

[@LiquidForceKiteboarding]

Nice review!

[@Kitesurfing]

@LiquidForce Kiteboarding started the light weight kite revolution with the one strut LF Solo in 2014. Do you guys see doing lighter single struts in the future or refining the Envy's and Wows?

[@LiquidForceKiteboarding]

@@Kitesurfing Have you checked out the new 2020 Solo? We completely redesigned the Solo v3 and made it lighter than ever before :). So not only do we see ourselves doing some lighter single strut kites, we just did!

[@aloharowervideos9965]

We need an update. Also, seriously speaking, how light can a 10M fly comfortably?

[@aloharowervideos9965]

I think Aluula is going to change the kiting industry. Might sound lofty, but just my thoughts. Hey, why are all the reviews pinned on the Roam? Would like to hear more on the Flite's performance, 12M. Also, please keep us TT riders in mind. Not all light wind riders are foil riders. Thanks!

[@Kitesurfing]

We are waiting for beach access at the office to get our first session on the Aluula Flight.

[@TiagoRuivo]

What's the point of that weight measure? Comparing two different sizes and two different bags.

[@johnbryja3849]

It was the most similar kite I had on the trip size wise, and was a three strut surf kite as well. Gives a good idea of how much lighter the Aluula kite is. Neo bag isn't crazy heavy. Where the kite bags and the kite weight make a huge difference together is traveling. Many charter airlines now have such tight weight allowances that 4 pounds per kite would save my family a couple hundred dollars per trip in excess baggage fees.

[@LuigiSimoncini]

@@johnbryja3849 grasping at straws...

[@johnbryja3849]

Luigi Simoncini It’s as light as straws.

[@Kitesurfing]

The Roam 10 Meter in Aluula official weight is 4.4 lbs and 6.3 lbs in Dacron construction.

[@pierretripon6218]

As per comparison, my Cloud D 10.4m is 4.25 lbs so this Ocean Rodeo is crazily light for a 3 struts kite. So I know what it feels like flying super light kites : faster, more responsive, crazy drift. Once you tried, you never go back.

[@robertschooley9091]

Fair review, what I would love to know is durability, puncture resistance vs dacron. Plus like to know bladder material and durability.

[@jasonlee4637]

past experience with ocean rodeo makes me very suspicious about anything they claim or say. super scammy. will have to see it and try it first, but appears promising. anyone remember Best kites and cuben fiber? what happened with that?

[@Kitesurfing]

We have been very impressed with all the Aluula kites so far.

[@WingsurfingMagazine]

Great Video.