Catch up with Duotone’s kite designer Ralf Grosel on the 2019 Vegas!
What did you set out to achieve for the 2019 Vegas?
The Vegas is phenomenally well established and the most sold C-kite on the market. Its rock solid foundations have allowed us to develop it over the past 11 years into a pure wakestyle / competition orientated kite with extreme boosting and mega loop potential. It performs unlike any other. It was a great position to be in as we started the 2019 design process, as it presented the opportunity to look deeper into each component. The goal was to fine tune and balance the Vegas perfectly, so I focused on tweaking small details like the wave patterns, patterns on the Leading Edge and updates in the tension settings between the LE and Strut.
Were there any challenges along the way?
There weren’t challenges so to speak, more a dedication to achieve a perfectly balanced kite which takes time. From the Team’s perspective, the Vegas already delivered all aspects needed to take them to the top – precise handling, unhooked pop and performance, boosting potential and impressive looping abilities. As balance is a primary requirement for riders, my approach was to evaluate the design features on the kite as well as production and materials to see how I could optimize it.
What are the main design and performance updates for this year’s model?
There was no need to make any drastic changes to the 2019 model, but as I mentioned before, this offered a unique opportunity look at each component of the kite individually and see how it could be fine tuned to contribute towards perfect balance overall.
Why choose the 2019 Vegas?
Continuing as the undisputed king of the C-kites, it’s a benchmark model for its class. The perfect balance between the canopy tension and structural stiffness compliments the stable canopy for mega lift and punchy pop. Bringing responsive power release delay and slack to the table, handle passes and new school moves have never been so easy. The Vegas offers lots of depower and multiple setups, including numerous trimming options. In a league of its own, those wanting a pure Wakestyle/Freestyle machine with outstanding mega loop performance should hook right in.
Any tips for using the different settings?
For Wakestyle I recommend using a Medium depower setting with the Hard steering setting.
For Freestyle I suggest the High depower setting with a Medium steering setting.
For Competition riding I advise the Low depower setting with the Hard steering setting.
In a nutshell, what’s new for the 2019 Vegas ?
By tweaking existing design components and smaller details, we’ve managed to fine tune and balance every aspect of this radical performer.