Sizes Available: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13m
Sizes Tested: 8, 10m
Duotone Says:
The new Dice has been designed by Ralf Grösel with the influence of Aaron Hadlow and Lasse Walker. The goal was to make a kite that would compete at the very top level of the King Of The Air, offering huge jumps and powerful loops. For freestyle the Dice delivers a good amount of slack just after you pop, this allows you to throw the latest tricks with ease. The fast nature of the handling also lends the Dice well to wave riding, and the reduced weight improves the drifting capabilities.
If you want a really high-performance all-round kite, then the Dice is the choice for you. No matter what the conditions it is ready to go and when the conditions get wild, then the Dice will be there ready to help you fly!
Visit for more info: www.duotonesports.com/kiteboarding/kites/dice/
TKB Says:
The Dice is back as Duotone’s platform that blends performance freestyle handling with friendlier freeride characteristics for a kite that meshes unhooked riding with big air while having some wave potential. This year the Dice has had some weight trimmed out of the airframe along with newly tuned bridles that work together to deliver extra agile and precise handling. Duotone’s goal was to push the big air envelope for KOA riders and tune up its gutsy kiteloop performance while maintaining the precise handling that has appealed to a wider audience of riders.
The Dice is a three-strut platform with a subtle C-shaped arc that blends leading-edge sweep with semi-boxy wingtips for an incredibly nimble and crisp feel but with loads of power to spare. The Dice features a single-setting fixed front bridle that doesn’t use any pulleys or sliders to change its angle of attack. The front bridle attachment points end in a knot and the wingtip attachment pigtails end in larks head loops. The bridling on the Dice uses a noticeably thin diameter bridle material for lowered windage and weight and the wingtip offers three attachment points for riders to tune between a ”˜Soft, Medium and Hard’ setting, with the stock mode arriving on ”˜Medium.’ The Dice uses Duotone’s large diameter inflation valve dubbed the ”˜Max Flow’ system which connects directly with Duotone’s pump hose without the use of a nozzle; the inflation system’s twist valve rotates with the insertion of the hose to keep air locked in the kite. Deflation can happen through both the inflation valve and a dump valve on one side of the kite, making both inflation and deflation quick and easy. Each wingtip gets two battens and sparing usage of Dacron along with a lower thickness of Dacron along the trailing edge that keeps the release stable and the weight down.
The Dice continues with its light to mostly medium bar pressure with an extra crisp steering response that continues into the larger sizes of the range. The power delivery along the bar’s throw doesn’t feel quite as progressive and smooth as the Evo freeride kite, but it does have a lifty low-end grunt that delivers explosive pulling power when you properly direct the Dice in the upwards direction. The crisp bar response and fast steering on the Dice give intermediate and advanced riders the precision to turn high-end power into KOA-style jumps and the steering response gives you the confidence to recover and maneuver your way through long airs to land on your feet. On top of its big air capabilities, the Dice does a good job of offering a load, pop and slack feel for unhooked freestyle while still delivering the turning power that gives more intermediate and advanced riders kiteloops that offer both gutsy pull and smooth turn completion. The steering arc continues to lean towards tight and pivotal which is what makes the Dice feel like it has a place in a certain type of surfer’s wave quiver; with active flying and decent drift, it will gladly perform in the middle of the window as you pick your way through a lineup. With some small but effective tweaks to the formula, the Dice continues its shift toward kiteloop and big air riding while keeping its unhooked pedigree and precision handling that solidifies its wide appeal to freestyle-minded adrenalin seekers in the intermediate and advanced category.
The Click Bar got an upgraded line set this year along with a more subdued colorway but keeps much of the successful formula from last year. The new kite lines boast a smaller diameter, stronger breaking force and less stretch to increase the crisp communication of control inputs directly into the airframe. The Click Bar is available in two sizes, either the smaller fixed-length 42cm wide bar with 22m (20m+2m extension) lines or the original 49cm length with 24m (22m+2m extension) lines. The Click Bar features a single centerline safety depower system and an adjustable attachment point that allows you to swap the height of the center lines’ V (it’s worth noting that you don’t have to re-thread the entire length of a line through a ring to accomplish the change). The outside lines end in knots and the center lines end in loops. The Click Bar features a molded plastic throw line that untwists itself after you spin, a sliding stopper to adjust the length of throw and Duotone’s proven push away quick release. The quick release, when opened horizontally, locks into an open position, holding the gate open. Reassembly is easy: one hand inserts the loop back into position and pushes on the catch button while the other hand raises the quick release handle so the catch can move back into its closed position and then the handle is moved back into the locked position.
The Click Bar can be purchased with one of the four chicken/connection loop options that are tailored to your specific style of riding. Most freeride-oriented kiters might choose the Freeride connection loop which is the smallest option, keeping the bar close to your body. The historically normal-sized loop is now called the ”˜Freestyle Kit,’ which is sized in the middle for both hooked and unhooked riding. For riders that unhook all day long, there is a large ”˜Wakestyle’ loop and for those that only ride with a surf slider rope, there is the ”˜Rope Harness Kit,’ which is a small loop with an integrated metal slider to reduce friction and keep the bar close to the rider. Swapping the loops out is easy; you just need a fin key to remove a ¾ inch set screw to change out the desired loop. The Click Bar settles the debate between above or below the bar tuning by placing it exactly at your fingertips. The twisting motion for powering up takes a little bit of focus while riding at first and the button for depower is easily accessed at all times. While it’s a big shift from the systems we have come to know, seamless controls like this are the future of the sport. The ratchet knob built into the bar end is easy to grab a hold of and easy to rotate once you have some familiarity with it and works while kiting with easy tuning on the fly. The Click Bar also integrates two visual indicators that reveal the power position the bar is set to; one is located on the bar itself, moving left to right, and the second is a small red indicator on the leader line for the right outside line. You don’t realize how you visually assess the trim strap’s position until it is gone, so these visual indicators are actually a very nice feature. Compared to other systems, the mechanics of Duotone’s Click Bar is entirely closed, which means you won’t be washing it out. The Click Bar features retractable bar bungees, soft bar ends with integrated floats, a fairly dense EVA grip that feels asymmetrical in your palm with subtle raised bumps between your fingers, and a very comfortable stamp pattern running the entire length of the bar. This year the colorway gets more subdued with overall gray and white tones mixed with red highlights to ensure visual awareness for polarity.
Visit for more info on the bar: www.duotonesports.com/kiteboarding/bars/click-bar/