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Sizes Available: 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, 21m
Sizes Tested: 8, 10m

Flysurfer Says:

Break boundaries with the ultimate all-rounder! The legendary flight characteristics paired with the highest level of user-friendliness offer maximum performance for every style. Sporty or comfortable, a kite that takes your riding to the next level. The SOUL offers confidence-inspiring stability, intuitive handling, maximum durability, and lasting value for many years. Always choose the right kite and make your free time pure enjoyment!

Visit for more info: https://flysurfer.com/project/soul2/

TKB Says:

When it comes to reliability, the Soul brings to the table all the benefits of ram air kites while chiseling away at the more challenging characteristics that typically steer LEI kiters from foils. Four years after the Soul’s debut, Flysurfer is now releasing its second update to the kite that has stolen hearts and minds in light wind spots around the world. With incredible power generation and crisp steering response, the Soul is a great first step into the foil world.

Inflation Valve: Not applicable – self-inflating foil
Flying Line Attachments: Center bridle: Knot / Wingtip bridle: knot
Centerline Split: Low-V
Front Bridle Options: Single setting

Design and Features
This year Flysurfer made subtle changes to the geometry in the Soul’s wingtips while adding a new system for draining water out of the internal baffles as well as the introduction of a new fabric that is intended to beef up the design’s durability with a slightly higher weight. The bridle and mixers where the leading edge and trailing edge risers come together are largely the same with some minor color changes but the bridle cordage seems to be slightly thinner. Since the Soul is a closed-cell foil kite, you can pre-inflate the kite by putting the leading edge into the wind and allowing wind to enter the leading edge vents that capture air. This gives the kite its shape and ensures it will remain floating on the water for relaunches. When you’re done kiting there are two Velcro flaps on the trailing edge that can be opened up to release the air and pack down the kite.

Impressions
Often times when you hot launch a foil kite you have to wait for the air to distribute from the center baffles out to the wingtips for the kite to be fully inflated. Sometimes you have to stall the kite by over-sheeting and then let it accelerate to the zenith to help that process. It seemed like the Soul v2 had quicker and easier inflation with the wingtips filling out much faster without any intervention. The first thing we noticed about the updated Soul was the light to medium bar pressure that feels really comfortable. By foil standards, the bar pressure might be a little bit more than higher-performing kites, but compared to a standard LEI, the bar pressure feels really light and easy on your arms, with the bar pressure ratcheting up the closer the bar gets to fully sheeted. Rocketing upwind feels amazingly easy and casual, with the power generation coming from apparent wind. While the Soul doesn’t deliver the sheet and go feel of a progression inflatable, it does do a great job of powering up as soon as the kite starts moving through the wind and/or you start building board speed. The Soul v2 is very similar to the v1 in terms of range and power but we thought the v2 had a little quicker steering response. The steering initiation is really crisp and the turning arc is quite tight when you get aggressive with the bar. If you grab the leader line and pull hard you can get the kite to spin in place, which allows you to be as aggressive with the kite flying as you want. For jumping, the Soul seems to take a little bit less adjustment coming from LEI kites to get optimal boosting power out of the design. The steering is sufficiently intuitive that we began sending good-sized airs when people were walking upwind on the beach with their surfboards.

Typically foil kites are happier being flown on the edge of the window, but we really enjoyed carving our hydrofoil with the wind, looping and sweeping the Soul through the middle of the window with incredible drift and turning control. Zenith stability was super reliable with the Soul; the kite didn’t overfly the window and would float through the biggest lulls. While messing around we managed to invert the kite where it folded itself in mid-air, but every time we were able to get the kite flying either in the air or with a quick relaunch on the water. Surrounded by cold water and big sharks, we never got very comfortable with crashing the foil in the water, but every time, the Soul stayed inflated and reliably powered up a tip to pull itself out of the water.

Overall, the Soul v2 is true to the Soul v1 with durability and inflation being the biggest changes. The highlights are its low-end pulling power which reclaims the fun factor in light wind sessions and the super comfortable bar dynamics that make handling that power feel light and responsive. While we’re not ready to ditch our LEIs for wave riding, the Soul is eye-opening for light wind twin tip sessions and sending big airs.

Featured Control Bar
Flysurfer’s Force bar received a complete redesign last year and returns with a solid blend of function and comfort in a clean package. The Force comes in three different dual adjustment length sizes; small, medium and large (small 40-48cm, medium 47-55cm and large 55-63cm). The bar features single centerline depower with a double plastic-coated throw/power lines. The push away quick release features an above the bar swivel that also doubles as a quick-release guard, with the quick release being fairly easy to reassemble with two hands””just lift the gate, insert the loop, push down on a stainless tab with your thumb and let the gate slide back into place. The Force features a low V and a clam cleat power adjustment with a bungee built into the end of the power line so that the toggle stays relatively close. The bar features a nice EVA padded grip that offers a medium diameter grip that gets a little thicker towards the center. It has a plastic nylon replaceable center insert which features a smooth transition between the insert and the grip to avoid any discomfort. The grip has a rubbery feel with an indented pattern that is somewhat firm but good for attaining a good balance of grip. The bar ends have integrated foam floats and the option to adjust the effective bar length by pushing in the triangle buttons and pulling out a plastic tab on the bottom of the bar and swapping the insert’s orientation as well as choosing one of three knots to tune the length of your outside lines. It’s also got bungees that stow away but are easy to access and keep the lines nice and clean. The flying lines on the Force bar are crisp and thin which feel efficient through the air. Both outside steering lines and inside lines end in larks heads, so there’s no foolproof connection scheme. The Force’s control bar features add comfort, durability and safety for a top-of-the-line system that rings in at a nice light to medium weight that feels good in your hands.

Visit for more info on the bar: www.flysurfer.com/project/force-control-bar/

 

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