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KITEWORLD SUMMARY:
This kite is part of kiting's heritage. Six years of C kite development has left Slingshot with a serious weapon on their hands. If you are looking to ride a lot unhooked, make some radical kite loops and the like, are not too worried about full depower, then this is an absolute gem.
MANUFACTURER'S HYPE:
The Fuel kite has a legacy for innovation dating back to 2001. Over time the Fuel kite has achieved a legendary status of being number one. Slingshot believe over that time they've come to know their core Fuel riders; what they want and demand. Fuel riders worldwide require an expert level of performance, uncompromising power and unmatched durability to achieve top-level riding. These are the performance characteristics of the Slingshot Fuel. The Fuel is as unique as its riders. To ride a Fuel is the ultimate statement of power.
TEST TEAM NOTES:
GEORGE: Very imposing kite straight out the bag. Really nice graphic, perhaps purple wouldn't be my colour choice, but you really got the impression it was a mean kite and ready for action. I got excited about this one straight away.
SHINN: The construction's right up there with the normal Slingshot standards, and the bar looks the same as last year's to me.
GEORGE: Yep, again they've got the ideal one pump system and I guess there's truth in the old adage, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.”
NEAL: Bar-wise there's a nice, big chicken loop for unhooking; I think that gives a good indication for who this kite is aimed at.
GEORGE: The only problem I had with this kite was that the quick release was quite fiddly. You have to grasp a small button with your finger-tips and pull away from you to release it.
WILL: Awesome kite though, and really grunty. Whatever direction you point it in you know you'll be firing after it a second later! I really like the bar and the depower's not as good as the hybrids of course, but impressive nonetheless.
SHINN: Fantastic kite. Very fast, very precise. Hang-time is average but one of the best freestyle kites I've tried. Extremely light bar pressure when unhooked and the kite loops very fast indeed.
SIZES:
5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17m
Slingshot Fuel 9m (Appeared in Kiteworld in Apr/May 2007: Issue #26 - Super-C-kite Test)
www.sskiteboarding.com
This test is in issue #26
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