Go see choicey and demo one

It's a bow and it's a fast "C". It's bipolar!! It's schizoid!! It's "ACDC"!! It's... it's... it's... the damn thing is bisexual!!

If only you didn't have to change the rigging to get the difference. (It's like taking your girlfriend out when she's dressed like a man with a painted mustache!)[OK... OK... so I only did it once and she went home with some other fella, but he was a **** I tell ya! Biatch!]

Brilliant kite, well made, and widely diversified range of use. What more could you ask for? (Except maybe, a tad cheaper.)

i tryed the 15 link, i found it slow turning and pretty much rode like an 18c. i found the bar set up to be great (best yet).
ive now swaped it for a 12 which i think should be a great kite.

Has anyone tryed a 12 yet???????

Hey nice one guys, thanks. Yeah I spoke to a few people regarding it, i fly a 12m Turbo D, the kite is awesome, so i was curious whether the Link was one up on that, ive been told the TD still proved the better kite. I'll just hav to get out there n fly one!

yep - mine kept looking like it was going to flip inside out.
slingshot have recommended flying it in 5th line mode until R&D have issued a fix.

The link flyes better with 5 lines, although if you want it for freestyle. After several updates from slingshot, it keeps flying better. Can't wait to get my hands on the new Fuel !

First ride of the Link 12 Set up as a bow was in Gusty Northerly winds 15-25knts, I put up the Link and It seemed a little underpowered, and Near impossible to re-launch. Inverted plenty of times. NO FUN. Got my arse dragged about a Kilometer down the beach. Cracked the ****s , went in and put up my 12m switchblade and was powered and going fine . Still ended up having some fun.

The Next 3 times I rode it in 15 Knot Seebreeze. Kite doesn't seem to have any power. Swaped it for another one to try. This one was set up Better, but similar Problems. Finally I have worked out the relaunch. You need to swim toward the kite, Lay it on its back first, then pull on the outside line. while balance pressure Sheet in and out on the bar , to get the water out of the Leading edge of kite - then up it goes. It seems that the 'Kink' in the leading edge catches a lot of water and stops it launching cleanly (When in the Water). You have to wiggle it out. Another thing that sucks - is The Kite Flies past the window so fast. It needs to be 's' d non stop to keep it where you want it. It will fly so far ahead of you that it will invert if your not on to it. Bar Pressure is Light and Very Nice. All in all - I DONT WANT ONE. Haven't tried it with 5th Line. But I don't want another line anyway. Why'd they release a kite that needs Fixes??? Its been in the shop more than in the air.

All sounds like your better off with fuels. Slingy cant seem to got thier bows right ???

I flew the 9m Link, thought it was pretty good. Good feel, snappy turns, steady power, And the bar setup is the mutts nuts, Wicked sliding stopper for setting your power range at an easy touch. Best Slingy bar n line setup yet!

Gotta laugh at this quote from MarkSills:

Finally I have worked out the relaunch. You need to swim toward the kite, Lay it on its back first, then pull on the outside line. while balance pressure Sheet in and out on the bar , to get the water out of the Leading edge of kite

Thats the general principal of relaunching most kites.. Not unique to the new Link...

Thanks Dave, Hi Flier must work for Slingshot. Obviously he and they - know 0 about Bow kites.
Every 'bow' kite i've flown instantly launches by pulling the outside line. (In any position roughly downwind of the wind window). My old Fuel had to be on its back first - Then across to the edge to relauch. Great kite, But that seemed like the dark ages.

Why is the Link sold rigged as a 'Bow' kite. What a joke. Waiting for the 5 line set up...

I did say the principal of relanunching 'MOST' kites, yes I fly slingshot, and yes I fly C kites, but I have flown a couple of bow kites too...

If its marketed as a hybrid kite, then why do you assume that it should relaunch like a bow, and not a C? It has the properties of both and therefore might have some of the relaunch characteristics of both!

I meant no offence to anyone, it just seemed like an obvious comment on relaunching a kite- which the rest of us have known and been doing for as long as leading edge inflatable kites have been on the water!!

It is no revelation that a kite needs to be flipped on its back before you can relaunch it.

See you out there, hopefully with your kite in the sky and lovin it!!

i think slingy should replace our money till they fix the prob

well i cant sell my link 12 (even trying to give it away) so im going to try and work out the lines... im hoping its going to have more pop, last time it was ****, good wind and i couldnt get any height.
if any one knows any diff ways to make this kite preform better please tell me.
to tell you the truth im a bit disapointed about the kite, slingy have a good rep and i thought this kite was going to be it for me replacing my 06 14 rino. oh well not yet.

cheers peoples

quote:

---

Originally posted by finx

well i cant sell my link 12 (even trying to give it away) so im going to try and work out the lines... im hoping its going to have more pop, last time it was ****, good wind and i couldnt get any height.
if any one knows any diff ways to make this kite preform better please tell me.
to tell you the truth im a bit disapointed about the kite, slingy have a good rep and i thought this kite was going to be it for me replacing my 06 14 rino. oh well not yet.

cheers peoples

---

Finx, here's my post from the gear review section a while back...

It is very unfortunate that this kite does not perform particularly well straight "out of the bag" but requires a certain amount of tuning. Not at all good from a newby's point of view...

I have a 9m that I very quickly converted to 5 line and after some relatively simple tweaking of line lengths I am very happy with it. It has gone from virtually no pop/lift to now having a very good amount of lift and hang time in jumps (similar to my old 10m Airush Lift). The bar pressure has also increased from absolutely nothing to something I'm more comfortable with, without being heavy, and the active stopper is just brilliant as I'm used to riding against the knot on my old "C" kites.

In the 5 line configuration the kite is very fast and stable and I have managed to kite in winds around the 15-16 knot mark on a 130cm twin tip (my weight 75kgs) by working the kite and generating apparent wind. In fact it is the only kite I have flown since buying it 3 weeks ago.

Kite construction cannot be questioned it is the highest quality that I have seen and as it is my first one-pump I now realise what all the SS riders have been raving about. I pump it to at least 10 and even 11 psi.

Slingshots R&D team are currently working on a mod for the 4 line bridle setup http://www.sskiteboarding.com/marqui/News_Releases/news10150601.aspx

I did email them and they replied, to their credit almost immediately!, with the following:

Hello from the Gorge!

Yes, we have had problems regarding the Link and how it over fly's its self and as of this moment the R&D team is in the finishing end of making a new 4-line bridle kit. The new kit will fix the over flying, jelly fishing and will help in reverse launching. Also, it will set the kite back in the window instead of so far in front, adds in decreasing maple leafing "falling out of the sky". Basically every thing you told me will be fixed; it will turn your Link into the Link it was suppose to be. The only problem is that the kits won't be in for another couple weeks but they are on full speed ahead at the factory.

I suggest you convert it to 5 line and make use of the supplied line extensions (4 grey ones each about 8-10cm long) to adjust your line lengths.

For the 9m I ended up adding a single extension to each of the front lines and also to the 5th line. I connect the rear lines one knot higher than the front lines and adjust the tension on the 5th so that it has just a very slight amount of slack when the bar is fully sheeted.

oh and if you have been unlucky enough to have the new link, dont bother trying to contact the slingshot representitive in australia about getting the code red bridal fix they are going to issue.
he's in hiding.....