Slingshot 2016 SST compared to SS 2012 Rally - Madison, Wi.

bob · Since 09 Mar 2007 137 Posts Madison, Wi Stoked

A little history.

I run a kite dealership in Madison, Wi....USA and have been in the business for over 10 years. Riding 15 and have had the pleasure to know and meet many of you.

I like a lot of kites on the market, but love very few. I'm tough on my suppliers when needed and I've been holding on to my 2012 Rally quiver for years due to not finding any other kite I've tried that I like better than the 2012 Rally in WAVES or super aggressive riding.

Each year, I have between 25-30 demo and school kites. Most are demos and I sell them off every year. Except my 2012 Rally's. Those green bags are still in my mix. THEY ARE NOW ALL UP FOR SALE. See why below.....

We've been on Slingshot's tail for years to bring back the 2012 Rally. They said they were making a new wave kite for 2016, so I was stoked, but also skeptical.

I'll get to the review and comparison soon.

I had a chance to try a prototype SST a while back and was impressed, but gave it a 4 out of 5. It wasn't quite finished.

I was still skeptical and told Neil H., that I'm skeptical and he said, "trust me Bob."

I had a chance this week to ride the 10m - 2 times, 8m and 6m all in a few days back to back to back. First I lent the 10m to a friend. I let him try it straight out of the bag, while I was training someone else. He's one of the better riders in the area and also loves the 2012's. So I'm a little nervous wondering if he's going to like it.

He comes back and basically says...."take my money."

Ok.....so if he's impressed, I need to try this kite. I let a second person try it and he loves it. I take it out and after riding it for 10 minutes, I'm screaming and yelling with no-one near me knowing I can NOW SELL MY 2012's. I found my new wave kite.

So here is the comparison. All of the riding was on our lakes, but I/we can tell a lot even when not on a powered wave.

In order of importance to me:

1) Turning speed. 2016 SST is Fast. Not quick, but Fast turning. Quick is good....Fast is great. The faster the better as far as I'm concerned. 6m and 8m are lightning fast. Similar to 2012 Rally. Check.

2) Turning radius. 2016 SST is more of a pivot turn if you need or arcing if you back off of the bar movements. Smother than 2012 Rally. Check.

3) Drifting. Holy mother. This kite drifts with no flutter at all and once reengaged, doesn't all of a sudden pull your arms off. Much better than 2012 Rally.
*Side note: Some kites will loose the ability to steer if the bar is pushed out all the way or heavily depowered. Not this kite. I could rip deep downwind and depower hard and control the kite with one hand with just a tad of upper hand pressure to keep it in place. Damn Neil.....you told me so and I'm a believer. Checkmate. I'm done and convinced this kite rocks. The rest is gravy.

4) Stability. Huh? Stable to me usually means boring. Not on this kite. It's not only stable, but it doesn't flutter at all. I think it made a little noise once when I was doing a tack transition on my surf board and downlooped it right through the power zone, but not much at all. Much better than 2012 Rally.

5) Jumping? Can't tell you myself because I only rode it with the surf board, but the other guys really liked it.

6) Relaunch. 2012 Rally might be a tad better just due to a rounder leading edge curve, but the SST is excellent. I haven't had a chance to try in lighter winds.

7) Pull and power. The 2016 SST has more pull than I expected. I'd say similar to the 2012 Rally's, but the larger size 2012's probably have a little better overall low end. Just a guess. The kite has a really consistent pull and absorbs gusts much much better than the 2012's.

Cool

Depower. The SST has a lot of depower, and I had no problem doing tack transitions with this kite. On some kites....2016 Rally's.....will pull too hard with the kite overhead when tacking. Not the SST....easy to do tacks. On our last day of riding, I was riding the 10m Lit....no problem, but should have been on an 8m. Went to 8m and was lit...no problem. Should have been on the 6m. Went to the 6m and was lit once again. Geez....this kite handles gusts like a champ.

For the first time, all my 2012 Rally's are now up for sale.

The SST is not only a phenomenal wave riding kite, but will excel in aggressive freestyle and freeriding.

The SST at first glance it looks like an RPM, but with a lot of the characteristics of the 2012 Rally.

It has a super simple short bridle and can't wait to try it also on my Alien Air foil board soon.

Any negatives? Not sure yet. Self inflating kites would be nice. I'll add something negative if I come up with it.

Since I'm a dealer, take it for what it's worth, but I'm also a critical rider.

Let me know if anyone wants any of these bad boys or wants to try them as a demo.

As always, buy with confidence from an Authorized dealer....hopefully me/us.

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

FlyDunes · Since 09 Oct 2007 1034 Posts Aloha XTreme Poster

Thanks for the informative post.

How about sizing?

Is the true size similar to the 2012 (12M is really 12M) or the 2015 (12M is pretty much a 14M)?

toddjb · Since 16 Oct 2007 271 Posts MD Obsessed

bob · Since 09 Mar 2007 137 Posts Madison, Wi Stoked

The 2016 SST is similar in sizing to the RPM's. 2015 and 2016 Rally's will be more powerful in each size without a doubt.

The SST isn't underpowered though, it's just the 2015 and 2016 Rally's are just powerful little mothers. Know what I mean?

I have some pics I'll post today showing side by side with 2012 Rally and 2016 SST.

bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

toddjb · Since 16 Oct 2007 271 Posts MD Obsessed

FlyDunes · Since 09 Oct 2007 1034 Posts Aloha XTreme Poster

Pete · Since 29 Oct 2007 834 Posts Opinionated

bob · Since 09 Mar 2007 137 Posts Madison, Wi Stoked

I have a bunch of pictures trying to post on here, but it's not working. I have one that shows the 2012 Rally, 2016 Rally and 2016 SST laid out over each other and they are all the same size.

Here is a link to the kiteforum post and here is the link. I'll keep trying to post the pictures.

http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2389734&start=10

If anyone wants to see any comparison's from a different perspective, let me know.

I put the 2026 Rally on top of the 2016 SST on top of the 2012 Rally and they all look like 10m sizes. Nothing stands out as being a lot larger or smaller at all.

Hope this helps.

Bob

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1804 Posts XTreme Poster

I have a love affair with the SST's. I come from RPM's since 2009, though I did own a 2011 Rally 10m which I loved, except that it would distort very badly on me if I looped it hard, which I enjoy doing, so I sold it (I'm 190 lbs).

For strapless riding I like the SST's more than the RPM's for the reasons outlined at the top of this thread. I do notice that the SST has less upwind ability than the RPM, which is in turn less than the Rally. So, be prepared to do a few extra reaches if you're traveling upwind. Worth the trade-off? Absolutely!

Eric

bigjohn · Since 13 Mar 2012 663 Posts Addicted

toddjb · Since 16 Oct 2007 271 Posts MD Obsessed

bob · Since 09 Mar 2007 137 Posts Madison, Wi Stoked

bob · Since 09 Mar 2007 137 Posts Madison, Wi Stoked

Ok....first off, can someone please help me post pics on the nwkite forum? I tried taking pics from my phone and then posting....doesn't work. Tried again from my computer...doesn't work. Maybe it's safari, but I just upgraded to the newest operating system, etc. I'll try it on Firefox. Any other thoughts?

I was able to post easily the comparison pics of the Slingshot 2012 Rally on top of the Slingshot 2016 Rally on kite forum and here is that thread, but it should be easy to do here also.

http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2389734&start=10

Above is the link to the kite forum thread with new pictures showing the comparison to the Slingshot 2012 Rally on top of the Slingshot 2016 Rally.

In my humble opinion, they are very close to the same size in the critical areas that generate power. You'll see that there's more surface area to the 2016 Rally in the wing tips, but that portion doesn't generate much if any power. The middle of the kite is slightly larger, but not much at all.

Hope this helps.....Bob

bigjohn · Since 13 Mar 2012 663 Posts Addicted

toddjb · Since 16 Oct 2007 271 Posts MD Obsessed

I finally got to ride my Wave SST 10M in good wind. It was awesome! I really liked the kite. I found it comparable in wind range to my 9M Rally. I had no issues with the lowend of it as I launched in 18-22mph wind and flew it until the wind died and folks were coming in, but I was still able to jump.

I unfortunately didn't get to take it in the waves, but for a flat kite session, no complaints here. I found it jumped just fine. For me, it jumped just liked an RPM. So, different than a Rally, but no complaints.

So yeah, I was pleasantly surprised...
Read concerns about jumping online, and found it jumped just fine.
Read concerns about the lowend, found it had plenty.
You really have to demo this kite.

Bar pressure, turning speed, all good. Very well behaved.

Does anyone have the 12M? Would love to hear the lowend of that. Could be a nice big kite to own.

Also got to try the new Sentinel Bar. I bought it for the below the bar swivel, which worked perfectly for me. Loved it. I missed not having a stopper ball. The safety release is redesigned and very rugged looking. I did several test releases to safety. It was a little harder for me to re-engage the CL than on the old butter box, but I was able to do it. I think I have to practice that more on land. Bar end bungee and line keeper velcro is a welcome addition. Above the bar depower is very smooth and easy to pull in or release. Very solid construction all around.

voy-tech · Mon Aug 31, 15 8:17 am

ulx · Since 21 Nov 2008 16 Posts

It´s very convenient to use the cleat as a stopper, works well.

Have you seen this?