Advance Scorpio 16.5M

Advance skorpio 16.5m

05 tube kite, 5th line equipped

Advance once shone brightly in the foil kite world, the attention to detail and sweet flying characteristics of their designs earning them great respect, even if not a huge market share in the UK

Despite their low profile today, Advance are busy creating new designs to compete in the most demanding sector of the kite world - tube kites. A brave move for a company whos presence is so discreet in the UK as to appear almost shadowy...or perhaps, secretive

I have owned my Skorpios for a little under 3 months, and tested them in sub zero conditions in Norfolk through to soaring humid temps in south East Asia via sub tropical conditions in Florida. They have been flown inland, on the beach and in the water in smooth wind thermals and gusty fronts - here are my findings from these varied sessions

Packaging and build quality

The bag is functional and red, and a little Spartan. Really nothing fancy. The kite fortunately proudly flies the flag of the legendary advance quality. Touted by the company as the toughest wave riding kite on the market, the skorpio is verging on the overbuilt. Great news for those of us who are a little heavy handed and can't replace our quiver every six months. Individual psi pressures are stamped on each strut and the pump is supplied with a pressure gauge. Grab handles in the middle and at each end of the leading edge help with carrying and self rescue with an inflated kite. All stitching is typically 'bomber' as they say. I am not that experienced in textiles though and for me the real nature of the Skorpio construction reveals itself in the flying.

Bar and lines

60cm bar with this one - perhaps a little long and I found the 50cm bar worked just great. The bar has a very smooth trim adjuster - even when under load - and the power line to the chicken loop is sleeved to prevent fraying. The back lines each have their own trim adjusters too - so that you can fine tune the kite whilst it is flying. The fifth line runs through a cleat on the underside of the trim strap, and is reverse tapered meaning you can manipulate the fifth line on the fly - effectively further depowering the kite

The lines are some of the best I have seen - hardly any memory and resistant to tangles and twists. All colour coded, with loops and knots attachment points to avoid confusion. The lines have stoppers stitched into them, meaning you can run the leash on the fifth, power, or back line as you wish with no faffing stopper balls required. The real beauty is the line lengths - 23m but with 4m extension attached - giving 27m lines.

Along with the usual multitude of pig tail attachments on the kite altering speed and depower, there are enough set up and control options to suit the fussiest kiters in the most changeable conditions

In the air

The Skorpio is designed to create pop rather than lift. The analogy here would be to imagine taking a swift kick up the arse to reach the top floor of a building, rather than an elevator. I found when jumping with this kite that the initial launch would resemble being shot from a cannon, followed by a weightless floaty hangtime and glidey descent. This really helps with unhooked riding as the kite isn’t trying to escape your grasp allowing for one handed tricks. The lift and hangtime of the skorpio are as you may expect from a paraglider manufacturer...Send this kite hard and you WILL GO UP! I found that by keeping the kite a little higher in the window than with other kites, and then redirecting hard to the other side of the window I could best exploit the pop effect of the skorpio

Turning speed

For a big kite, the 16.5m skorpio is so quick to turn. It responds very quickly to commands and is easy to position and redirect even after lower jumps. With the bar pulled sheeted right in, or when flying unhooked, the kite will loop very quickly - and with hardly any power. I have felt much more comfortable going for kite loops with this larger kite than I have with other smaller kites – that said, the ability to pull massive powered spine bending loops is lying just under the surface…as can be witnessed on the Skorpio videos on the Advance website.

Cruising

Although the skorpio might not have the same upper wind range of say an ARC, the usefulness of it’s depower is probably greater. Often kites will not fly great at the extremes of their trim - regardless of wind speed, and seldom can you make proper use of the extremes of the trim strap during the course of one session. With the skorpio I have enjoyed sessions with the kite fully depowered, unhooking and trying new stuff. Next I would fully power the kite up and try to hang on as the brutal power built up with the increasing speed. My experience till this point of fully powering kites and trying to ride would result in back stall, or no real increase in power. And at the other end, fully depowered, I had experienced floppy slack steering and no bar pressure. Advance have succeeded in producing a kite that really utilises the depower concept, no back stall fully powered and good bar pressure and steering when depowered – the Skorpio flies very well on its back lines.

Repower

Further to the effectiveness of the trim strap, sheeting the bar in and out while riding has a more pronounced effect than I have found with other kites. When hitting a lull, pulling the Skorpio’s bar in will honestly get you through it. Likewise in a gust, letting the bar out a couple of inches you can almost feel the wind spill from the back of the Skorpio, letting you ride smoothly onwards. Sounds like an obvious requirement for a depower kite, but I know I have flown a few that don't manage this.

Conclusion

The Skorpio is a high end product. It has been designed to meet the demands of very accomplished and progressive riders (I certainly don't explore the potential of this kite!). It has been built to withstand crashing in heavy surf and perform in winds at the upper extreme of its range. The Skorpio retains its shape and composure superbly in the air, delivering smooth but incredible power throughout the window. Lift and hang time are sublime. The turning speed is very rapid. The build of the kite and its components are so thorough and solid that I feel safe when pushing my limits that a line won’t snap or the canopy tear even when under load.

The Skorpio is the serious tool that we should expect from a company like Advance kites. I have yet to find flaw with it, I’m sure the kite will always be way beyond me. with the Skorpio, Advance have served to illuminate a gaping void between rush job bandwagonesque designs that are tested post production on the public, and companies such as themselves who are striving to craft the most effective, strongest kites - albeit at the expense of market share and unit sales.

For those that remember or indeed own an Advance foil and have been wondering what the company will offer next, I would urge you to get a fly on the Skorpio. The kite retains the smooth, quality feel of the older foils (while being completely progressive within the LEI field), and gives the flyer a curious feeling of one-upmanship when on the beach. It costs a little more than you might wish to pay for a new kite, but good windy days are too short and too far between to not fly the best!

Author : Skyhooked