Comparison: Gin Spirit vs Little Cloud Pelican
A question that has been coming up more and more is what is the difference between the Gin Spirit and the Little Cloud Pelican, and which kite would be better for me?
After spending significant time on both kites, its apparent there are some noticeable differences. Each kite excels at at what it was designed to do and its worth knowing what those things are, especially if your are trying to decide between the two.
So which kite is better?
After spending time on both kites one thing is clear: these are two very capable kites, but designed with significantly different objectives in mind. Interestingly, at the surface level it might seem like the kite designs are the same: both are closed-cell, designed to excel at foilboarding as well as snowkiting. Once you get beyond that, things diverge. The Spirit was designed with Big Air clearly being a top criteria - a kite that is going to be massively fun for mountain boarders, freestylers and water fanatics. For the Pelican on the other hand, the water element is still there but it's obvious there is a heavier emphasis on back-country mountain performance. The result is two markedly different kites, each excellent at what it was designed for.
I'll offer up a couple talking points to consider, and the resulting differences in design.
1. Wing curvature
One of Tom Bourdeau's signature design features that is evident in kites including the Pelican is a pretty radical curvature and C-shape to the planform. The Spirit has a much flatter projected area than the Pelican. This gives the Spirit better lift and boosting ability. What the higher C-shape of the Pelican does is make for a quick-turning kite with a more powered, carving-type turn. This becomes important for a kite that is designed to spend a lot of time looping and pulling a person up a mountain. Tight, powered loops are really important on steep slopes where you need lots of power continuously and your available wind window is compressed by the sloping terrain.
The different power these two kites produce in the turn ended up being more noticeable than I was expecting. On the Pelican, as you loop the kite the power stays near-constant and you almost get this kind of satellite/slingshot effect. So far the feeling that I've got on the Spirit is that the power falls off during the turn but builds very nicely on the exit. If you pull the bar all the way back while turning the Spirit, it results in a pinwheel turn with very little power. This can be advantageous in some circumstances once you learn how to use it; for example it can be nice to spin the kite quickly with minimal power and have it shoot out in a specific direction. The power-while-looping of the Pelican seems a little more intuitive for most - simply pull the bar back more for more power and push out for less. The Spirit will be a little more nuanced in that you will actually want to push the bar quite a ways forward to achieve a powered, carving turn; this also results in a larger turning circle. As a result, the Pelican will deliver more power in a tighter turn radius than the Spirit which is beneficial for mountain ascents. Any disadvantage in this regard on the side of the Spirit is repurposed as overall improved lift and Pop of the kite.
The Spirit also has more general power as it moves straight thru the power zone. I've found that the 12m Spirit produces a little better power for getting up and out of the water in a single power stroke when foiling in light winds for example. For similar marginal winds, you may need to add an additional loop with the 13m Pelican to get up and riding.
2. To Stiffen or Not to Stiffen
The Gin Spirit has a much more technical leading edge than the LC Pelican, with stiffeners that go the entire span. This creates a really clean leading edge profile. Once the kite decides to grab, it accellerates very quickly through the wind window, developing lots of lift quickly. This translates into a strong surge of lift and excellent Pop - exactly the sort of thing you are looking for in a Big Air kite.
The Pelican on the other hand has no stiffeners. This has been a deliberate choice by the designer for years now, and it does a couple of things. First, it makes it really easy to pack the kite away with very little fuss. It makes the kite lighter, more compact, and more stuff-able since you don't have to worry about deformation or damage to the battens. The other thing it does is offer some inherent stability and overshoot prevention to the kite. As the kite gets close to the edge of the wind window, it tends to lose a bit of internal pressure and the leading edge deforms a bit. This deformation decreases lift and increases drag - making it harder for the kite to overshoot. All this does of course come at the expense of some Pop performance. But if you are designing a mountain kite, you might be ok with that; in fact, you might actually want that. The bottom line is that the lack of stiffeners in the Pelican has nothing to do with lack of quality, but conversely a very intentional system optimization designed to make the entire backcountry kiting experience more enjoyable.
Because of the cleaner leading edge of the Spirit, it takes any hint of increased wind and translates it into forward motion. As a result I've noticed that the Pelican does a slightly better job of just sitting back and hanging out in very light and variable conditions. The Spirit will do a little more hunting and want to possibly be redirected a little earlier so tha it doesn't overshoot. But the sorts of winds we're talking about are very light - the kind most people would not want to be kiting in to begin with. Both kites do an excellent job in light wind. The cleaner leading edge of the Spirit means it is going to be faster and have better upwind ability (although upwind ability of the Pelican is very good).
I really like the Pop and performance of the Spirit, particularly on water and in light wind conditions on snow. I also like how it develops speed and just feels so solid in the air. Its a really tight kite. With that said, it is not a kite I see myself taking into the mountains as much. Between the nicely formed battens that I am just a little more nervous about warping, and the more agressive lift of the kite - it has me a little more on edge in really gusty conditions. Keep in mind this has nothing to do with stability. The Spirit is a very stable kite. In some ways, it may be more stable and more rigid than the Pelican. But stability doesn't always equate to comfortability. The solidity and rigidity of the Spirit mean that it will come shooting out of a collaspe with quite a bit of power. There is something about the smooth, slightly more muted power delivery of the Pelican that leaves me feeling very comfortable in gusts. Even after getting schwacked and having the kite fold up, rarely do I worry about the surge when it re-opens - it just feels really controllable and like it doesn't want to kill you. For the same sort of wind, I'm pretty sure I'd find myself punching the safety on the Spirit, or risk doing the Superman as the kite unfolds with a monsterous surge.
This same agressive power spike on the Spirit is going to be exactly what makes it more desirable for others. Here in the US the simple fact is that most people are doing more water riding, oand/r more park-and-ride snowkiting on terrain that is not super-exposed or super steep. I would have to say that these sorts of conditions would tend to favor the Spirit.
Conclusions
There may be a useful analagy in the paragliding world for these two kites. In paragliding, there is often the desire to get better and better performing wings as you progress. Some have realized however that, depending on conditions, a slightly more forgiving wing may actually be better - as it reduces pilot workload and allows them to enjoy the flying more. Some have even found that they are getting better overall performance from lower-performing wings that are easier to handle - espeically when they are in more demanding environment. This very well could hold true in kiting as well, where the Pelican could be considered a high-ENB wing, and the Spirit would be a Low-C (the Flymaax Instinct would be a solid C and the Boom would be a D). But many folks will have the ability and everyday conditions to absolutely take advantage of all of the performance that the Spirit has to offer, and then some; and be happier with that choice.
So which is the better kite? The answer is, it really depends on what you are looking for. The perfect person for the LC Pelican is someone who wants a kite that they can use on water, that has some fun lift and float, but that also performs really, really well for back-country skin-ins and technical tour; providing more speed, lift and efficiency than a single skin kite. The Spirit on the other hand is going to be great for the person who spends more time on water, and who does mostly Park-and-Ride snowkite riding. Its also going to favor the person who loves sending it and going big wherever they are - land or water. Both are really great kites for slightly different tastes.
Anyhoo, hopefully that his helpful for someone. Let me know if you have any other questions!
After spending significant time on both kites, its apparent there are some noticeable differences. Each kite excels at at what it was designed to do and its worth knowing what those things are, especially if your are trying to decide between the two.
So which kite is better?
After spending time on both kites one thing is clear: these are two very capable kites, but designed with significantly different objectives in mind. Interestingly, at the surface level it might seem like the kite designs are the same: both are closed-cell, designed to excel at foilboarding as well as snowkiting. Once you get beyond that, things diverge. The Spirit was designed with Big Air clearly being a top criteria - a kite that is going to be massively fun for mountain boarders, freestylers and water fanatics. For the Pelican on the other hand, the water element is still there but it's obvious there is a heavier emphasis on back-country mountain performance. The result is two markedly different kites, each excellent at what it was designed for.
I'll offer up a couple talking points to consider, and the resulting differences in design.
1. Wing curvature
One of Tom Bourdeau's signature design features that is evident in kites including the Pelican is a pretty radical curvature and C-shape to the planform. The Spirit has a much flatter projected area than the Pelican. This gives the Spirit better lift and boosting ability. What the higher C-shape of the Pelican does is make for a quick-turning kite with a more powered, carving-type turn. This becomes important for a kite that is designed to spend a lot of time looping and pulling a person up a mountain. Tight, powered loops are really important on steep slopes where you need lots of power continuously and your available wind window is compressed by the sloping terrain.
The different power these two kites produce in the turn ended up being more noticeable than I was expecting. On the Pelican, as you loop the kite the power stays near-constant and you almost get this kind of satellite/slingshot effect. So far the feeling that I've got on the Spirit is that the power falls off during the turn but builds very nicely on the exit. If you pull the bar all the way back while turning the Spirit, it results in a pinwheel turn with very little power. This can be advantageous in some circumstances once you learn how to use it; for example it can be nice to spin the kite quickly with minimal power and have it shoot out in a specific direction. The power-while-looping of the Pelican seems a little more intuitive for most - simply pull the bar back more for more power and push out for less. The Spirit will be a little more nuanced in that you will actually want to push the bar quite a ways forward to achieve a powered, carving turn; this also results in a larger turning circle. As a result, the Pelican will deliver more power in a tighter turn radius than the Spirit which is beneficial for mountain ascents. Any disadvantage in this regard on the side of the Spirit is repurposed as overall improved lift and Pop of the kite.
The Spirit also has more general power as it moves straight thru the power zone. I've found that the 12m Spirit produces a little better power for getting up and out of the water in a single power stroke when foiling in light winds for example. For similar marginal winds, you may need to add an additional loop with the 13m Pelican to get up and riding.
2. To Stiffen or Not to Stiffen
The Gin Spirit has a much more technical leading edge than the LC Pelican, with stiffeners that go the entire span. This creates a really clean leading edge profile. Once the kite decides to grab, it accellerates very quickly through the wind window, developing lots of lift quickly. This translates into a strong surge of lift and excellent Pop - exactly the sort of thing you are looking for in a Big Air kite.
The Pelican on the other hand has no stiffeners. This has been a deliberate choice by the designer for years now, and it does a couple of things. First, it makes it really easy to pack the kite away with very little fuss. It makes the kite lighter, more compact, and more stuff-able since you don't have to worry about deformation or damage to the battens. The other thing it does is offer some inherent stability and overshoot prevention to the kite. As the kite gets close to the edge of the wind window, it tends to lose a bit of internal pressure and the leading edge deforms a bit. This deformation decreases lift and increases drag - making it harder for the kite to overshoot. All this does of course come at the expense of some Pop performance. But if you are designing a mountain kite, you might be ok with that; in fact, you might actually want that. The bottom line is that the lack of stiffeners in the Pelican has nothing to do with lack of quality, but conversely a very intentional system optimization designed to make the entire backcountry kiting experience more enjoyable.
Because of the cleaner leading edge of the Spirit, it takes any hint of increased wind and translates it into forward motion. As a result I've noticed that the Pelican does a slightly better job of just sitting back and hanging out in very light and variable conditions. The Spirit will do a little more hunting and want to possibly be redirected a little earlier so tha it doesn't overshoot. But the sorts of winds we're talking about are very light - the kind most people would not want to be kiting in to begin with. Both kites do an excellent job in light wind. The cleaner leading edge of the Spirit means it is going to be faster and have better upwind ability (although upwind ability of the Pelican is very good).
I really like the Pop and performance of the Spirit, particularly on water and in light wind conditions on snow. I also like how it develops speed and just feels so solid in the air. Its a really tight kite. With that said, it is not a kite I see myself taking into the mountains as much. Between the nicely formed battens that I am just a little more nervous about warping, and the more agressive lift of the kite - it has me a little more on edge in really gusty conditions. Keep in mind this has nothing to do with stability. The Spirit is a very stable kite. In some ways, it may be more stable and more rigid than the Pelican. But stability doesn't always equate to comfortability. The solidity and rigidity of the Spirit mean that it will come shooting out of a collaspe with quite a bit of power. There is something about the smooth, slightly more muted power delivery of the Pelican that leaves me feeling very comfortable in gusts. Even after getting schwacked and having the kite fold up, rarely do I worry about the surge when it re-opens - it just feels really controllable and like it doesn't want to kill you. For the same sort of wind, I'm pretty sure I'd find myself punching the safety on the Spirit, or risk doing the Superman as the kite unfolds with a monsterous surge.
This same agressive power spike on the Spirit is going to be exactly what makes it more desirable for others. Here in the US the simple fact is that most people are doing more water riding, oand/r more park-and-ride snowkiting on terrain that is not super-exposed or super steep. I would have to say that these sorts of conditions would tend to favor the Spirit.
Conclusions
There may be a useful analagy in the paragliding world for these two kites. In paragliding, there is often the desire to get better and better performing wings as you progress. Some have realized however that, depending on conditions, a slightly more forgiving wing may actually be better - as it reduces pilot workload and allows them to enjoy the flying more. Some have even found that they are getting better overall performance from lower-performing wings that are easier to handle - espeically when they are in more demanding environment. This very well could hold true in kiting as well, where the Pelican could be considered a high-ENB wing, and the Spirit would be a Low-C (the Flymaax Instinct would be a solid C and the Boom would be a D). But many folks will have the ability and everyday conditions to absolutely take advantage of all of the performance that the Spirit has to offer, and then some; and be happier with that choice.
So which is the better kite? The answer is, it really depends on what you are looking for. The perfect person for the LC Pelican is someone who wants a kite that they can use on water, that has some fun lift and float, but that also performs really, really well for back-country skin-ins and technical tour; providing more speed, lift and efficiency than a single skin kite. The Spirit on the other hand is going to be great for the person who spends more time on water, and who does mostly Park-and-Ride snowkite riding. Its also going to favor the person who loves sending it and going big wherever they are - land or water. Both are really great kites for slightly different tastes.
Anyhoo, hopefully that his helpful for someone. Let me know if you have any other questions!