I have one 7m UL kite left for sale (weighs only 1.01 kg!). The 7m UL would be an amazing choice for a lighter rider looking for an excellent all-around performance machine, particularly for snowkitng. Sadly all the other sizes are sold out, but one lucky person remains out there somewhere.
The Pelican and Marabou 2 are currently the best all-around kites I sell. Interestingly, these two kites have a lot in common in terms of design targets. They were both designed to do really well in more extreme mountain environments, but also be excellent on water. Of the two, the Pelican has a more lift, hangtime and upwind efficiency and feels more efficient than the Marabou2. For a full review of the Pelican, go here.
Introducing the new Little Cloud Pelican Mk2
The new Pelican continues Little Cloud’s grand tradition of providing maximum playfulness and performance without being overly demanding or complex. The Pellcan is art in motion: clean lines, exceptional materials and top craftsmanship all come together to make a kite that is quite efficient while remaining incredibly stable and user-friendly. The lift on the Pelican II has also been enhanced: be prepared for grin-inducing boosts in all sizes with the super float and hangtime you'd expect from an veteran paraglider designer. Ton of fun on water too - whether you are twin-tipping or foilboarding. If you're looking for a kite that is going going to maximize fun on all surfaces, the Pelican is hard to beat.
From Tom at Little Cloud:
The Pelican Mk2 is a Ram-air kite focusing on fun!
For a couple of years now, Ram-air kites have been increasing in popularity, especially for those focused on performance. High aspect ratio kites offer amazing performance, but lack ease of use and forgiveness. These Kites are very demanding and very different from the classic tube kites.
The goal of the PelicanMk2 is to offer maximum performance and fun without any compromise on the ease of use and forgiveness. The aspect ratio of the new Pelican is moderate (5.3 to 5.7 depending on the size) – lower than the first version. The PelicanMk2 delivers very smooth and linear power, with a great low wind range, impressive upwind capacity, great depower and high level stability. The PelicanMk2 bites the wind and provides moderate bar pressure.
The PelicanMk2 is equipped with a special inlet valve system that allows more rapid inflation and deflation for land uses, maximizing the kites versatility and security. Cells are closed with 4 to 6 valves/socks. This system is designed to allow air to go in but not out. Should the kite fall on the water, it will float and allow the kiter to relaunch it. When you master the relaunching technique, you will be able to get the kite to fly again in no more than 4 knts and after some minutes (my record is 15mn). These valves can be deactivated for land and snow use. We have designed a very simple system to achieve this feature: the socks can be rolled and fixed with a series of velcro straps.
These kites have been fully redesigned, including materials selection and production facilities. The slightly heavier fabrics have been compensated through a great optimization of the structure. The Mk2 remains a very light and durable kite, very competitive with all the other lightweight kites available on the market.
3 sizes are available: 7, 10 and 13. The Kite is delivered in a quick bag.; no mixer test is required along the life span of the kites.
Just like the gliders I design and fly, I love great handling and don’t want to fear my wing in any conditions… This is how fun is possible! In kite design, I found out that the aspect ratio is not as problematic as on a paraglider, up to a certain limit. The PelicanMk2 aspect ratio is progressive from 5.3 on the 7 till 5.7 on the 13. This helps to keep a great performance/ease ratio. Low wind capacity is incredible. On my foilboard, with 25m of line, I can literally ride in 4 to 5knt on the lake near the office, with the 13m!
I use the same airfoil that I use on the LC glider range. The profile gives a positive momentum all the time which translates into a kite that is biting into the wind. A bit like when you fly a paraglider, on a kite you feel through your bar what the air is doing; helping to control your kite perfectly and take the most advantage of the wind. This is great especially when riding a foilboard or on the snow, you can exploit gusts and turn them into more speed or more tack (assuming you have a well behaved wing!).
Great Handling and stability are enhanced through the pretty unique high arch design. Past experience tells me that this is not affecting the performance and efficiency of the kite, as this arch keeps a large projected Aspect ratio!
It also allows the kite to keep pulling during narrow turns, perfect for creating power on the snow to climb up a hill or to get the foilboard in flying mode.
Unlike some other companies, we are not assembling the panels with glued seams. The kite is not 100% airproof, but from my 20 years experiences with standard seams, it’s absolutely no problem to relaunch a kite from the water, even when it starts to deflate a bit. We believe this improves durability by avoiding extra stress on the coating when packing the kites for example.
The Pelican is also not equipped with a “pressure release system” or “anti-blow out system”.
These systems add weight and complexity to the canopy, and ultimately we are not convinced that they are entirely effective. It’s important to bear in mind that any kite will get damaged if they hit the ground or water hard!
The Pelican Mk2 is made out of the best materials available to ensure durability. Weight is an important factor for handling and light wind capacity. The kites are built with a mix of 20D and 30D (35gr/41gr) to ensure optimum weight and resistance over the time. This provides great acceleration, direct handling, and good pitch stability.
Lines are made of unsheathed dyneema to improve strength and drag. The strength and material choice make the bridle almost maintenance free. No “mixer test” is required neither a bridle check over the time.
The bridles are highly optimized: fewer lines means less hassle, less drag (more performance/speed).
The mixer is setup with Orbit Ronstan pulley for great durability.
We don’t use nylon rods on the Leading Edge to maintain a profile shape. Our experience shows that these rods have quite a large effect on the stability of the kite, and give a pretty aggressive behavior in collapses, tip cravats…
We use the nose deformation of the profile when the bar is over sheeted to increase the stability. We didn’t notice a loss of performance in not having them on; it also saves weight!
The Pelican and Marabou 2 are currently the best all-around kites I sell. Interestingly, these two kites have a lot in common in terms of design targets. They were both designed to do really well in more extreme mountain environments, but also be excellent on water. Of the two, the Pelican has a more lift, hangtime and upwind efficiency and feels more efficient than the Marabou2. For a full review of the Pelican, go here.
Introducing the new Little Cloud Pelican Mk2
The new Pelican continues Little Cloud’s grand tradition of providing maximum playfulness and performance without being overly demanding or complex. The Pellcan is art in motion: clean lines, exceptional materials and top craftsmanship all come together to make a kite that is quite efficient while remaining incredibly stable and user-friendly. The lift on the Pelican II has also been enhanced: be prepared for grin-inducing boosts in all sizes with the super float and hangtime you'd expect from an veteran paraglider designer. Ton of fun on water too - whether you are twin-tipping or foilboarding. If you're looking for a kite that is going going to maximize fun on all surfaces, the Pelican is hard to beat.
From Tom at Little Cloud:
The Pelican Mk2 is a Ram-air kite focusing on fun!
For a couple of years now, Ram-air kites have been increasing in popularity, especially for those focused on performance. High aspect ratio kites offer amazing performance, but lack ease of use and forgiveness. These Kites are very demanding and very different from the classic tube kites.
The goal of the PelicanMk2 is to offer maximum performance and fun without any compromise on the ease of use and forgiveness. The aspect ratio of the new Pelican is moderate (5.3 to 5.7 depending on the size) – lower than the first version. The PelicanMk2 delivers very smooth and linear power, with a great low wind range, impressive upwind capacity, great depower and high level stability. The PelicanMk2 bites the wind and provides moderate bar pressure.
The PelicanMk2 is equipped with a special inlet valve system that allows more rapid inflation and deflation for land uses, maximizing the kites versatility and security. Cells are closed with 4 to 6 valves/socks. This system is designed to allow air to go in but not out. Should the kite fall on the water, it will float and allow the kiter to relaunch it. When you master the relaunching technique, you will be able to get the kite to fly again in no more than 4 knts and after some minutes (my record is 15mn). These valves can be deactivated for land and snow use. We have designed a very simple system to achieve this feature: the socks can be rolled and fixed with a series of velcro straps.
These kites have been fully redesigned, including materials selection and production facilities. The slightly heavier fabrics have been compensated through a great optimization of the structure. The Mk2 remains a very light and durable kite, very competitive with all the other lightweight kites available on the market.
3 sizes are available: 7, 10 and 13. The Kite is delivered in a quick bag.; no mixer test is required along the life span of the kites.
Just like the gliders I design and fly, I love great handling and don’t want to fear my wing in any conditions… This is how fun is possible! In kite design, I found out that the aspect ratio is not as problematic as on a paraglider, up to a certain limit. The PelicanMk2 aspect ratio is progressive from 5.3 on the 7 till 5.7 on the 13. This helps to keep a great performance/ease ratio. Low wind capacity is incredible. On my foilboard, with 25m of line, I can literally ride in 4 to 5knt on the lake near the office, with the 13m!
I use the same airfoil that I use on the LC glider range. The profile gives a positive momentum all the time which translates into a kite that is biting into the wind. A bit like when you fly a paraglider, on a kite you feel through your bar what the air is doing; helping to control your kite perfectly and take the most advantage of the wind. This is great especially when riding a foilboard or on the snow, you can exploit gusts and turn them into more speed or more tack (assuming you have a well behaved wing!).
Great Handling and stability are enhanced through the pretty unique high arch design. Past experience tells me that this is not affecting the performance and efficiency of the kite, as this arch keeps a large projected Aspect ratio!
It also allows the kite to keep pulling during narrow turns, perfect for creating power on the snow to climb up a hill or to get the foilboard in flying mode.
Unlike some other companies, we are not assembling the panels with glued seams. The kite is not 100% airproof, but from my 20 years experiences with standard seams, it’s absolutely no problem to relaunch a kite from the water, even when it starts to deflate a bit. We believe this improves durability by avoiding extra stress on the coating when packing the kites for example.
The Pelican is also not equipped with a “pressure release system” or “anti-blow out system”.
These systems add weight and complexity to the canopy, and ultimately we are not convinced that they are entirely effective. It’s important to bear in mind that any kite will get damaged if they hit the ground or water hard!
The Pelican Mk2 is made out of the best materials available to ensure durability. Weight is an important factor for handling and light wind capacity. The kites are built with a mix of 20D and 30D (35gr/41gr) to ensure optimum weight and resistance over the time. This provides great acceleration, direct handling, and good pitch stability.
Lines are made of unsheathed dyneema to improve strength and drag. The strength and material choice make the bridle almost maintenance free. No “mixer test” is required neither a bridle check over the time.
The bridles are highly optimized: fewer lines means less hassle, less drag (more performance/speed).
The mixer is setup with Orbit Ronstan pulley for great durability.
We don’t use nylon rods on the Leading Edge to maintain a profile shape. Our experience shows that these rods have quite a large effect on the stability of the kite, and give a pretty aggressive behavior in collapses, tip cravats…
We use the nose deformation of the profile when the bar is over sheeted to increase the stability. We didn’t notice a loss of performance in not having them on; it also saves weight!