And the review of the Silverfox UL as promised.
IntroductionI have become quite a fan of the Silver Fox range over the past month. They are well built kites at very competitive prices. I have now splashed out and bought the Ultralight 2.5 version and thought I would share my thoughts on it.
Flight performanceThe SF UL is not a kite to choose if you are looking to buy an ultralight kite to just fly big circles in the sky when the breeze is minimal. There are other ultralight kites that are better suited to gentle / sedate light wind flying. The SF UL is designed as a trick kite and it has weights added at the bottom of the spine to help with all the fade type tricks. It is also not very much lighter than the standard SF. As a result, it doesn’t have the same easy light wind flying style that kites like my Prism Ozone. However, providing you have a steady (rather than fickle) low wind, the kite comes into its own. Pitch based and axel based tricks are easy to perform in gentle breezes. The kite flies with a great positive feel on the end of the lines. It offers good precision with great trick flying ability. It flies slightly slower and does tricks slower than the 2.3 SF but I prefer this. It seems to be better than the 2.3 SF at tricks like the axel cascade as it spins further in each axel. It is also really nice and stable on its back in the fade position. VideosYou can watch a great video of the Silver Fox 2.5UL showing some really nice individual and pairs flying here: www.flyingwingstudio.com/videos/sf/250ul.wmv The ‘Turbo Beads’ Bridle systemAs with other kites in the Silver Fox range, the SF 2.5 UL comes with the ‘turbo-beads’ system. This essentially allows the flyer to switch between a standard three point bridle and a dynamic bridle by adjusting eight larkshead knots. It takes no more than two minutes to switch between the two bridle options. The marketing material for the SF range suggests that the three point bridle is better for low wind stable flying and that the dynamic bridle is better for tricks. To be honest, I much preferred the dynamic bridle setting. It might have been my imagination, but it even seemed to produce better precision than the three point setting. Quality of constructionThe Silver Fox range is very well made. The sail is ripstop polyester (like Icarex) and the frame is a mixture of standard and wrapped carbon spars. The sewing is faultless and even includes (perhaps over the top) features like a stitched fox logo at the top of the sail. The kite really is at the top end of the quality spectrum. The kite also comes with a heavy duty carry bag. The kite features everything that a trick flyer would look for in a high end kite. The following are all great features… - Smooth / flush nose to avoid line catches
- Covered leading edges
- Yo-Yo stoppers
- Pre installed spine weights
- Adjustable leech line to adjust the sail tension
- ‘turbo beads’ bridle system to allow quick conversion between three point and turbo bridle
- Sail reinforced with mylar on the spine, nose and trailing edges to protect against wear during backspins etc
The 2.5 SF range features winglets that are not present on the smaller 2.3 model. There is no spar in the wingtip – just a piece of Dacron and mylar reinforcement on the back to keep everything stiff. I’m not sure what effect the winglets have. However, the 2.5 range is definitely more precise (but less nippy) than the smaller 2.3 counterparts. AvailabilityBilboquet in France offer the Silver Fox range on their website priced in Euros. However, you can also buy the Silver Fox range at very competitive Sterling prices from some kite stores in the UK. Martin B at the Bristol Kite Store (www.kitestore.co.uk) is a very nice chap to deal with. He usually has the full Silver Fox range in stock and if he doesn’t have the model or colour you are looking for, he can get one for you usually within 10 days or so.
Overall conclusionThis is another great kite in the Silver Fox range. The quality of construction is first class, the flight/trick performance is superb and the price is very attractive.
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