Everyone makes mistakes. Our mistake? Saying leaking Duotone kites usually is related to the inflate. We now know that leaking ‘Strong, Light, Superior’ SLS kites have other issues. This is where Duotone made a mistake. Something is seriously wrong with the bladders in the SLS kites. Or something that creates small holes. Even kites that we bought a few months back are affected in a matter of months. Got a leaking SLS kite? You need to contact the shop. They probably fix it for free. Why is Duotone not more open on this issue? It would have saved us a lot of head ache’s understanding why our kites slowly but steadily lost their pressure.
Percentile of SLS kites affected
If the issues is concerning all of the SLS kites is unclear. Not very likely. But at least two digit percentile of the SLS kites we know off are effected. Yes the warranty is well arranged. And the shops do a great job changing the bladders for free. Some have already dealt with dozens of kites. Without any payment. But the real fault of Duotone has little to do with the leak itself.
We contacted Duotone and asked if are unlucky to have 10 out of 15 SLS kites to be leaking. The first answer ‘..we didn’t have an increase of cases.’ was quite contradicting to what we knew. A second answer was more specific and in line what we saw. Which are leaks at a very specific area on the leading edge. Just centimeters from where the valve sits.
‘some of the first production batch of SLS was using a tool … which was not perfect anymore’
Duotone’s Marketing & Communications Manager Philipp Becker explained what he got back from te R&D department. Which mainly suggested that the issue is concerning ‘some of the first production batch of SLS kites’. And just as we saw he was clear about where the -possible- leak sits (Youtube video how to find the leak). The leaking due to this problem mostly happened around the valve.
Are the 2023 SLS kites also affected?
Is there a way to spot the issue beforehand? I just bought 2 brand new Evo SLS kites and I haven’t used them yet – one is from 2022 and the other one from 2023. The return period of two weeks is already over but I’m thinking about talking to the shop and see if they are willing to take them back if this is such a widespread issue.
I had exactly that problem with my 2021 NEO SLS 9 ánd 7. DT customer service kept denying. Everybody makes mistakes, no problem, but take your responsibility.
Hi Barry,
Good question.
We know for sure out of the 10 leaking kites we have seen that 7 out of them are 2022 kites. For the other 3 I need to check and come back on it.
Dave
We Test Kites
Do you only see it at 2021/2022 kites or also with the 2023 sls models?
Great article. People tend to relate quality to the price of the kites….