Gin Spirit vs Little Cloud Pelican

Side-by-side comparison of 12m Spirit and 13m Pelican.
I've had quite a few folks ask what the differences are between these two kites, and after spending quite a bit of time on both, I thought I'd share my observations. Two great kites that in my view have pretty different design goals. The Spirit is a Big-Air Machine, while the Pelican places more emphasis on backcountry/mountain riding accessibility.
For a full written comparison visit: www.coloradokitesports.com/sp...
0:14 Material/build differences
2:44 12m Spirit launch/flight
4:59 13m Pelican launch/flight
6:37 Differences in Design Philosophy
8:35 Full-power Trim/backstall comparison
9:58 Foilboard comparison
11:16 Mountainboard test/comparison

[@1129taylor]

Super helpful Nate.
The challenge that I have is that the Pelican seems to what I would want for the snow and the Spirit is what I would want on the water! Especially with how the Spirit keeps its shape after landing. That's so nice for relaunching on the water but not so nice for in the snow when you want to total-depower.
If you close the cells on the Pelican does it keep its shape?

[@coloradokitesports6671]

Hi Sean! So honestly water re-launch would be the least of my concerns. You can find some videos I've done showing the water relaunch of both kites. IMHO foil kites are actually easier to relaunch than tube kites for the low winds that most people are normally concerned about. For the same winds, most tube kites wound be stuck to the water.
The larger deciding factor may be boosting ability vs comfort in gusty conditions. These tend to be competing interests and typically the design features that make for a good Big Air kite will make it less favorable in turbulent winds. Kite designs have gotten very good though, and this may be overstating the point a bit - the Pelican is still a really fun kite to jump with, and the Spirit does handle gusts quite well - I think its just important to understand the strengths and limitations of each.

[@jeremiasrobinson]

Thanks for sharing the info.

[@jeremiasrobinson]

Also, I have been checking out your videos, and I am curious, where is CKS located? I am in the San Luis Valley and I just recently got into kiting.

[@coloradokitesports6671]

Hi Jeremy, I am in Colorado Springs

[@migmig3122]

@ Colorado Kite Sports: Which kite is the best for snowkiting (in Size near 10qm) in your opinion? How good is Montana X in 10qm?

[@coloradokitesports6671]

I personally prefer the Pelican for Snowkiting particularly if I am in the mountains or gustier conditions. The 10m Montana is also quite nice although I see the Pelican2 as an improvement on the Montana X (same designer - the Pelican was designed after the Montana)
You might enjoy reading my review of the Pelican which you can find here, which compares it to Montana X:
www.coloradokitesports.com/review-pelican2.html