SYNOPSIS: THE MACHINE V1 IS A SMOOTH PULLING AND EXPLOSIVE-LIFTING BIG AIR KITE WITH ITS FLAT OPEN C CANOPY THAT OFFERS EXTRA HANG TIME BUT ALSO HAS EASY TO FIND POWER AND NIMBLE HANDLING FOR ANY LEVEL RIDER.
Likes: The Slingshot design team has been busy with some all new specialty kite models that offer a refreshing upgrade to the formidable Slingshot lineup. The Machine V1 is their new big air, freeride and light wind specialty kite. Designed with all new frame geometry, the Machine V1 features a rigid, five strut frame for the standard sizes through to the 12 meter and a three strut format in the jumbo sizes of 15 and 17 meter. The Machine V1 takes over for two models of the Slingshot lineup including the famous, light wind kite known as the Turbine and the big air freeride design called the Raptor. The Machine V1 incorporates a high lift and highly efficient aspect ratio and it has a flat canopy shape and swept tips along with the open C design for easy and long gliding lift. Despite being a full-strutted, rigid-framed, higher aspect kite, the Machine V1 is also quite easy to fly and accessible to most skill levels. It doesn’t back stall easily and sits forward in the window providing very straight forward sheet-in-and-go handling. The bridle system is compact and pulley free and the Machine is well designed with smooth aerodynamic flow and is surprisingly light weight. It feels much lighter in the hands and the large sizes have much easier turn initiation and light touch steering than the old Turbine jumbos that were the session savers of years past. The Slingshot Machine in the standard sizes with their five strut supported frame provides upper end wind range with lots of depower when you sheet the kite bar out. In the smaller sizes the Machine V1 also keeps its performance through the entire wind range allowing the big air junkies to push the limits while the kite is at maximum power. Pivot style turns with the swept wingtips, the Machine pivots and drives forward nicely in the wind window, giving it amazing upwind drive which is key when boosting huge as you tend to travel downwind quickly. The low-end power is easy to find with a big sweet spot and the Machine is also reactive to bar input with some nice light touch steering. The test riders were impressed with the Machine’s handling as it provided plenty of nimble manoeuvrability to handle with a foil for light wind cruising. Overall, the Machine V1 is a great addition to the Slingshot family and should appeal to those intermediate to advanced level riders that want to take their high altitude manoeuvres to the next level.
Minus: Lighter touch steering is nice for the larger sizes but is slightly less direct feeling than the Slingshot RPX.
Best For: Riders that want a high performance kite for pushing the limits of big air that’s easy to use and has great wind range.
