I have been battling with my 7m Octane all summer. I bought 7, 9 & 11m Octanes in October and have had no real issues with the 9 or 11.
In stronger winds the 7m is falling out of the sky a lot. I had Rev's previously and did not have these problems in any winds. I kited Witsands in Cape Town yesterday and wrestled the kite the entire session. It got to the point where I had to land my kite before I seriously hurt myself or one of the other kiters in the waves. I have avoided using my 7m all summer because of this problem and it is not the first time the issue has been raised by a kiter:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=58804
Firstly I want to know if other people are experiencing similar problems especially in strong and/or gusty winds and what solutions, if any they have come up with?
Secondly I would like to know what Slingshot are doing about it. I know the issue has been raised with various slingshot reps in Australia.
I am getting to the point where I am considering selling my quiver and jumping ship to another brand.
A few similar quotes:
The one positive thing about these kites is that they relaunch really well maybe thats a bonus after they drop out
Hey Mate
Have you conteacted the Slingshot distributor about this problem.
If not, then I would urge you to do that first before switching brands. The kites have had really good feedback and I don't know of any problems with the 7m Octane that I have heard of.
That is not to say you have not got a problem with yours that can be sorted.
PM me if you need the details for the Rep.
Hi Roroy
I've only sailed the 7m prototype, circulated just prior to the decision to go to 5 struts. I've found no problems with the kite's stability.
Maybe you could try an experiment & inflate the kite with the centre strut clamped shut so you'll be flying it as a 4 strut. It may allow the LE to luff freely without pushing the LE down.
Good luck
Col
Concur - I continue to have the same problems with my 7m (even after removing extensions).
Very frustrating when the wind is gusty. I'm not kiting with the same level of confidence in my equipment - particularly at a place such as Marg's where a kite drop can really hurt. Dangerous to the beachgoers too.
It is a bit Jeykel and Hyde - only happens in gusty wind... the time you need to DEPEND on your kite
A few people on the beach here have mentioned similar problems. I spoke to SS at Kitestock and he said he was not aware of any issues...
Links to KiteForum: kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2362742&p=637875
Other post on gear reviews: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=61016 (the user is blamed, but I don't think it is him)...
Some credible people having no issues.... maybe it is a specific batch of kites?
My Octanes was one of the first batches to land in AU, so not sure if there was changes made since then.
I'm not a happy kiter (when it is gusty). I guess I know what those brand faithful kiters felt like who bought Links way back when...
I agree with you 100% Paul, my bad. We all make some mistakes some times, don't we?
hi mate. i had similar issues with my kites. i contacted slingshot who got back to me saying that there were a batch of kites with some issues and that if your kite falls in that serial number range then it will be replaced no problem.just had 3 kites replaced.
i have a 7m octane. got it back in sept last year from the first batch that came to oz and havent had a problem i actually prefer the 7m octane to the rev2 7m i had last year. havent had any issues with mine falling out of the sky.
I had 7m and 11m, this issue together with some others made me change brands back to Cabrinha Nomad 
, I find them a more stable kite that is almost impossible to stall, but still has the turning and flying ability of the octane.
yeah im more than happy to have a fly to see what the issue is, curious also, pretty sure mine and Grang's are from the same batch as we got ours in the first shipment within a day or 2 of each other. weird- grang next time we do a downwinder we will swap kites and see if the behave the same.
