In Focus: Duotone 2022 Product Overview
Features / Sun 3rd Oct, 2021 @ 12:00 am
Your favourite Duotone kites and boards just got the SLS and D/Lab upgrade, and we’ve got the full scoop right here for you!
Kites
Neo SLS – Wave
The world’s best wave and strapless freestyle kite, even better with the Strong Light Superior construction featuring Penta TX; accept no substitutes and get your ticket to get barreled.
Last year the Neo SLS took the world by storm; utilising cutting edge materials and new construction techniques, the world’s best wave kite got even better. SLS stands for Strong Light Superior and is the new mantra for all our high-end products where performance is the most critical factor. For the Neo SLS, this means replacing all the heavy Dacron material with the new Penta TX material up to 15% lighter.
Combining this with the Trinity TX canopy and the incredible build quality, Duotone is famous for offers a winning combination. The kite flies incredibly well, especially in light winds; the reduced weight keeps it in the sky for longer, a huge advantage in the waves where drifting is essential and even more so in onshore conditions, where you often end up with slack lines.
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The Neo SLS is the only Neo offering Flex Struts and combined with the lightweight construction, this Neo SLS is fast and delivers very dynamic turning with overall intuitive handling. You’ll notice the kite can hang in the air, allowing you to finish your move on the wave and get the tension back in the lines without dropping the kite. This new construction has transformed the Neo SLS into the ultimate wave kite. Increased wind range allows you to stay on the water for longer, and the incredibly dynamic handling has to be experienced.
Used by our pro riders, Airton Cozzolino, James Carew, Matchu Lopes and Sebastian Ribeiro, on the world tour, the Neo is the most decorated wave kite on the market, with more titles and wins than any other wave kite. It’s incredible for strapless freestyle. The new lighter materials in combo with the stiff frame allow you to jump higher and fly for longer, giving you the edge over the competition. The Neo SLS is the absolute pinnacle of performance; it’s the kite you need in your quiver if you take your wave and strapless freestyle riding seriously.
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Neo SLS, please click here.
Dice SLS – Freestyle / Wave
The Dice is known for freestyle, smashing loops and even performs in waves when steered actively – and it just got the SLS upgrade. Every enthusiastic, progressive rider lookout, here comes the all-new Dice SLS!
The Dice has been a tricks and megaloops champion for a long time now, designed to excel at big air and perform to the highest standards in freestyle and even waves; it boasts an army of fans worldwide.
New for 2022, the Dice gets the Strong Light Superior makeover and a complete redesign to improve the performance. Unfortunately, whenever new materials are introduced, the design parameters change. Therefore, the riders and designer Ralf Grösel need to go back to the drawing board and get the most out of the materials and the kite. To say they achieved those goals would be a huge understatement.
The new Penta TX frame construction combined with the Trinity TX canopy has created a Dice like no other. The weight has been reduced further, making the kite far more responsive in the air and increasing the overall wind range. This loss of weight has also increased the kite’s flying qualities, making mega loops smooth, and on the way back up, the Dice SLS never gets stuck; in the waves, you directly feel the increased drift. The kite jumps higher, hangs in the air for longer, and the mega loops have even more control!
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The team also tweaked the kites unhooked performance too, fine-tuning the power release after you pop to allow you to get even more tricks on the scoreboard. It has been said in the past, but the new 2022 Dice SLS is undoubtedly the most impressive performing Freestyle kite on the water. Capable of taking you to the podium at a big air event and the freestyle competition. This quiver killer kite can trade blows with the Vegas while pulling jumps and loops big enough to win the King of the Air. It isn’t often that a leap forwards in a performance like this comes along. If getting bigger jumps, landing more complex tricks and even smashing some waves gets you excited for a session, you will need the Dice SLS in your quiver.
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Dice SLS, please click here.
Vegas – Freestyle / Wakestyle
The ultimate wakestyle-freestyle competition kite on the market, with more podiums, more championships, and more victories than any other kite, this is the kite for you if you want to land the latest tricks.
The Vegas has been at the top of the freestyle game forever; it’s hard to remember a time without this iconic kite. It was used to devastating effect by World Champions and outstanding riders like Valentin Rodrigues, Mikaili Sol, Gianmaria Coccoluto and Aaron Hadlow. It has more bling in the trophy cabinet than any other Freestyle/Wakestyle kite. The kite’s core design focus is to help the riders perform the latest tricks and multiple passes.
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As freestyle develops, Vegas has had to match that pace and ensure our team riders have the sharpest tool in the box. The kite offers you incredible power with ultimate control as you dig in an edge, ready to pop the lines load up, and the kite gives an explosive launch that is unrivalled amongst the competition. Once you are in the air, all the power is released, and the line tension goes slack, allowing you to perform your tricks without getting pulled by the kite. This will enable you to stay on the axis as you rotate and pass the bar with ease. All you have to do is focus on the trick and the landing and let the kite do the rest. The kite can be tuned for freestyle but also for kite loops too, where it excels. It is still the kite of choice for many riders at the King of the Air, and his multiple successes at the event are a testament to the kite’s capabilities when the wind is pumping.
Built using our proven technologies with a Trinity TX canopy and incredible attention to detail, it will be your perfect partner for many seasons to come. So if you want to progress your freestyle riding, the Vegas is the kite you need to be betting the house on!
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Vegas, please click here.
Juice D/LAB – Freeride / Lightwind / Foil
The completely new Juice D/LAB is the apex predator of lightwind kites. At the top of the food chain, without a doubt, the lightest in the range, featuring the most advanced design innovations in our range, getting you on the water when you think it’s impossible.
What happens when you throw convention out the window and embrace the future of kite technology and innovation? D/LAB is precisely that, the pinnacle of everything that is done here at Duotone. The Juice D/LAB is part of a new range of high-end products from the Duotone laboratory. Using a new version of Aluula, we have ironed out the issues experienced by other brands to bring a kite to the market that sets a whole new standard. In combination with new construction features, the new fabric reduces the weight of the kite by up to 30% compared to standard constructions and depending on the size, which is a considerable saving of up to 1kg, especially when the wind is light. The construction has been fine-tuned to reduce weight wherever possible, while innovative use of material weaves allows improved turning ability and response.
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The Juice D/LAB isn’t just a lighter version of the Juice; the handling and performance are significantly improved, allowing you to get riding earlier and have more fun on the water. The kite generates enormous amounts of power with real acceleration on the up and the downstrokes, even in the lightest airs, making foiling in nearly no wind a never experienced adventure. The reduced weight and improved handling make it an exciting kite to fly, and you will be boosting higher and flying for longer than anyone else on the beach. It’s quite simply the best light wind kite we can make right now; D/LAB will set a new standard in the kite industry, and you can be the first to experience it.
Get the Juice D/LAB now and never miss a session again; make every hour on the water count and enjoy the very pinnacle of kite technology!
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Juice, please click here.
Twintips
Jaime SLS – Performance Freestyle
The ultimate freestyle and freeride board is even lighter, more responsive and also more fun to ride, thanks to the SLS construction!
SLS stands for strong, light, superior, and our twin tips are getting the SLS treatment to make the best boards even better! The Jaime is our flagship freestyle and freeride board with a legacy behind it that is unrivalled in the industry. The unique construction utilises Textreme Innegra carbon; this makes the board light and a little stiffer with a medium to stiff flex. More importantly, the dampening abilities of Textreme Innegra lead to more overall control, therefore offering more control of the edge and an even harder edging, which results in incredible pop. The new Light Base further reduces the overall weight creating the lightest Jaime we have ever built. With impressive pop and total control, the Jaime SLS is the perfect board for the rider looking for a freestyle board that can perform at the very highest level and boosts you to the moon while still being easy to use and forgiving. Smooth through the chop with butter-smooth landings, thanks to the Double Diffusor Bottom and the Absorption Flex Tips. It is a captivating package.
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When you kitesurf, your equipment should help you push the progression forwards; the Jaime SLS will take you to the next level and beyond; get on board now!
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Jaime SLS, please click here.
Jaime – Performance Freestyle
If a product in our sport had the biggest legacy, the Jaime would be it, responsible for a revolution in board design and manufacture. It continues to set a standard as the perfect freestyle and freeride board.
There aren’t many products in this sport that can claim a revolution and a lineage going back over 15 years. The Jaime is one such product; the original model pioneered the wood core snowboard style construction quickly adopted and is the only technique used to build twin tips today.
Over the years, the Jaime has been the flagship freestyle/freeride board for Duotone, aimed at the rider who wants performance that is easy to access combined with a comfortable ride that is second to none. The medium flex and tuned rocker line combine to offer a smooth ride in choppy waters, while the unique Double Diffusor Bottom helps the board pop and smooth out the landings. The Absorption Flex Tips provide plenty of grip and soften hard landings for those more technical tricks. Thanks to the Carbon Web, the ride on the Jaime is dynamic and engaging, it’s a fun board no matter the water conditions, and the more you engage the rail, the more feedback and performance you get back. The rail has been designed to fly upwind and offer maximum grip when you pop; riders will be rewarded with impressive airtime every time they load up for take-off, the right tool for breaking height records and smashing mega loops like Lasse Walker at the King of the Air.
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Ride like a legend with this incredible board on your feet; the legacy and lineage are testaments to the board’s capabilities; all you have to do is unleash them!
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Jaime, please click here.
Select SLS – Performance Freeride
The Select SLS is the pinnacle of performance freeride; a high tech Textreme Innegra construction combines with a class winning shape to create the ultimate board for your freeride sessions.
The Select SLS is a high end, high performance freeride board, SLS stands for strong, light, superior, and the unique construction put it a step above the rest. Using Textreme Innegra carbon significantly reduces the overall weight of the board while increasing responsiveness and pop. Every session feels electric on this board, no matter the conditions. Thanks to the flatter rocker line, it has incredible early planning abilities; this also gives the board a blistering turn of speed. If you want a board that won’t hold you back when you are on the water, this is it. Perfect for big air, ripping big turns and blasting around the Select SLS will have you stoked on every session. The Select has long been the benchmark for comfortable freeride boards; now, the SLS version takes that award-winning platform and adds another dimension of performance.
If you want the ultimate freeride board to make every session count, the Select SLS is the board you need under your arm as you walk down the beach…
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Select SLS, please click here.
Select – Freeride
The Select is an incredible freeride board that offers a butter-smooth ride coupled with high-end performance that will excite you every session.
Freeriding has come so far in this sport; the Select was one of the first dedicated freeride boards on the market. Speed, response and pop are all qualities this board needs, and the team have built that into its very DNA. Anyone who has ridden the Select will testify as to how good it is; if you haven’t ridden it yet, then you need to jump on board. The Carbon Beam and Biax Glass combine with the Torsion Flex Cap to give a medium to soft flex that creates an incredibly forgiving ride with an unbelievably smooth feeling through choppy conditions. The Space Flex tips flick the board off the water when you pop, and the Step Mono Concave base breaks the surface tension of the water for smooth landings. The board’s outline makes it perfect for carving, and if you want to have fun in the waves on a twin tip, this is the board that makes it easy.
Early to get planning and with amazing upwind abilities, the Select is fast and responsive when you slip your feet into the straps. If you are looking for the ultimate freestyle machine, look no further; you have arrived in the right place.
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Select, please click here.
Soleil SLS – Performance Freeride
The best freeride board on the planet, designed specifically for women by women, is packed with performance and high-tech construction to take your riding to the next level.
Quite simply the best women’s board on the market featuring our new strong, light, superior construction. Our SLS boards are on another level when it comes to performance. The Textreme Innegra carbon is combined with a new Light Base which further reduces weight and adds even more dynamism to the ride on the water. The flex is a little stiffer compared to the standard model, which increases the board’s pop considerably. When you are in the air, you will notice the low swing weight for performing tricks due to Space Flex, allowing you to rotate with more control and easily spot landings. The narrow outline makes rail to rail carving easy, and it’s a great board to fly upwind and explore the spot.
Suited to a wide range of riders from progressed to expert, the Soleil SLS looks as good as it rides. Don’t accept second best, don’t ride a board that doesn’t work for you, get the Soleil SLS in your life because you are worth it!
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Soleil SLS, please click here.
Soleil – Freeride
The Soleil is a board designed specifically for women that sets the standard in the industry. Dynamic, easy to ride, but most of all fun!
With more and more women entering the sport every day, it is essential to ensure products are designed for the female form. Designed and tested with our female riders, the focus was on creating a dynamic, easy-to-ride board packed with fun as standard. This shape is the result of years of design, and the Soleil was one of the first female boards on the market long ago. The narrow outline makes it really easy for lighter, smaller riders to carve from rail to rail. The medium flex combined with Space Flex Tips is the perfect blend of performance and comfort, so the board is butter smooth when riding in choppy conditions. Pop is always an important factor in any kiteboard, and the Soleil has plenty of it. An exciting, dynamic ride is guaranteed every time you slip your feet into the straps, forgiving too, allowing you to progress quickly and nail the tricks on your hit list.
With a subtly feminine colourway, too, this beauty looks as good as it rides, don’t struggle with gear made for heavier riders, progress faster than you can imagine on the Soleil.
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Soleil, please click here.
Surfboards
If you are looking to switch from a twin tip to a surfboard or directional kiteboard, it can be difficult to make the right choice due to the enormous range of different surfboard shapes, rocker lines and fin setups. Here we’d like to give you an overview of Duotone surfboards and surfboards in general – so you can find the right Duotone surfboard for you!
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Whip D/LAB
Our compact shape board, now in the all-new ground-breaking D/LAB construction, is perfect for shredding small to medium waves and strapless freestyle.
It’s the brand new 2022 Whip shape but in our premium D/LAB construction that brings another level of performance and durability. The key feature of the new D/Lab construction is the new Reflex Memory Foam Shock Absorber on the board’s deck, making D/Lab boards feel incredibly more responsive on the water, even compared to SLS boards. Notably lighter than our Cork Shock Absorber, the RMF also boasts key technical benefits, including the magical property of memory. If you land hard from your freestyle tricks and put a small dent in the deck, it will, over time, gradually push the dent out to its original shape, and your board will stay looking like new for longer.
Additionally, the superior vibration damping of the RMF makes it feel as if you’re riding on a cushion of air by reducing the high-frequency chatter through the chop. This incredibly smooth ride inspires confidence in your riding when attacking the lip and landing airs because you know your board will absorb the shock and deliver top-notch performance without sacrificing durability.
The all-new Whip D/LAB is a great board for pushing the progression of all your freestyle tricks and one of our team’s most highly regarded performance surfboards that are guaranteed to put you in all the right places on the wave from tight in the pocket to above the lip and into big open-faced carves in small to medium waves.
There are lots to love about this board – incredibly light, very durable and capable of excelling in waves and the air. All you have to do is jump on board and reap the rewards!
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Whip D/Lab, please click here.
Wam D/LAB
Brand new for 2022, the Wam D/LAB features the pinnacle of surfboard construction, making it lighter, more durable and even more dynamic on the water.
The Wam D/LAB is offered in our two most popular sizes in the same new shape as the WAM SLS but in our revolutionary new D/LAB construction. D/LAB represents the masterpiece of everything we do here at Duotone, and this new high-end construction centres around the use of new material – Reflex Memory Foam. Our new RMF Shock Absorber, combined with the Innegra Shield, offers decisive technical advantages over the Cork Shock Absorber found in our SLS range. Firstly, it is lighter without affecting the overall strength of the board. Secondly, it has memory; if you put a small heel dent in the board, the foam will push the dent out over time, giving you a lighter board that stays looking fresh for longer.
D/LAB boards feel more responsive on the water thanks to the reduced weight and the remarkable damping effect that drastically reduces high-frequency vibrations, giving these boards a smooth and forgiving feel to inspire your confidence when attacking the lip landing huge airs.
The Wam D/LAB is the ultimate classic surf style weapon for all conditions and the number one choice of our team riders in surf competitions; from big waves to small, it uses the most advanced technologies available to take you to the top step of the podium.
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Wam D/Lab, please click here.
Fish D/LAB
New for 2022, the Fish D/LAB enjoys the benefits of the magic and even lighter D/LAB construction! With it comes more performance to maximise every session on the water, no matter the conditions!
The new Fish D/LAB is available in our two most popular sizes and will be a limited production run, so if you want the ultimate light wind, small to medium-sized wave board you better hurry. D/LAB is the name for a new construction technique that utilises Reflex Memory Foam on the board’s deck. This new material has some remarkable properties, and it’s even lighter than the cork used in our SLS range! Small heel dents can be avoided as the Reflex Memory Foam, RMF deck will gradually reform and push the deck back into shape! In addition, the board’s lighter and more lively response helps it get going a bit earlier than the SLS version.
The remarkable damping effect created by the RMF Shock Absorber combined with the Innegra Shield will inspire your confidence in your riding to the next level. The Fish D/LAB is your ticket to maximising every session on the water and rinsing every bit of power from the wave. The flat rocker and full outline combine to ensure you are the first person planning at the beach, giving you the chance to shred the waves on your own while others are still waiting for the wind to pick up.
The Fish D/LAB is the very pinnacle of design and construction development here at Duotone, it’s the best of the best, and you deserve it!
For more information on Duotone’s 2022 Fish D/Lab, please click here.
Behind the design – Surfboards D/LAB
To view all Duotone products, please click here.
By Jen Tyler
Italian/Egyptian Jen Tyler grew up on the sandy beaches of the Red Sea and has been on the IKSURFMAG & Tonic Mag team since 2017.
