We have been testing the new Duotone Neo 2020 for few weeks and we have all the details you need to know.
Let's start with the kite program. The Neo is the kite designed for waves and strapless freesyle from Duotone. If you ride with a surfboard under your feet, Neo is the kite you need.
If you follow the strapless kitesurf world Championship (GKA), you will probably noticed that the first positions are always taken by the Neo!
Does that mean that if you use twintip is not the right kite for you? Not at all, the Neo is a super versatile kite and given its characteristics, it also adapts perfectly to beginners. We will come back to this later.
The construction of the entire range of Duotone kites is good and resistant. Trinity is used for the fabric of most of the kite, which is a 3x2 thread per square fabric, resistant and durable.
The news this year about construction comes at the trailing edge, where they dont use dacron anymore and switched to a 3x3 thread per square fabric. According to Duotone, this makes the kite more resistant to time and use. Time will tell if they are right..
The wide one-pump system tubes make inflating and deflating faster and less exahusting.
Front bridle system includes 2 different settings where you can get more wave-oriented kite or something more freeride. By switching between them you can choose having more depower, better drifting or greater jumping capacity.
In the rear pigtails, we find the classic choices to give lower bar pressure where the kite is faster and more reactive or higher bar pressure where the kite spins deeper in the window and bit slower.
We have had the opportunity to test the new Neo 2020 in different sizes and wind conditions.
Every year we say the same thing, but it is the pure reality. The Neo is a VERY powerful kite, and it is the first thing you notice when testing this kite. It is a really easy kite to fly, it is very intuitive and the relaunching of water is very simple.
With all these features, the Neo is the best option in Duotone's kite range for those riders who uses a surfboard under their feet. But in addition, a powerful, simple and easy re-lunch kite are the characteristics beginner needs, which is why the Neo is among our selection of kites to give our kitesurf courses in Tarifa .
Low end of the new Neo is very good, being good enough in the high end. It is a very reactive, direct and very powerful kite. Behaves in a very noble and simple way and is comfortable to use in gusty winds.
And if your riding style is about wave riding, its drift is excellent, so you can focus on surfing the wave without paying attention to your kite all the time.
Another highlight is its ability to turn whether it is powered or depowered, a very important aspect if you face big and powerful waves!
The Neo 2020 is an evolution of last year's kite and therefore, there has been no drastic changes.
Riders who come from previous year Neos are going to find a bit faster kite, probably due to the weight savings that they achivied in the trailing edge with the new material.
For riders who come from other kites, they will find what is probably the best wave / freestyle strapless kite and that also works for all levels of the market.
If you already use a wave board or are thinking to start, then the Neo should be your next kite. Its ease of use and relaunch added to the very good wind range make the Duotone Neo 2020 the best choice to surf and also, for beginners.
If you are looking for second hand Duotone Kiteboarding gear you can take a look in our website!
Carla and Rodri, combined experience flying kites of more than 30 years. And a Kitesurf World Championship...🔥