2023 Slingshot Code V1 Kite - A Second Look with Pat

Pat talks to Aaron about his latest experiences with the 2023 Slingshot Code V1, a three-strut all-around kite that aims to compete with other kites in this category. The Code V1 is a great boosting kite that is fun to use in any condition, and it has surprisingly good hangtime. He thinks it's one of the better big air kites in this category, as it was developed with their big air team. The Code is a great all-around, freeride kite that is on par with the other kites in its category.

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Pat's been riding the 2023 Slingshot Code V1 for a few months now. Today, he chats with Aaron about how it's holding up to his first impressions on it.

Pat: This is a 6 month update on the 2023 Code V1 to see how the kite's vetted out. We've been riding it quite a bit. I know it's been in a lot of different people's cars here, and I brought it back into my own truck recently. I had a couple really good sessions on it, and I realized how great this kite actually was.

Aaron: I remember you and Dustin talking about it being one from Slingshot that you were like, "Yeah, I'm stoked on this." And nobody's twisting our arm here and saying that we've got to say good things about it; we speak from the heart on whatever it is that we're reviewing. But I remember that you guys both were saying this is a lot of fun and it'd be something that you'd recommend, have in the rig, and be using on the on the regular. So that's really cool to hear.

Pat: I will say it's probably the most exciting kite that Slingshot's released in the last five years or so. I think the UFO's up there with that, but this one's going after that three-strut all-around kite market, and for a V1 kite, they knocked it out the park right away. There are definitely a couple tweaks here and there that I would suggest to them, but as a V1 kite this thing's awesome.

Aaron: And for a V1, or version one, of any kite from any brand, we don't always expect a lot because they're still working the kinks out of it.

Pat: I'm not sure how much time went into the R & D of it, but it sounds like they did put a ton of time into it, and it feels like they did.

Aaron: This bag seems huge. Is this a 12 meter? This thing's like, whoa!

Pat: Well, you've seen me pack kites. I don't do a good job of packing kites, Aaron; you know that.

Aaron: But this bag is cool. You can definitely fit a lot in there if you want to.

Pat: It's a sweet bag, yeah. It's a top loader, so it zips up from the straps. They did a great job with the fit and finish on everything. As far as the performance characteristics of the kite go, it's got super light bar pressure. It has pull, but the pull's coming from the center lines. Yesterday I was riding and I could feel the pull; I was definitely way overpowered on 12 meters.

Aaron: So it's a front line flyer?

Pat: It's a front line flyer, for sure. Some people like it, some people don't. It still has good bar feel, though. It's not a deadened feel in the flying lines, so you can still have an idea of where the kite's at.

Aaron: Yeah, sometimes if you get such a heavy front line flyer, your outside lines can feel almost bouncy or spongy, like there's not a lot of tension.

Pat: It still feels fairly direct. I will say, as with a lot of these kites that are front line flyers, it does fly pretty far forward in the wind window, which is a natural characteristic of that. So I did have a couple issues with it stalling out in some weird situations where it would fly a little bit further forward and I'd be running too far downwind after it, but I kind of expect that with any kite that flies that much off the front lines. I get that with the Reach and I get that with the Eleveight RS. I end up getting in that situation at some point with pretty much any kite in that category; it doesn't matter whose kite it is.

Aaron: What do you want to convey about the Code now, after flying it for a while?

Pat: I don't think a lot of my opinion has changed. I do think it's a great boosting and great all-around kite that's fun in any conditions you throw at it. It's gonna rocket. And it's surprisingly a really good big air kite; it's lofty and it's arguably one of the better hangtime kites in this category, which makes sense to me because they developed it with their big air team a little bit. They're using this as their main big air kite right now. They still have the Machine in their lineup and they're using that in some situations, but it seems like a lot of that team has gravitated more toward the Code.

Aaron: The Code's three strut?

Pat: Yeah, a three-strut, all-around, mid-aspect shape, I'd say. I'm loving it. For anybody looking at kites in this category, I think the Code's definitely one to consider if you're looking at a Reach, a Moto X, or an EVO. It's a good, all-around, freeride kite. It is on par with all those kites, in my opinion. I'm really excited to see what the version two of this looks like, because I think with a little bit of refinement it might be one of the shining stars in that category.

Aaron: What would you refine?

Pat: I liked it, but there are some stalling issues I noticed with it so far forward to where it would punch out of the power zone every once in a while. So I'd like to see that tweaked out. I'd almost like a bit less off the front lines to bring it a little bit more back, but I'm sure that's already something I could change just by messing with the settings on the kite itself. I personally never screw with kite settings, but by tweaking where the attachment point is on the wingtip, I could probably manipulate that a little myself.

Aaron: Get a little more load to the back lines.

Pat: Yeah.

Aaron: This has been Aaron and Pat from MACkite. If you have any questions about the Slingshot Code, feel free to reach out. We're always happy to help.

Pat: Get your hands on these Codes and demo one. You're gonna fall in love with the kite.

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