Having reframed the (purple) Nirvana with the following frame:
2p LE
Super Skinny SUL lower spreaders
avia .180 (4.57mm) Spine
4mm Upper spreader
Original (3mm) Standoffs
Added leach line
Original turbo bridle
10g weight
I was eager for some low wind to try this conversion out. With winds down to 1 and up to a max of 3, today looked good, so we headed out this afternoon to give it a go.
Weighing in at 216g (with weight) it was immediately obviously lighter than the standard without losing much in terms of rigidity. On 100 foot of line it soared easily to the top of the window and once I got used to the slight over-rotation (compared to the standard on the team conversion bridle) in the turns I was getting some snappy squares and cool straight tracking lines in the lightest of winds.
3/4 Axels, as you'd expect (especially from a hack like myself) were not much different from the standard. Cascades however go on forever, just nailed to the sky flip-flopping back and forth... lovely. Slots and 540s easy as ever as long as you remember to give it a bit of power and forward momentum. It seemed pretty solid in the fade, given that I was walking backward to maintain it and backspins were there, but inconsistent, which was likely more down to poor technique than the kite, as there's no reason why it shouldn't.
Rolls up fairly easily on a turtle, especially with a double pop, and goes round in one on the flic (or is it the flac?) given enough slack. I'm not good enough to try any wrapped up tricks. Ladders were soft and floaty and I got my best ever on this, completing three rungs (downwards - but it's still three).
A lovely balanced fly-away makes regaining lost ground a piece of cake, even allowing a shuffling jog forward.
For a laugh as we packed up I stuck on 50' of line and it's something completely different again - most UnNirvanary... interesting. 360s were notably easy at this length. I'd like to try it again on the short lines to see what I can get it to do.
If you don't want to splash for a 'proper' N. UL. I'd recommend this reframe job on a second hand... cost me about £160 all in for the kite and the sticks. I'd like to compare it to a real one to see how different they are. I believe it weighs in somewhere between the UL and the SUL, although R-Sky only lists weights for the standard, and I reckon that's about 40g out (too light).