Harlem PACE 2024
Reviews / Wings
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Intro
The Harlem Pace is the first wing to be released within Harlem’s ‘game changer’ lineup. It joins the kites, the Force and Thrive, which caused a stir in the kitesurfing world from day one. The game-changer lineup predominantly comprises the kites and wings produced sustainably in Europe at the Brainchild factory facility. This 100% solar energy-powered high-tech facility in North Macedonia aims to revolutionise OEM production within our industry. With well-known product designer and engineer Ralf Grosel at the helm, they seek to invest in technology and innovate production methods to increase product performance and usability, increase the use of recycled materials and reduce the overall impact of our sports on the planet. We’ll get into the innovations they’re championing in a minute.
Whilst Brainchild is intended to be a production facility in the long run, I’ve heard rumours that Ralf can’t help himself but highlight potential design improvements during the production sample stage, assuming he has identified improvements.
At a Glance
It is clear from the outset that Pace is a family member of the game-changer lineup. The rainbow-style colour gradient graphic is playful, bright, and unique, and it is continuous in design for the entire canopy and airframe. These wings stand out on the water. Until now, wing graphics have been produced from cut panels of pre-coloured canopy material, and any graphics to be added will be done via screen printing. The brainchild facility, however, digitally prints the entire graphic on white material. This means they don’t have to hold stock of different colour canopy colours, which reduces waste, increases production resilience, significantly reduces water and solvent ink consumption in the overall colouring process, and allows for insane levels of customisation and design. It is worth noting that you can leverage this technology to the extreme and customise your Pace entirely, not just by adding a logo, colour, or small adjustment. Digital printing technology allows for a completely custom design with very few limits.
All game changer products come supplied in Harlem’s eco-bag, a roll-top bag made from recycled PET bottles that are digitally printed with eco-solvent inks, recycled webbing and yarn that features wooden buckles and is made in the same fully solar-powered factory as the wing. The Pace includes Harlem’s pump adaptor that should fit any existing kite or wing pump to inflate the wing via the large proprietary inlet valve, which noticeably reduces the resistance on the pump during inflation (no, actually, this is the lowest inflation resistance I’ve ever experience with the exception of an air compressor!). It is, however, a one-way valve and, therefore, requires the inclusion of a deflate valve. The wing features a twin-tube pump system with neoprene sleeve covered tube clamps. The Pace includes long front and rear carbon fibre handles, which are permanently installed and does feature a slim slit style window approximately 30-40% along the chord line from the leading edge.
The leading edge of the Pace features Brainchild’s exclusive Proweld technology. With any LEI wing, the leading edge must be manufactured in segments to create a smooth leading edge curve. The more segments you have, the smoother the curve you produce, but at the expense of additional seams. These seams require overlapping material and stitching, increasing labour costs and weight. The prowled system allows segment panels to be butted up immediately next to each other and welded together. We’re told this results in 20% weight savings and a 30% increase in airframe stiffness. Given that the Proweld construction methodology provides significant weight savings and stiffness increases, Harlem has been able to use the well-established weight of traditional Dacron on the leading edge. This is still one of the most durable materials on the market, so that the Pace will deliver year after year at a reasonable price point.
Other noteworthy features include the three solid trailing edge battens supporting the trailing edge on either side of the central strut. The central strut is segmented and features a fairly significant kink between the handles to bring them closer to the rider. There is no additional Dacron scuff protection stitched around the wing tips and at the end of the strut, which is sometimes included on wings, but the usual strut and leading edge bump stops are as you would expect.
Sizes: 3m, 4m, 5m, 6m
On the Water
The Harlem Pace lives up to its name with an energetic feeling ride. Its lightweight design, nimble steering handling and forward speed, even without being too powered up, encourage you to be light on your feet, ride a little faster, and make the most of the conditions you’ve been presented with. The Pace feels very rigid, the handles are super stiff and result in very direct feedback and quick responses to input at all times. The rigidity and handle stiffness result in immediate power delivery when pumping. The power delivery, in combination with a quick pump recovery, makes it very easy to optimise your timing to get on foil as fast as possible. The handle stiffness is particularly impressive given the length of the handles; the front one is long. Thanks to the strut design, which angles both handles towards the rider in a slight v, the entire length of the handle is usable as the wing remains at a comfortable distance away from you wherever you choose to hold the handles to adjust the power distribution between the front and backhand.
The long front handle allows for easy optimisation of grip position for one-handed flying, which is precise to a level that would not be possible with a soft handle wing. This will certainly be an essential feature for a lot of riders. I can also see it being a useful method of practice that could be used by those learning to transition into riding waves, allowing them to depower the wing but still control it somewhat without fully transitioning to the depower handle.
The Pace is fast through the air, rides at a close angle to the wind and delivers good forward speed without feeling tiresome on the arms. It remains balanced when riding into the wind and tacks with ease. Whether you’re still learning or trying to emulate Mr.Heineken and tack with speed, the minimal drag will benefit you. Be careful; for those not used to the freedom of front-hand position thanks to a long handle, you have to pay more attention to your hand placement than usual. A misplaced hand during the tack can result in either a nose-diving wing or an early powered-up wing, depending on whether you go too close to the leading or trailing edge.
The Pace is a very versatile wing. When freeriding in flat water, it has the intuitive handling and smooth power delivery characteristics of a particular industry-leading hard-handle freeride wing I’m thinking of, but with more forward drive and significantly better potential in the surf thanks to light and predictable performance on the depower handle. On the depower handle, the Pace is quite free in the yaw axis. In the waves or when downwinding, you can get the wing behind you easily, removing the risk of riding into it in front of you when riding downwind. The Pace feels light on the depower handle, whether still in flight in the depowered position or pushed behind you when attacking a section on a wave. It recovers quickly when you lift it to re-engage tension and ride off. If you want to experience this, take one for a demo and try a round-the-world gybe by riding downwind of the wind and pushing it behind you, and you’ll be impressed.
Summary
The Harlem Pace is an easy product to like. It delivers a favourable balance of usable performance. It has the performance capacity to satisfy a demanding advanced rider trying their hand at all disciplines emerging in wing foiling without sacrificing any usability. Because of its lightweight design, it’ll be a fatigue-free ride for all.
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This review was in Issue 21 of Tonic Mag.
For more information visit HarlemRelated
By Liam Proctor
