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First Impressions - Gin Yeti PDF Print E-mail

Gin's lightweight mountain glider, the Yeti, has been out for a while but what's it like, and does it still deserve consideration as a potential light-glider purchase?

By Neil Cruickshank 

Gn Yeti ready to go
Comes up beautifilly in the lightest airs
Getting ready for two months skiing and flying, I found myself looking at the enormous amount of gear I needed to take and deciding something had to give. Then I remembered that we had recently taken a mint Gin Yeti Small in part exchange. What a great glider to take to the Alps in winter!

The Yeti envelope is basically a Gin Bolero, their best-selling DHV 1 glider. Light fabric, unsheathed upper lines, woven dyneema risers and brake handles all shave the weight down to around 3.8kg. It also packs down very small making it easy to pack into my Sup'Air AltiRando Airbag harness along with front reserve, helmet and gloves etc. I was set for some mountain action..

First chance to fly it was a gentle top-to-bottom of some 4500'. The only problem being a slight tail-wind on takeoff. Laying it out, it all looked a bit skimpy! The fabric is noticeably thinner than normal, the lines thin, and the risers are just crazy! Woven dyneema rope, including the brake handles. With decent gloves the brake handles take some getting used to, the main problem is that you can't feel that you have them in your hand! Its DHV 1 rating is reassuring in a situation like this - no reserve and a tail-wind - and indeed the wing came up easily and I was away.

Next day, we decided to take a hike up the Pas D'Outray, a 2400m mountain overlooking the village of Beaufort. Jakes pack looked huge next to mine, containing his Nova Tatoo and Sup'Air AltiX. With just harness and wing, my pack weighed in at a very satisfying 7.5kg! Indeed on the 2 1/2 hour walk up I had plenty of time waiting for Jake to take some nice photos. 

Launch was once again a doddle, this time we had a very slight breeze in our faces. This flight was a joy, 6000 feet of glassy air and stunning views - a great opportunity to get comfortable with the Yeti. So whats it like? Well, incredible is the best word. Hard to fault for what it is, a DHV 1 mountain glider. The handling and feel is much more dynamic than the standard Bolero, certainly due to the lackof inertia, and the performance is quite impressive. At hands up on a 30 minute glide there was only a relatively small difference in height between us. Granted it was a hands-up glide but still impressive.

Yeehaa first thermals
Look at those risers!

February 20th saw us on Bisanne take-off, hoping for our first good flight in thermals. It turned out to be a superb day flying up along the valley over ski areas we'd been skiing over the last weeks. Again, the Yeti did not disgrace herself, thermalling was pretty easy and predictable if a little physical. But with climbs of up to 6.9m/s it was not surprising. No security worries left me 100% concentrating on the fun (isn't this what paragliding is all about?)

So, if you are thinking of getting a light glider do not discount the Yeti. It truly is excellent in every respect. It does what it says on the can, and very well too! 

Bundled with the Sup'Air AltiRando, this is an excellent package.

 
 
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