- I've got an opportunity to test
Niviuk's current high-B wing,
the IKUMA 2. (dramatic music)
(flames crackle)
Now, the IKUMA 2's been out for a little while,
and I've flown it lots already, as has Nancy,
but I want to test it a bit more,
and I haven't managed to actually put a review out
of this glider, which I'd like to,
'cause I think it's an exceptional high-B wing,
it's a great glider.
And also, one of our customers
who bought an IKUMA 2 for us
has asked me to test something for him and report back.
Okay, let's go fly.
Welcome to the Flybubble Paragliding channel.
- [Nancy] We are freeflight experts
and equipment specialists,
helping you get the best flying experience.
- Easy peasie.
And I've just been flying again the IKUMA 2,
I've actually flown the IKUMA 2 a lot,
and so as Nancy, we've both flown this glider a lot
since it first came out, which was a little while ago,
and we absolutely love the IKUMA 2,
we think it's a fantastic high-B wing.
And it has a character all of its own on the ground,
the IKUMA 2 inflates nicely, fills up with air quickly.
Despite the relatively small cells,
the inflation itself is very progressive,
comes up from low on the ground,
doesn't have a tendency to sort of drop back
and keep needing insisting to pull up.
And actually, you need to be a little bit careful on it,
if you pull too hard, the glider will come up
and build up quite a bit of speed,
And if you're too heavy handed, it could pluck you
in the stronger condition, stronger, gustier conditions.
You can launch it pretty much without the rises,
but just a little lift on the rises
and the glider comes up nicely.
And as soon as you see it's coming up,
you know this is the kind of glider
that's gonna keep coming up.
So I really like the launch of it,
you just need to be aware
of that thing about, in a strong wind,
don't pull it up too hard, and move towards the glider.
In the air, the IKUMA 2
has a really solid, taught feeling to it,
right across the glider,
it feels like definitely this is a glider,
it feels like one wing,
it feels like a blade, just solid all the way through,
cutting through the air.
I think it's quite exceptional like that
in the high-B class.
It also moves forward into thermals fairly nicely,
seeks out the lift, and it cuts into the thermals,
which is really nice.
In terms of performance, I think the IKUMA 2,
even though it's been out a couple of seasons,
has really excellent performance,
really excellent glide, very good speed.
It's quite quick on trim.
You find yourself when you're gliding around
with other gliders of lower gliders
and of the similar level, that you are catching up
and overtaking the lower gliders,
and at least keeping up with gliders of the same level,
and even a little bit above.
In terms of handling, the IKUMA 2 is a real pleasure to fly,
for me, this is one
of the nicest-handling paragliders around,
it's got a really nice feeling on the brakes,
and a nice precision.
And when you pull the brakes,
you just feel that nice conversion of energy,
and the glider rolls and banks, it comes around,
it doesn't excessively roll and bank,
it's turning very efficiently and not over-rolling,
but it does roll and bank around,
so you can turn it really tightly,
lean more on the sporty side,
'cause it has that nice bite in the turns, which is good.
The IKUMA 2 climbs really well, exceptionally well,
I'd say it's one of the better thermals and climbers
in the high-B class, and actually it competes really well.
(laughs)
In terms of descent techniques, the IKUMA 2,
does classic figures perfectly well,
and actually, I find them going in pretty easily,
a little bit firm on the pressure, and they come in,
they're quite stable, and sitting nicely,
and you get a good decent rate.
The other technique you can do with the IKUMA 2,
that LIVIUK also recommend to do,
is the B3s.
So that's on the riser reaching out to the B3 line,
it actually takes a little bit to work out which line it is,
it's kind of the line just in from the stabilo line,
so it's, yeah, really quite physical.
In fact, it's kind of like digging
into my fingers a little bit, so I wish I'd had gloves on.
So I wish I'd had gloves on.
But I could pull it in,
but I wouldn't be holding it in without gloves on,
I wouldn't be holding that in for very long.
One negative of the IKUMA 2
is that it has fully unsheathed lines,
which is the same for some other high-B gliders.
And for some pilots who launch on sites
that have particularly sort of scraggy, bushy launches
that have lots of hawthorn and stuff like that,
they find that the unsheathed lines are a problem for them,
they just grab and catch on everything.
So for some pilots, that might put them off,
the fact that the glider has fully unsheathed lines.
So let's have a look at the IKUMA 2 risers in detail.
At the bottom, we have nicely color-coordinated bottoms,
port and starboard, the pulleys for the speed system,
and their nice Ronstan pulleys,
the usual ubiquitous Bravo hooks, or sister clips.
Going onto the As here, you can see
there's a nice green part on the As
to really make those stand out,
'cause all the lines of the IKUMA 2 are unsheathed.
So right from the bottoms, color-coded little sheaths
on the bottom, which also protect the lines.
The nice webbing break.
They've gone for these, I call them 270 magnets,
slight little weakness of them
is that if you're trying to pull them off
and there's no tension on the line, as you can see here,
you kind of need to use your thumb or something
to pull it off.
Swivels on the brakes, which is interesting,
some manufacturers have gone away from swivels.
The break line goes through a ceramic ring
rather than the pulley.
The IKUMA 2 is a fantastic all-round high-B glider.
It's an ideal wing for pilots
who are wanting to either upgrade
from a low-B, and to a high-B.
Quite ambitious, instead of going from a low-B to a mid-B,
which is a sensible progression for many pilots,
but some pilots, if you're a bit more ambitious,
and you are feeling like you want to take an extra jump,
then you can move up to the high-B class,
and the IKUMA 2 is a great upgrade
for pilots who have been flying a mid-B glider,
say like the Phi BEAT or the Skywalk ARAK,
and you're looking for a nice progression up,
and then, again, the IKUMA 2 is an excellent choice.
I think a lot of pilots are used to fly C-Class gliders
and maybe haven't been flying so much,
or just feel like taking a little bit of a step back,
will really enjoy the IKUMA 2.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this review
of the NIVIUK IKUMA 2.
I've reviewed this glider up,
even though it's been out a couple of seasons already,
so it's kind of a bit late.
I've reviewed the IKUMA 2
because I think it's such a great glider,
it's a really exceptional wing
that I know has made very, very many pilots happy,
and I'm sure will make many more pilots happy too.
IKUMA 2 pilots, give us your feedback,
I'm sure that a lot of you
are gonna share your love of the IKUMA 2
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(ethereal music)