Leaderboard

This was my first kite, I was looking for a trainer before moving up to a larger bowkite. As others have mentioned, the build quality of the B series kites is quite good, this kite as survived some nasty crashes without suffering any damage. This is also a 2 line kite, and comes with a short 20 inch control bar. I 've never used handles, but I find the bar works quite nicely. It comes with 25 meter flying lines which give it great speed and controllability. The first few times I flew it, it launched great, but my lack of experience brought it crashing back to earth pretty quickly, but after a half dozen launches, I was flying it all over with great confidence. In light winds it will over fly a bit when brought right up to the zenith and parked there, but with more wind, say 10 mph or more, it's not really a problem. But thats not where this kite was meant to be flown, it loves to zoom all over in the power zone and turns very quickly. It also develops good power in higher winds and I have skied behind it several times which is a good warmup for skiing with my other kite, an 11 meter slingshot T2, I'll give a review of it when I 've used it more. I think this is a great beginner kite, it is tons of fun to fly and can even give you a bit of a ride. I'm sure it would even move you in a buggy with enough wind, I might just give that a try this summer as well. For the money, I think this kite is VERY tough to beat. By : jackk

Just getting back into buggying after a four year break as i moved to NZ in 2003 and have only just got my buggy and kite shipped out to here. After telling some friends about the kite buggy thing i had a few wanting to have a go and only having a Blade MkI 3.3m as my smallest kite was a bit reluctant to let kite novices loose with it. So i went on the hunt for smaller kite to train other with and use in in stroing winds. There are three real options in NZ for landbased traction kites without ordering them from abroad and that is Ozone, Flexifoil and Peter Lynn. Ozone and Flexi are really expensive here so i decided to choose a Peter Lynn one and wanted it around 2m or less and a trainer so from there access range that left the Pepper II or the Viper. After much deliberating i finally decided on the 2.6m Viper. Now Peter Lynn kites have come a long way in build quality since the early days all the bridle lines are now stiched and joined to the kite on small piece of webbng that is sewn into the kite. They have also included velco outlets on the wing tips to let out water, sand and snow and velco loops in the middle cell to put the bridle when the kite is been packed away to help prevet tangles. Peter Lynn make all their kite from "durable, light, low stretch and water repellent low strech ripstop nylon." The bridle is dyneema and my only criticism is that the bridle on mine has ended were the traction flying lines are put with what looks like cheap nylon. This kite really easy to fly and has sudden increase in power with very little lift on it though it has heaps on power in the power zone. Took it out the other in a 15-20knot wind here in chch were we have 16km of baech with a slight curve in it and great to buugy on. So off i went with the viper and was thundering down the beach on the buggy first leg was down wind so after getting it to speed the viper just sit there and pulls and very little in put is needed though keep one eye on it as teads to fall a little and and can do so quickly though it recovers just as quick. In the turns it is very quick and over flys behind you so you have to control that. On the upwind leg it is even better and pulls like a train and was out performing a 2.0m Pepper and a 2.5m bullet and later that day was faster upwind than a DP power 2.5m. Once again once upto speed it just sits there and pulls. In that 15knot it is very stable and didn't fold up on me once even at the edge of the wind window and has very little lift on it whcih makes it a vwery predictable kite. The kite comes with Kite and bag, handles, lines groundstake, sticker and manual and this is very good value for money and almost 33% cheaper cheaper than the competitions equivlent. It is a great buggy kite fast, stable, little lift and good power. The upwind performance is amazing. Though with the reduced lift it is puerly made for speed and have heard some review it as a non-race kite but at this size and wind speed i thought it thundered and was very efficient with little sideways pull. For the price you will be hard pushed to find better. By : skypirate

My first impression of the Stealth was that it fills a nice hole between the Flexifoil Bullet and the Blade. The kite has lift and power, both are in good moderation. It's well constructed from almost identical materials to its Flexifoil rivals. And has a price that will almost certainly make the smaller sizes very popular. Let's start the review with first impressions. Getting the kite out of the bag I was dubious, the bag was nice looking. And I thought that this might be an effort to make the kite seem of a higher quality than it actually was. I was wrong. The kite is nice, well sewn together made from the same materials as other well known brands. The bridle seemed simple, yet intimidating because of the lack of colour coding between the brake and power bridles. It all looked like one big mess, but a few seconds playing with the bridle and you soon see exactly where everything goes. Flying lines attach with larks head knots as is standard on most traction kites. All in all it has the same look and feel as any of the professionally made traction kites you can buy. No corners seem to have been cut with the construction at least. Getting the kite up in the air you can feel that the kite is neither a Bullet nor a Blade replica. You get the stability of a Bullet, but with lift as well. The kite is fast in the sky, and maneuvers with positive control. I felt that it had a good sized wind window, and would fly at around 85 degrees from 12 o clock. The brakes are responsive and the kite will fly backwards with great ease and very little brake pressure. Too much brake pressure will result in the bottom of the kite folding upwards and make the kite more unstable. This isn't a great problem though it just means the pilot has to be a little more careful when landing and braking the kite. This kite does not come with and handles or lines. A good line and handle set is offered with the kite for a little more money I believe, and is probably worth the extra. Buggying with this kite was great fun. You can use the position of the kite in the sky to change the lift and pull of the kite. Flying the kite in the lower ¾ of the wind window gets you moving with little or no lift. Then using the speed of the kite and the top ¼ of the window you can generate solid controllable lift. The extra lift is great for popping the back wheel up. At no point whilst in the buggy did I feel that the kite was getting the better of me, or attempting to lift me out. And the lift was good enough for me to be able to keep the back wheel in the air with little effort other that balance control. A big thumbs up IMHO. For general movement the kite was solid. Not as powerful as a bullet I felt, but there is a significant range of sizes with the stealth to make getting a bigger kite cheaper. The kite was difficult to overfly, fast at turning and gave the power coming out of turns that you need. Using the kite as a wind brake was quite difficult, the kite has to be forced beyond the zenith in the opposite direction and its flat profile means it doesn't grab the air and slow you down. I think there will be a technique for making this style of braking more efficient. I will have to play with the kite more to learn the secret. It's not a race winner, but it'll have you grinning like a naughty school boy. And you'll be safe as houses when that back wheel lifts. Upwind I felt the kite was O.K. It wasn't special but with effort you could get yourself back upwind. The larger kites in the stealth range are probably lots better, but the 3.6 in 10Mph winds just didn't have the legs. Don't be fooled into thinking this kite won't get you upwind, it just won't do it as fast as some of the other kites you can buy. If you're not racing, you're not going to care in the slightest about a little upwind speed though. My roundup I like this kite a lot. If I didn't already have a 2.5m bullet I would have one of these. The 3.6 is fun, and will have you impressing yourself and friends with very little effort. The bridle could do with been coloured to make it less intimidating. All in all though it's a great little piece of kit. And an absolutely wonderful kite to get learning buggy with. Especially when the 3.6 is cheaper than the 2.5 bullet. Author : nesbitt_bub1

I bought this kite to begin to practice what I had learned in lessons. The kite was purchased with bag, bar, lines, and pump included. The build quality and durability of the kite is very good and stood up well to two weeks of use on Maui with no signs of wear. The 2007 Omega is the first kite in the Cabrinha lineup that included the most recent inclusion of tougher construction. This is most evident in the material on the leading edge and the stitching used. Setting up the kite is easy with the Sprint single point inflation which includes a one way valve. The lines and connection points on the kite are all numbered and color coded. The kite is easy to launch and fly and handles gusty winds well with sheeting out the bar as you feel the gust hit the kite. The center lines have a pull - pull system for tuning the power where the red ball is pulled for less power and the black ball is pulled for more power. This was a big help on a really strong wind day when I needed to back off the power some from the factory setting. The kite turns fast but held well at 12 while I put on the board for water starts. With the turning speed it was easy to generate power as needed by working the window. The kite re-launches from the water really easily and many times re-launches itself. The kite bag is well made and has large expanding mesh ends that allow for storage with inflated struts (which also have close off clamps from the leading edge). The bag also has enough room without the extension of the ends that the kite fits in snug for compact traveling. The bar is a metal alloy with a center mounting on top of the bar for the center lines to pass through. It worked well for me, but I have heard that some don't like this set up and prefer the more expensive carbon fiber bars with the center hole. The bar, kite and lines can be set up to fly 2 to 1 on pulleys or 1 to 1 without pulleys. I flew it only in the 2 to 1 from the factory setting. The lines are 22 meters long in total with 15 meter lines and 7 meter extensions. I did all my flying at the full 22 meters but it is nice to have the option of using shorter lines. There are a lot of line and harness extensions so if one wears out it is easily replaced. Overall I'm really happy with the kite's performance and durability. By : Dave_5280

I bought this kite as a cheap starter 4 line kite for my daughter and myself. Bought it online for £25 including delivery. Now just to set the record straight its span is 2.5M and area is 2Msq. When it arrived we unpacked it and laid it out, its not made of any type of ripstop material, the stitching was not particularly impressive, no edging around the edges, bridle lines looked very flimsy and thin. Flying lines were very poor and even had a knot in them! After flying the first time we found the lines to be all different lengths, easily sorted. Handles were poor quality and the leaders looked as though they would chaff where they pass through. Once the lines were sorted we had another go at flying and it was quite enjoyable, but don't forget this was our first time flying a 4 line kite. Still we were able to practice launching and reverse launching and to learn a little about what we had read on the wind window. Now this being our first time we did manage a few crashes and this soon had stitching coming undone. So got the dear missus to fix it with the sewing machine and provide a bit of reinforcement and off we went again. Again enjoyable but ended with a control line fraying about halfway along. The kite did enough to whet the appetite but I'm afraid that all its really good for. I don't think it would stand up to any high winds well and I certainly don't think you'd want to fly it with a crowd of fellow kiters. Not something you'd want to own up to having in your quiver. So should you buy one just to see if you like kiting? No. We have since bought a 2M Pansh Legend for £46 and it absolutely knocks spots off the KM7003, well made, edging all round and double stitched, decent bridles, better handles, not sure about the lines though. I think you would get far more use from the Pansh and hence it's better value for money. By : Chris. S.

These are water relaunchable foils, with sealed valves which stop water and anything else getting in. All sizes are nearly semicircular in shape, made from fairly thin ripstop, with a full crossover bridle. I have only flown them on a bar with a three line set up, two power lines to the fron and a single killer on the brakes. A large bar is used and the break line is kept fairly slack. Inflating. The kites all need manual (pump) inflation, until they are virtually full they fly like a carrier bag, and are comp[letely rubbish. I bought mine second hand a very cheaplybecause people said they were awful and would fly. Once inflated though, the change in character. They have a thick profile need a huge volume of air for their size. Flying. Once up and flying they are normally well behaved kites, very stable with a constant pull throughout the window. Very lifty and strong pulling for the size. The 3.6 is slightly stronger than my 4m Blade II. Flight is very straight with the bar flat and responds to input very easily. A big bar is needed as these are quite big kites, a crossover might help but has not been tried. Landing. Pulling the brake line causes the kite to reverse and land very very neatly on its trailing edge and ready for action. Relaunching from this position is very simple with the kite taking off. Speed can be controlled with the brakes limitting pull until ready. If unside down the breaks will reverse the kite easily for relaunch both on and off water. If the kite lands leading edge first it very quickly rolls over and relaunches which can catch unawares, but the brakes will keep that under controlled. Downside. Gusts this is normally no problem as the kite rides gust well, but if the kite luffs it has a tendency to fold drop unpowered into the middle of the widow and power up violently. As long as tension is kept on the lines this shouldn't happen. Upside. Body dragging throught the surf with these is brilliant fun, you can dump them in the water and they relaunch 100% of the time. They are good for beginning to mountain board, slow stable and strong pulling. Leaving alone. These need staking down with a good pull on the brakes, They then sit quite happily fully inflated for ages. A short fly for top up the air and bang they are off again All in all a bit quirky, but a good kite. My youngest daughter flies the smallest and apart from the inflation time prefers it to here 2.1 little devil. By : Tele Player

I've been flowing my JOJO ET Instincts for over a year and a half now and seeing that they are great kites about which little is written, I decided I'd write a review. As an intro, I've been kiting (dual line) for over 12 years, I've been involved in traction kiting for over 2 years and been flying the JOJOs for 1.5 years. I've flown Frenzy's, an Airrush and Best trainer and I own a blade and bego in a addition to my jojos of which I own a 2.5, 5.5 and 7.0 and those are what I'll be writing about. Though I've been in kiting for a long time I really can't tell one good stitch from another. I can tell bad stitching when I see it but cross stitching, straight stitching… I can recognize it but can't tell great from good. So suffice it to say, JOJO is a leading manufacturer of race kites and paragliders and their craftsmanship is top notch. From my opinion everything is stitched and reinforced well enough. I've had no problems and no complaints in this department. Bridle construction again, what you would expect from a company like JOJO. It would be nice if the bridles were color coded (red / blue) at the tow points but they aren't. Power bridle on all mine are yellow and the brakes a pink type color. I've had no problems with stretch or tangles or fraying. The bridle seems well made and well enforced at the attachment points on the kite. The sail seems fine. As you look at these kites on the internet you will see different stores list the same kite with different numbers of cells. My believe, and I can't prove it is that some count the open cells on and others count all cells. Regardless, the sails are nice. Big open cells and my larger JOJOs (5.5, 7.0) have mylar reinforced stiffeners on the cells to help them stay open and inflate easier. Not sure sure on which kite they start that as my 2.5 doesn't have them and I don't own the 4.0 but it's a nice touch on the larger kites. bag and lines and handles The stuff sack is a simple stuff sack. Nothing to write home about but gets the job down and they are appropriately sized for the kites they contain. Rucksacks I believe are available but mine came with stuff sacks. The kites are not supplied with handles or lines from JOJO so buy those on your own or see what your dealer offers. JOJO does recommend that you fly the kites on 30m lines and they recommend 300# / 150# for the lines and that's what I fly on. I've flown the 7.0 on 25m lines to speed up the response a bit and I like the 5.5 on that as well but since I generally fly inland and in not the best conditions, the 30m lines can help smooth the flight out and get you into some cleaner air while increasing your power stroke. The Instinct is a lot of fun to fly static. Great for kite skiing, great for the buggy and good for the landboard (explanation below). Flight Characteristics: The ETs are slow to inflate, move slower through the air (than say a racekite or a blade or bego) and they offer solid and progressive pull. I have been jerked off my board but mostly the power delivery is progressive so no real surprises. The 2.5 is actually pretty fast and more snappy through the. The 5.5 and 7.0 move slower but can be tuned to turn pretty quick for their size and do respond well to pull turns and better to turning on the brakes or turning in combo. The ETs have an A/R of 3.8 but a thicker profile than say the crossfire which has the same A/R. ETs have limited over head pull so you can park them fairly safely at the zenith. I have been spanked by the 2.5 and lofted by the 7.0. The 5.5 and 7.0 do have a decent amount of float and they don't yank you off the ground like a blade. All the Instincts pull hard for their size, IMO and their lift is predictable. You can really feel it coming on without any violent or sudden surprises. The 7.0 will take you up (I weigh 145#s) and simply float you a couple of yards down the field a foot or so off the ground. Nothing explosive, just a nice little float down field. The 5.5 has more pop and less float given its size but if you work them hard you can do some nice jumping and the 7.0 and 5.5 let you down nicely. Again, these aren't blades or begos or crossfiires – but they offer low altitude jumping without much effort. Their lateral pull is great and the vertical pull is good. As such, they are a bit better in the buggy than on the board since with the buggy you can get more power flying the kite lower to the ground through the power zone while on a board I like the kite up higher but as you take the instincts up higher in the window, their pull starts to diminish some. However, these kites really like to be flown powered and if you are boarding powered or over-powered, these kites will pull you all over and the diminished pull at the top of the window gives you a bit of a brake as you redirect to change your forward direction. Instincts are VERY stable I fly mostly on a field that is somewhat in a bowl and wringed by trees. The wind is seldom clean and the kites hold up well. Even if they do collapse (which is extremely rare – they were built to be stable and they really are) you can usually pump them hard and they will reinflate (slowly) in the power zone allowing you to gain control without being yanked down field. Rarely do they bowtie to the point I need to set the handles down and do the walk of shame. 90% of the luffs are recoverable before the kite hits the ground. If the winds are clean I challenge you to collapse the kite. It is pretty much that stable, doesn't overlfly the zenith and won't really overfly the edge either. I like to fly them with some brake tension and they do turn nicely on the brakes but you don't need to crank on the brakes to bring the kite around. When skiing I had no problem going up wind and could keep the kite at the edge of the window. Powered on skis, I could use the kites to go anywhere I wanted on the pond and returned at the end of my sessions to pretty much the exact spot I had started. Very nice upwind ability when powered. My landboarding skills aren't as good as my skiing skills so I'm not as proficient in getting the kite and board upwind and find I need to work the kite more on grass then snow. If the wind is blowing (and where I ski is much better than where I board) but if the wind is blowing good when boarding I can take the board all over the field, do some nice power slides and small jumps and return to my launch point. If the winds are flaky, the kite needs to be worked to get up wind. Because the kite has a thicker profile, you will likely get more out of a race kite at the window's edge then you will an ET but its performance on the edge is still good. Because they aren't super fast, if boarding, I prefer to fly them on days when you don't have to work them too much. The 2.5 you can work hard and get a lot out of it. The 5.5 you can work too but the 7.0 is a big kite and best to park and ride with. You can work the 7.0 on shorter lines but I like to park and ride that kite. With all of the jojos, like their racekite brothers, if you want some strong pull dip it lower into the power zone, dab the brakes and away you go. I keep my brakes pretty tight so I can kill the kite as needed and so they turn quicker on the brakes. You can get a slight turbo boost by applying some brake as you sweep through the power zone but they kill nicely when hitting the brakes hard so if things get hairy you can gain control pretty quick. The ETs are fun to fly static, the 5.5 and above are good for jumping (not high but high enough for me for now and their float is good). They do have a 3.8 A/R but still, their power delivery comes best when putting the kite right through the power zone as opposed to maybe 60 degrees or higher up. They have been great kites to learn and progress with and really help you gain your confidence. I don't think you'd necessarily outgrow them. You may look for something faster or more aggressive but don't be fooled by the ET label. They are beginner friendly but not limited to beginners. There's something to be said about a kite that's easy to fly and delivers the goods in crap conditions. In the winter I fly on large frozen lakes with much smoother winds and the kites are real nice in those environments but winter is short so mostly I fly in crap and although my blade and bego have better up wind performance and lift, they are not nearly as stable (making it more scary) to fly then the ETs. One aspect I most enjoy about the ETs are their predictability. No real surprises. Sure you can get caught out but the kite will still respond predictably. I can not overstress how super stable and predictable they are. Really a joy to fly them. OK, now for the bad. Nothing can be perfect and these aren't either. The worst thing I can say about the ET Instincts is the name of the kite. I really think the ET (Easy Traction) hurts the saleability of this kite. Really a shame because I think some see "easy" and they think "beginner" and they look for something else thus overlooking a truly great kite that is beginner friendly but also a kite you can grow with in all aspects of traction spots because it gives you the confidence to predict its performance and it will grow with you. Aside from that they don't come with dirt outs (no biggie as the cells openings are pretty large) and they don't come with croc clips to hold the bridle (no biggie either). I have been very satisfied with my ET Instincts. They are tough to come by and have real limited distribution and a bit on the expensive side with no "give-mes" (stickers, stakes, handles, key rings, etc.). JOJO seems to pour all their money into the kite and its performance and from my perspective they hit the mark the Instinct. It delivers exactly what they say it does. Author : Brrian O

I've used both LEI (16m x2) and various flysurfer kites including the psycho1 and warrior. So whats it like? Well out of the bag, its well made, packs down nicely and has afew new features that should increase it longevity such as: 1. blow off valves (Aye Aye!) which should open if you pile it into the water/ground on its front edge, and stop it popping like a paper bag. 2. small loops of bridle that should snap in preference to the insertion points on the kite, so if you do break them they should be easy enough to replace. 3.Reinforced 500lb center line (I snapped the psycho 1 300lb lines at least 3 times) Set up is ok, provided you are used to it. First of all lay out the kite and shake out the bridles, next untangle the control lines. This is more complex than previous FS's in that there are three layers of contol lines. It sort of make sense when you see it but could be a bit of a nightmare if you are not used to bridling. (i.e straight of LEI's). The extra complexity here allows the kites angle of attack to be varied hugely with a very sort range on the depower at the bar. So far I've not had too many problems, except the first time I used it (in 28mph winds, not ideal) and now I'm used to it, it takes me about 5 mins to set up and be off. Take off is ok, I usually self launch at the side of the window. Once had a problem in high wind with too much weight on one end, the kite half inflated then dragged backward without taking off. Had to dump it on the safety. No problems next time with a little more preinflation a fiddle with the wac system (more of this later) and less sand. In the sky, very stable, very fast on the turn, very little tip curl (with the factory wac settings), and very light on the arms. The small degree of imput on the bar includes the power up, overpower/stall as the bar is draw towards you. It does depend on how you have the depower strap pulled, full on the power up range is about 20 cm (i.e very very short. In low winds you fly with no depower stap and the power up range is 0, i.e. the kite flies like a LEI on full depower. Generally I have the depower strap pulled about 1/4 and this gives about 6cm pull on the bar for full power. Pull beyond this the kite will stall and slowly drop backwards. Grunt is great, as is pop, hang time needs a good pilot with hands used to the short power range. I find the kite has a tendancy to drop me out the sky quickly sometimes, othertimes you float down like a feather. I suspect this is related to the inflight piloting. The grunt is great for low wind flying, and the turn speed allows you to Sine like a LEI (unlike the old Psychos). I have had the 10 keeping me upwind with 2m jumps in 12mph wind. Give the kite some wind 15mph-23mph and its heaven on wings. It does fly like a LEI quite alot in that you rely on board edge quite alot to cope with the gusts. JUmps are easy, but the bar system could do with something like the cabrinha power ball to keep consistent power on during flight, because oversheet, undersheet and you is heavier than meeting with Michael Howard. Overpowered it behaves and keeps you on you toes with the grunt kicking in the gusts and (on one occasion ripping me off the board for a 20m downwind power belly slide!) Relaunch is the best I've seen, either release and retrive the bar, or pull on one of the side lines and the kite should flip up and off. Only in light winds (like the 12mph I was in) get the kite wet, and its going nowhere. Safety, again excellent, (this is why I have FS), chicken loop relase- and pull stop system works reliabley and well. Also kite dump if ness available. I generally surf alone and find the FS are very good for self launch self land (better than the X2) Overall, great, Im really pleased, it has some drawbacks, the short power range on the bar, Also I've noticed some wear on the lines that pass through the pulleys and the kite is only 20x used. By : sheff

Ohhhh these bow kites are nice! That wont really do as a review will it? OK.....some video Link to video Right.....that was the first day on the kite!! This is Ocean Rodeos flat/Bow/SLE kite. The one I went for was 12m.... this will be having a 16m to join it on the shelf soon. I had been waiting a few weeks for the kite to arrive.... the hype over Bows has been immense so i was all excited at the thought of having my own inflatable super kite! City link dropped it of and a quick attack with a packing knife and the slick kitebag was revealed....wait for the kitey stuff.... people like bags! The bag is usable as a rucksack OR a shoulder bag, all the bits zip into a pouch and are super easy to change. The bar comes in it's own mesh drawstring bag to keep everything neat, and sits in a seperate pocket in the side of the bag. I got the kite out and laid it on the lawn..... it is built like all the other Ocean Rodeo kit, super heavy duty! There are scuff pads on the leading edge, the Leading edge tube is built of a very thick ripstop and all of the bridle poitns are double thickness with triple stitching...they mean these kites to last! All the moving bridle is easy to remove for replacement....this WILL need doing BTW... I am investing in spares....Just in case. Colours...very good...I got the red, strong prints, not to garish and they look tops in the sky. OK.... enough about what it looks like....lets fly the thing! Setting it up. EASY.... the lines are colour coded and of a good quality, The bar looks just like any other....with a long depower rope...OK....it has a few anomolies, have a look. http://www.oceanrodeo.com/punchupbar.html The best bit for me is the trim adjuster on the chicken loop, this is a revelation after reaching up to grab a strap too far away and then not always knowing which bit to pull! The adjuster is always in the same place and always easy to fiddle with. it even has a velcro tab to stop it flapping about. So... you have the lines on the bar, time to hook them onto the kite. The bridle has multiple attachment points, use three up on the power lines and numer one on the brakes. The bridles come out without tangles everytime due to velcro clips on the leading edge, just undo them and it's obvious what to do. Launching.... there are several ways of doing this, the easiest is the "traditional" method, get your kite mate to hold it, make sure the safety is undone, just in case of a BIG gust and away you go! Launch with the bar all the way out, you will be astonished at the lack of pull....you will hardly even need to step forwards! Flying.... Once you are in the air this kite is amazing! Now, a "normal" LEI will give you SOME depower, enough to not die on the walk down the beach into the water...The ONE lets you walk about like there is no kite on the other end of the lines! Trimming is very important with these kites.... set the trim so it just wont stall when on fullpower and you have found the Max power for the wind conditions on the day. Static flying will make you giggle lots..... send the kite up with the bar out, when it's at the top of the stroke pull the bar in.... now look down and be astounded how high you are! This kite lifts you FAST and hard.... Once you are up BEWARE do not let the bar all the way out! you will fall to the floor as if there is no kite above you! I jarred my ankles a few imes to start with, you will soon learn how far is "enough". Once you have this dialled in your jumps will be huge and floaty. Landboarding.... as you saw in the video.... some great landboarding can be had 8-10mph onwards...... you can trundle about once it will fly, but that is NO fun. SO easy to get moving, send the kite down and pull the bar in. If you are getting too hot, relax, let the bar out and you will stop! Jumps come quickly and high if you want them!! Kitesurfin g... THIS is awesome! Lie back, send the kite hard and pull the bar in, you will be up quickly and easily, set the bar to the required power and ride away! Jump? Hell yeah! Send the kite..... wait....wait.... Pull the bar in! Up, up and AWAAAAAY! BEWARE.... if you push the bar all of the way out you will come off the plane and sink! Great for the nervous rider (such as me!) So is it ALL roses Adam? Well.... no..it isn't. Lets discuss ...inversion! Does the ONE invert? Yes it does, deploy the safety in too light wind and it WILL invert....when it does DONT PANIC. Grab the "oh gosh" handle and front line safety, flag the kite out and it reverts, let go and relaunch..easy So... it all sounds good eh? Well yes.... it is actually.... topped off with... the pricing! It's either the cheapest or the second cheapest BUT it is probably the highest build quality out there. So... get a demo of the ONE before buying any of the others out there.... this one will still be flying after some of the others are being turned into bags! By : adamski

I was asked to “have a go” in the WindDragon latest offering (believed to be called the Maxc?) to give an independent review. But having just taken delivery of my new Tornado, I was kind of reluctant to give up any time in my new buggy to ride anyone else’s. (We were only in France for two days and the wind had been cracking onshore both days) So it was with a heavy heart – I gave up my new steed to try this “little” buggy out. When I first clapped eyes on it – I assumed it was a Stainless VMAX for it is a very similar size. Some important differences set it apart. Use of 20MM Axle Bolts all round for one, adjustable footpegs for another. Slightly longer on the Siderails and an interesting was of mounting the rear Axle bolts into the rear axle giving a certain amount of “damping” ability. The Axle bolts mount into a poly eurethane bush, which is inserted into the axle. This is the same elastomer as used on Kitedeck’s products (a picture here would help a lot - its nowhere near as flaky as that sounds) Time will tell as to the longevity / practicality of this but as an engineer myself and Keith (Owner of Winddragon) an engineer of some many more years experience tells me he has it right. The Seat is well made / stitched from a similar material to the VMAX but with more waterproofing properties. Its well stitched with a hard board back (another plus) Panels are stitched in the seat area to prevent “rucking” Plenty of adjustment on the seat buckles allows the seat to be placed inn pretty much any position required. On the day of the test, the seat was set low to allow for my extended backside and over long legs. I couldn’t believe how comfortable the buggy was just to sit in. the rails came high enough over my hips to make me believe I wouldn’t tip it and the 1.4m Axle again gave me extra stability.. Coming straight from a full on race buggy into this wasn’t that much of a shock. Having been hideously overpowered on my 4.4 Vampir Race in the Race buggy – I wisely decided to change down to the 3m Vampir for riding the MAXC. The reduction in weight (About 25 kg) was telling me I would be accelerating fast. I was right. I launched the 3m and hooked in turned across the wind onto the hard sand bank. Looked down at the GPS and saw 30 mph. Pretty much instantly. I didn’t feel worried – I did nt feel as though the back end was about to twitch out on me. Steering was easy and smooth. The turning circle tight enough to try some powered up down turns without losing all speed through sliding out. After I had done a few runs (one to Belgium and back), The wind was turning a little more cross- onshore. So headed back upwind to camp. Upwind – the Buggy coped well. The position of the footpegs (low) meant that I didn’t lose all feeling in my right leg as I tried to hold a line. Back in front of the rest of the gang, I played around with a few power slides etc getting the feeling of where the balance point was. I am no freestyler (haven’t managed to get up on two wheels ever) But enjoyed playing around a few 360 spins and sliding to stop with a nice rooster tail in the sand. All in all a nice buggy. Libre finally have some real competition for the emerging racer / Freeriding cruiser market. Pics can be seen here www.winddragon.co.uk/greig Author : Sparhawk

OK.... you kitesurfers.....how much fun is it standing in a carpark with the wind whipping past your rapidly shrivelling "bits"? Not very is it? How many sessions have you bailed due to it being cold and you not wanting that cold flush when you faceplant in - degree c temps? Has it ever taken you all of the journey home, the evening and some of the next day to warm up? Do you know what Hypothermia feels like? You may be in need of a nice new drysuit then!! Sam (my boy) and myself got them this week..... it was 3degrees with 13-15mph winds.....from a Northerly direction.....Not the warmest direction! We got to the beach and the landboarders were all hiding in tents complaining of the cold..... we were worried!! To practical issues..... I got a pyro Pro..... this is the top of the range suit..... it has a front Zipper allowing self entry and exit without dislocating a shoulder.... this is important to me as I have few friends and often forget to bother taking them to the beach.... that and I travel away from home lots and get the odd cheeky session "between appointments". The Pro also has breathable panels, cutting down the cold sweat running down your neck. The Pyros are NOT made in a chinese sweatshop..they are handbuilt in Canada....this IS reflected in the price AND the quality of construction. All of the seams are well taped, the stiching is even and flat, the fabric feels very heavey duty.... very "built to last". Colour choice....NOPE... you get blue and black, good combo and not very geeky. The seals at neck wrists and ankles are a Latex/PU mix, very flexible and they are supposed to be very hard wearing... time will tell.... they do seem good though AND if damage should be done it shouldn't be the end of the world to repair/replace them. Back to the beach.... We stood there with our suits on getting our kites ready..... wondering at our sanity!! I first noticed that I wasn't cold when someone questioned our sanity at climbing into icey cold water..... I was stood there, not shivering, feeling good! Kite launched, walking down to the water with a board and a worried expression....no need! I did the..... set your face and walk resolutely into the water without crying..... my bodyglove boots did the job.... feet stayed warm! A bit further and AMAZINGLY I wasn't getting cold. Right... onto the criminally inept boarding,,,, I am great for testing these.... I hit the water HARD and at varying speeds and angles....NO LEAKS! When you get one of these... BEWARE don't have too much underneath... I nearly passed out after half an hour with the kite and several horrible splash and drag moments...... I stopped.... got out and removed some clothing..... this is amazing in the temps we had! Seriously... if you want to kitesurf ALL year in the UK in comfort get yourself one of these babies..... grit your teeth, get your wallet out and smile, you will never be cold again!! By : adamski

I was just browsing the reviews and stumbled across a review of the skypark at Monkey Tree farm just outside Newquay.I thought it might be interesting to see what the person had to say about the park since i was down there last summer.While i have to agree that perhaps the park is a bit small i think that you have to ride it to get the full experience,and since the person who wrote the other review didnt ride i think that makes his review null and void. I was staying at the camp site so got to ride the skypark in a number of differing winds while i was there and feel i can give a better review (i went about 5 times).I flew there mostly in the evenings when it was just me and Dom the owner having a session and have to say i really enjoyed myself.Dom and Vicky who run the park were very friendly and riding with dom helped me progress a great deal.Just to watch him ride was fun but it meant i could see how to do tricks in the flesh and ask dom for tips and things. As for the park itself i would recommend it to anyone who wants to progress onto ramps and start trying rails but i dont think its the place to learn(unless you are taking lessons there).I landboard so couldnt comment on buggying but i saw a few buggiers who all seemed to be enjoying themselves as much as i was.The terrain is quite rough so you have to be a competent rider to use it to its full potential.The ramps were i thought very well shaped and positioned and you could use at least a couple in any wind direction you got.I think the single rail was good but they need some more placed strategically around the park (preferably slightly bigger) which would be excellent fun! There is also, i would like to point out, room to have a decent run and get some jumps in along the way. Everything is crammed in quite tightly but there is a bit on nice flat ground if you dont fancy hitting the jumps and just want to go for airs off the floor or cruising. At the skypark you can also have lessons or hire out their gear (which there is a nice selection of).The gear is all good quality and a reasonable price to hire.My dad had a basic lesson in kite flying (which was also a good price) one morning when i was having a freeride and he said it was really good to get some expert coaching rather than me teaching him!!!!lol!!He said he felt he was in really safe hands and he wants to try buggying next time we're there. To cut a long story short.If you want lessons go there but if you want to learn the basics by yourself please dont!!!Only go by yourself if you feel comfortable on the board and want to challenge your riding skills. I hope that this review is a little more helpful than the other one!!!! 😉 By : Antigrav

Having to pick my first harness was quite a challenge, because just like when picking a new kite, there is lots of choice. I wanted a fairly cheap one because it is my first harness, and i had heard bad things about the radsail one, so i went for the quadrifoil after hearing that its quite comfortable once its adjusted correctly. So i ordered it and it came within a few days thanks to powerkiteshop and it all looked good. After slight confusion of how i strapped the wasist strap to the spreader bar i asked on racekites and all was good. So, the first time i used it i had mixed reactions. Wind was about 15mph and i was using my 3.6 beamer II. I launched the kite and hooked into the harness. All was going nicely, i really like the spreader bar on the harness, its a roller of just the right size, not so small that the strop keeps falling out and not so big that it gets in the way and is hard to unhook from. It runs soomthly , and the strain seems to be distributed evenly on the straps. All was well until a gust came through, lifting me off my feet and i did not have the leg straps adjusted correctly and i crushed my nuts. I immediately unhooked and hobbled home and once more onto racekites, and was told the tighter the legstraps the better. So i went out again, a bit weary from last time, made sure all my starps were nice and tight, launched and it worked nicely. You may think because of the lack of padding that it would be uncomfortable, but i have flown for hours on end hooked in no problems, the harnessis nice and comfortable, with the strain evenly distributed on all straps. Hooking into a harness does take some getting used to, but once you are used to it it feels good to take the strain off your arms and sit back into your harness. The straps on the harness and good and thick, probably about 2" thick and seem quite robust. On the waist strap end where you double it back through the spreader it helps to rough the strap up on a wall to avoid slippage, i did this and the harness has not slipped on me yet. Since i have had the harness i have used it on my beamer, a bullet 3.5 and a bego 600 on a depower bar and it worked well on all of them. when using it with a chicken loop there is enough space for the donkey dick to fit in the webbing on the roller snugly to hold it in place, so it stayed in well. Today i used my harness in a buggy and it worked really well, because it is not combersome it does not get in the way in the buggy, nether does it have any parts that dig in to you when sitting in the buggy. Also because it is not combersome it is very easy to run freely when going for a pendulum jump. When in the air, the harness takes your weight nicely, with the bum strap taking alot of the weight, and the leg straps taking some aswell. The spreader bar supplied is good and strong and seems a nice length for me (waist 30") as it's curve fits nicely to your bodey, making it comfortable to wear for long periods of time. Like i said, i really like the roller, just the right size, and the harness is supplied with a spare aswell incase you break or loose one. You also get a quadrifoil strop, which is meant for a bar so i made my own for my handles with rope from B+Q, but the strop looks strong and looks as if it will work well. So, i would highly recommend this harness for someone looking for a cheap harness, that is not restricting and quite comfortable when adjusted correctly. I have no other experience with harnesses but i cannot reccomend this harness enough for the price i paid for it, £40. By : jumping_jim

Ozone V24 Backpack I received about a month before my recent holiday a 24 litre Ozone backpack to test for Prokites. What’s in the pack? 1. A 24 litre rucksack The build quality is the same as any Ozone product; it’s well made! And it comes in black and red just like all Ozone bags. It’s made of ripstop Cordura with a fully padded back (that nice vented material that stops your back sweating like a pig!). The shoulder straps are padded also with hip belt and also chest clip – all fully adjustable for a variety of odd shaped humans! The wings of the hip belts have nice little "change" pockets in them. The lid has a small pocket – roughly 6"x 4" great for phone/keys etc. The main opening is large and has two zippers on it – it opens out to give great access to the main compartment. Inside are a couple of surprises for us the first is a padded laptop case that Velcros to the inside of the sac by a wide band of Velcro. Take this out and you have more space in the sac – I wasn’t taking a laptop on hols so this was left at home. However, it could double up as a pad to park your bottom on whilst out in the hills or on the beach. The pocket I really liked was the large internal security pocket – swallows a large novel, ipod, wallet, passports and more!!! Fully packed with, 2.5m kite, camera gear, couple of magazines, travel biography, documents, sweatshirt and Patagonia fleece lined jacket (latter two items for my return to the UK) it fits neatly into an overhead locker on a plane with the pockets easily accessible when opening the locker in flight! This bag swallows stuff like you have never seen!! Fantastic piece of kit whether kiting or just travelling! Author : offshore

As a follow on to my review of the excellent Radsail 145 Tom (my seven year old) and I have also been flying the HQ Bebop. This kite is a delta configuration stunt kite, its cheap and its for beginners. But it does not show it. The kite is well made of ripstop nylon and fibre glass poles. The delta span is 69cm height and 145cm wide, far from huge but plentiful for a youngster Tom and a beginner me. It is well stitched and quite neat, not perfect but excellent value for the money paid (bought with the Radsail for less than £40.00 all in). It comes ready to fly with Q-Fusion (what is that) lines 20 meters long and with 50lb breaking strain. This kite really is great, straight out of the bag it flies in 2.5-5Bft (hey thats what it says on the bag). Agile, fast, spinny and really quite forgiving. We enjoy this kite a lot it is great for where we are with tricks and stunts, launches easily from the ground and can be controlled back down sometimes, I am sure that a better flier would find more fault but at this time it is what we know and love. Having a beginner and a youngster use it this kite has been smashed into the floor gently and often with some great vigour, we have yet to break any of the poles and we have really tried hard too. Indestructable!, no, no kite is but it is close enough for us at this time. Would we recommend this kite, heck YES. Pull it out pop it up and set grim factor to 11. No expert but great learner. Thanks to the guys at Fleetwood kite shop, you really didn't let us down. Cheers. Phil & Tom By : PhilG

Having struggled with a 3.5 century in Horrible gusty inland winds , i decided it was time to get something to use on days when the century was making my hair stand on end ! I found a 3.5 maniac second hand for £150 , as this was cheaper than any other kite sub 3m and was a flysurfer , i went for it ! Turns out it was an excellent purchase , it was a bit of a gamble as there is little to no info out there on the maniac . IT is a mid aspect kite , and claims to be "the most stable kite of all time" and the description is not far off ! THe kite is made to usual Flysurfer over engineered quality , and has non return water tight valves along the leading edge , these can be removed to make the kite more of an open cell ram air (it inflates quicker this way ) The kite comes on a very retro looking pressureless depower bar , similar to the powerlock bar , meaning the bar locks itself in position when you move it up and down the depower line , it stays where you let it go , meaning you can power the kite up , let go of the bar and it will stay powered up until you move the bar back ! The kite itself came on 15m lines ! they were promptly removed and placed on 30m lines ( i fly inland , 15 m lines are as good as a chocolate teapot ) the kite is very , very stable in all parts of the window , even in very lumpy wind , and it is extremely difficult to get it to overfly , the locking bar helps with this as well , you can park it above you , power up and it will stay there all day without a hint of overfly ! (could even hav e a fag and a beer if you wished) The kite pulls like you would expect say a 3m buster or similar mid aspect 3m , but the depower range is deceptive , although it is only about 6 inches of travel and no trim strap , with the bar out fully the kite pulls like a 1.5 , 2 m all without sheeting , this helps with boarding in gust conditions , as hitting a gust no longer means riding it out at breakneck speed , it just means pushing the bar forward an inch or so and relaxing again ! Fantastic ! There is not much lift in the maniac , but that is a good thing in this size , as i dont really want to be doing jumps on a landboard in 25mph + anyway ! However the kite is amazingly good upwind , despite having almost no lift , it needs tyo be depowered slightly , but i was flying upwind on it when others were strugling on 3m blades and busters ! this kite just seems to thrive on orrible lumpy wind , and eats it for breakfast ! If you are looking for something to use in nuclear inland winds , check out a Flysurfer ! The maniac is 4 years old now and still outperforms the frenzy in gusty winds IMHO ? By : Lofty

The Flysurfer EXTASY has been released to replace Flysurfer's intermediate model, the TITAN, in the 05 line-up. I was lucky enough to sample the kite at their recent demo day, courtesy of their U.K. distributor, Oceanside. The EXTASY is currently available in 3 sizes, 4.5, 7 & and 10m. Larger sizes will be available as soon as FS have finished the test schedule. Compared with previous models, this kite boasts several new ideas and refinements. Comparing it to the VOODOO for example, one can see that the curve of the wing is not as extreme at the wingtips, and remains more of a constant curve. The planform itself is mid aspect, with a gentle curve ending in squared off tips, compared to the sharp curve of the VOODOO. Side on, the profile itself is quite thick, but not as much as previous pictures on the net had suggested. Moving in closer to the kite, one can take a moment to examine the finish and fittings. Here the material is thinner and lighter than on the VOODOO, with an equally smooth surface finish. This should help in the bottom end of the windrange where the V10 was somewhat lacking due to its relatively heavy cloth. Stitching and finish is up to the usual Flysurfer standard, impeccable all round. Looking at the bridle, one can see that the 'weak link' points have been retained, but fitted below these are steel rings resembling climbing karabiners in shape through which some of the bridle lines pass though. One can assume this is a method to help control of the profile, in conjunction with the redesign of the internal structure of the kite to allow it to do away with the pulley system. Losing the pulleys from the kite reduces the maintenance factor significantly, as small debris and sand can lodge between the block and pulley wheel causing premature wear. Part of the ritual of Flysurfer ownership was the cleaning of the pulleys after every session. This is a welcome improvement. The leading edge only has two vents, along with the customary zips on the centre of the LE, allowing quicker inflation or the user to fly the foil as an open celled kite. The bridle has been reduced in the number of lines yet again, reaching to only a few key points on the kite. The kite still features all of the WAC and brake adjustments first seen on the VOODOO however. Moving down, the kite features a small carbon bar with the customary rotor leash and pull stop system for removing all rest pull. To those not familiar with this, should the kite need to be staked down for example, the user can land the kite and then using the pull stop system, lay the kite out with one wingtip pointing directly downwind flat to the ground. This is also useful in self rescue situations on the water, should the wind drop and you have to recover the kite. Flying With the kite laid out and ready to go, sheeting out or gently tugging on the centre line is enough to get the kite into the air, it inflates extremely quickly even with the zippers left closed. Once at zenith, it is possible to take your hands off the bar, this kite has the strongest auto zenith yet seen on a Flysurfer kite. You could mistake it for a Guerrilla so good is this aspect. However, where this kite differs is the much lighter bar pressure. Complaints have been levelled at Flysurfer before about the apparent lack of bar feedback due to their lightness on the controls, but this kite strikes an excellent compromise between feel in terms of turning pressure and loading up on the bar when powering up/sheeting in. when I owned a VOODOO, it took me a while do dial myself into the kite because I was often found I was over flying it on my preferred settings. With that kite a fingertip touch was needed to help keep the speed of the kite through the air. Not so with the EXTASY. It's easy to instantly feel at home because the bar feeling is sufficiently 'meaty' without becoming tiring or too strong when the bar is held at extreme angles. Couple this with the constant forward airspeed due to the elimination of back stalling, (over sheeting the kite causing it to fly backwards or stall on the spot) instant confidence is inspired within the first few minutes on the kite. The kite is quick through the air and very responsive, always eager to turn and not really suffering from the wingtip folding in when turning near the edge of the window seen on some of the current generation foilkites. Sheeting in fully you can feel a noticeable increase in power but the kite simply refuses to back stall. On the stock settings the kite pivoted on its wingtips maintaining a good level of power throughout the turn. It is possible to turn this kite within its length and still maintain good forward speed through the air. Land use Out on the board, the kite was a lot of fun. One of the best aspects was simply being able to pull in the trimmer and fly the kite unhooked. Within moments I was able to throw a few surface handle passes and with a bit more confidence, unhooked 360 transitions. Because the kite is so quick and responsive, you can send it further back in the window and hold it there for longer, squeezing out the most performance from the kite and the given conditions. Upwind ability was respectable, not as good as the psycho 2, but then it is a mid aspect kite. The overriding feeling is of a quick, snappy machine which inspires a lot of trust. The wind was a bit too low for the ten so I couldn't really give the kite its head but the unhooked performance in particular was very impressive. Conclusion Overall I felt the EXTASY to be an excellent kite. It's a kite that you always feel is working in your favour, rather than against you or constantly placing you on your guard. It's possible to take it out of the bag and be pulling your favourite tricks and more in minutes. The kite makes the transition from hooked in to unhooked seamlessly, no need to adjust anything, pull the trimmer in and off you go. The VOODOO was my personal favourite all-round freestyle kite, but the EXTASY is an improvement in every respect. More stable, faster turning, constant forward speed in the kite as well as unhooking any time you please. There were a few negative points, mainly centering on the safety leash catching on one of the knots during a handle pass, causing the kite to flop to the ground, robbed of most of its steering feel. In fairness this happened once during the whole two days no matter how hard I tried to provoke the kite again. In retrospect I think it was due to the line catching on the square edge of the knot, and this can easily be prevented by covering the end with tape, or Flysurfer being a little less precise with the cutting! Also the kite was a bit sluggish when it got wet, but I did suffer the indignity of getting caught in a 20 minute shower. All minor grumbles really, and nothing that detracts from the pleasure of using the kite. This kite is sure to appeal to use who want to get on the business of enjoying themselves and learning new tricks rather than spending time learning a more 'hands on' kite. All the benefits of using a Flysurfer that you've come to expect, plus all of the things you've missed out on before. The question is, what will they come up with next? By : bushflyer

Ok Some of you may have read my review on the Vampir range - all of that stands - it IS a seriously NICE kite. HOWEVER Libre have surpassed themselves with the Vampir Race. Its the same but better. Still wont fly out of the window and catch you out but the Extra Power and better upwind ability is amazing. We put the 4m Vampir (Mine) up against a 4.4 Race version. (I was flying the Race) and I beat an equally experienced pilot hands down - AND got back to the mark when he couldnt - Even in the dirty gusty wind we had - I pointed much further upwind. This is a full on Race Kite with out all of the instability issues. Libre claim 90% of the power of the Bora - which isnt suprising when you directly compare the two - they do Look very Similar. Different materials and I suspect a differing Bridle set up make the Vampir Race a Race kite on a budget. Find me on a beach - you are welcome to try 😄 By : Sparhawk

My very first impression of the kite was the bridle setup was messed up , as I got it used from a friend for a trade. But after unhooking att the lines, and reconencting the bridle, thhe kite pulls like a big thing that would pull you on your face!!. It will set very still in the window, but give it just a little movement, and ,WOOSH, the kite takes off, with you following behind,(maybe in the air). Found the controld very smooth steady. A good amout of power range gives it a feel of real loftiness, A light touch. In winds of 12- 15 the kite performance is smooth , dealing with gusts very well. Today , i was using handles on a two line setup , it pulled so much , made my fingers hurt. Once, the line snapped on on side, because of my handled use and bad lines on my part, the kite spiraled into a tree, and it didnt poke any holes in any of it, and all the bridle lines were fine. The zipper works greeat, but i kept it open for full power. I KGB , and this is a huge improvement over another kite I use for my runs. Amazing stability, rip proof, and lofty as a a cloud. Get one of these, the $$ is unheard of to boot!!! By : mynakedrat

This I realize is not your typical "racekite" but it does assist the avid kiter in understanding what a four line kite does while it is in the air. I bought this kite about ten years ago and have since moved aroudn and indeed back to foil kites - I wasn't looking for the funky aerobatic thing all the time. But, as stated above, I do think it is worth it to take this type of kite out once in a while to hone some skills in four line kiting. The kit was very basic but included a video tape (probably a DVD nowadays) which was very helpful (setting up, starting, flying, tips). The kite consists of the fabric (looks like a large W) and five spars, four of them are identical, which makes replacement graphite spars less costly. I damaged one end of a spar on the leading edge (3 spars joined together) and easily swapped it with a vertical spar (2 single spars) which poses no requirements to an undamaged end of the spar. Neat feature, but I was kinda proud I thought of that. In comparison to anything like a Buster or other handle driven four line traction kite, this looks and behaves much like a piece of paper in the air. You will definitely NOT get lift out of this kite, and you will immediately notice when you shouldn't pull the brakes. If you do, this kite will do one (or several) of the following: (a) it will flip up one wing and crash ( it will flip over completely and crash or © you will end up spending most of your time with the kite on the ground. It is very important to keep the top ends of the handles toward you always, this takes some initial getting used to but will help keep the kite up and in motion. Once in the air, the kite is like a post it pad. As long as there is at least a low 3bft wind going, this kite is easily placed anywhere on the sky and can be kept in any location within the power zone. Pull top end of handles - forward flight. Push top end (or tap the bottom) - stop and back up (much rather down). Tap one handle down - turn in that direction. Now these movements can be combined any which way. The most entertaining move being a straight start to the top - a 180 - a spectacular dive - and stop a foot off the ground - a 180 - landing. done. applause. It's really easy. The kite can also be shifted to the side by pulling an entire handle. This is needed to stabilize the kite when going slowly from left to right in a sweep, in order to keep the kite from touching ground. Also can be used to hover over water and do a funky touch on the surface. -- SUMMARY -- This kite can be stacked (I've seen a train of about 8 of these) and then you can use this kite for traction. Otherwise, keep to the technical aspects with a Rev I and then go rip around with your big foils! By : jensh

The HQ Bongo is a small, 2 line, soft foil, high wind kite, a very small, 2 line, soft foil, high wind kite; I'm not going to write an epic thesis because you can't do much in the way of traction sports with it. It has the classic HQ Symphony Arc and rainbow colours it packs away to quite literally pocket size and comes with a little draw string stuff sack. The lines are wound separately round two rings which are also used as the handles, there are no worries of these being too week or uncomfortable for the pull that this kite gives they are fine, nicely rounded loops. The loops also make packing and unpacking easy and quick, if you have got some one to hold down the kite for you it's just a case of running back wards, but if there is no one to help you it is still a quick job of unwinding them yourself. If you haven't got some on to hold it down for you it does seem to have a horrible tendency to fly a meter off the ground and un controllably spin leading to some frustrating minutes of unwinding. Once you have got the handles at the other end of the untangled lines of the kite it comes to launching it, this usually takes a good few fast steps backwards but once done it will fly up to close to the top of the window but not quite get there. Before I carry on I would like to emphasise the fact that this is written in the perspective of someone flying it in a wind just above 20 miles per hour. I do find my self having to slowly walk backwards to keep it in the air, bring us too the fact that this is a high wind kite, if there isn't sufficient wind or walking/running backwards it just turns flat to the wind and falls to the floor. Due its small size it is very quick through the air and can be fun to static fly but doesn't absorb gusts too well, but the lack of any traction means this doesn't matter, you just get an arm massage/shake. The build quality is fine, nothing like mesh vents but it holds together. Although the bridle attachments are just knots through holes. All in all I think this would be a good kit for the young or old to play around with on a particularly windy day at the beach. Not a kite for anybody who wants any traction. By : gammajonny

New, this 2 string foil kite is only available from USA so is a little bit more difficult to get hold of than most kites in the UK. I found out about it and ordered it from the Seattle airgear website which is very comprehensive about the equipment and how to fly it. It arrives with the kite in a 18 inch tube draw string bag with a very good instruction manual and a kit to make up the lines and a set of ergonomic flying handles which are probably the best type of handles for flying a 2 string kite, basically a hand width wooden bar with canvas webbing coming out from the centre forming a t shape with Knotted cord attached to the webbing to attach the flying lines to. The construction of the kite is of top quallity and the bridle is a crossover type which helps to maintain the shape in flight. the bridle is attached to two loop on the trailing edge to keep it tidy while packed up. These loops can also be used to attach tails to the kite if you would like to. Having made up the strings and put the kit together as instructed it was ready to fly. It does fly very well the most difficult thing being keeping it on the ground if the wind is strong without any brakes, but this is true of most 2 string foils. It goes to the top of the window with no trouble and has a large wind window. It turns in its own space and handles gusts pretty well. It moves fast and because of the bridle does not luff very easily on turns. It looks good in the sky too, with its curvy shape. Power wise it can make you scud in stronger winds but is best suited as a recreational kite. Overall It is a very good fun kite but because of the availability, it becomes a bit more expensive as I had to pay import duty on it as well. It is not that much different in performance to the much cheaper HQ symphony 1.8 which I also fly. However if you can get one second hand with everything made up for you I would deffinitely say go for it. The ergo handles are worth getting for comfort and controllability. I still have fun with it when the wind is too high for my larger 4 string kites. By : turbotrev

Flat sail area : 13.5 m2 Projected sail area : 9.9 m2 Aspect ratio : 5.7 Wind range : 14 – 26 knots Extras : Adjustable carry bag (not super practical, laces and pop studs…), pump, repair kit, instruction manual, tabs sewn on the leading edge and ‘V’ bridle to allow fitting of Kite Control System, control bar with safety system, 2 leading edge valves, 1 attachment point for the front lines (power and lift), 3 attachment points for the rear lines (kite speed), 5 inflatable battens (the leading edge curves round to form the tip battens), ‘self-rescue’ emergency handles on the wing tips. Design / Finish : It's got a very pleasing look (colour combo and dragon logo). The finish is very good, it looks very tough. Control bar and safety system: The Wipika production bar wasn’t tested, we tested it with the KCS and one of our personal control bars. Performance spec. as given by Wipika : The Matrix’s wind range and the ease of handling mean you can see off most gusts and the most agitated water. It’s a kite for all levels from experienced to experts. The moderate aspect ratio and aerodynamics of the profile give the Matrix unequalled re-launchability. The same innovation also helps crank up the power for easy jumping. All put together the Matrix is a versatile, competition standard freeride kite you can ride in many and varied conditions. On the water. Actioning the safety system : Not tested Re-launch : Actually, the moderate aspect ratio makes it a doddle getting it onto one tip then you re-launch, simple. Power : The Matrix powers up early, it’s got good grunt in its low wind range. It builds up a great depth of power which helps you deal with wind lulls. You can feel this power on your control bar although your arms are safe in its light to moderate wind range. It’s a lot more physical at the top of its wind range, heavy pull and power that’s difficult to kill. Stability : The Matrix is super stable when you’re plain sailing or jumping. It’s got a good rigid feel and consistent handling. Flying / General handling : It’s really comfortable in its medium wind range. Soft, easy and steady. It’s maybe not the most manoeuvrable kite in those conditions though, you get better response in big wind. But that means a more physical ride and a lot more work on your arms. Lift : Top notch lift factor! You can get way up, and stay there even in its low wind range. In big winds you rocket launch and start your stopwatch... Wind range : The Matrix powers up early in lighter winds and keeps going quite high because of its helpful de-power, although those lighter weight riders will feel it sailing over powered. Even fully de-powered the Matrix has still got wads of grunt. Conclusion General description of the kite, feelings, sensations… The Matrix is a light wind weapon for any rider of medium skill level upwards; it’s also got big performance at the top of its wind range for the more “physical” sized rider. It’s generally steady and easy to fly but it’s a bit heavy going for lighter weights in big wind. It’s got big lift, that’s true in its bottom wind range too. Manoeuvrability is average which will either suit or not depending on your riding style. It should suit: Beginners and intermediates who will find it steady and easy with big room for progression. Plus, by fitting a KCS you can have full safety and re-launchability. Intermediates looking for a high performance kite but something steadier, more in line with the new wake style. A KCS and handle pass leash will give you ultimate safety and fast re-launch. Pluses : Light wind performance and its lift. Recommendation : Start off trying it in lighter winds, you won’t be disappointed, even for jumps. Recommended skill level : Intermediates in lighter winds, experienced to expert. Author : Team FlySurf

When you talk to any experienced kite flyer, asking them what kites they own, as well as quoting all the new exotic kites they have and wish to own they will no doubt list a small three meter kite that they have had for years that either comes out to play when they just want to get a good workout or for those very silly high wind days. I recently aquired a VO3 from Viokite which would easily fit into this catagory. To look at it it seams like any other 3m ish kite, not as distinctive as a Bullet or as bland as some other makes just very yellow. After spending a few days using this kite as a buggy engine I was simply amazed. Where ever possible I fly depowerable kites and always find fixed bridle kites either to tame or to agressive. Depower gives me the choice over the feel of the kite. This little VO3 was so smooth even in the very gusty wind that picked up later in the day. Its massive stability and I mean rock solid, must be down to the very heavy meash over the air intakes creating a very solid famework to the Leading edge. It inflates very fast as well after a crash due to the reinforcement inside the LE. The quality of stitching and canopy material is up to Vio's brilliant quality and seams very waterproof. This was tested to the full when later in the day the wind picked up and in came the snow. Even in a blizard the kite remained rock solid with no water logging or falling out of the sky like a wet sponge. It was great fun. This is certainly not a boarding kite, to small and no real lift, this is a buggy kite.The lack of lift is so reasuring, you can really throw this kite around without fear of it lifting you out of the buggy. The kite generates a surprising amount of pull when flown fast and low through the wind window and the best bit is that it keeps going not collapsing at the windows edge. Upwind performance for such a low AR kite is great but that probably has more to do with that rigid LE than pure up wind performance. Because I can not own a kite for more than a few days without changing something on it I had to find out if a depower system could be fitted to this one. With a Wing warp depower and Airush depower bar I set about converting the kite. Nice thing about this kite is that the bridle is suitable for a depower system with the A/B/C lines all connected to the tow point separately. After about 20 mins the kite was ready to fly. Another 10 mins setting up the brake line tensions in the field and wow, I have a fully depowerable 3m kite. I have found that whenever I fit a depower systems to smaller kites they never really seam to work that well. They tend to overfly or be very unpredictable in gusty wind, to much of a liability. This VO3 was perfect. It takes the depower system very well, down to the stability of the canopy plus, I would think it also takes a few design pointers from it bigger brother the VR3. It was great fun in the buggy and you can really feel the depower effect even in lighter winds. Not once did it overfly even back in the snow blizards we were flying in the next day. The wind was very gusty gusting up to 30 mph and at no point did I really feel the kite was to much, just pushed the bar away and it simply absorbed the gusts.Even though over these three days I had some much more exotic kites to play with this V03 was so much fun and certainly got more flying time than any of the others. I would certainly recommend this kite to anyone after a smaller kite either as a buggy engine in higher winds or just for static flying. Also check out the prices. If you are after a small depowerable kite, even with the bar and depower kit, it still comes in way under any of the competition. Another well kept secret from Viokite. By : mee

This Dakine seat is a very comfortable very easy to wear harness. It is a seat harness which makes it even more comfortable to wear and fly your kite in because it does not slide up your chest it stays nice and low round your hips. I can´t tell you the price because i have forgotten it as i got a very long time but i do know i did not pay that much for it round about 45 - 65 pounds which is not that much (i think). It is well made and is as tough as anything i have landed on rough ground and it was fine. The spreader bar is also very strongly built it has not got one scratch on it and as i said i have been dragged along all sorts of hard grounds. It takes the strain and pull from you arms loads it was such a relief flying with a harness instead of flying without a harness, plus you can fly for much longer with a harness because your arms don´t hurt as much ! So over all it is a very strong, with strong material and spreader bar. There is one proplem you can not get the mud off it when you have been dragged across on your stomach (LOL) but then can you with any harness.

This sling shot fuel was bought in America off a pro that had been given it to try out before release in 2002. At first at I was using it as a beginner the kite was quite advanced and the short bar that it came with gave the kite slow moving turns although it did sit in the window nicely. After a few goes in wind (wasnt too good at guessing the wind speed even though coming from a background of paragliding!!) I quickly grew an understanding of the kite and realised how forgiving it actually is. I was keen to get into the water and off on my board. I have now used the kite with a variety of boards and am still happy with it and the power it gives through the window and is very good at going up wind. I have also used the 16m slingshot fuel and found that in comparison the 12 is a much friendlier kite. The kite can generate a lot of power and as I have already had the kite for two years and am continuing to use it even after trying several other 12m kites because of its stability. The durability of the material is fantastic and it is still crisp even today. Just recently I have been using it for land boarding (a first for me a sport done on the land!) and it seems to cope and with its stability it deals with the amount of times I get dragged along the beach - I still prefer being dragged through the water! Without any doubt the best use is for surfing and it can be used with a range of lengths of boards as long as the wind is right. The kite works best in 10 - 19 mph winds and is at its optimum at about a 14mph constant. The water relaunches are relatively easy but the main problem I have had with the kite is the valves that were supplied in both the main tube and ribs are a pain in that they are missing the ball to stop them deflating when you take out the pump. This is fine in good conditions but when it is cold with sand blowing everywhere it can take a few attempts to get them to the desired pressure. Everything else with the kites seems to be cool and have been happy expanding my own experiences on this kite and overall would rate it as a good medium aspect kite. By : kitesurfer247

F-One Shadow 7.0: (AKA STW 700 & STW 500) This kite is advertised as a water relaunchable ram air foil kite for primary use as an entry level kitesurfing kite, & i've seen evidence that it was also used be kiteboarding schools. Even though this kite was produced nearly 6 years ago, I still have seen a number of them listed for sale on the web I thought someone might be interested in my experiences as a result of owning it. I bought it off the internet about a year ago for $150 US, with the idea that it would be fun to play with on the snow and water since the price was right for a 7.0m kite. Construction / Set-up : The kite came in a pretty small backpack, so you need to fold the kite down well to get it to fit inside the bag. The kite is set up as a 3 line kite and is controlled with a bar in a 3 line configuration. (Two brake lines are connected to the center of the bar, with another line leading off the brake line to a wrist leash to kill the kite as needed.) The bridle system on the kite consists of (4) rows of bridles equally spaced from the leading edge to the trailing edge on the underside of the kite. The kite's only similarity to the flysurfer kites is the fact that it is a closed cell foil with the entire leading edge sewn closed with the exception of (1) large intake located in the center of the leading edge. This intake is covered with a small mesh screen to keep sand and debris out, and just above it is a velcro opening used for deflation. Behind the mesh air intake is a "sock" of cloth that is designed to collapse & close the air intake when the kite is crashed in the water. This is to maintain the internal pressure, which allows the kite to then be reverse launched. Rigging is pretty easy, and is exacly the same as rigging any other 4 line kite for use with a bar in a three line configuration. Launching: This is where it gets interesting- Because it's a closed cell foil, you need to preinflate the kite in order for it to take it's proper shape prior to flight by holding all 8 bridles (4 attachment points for each half of the kite) pull it up in the air while shaking it back and fourth to let air in the various cells of the kite frim the middle to the ends. This generally takes about 5 minutes depending on wind strength. Once the kite is inflated fully (and it does have to be well inflated for the wing to have enough shape to launch) you need to run back to the bar and launch the kite before it looses too much air. (In which case you need to start the inflation process all over.) I've found the kite cannot be lanuched well from anywhere except directly down wind. It's generally REALLY SLUGGISH until the kite gains altitude, and wind speed forces air deep into the far outer edges giving it a more rigid profile. Flying : Once airborne, the kite is fairly slow, so manuvers need to be deliberate, and to even when the kite is fully inflated is generally pretty unresposive. If you are unfortunate enough to crash it in the water you need to imediately release the tension on the bar to prevent the kite from filling up with water. Overall thoughts : I've seen other posts on the internet (none after 1999) from people who have had a much better experience with this thing than I have, but I've been flying foils for 3 years now, and still cannot seem to get the kite lines trimmed to get much in the way of performance out of it. To be perfectly honest, this kite flies like a big pig in the sky, and has left me more fustrated than pleased. I have tried countless times (usually after i've forgotten how miserable my last outing with it was) to fine tune the bridle & trim, but have not had much success. Not long after buying this kite I bought a flexifoil blade and now this one is left to gather dust. I don't even want to sell it for fear that I would ruin someone's interest in this fantastic sport. Here are some interesting links I have found on the kite courtesy of "xtremebigair": http://xtremebigair.com/kitesurfing/foneSTWsetup.htm http://www.xtremebigair.com/kitesurfing/ListProductReviewsKS.cfm?Product_ID=54 Here is an online users manual: http://xtremebigair.com/kitesurfing/FOneSTWManual.htm Here's the (really old) F-One website: http://www.f-one-usa.com/ If anyone can share their experiences with the trim set-up that works for them, I would be curious to hear from you. Please post them as a comment to this review. By : Nums

The new Naish Element 10.5 depowerable foil. In the bag - Control bar - User's manual - Four 25m color coded flying lines - Light weight bag - Kite compression/packing strap - Backpack The one I had came in a stuff sack so I cannot comment on the backpack that will bew supplied on sale. Out of the bag As you would expect from all Naish equipment the build quality is excellent with and the Setup is a simple process. - Unfurl the kite Weigh the sail down with some sand on the trailing edge. - Attach the colour-coded. - Peg the safety leash down. - Attach the lines to the bar Hey presto you're ready to go. First impressions were its similarity in appearance to an Ozone frenzy only slightly more rounded which makes it appear smaller next to equivalent sized kites. The test The kite has been designed for use on snow but I have been testing it on a mountain board and in a buggy. 7 - 10 mph is the highest wind speed I've tested in so far which really is not enough to test the more radical moves this kite will generate. Launching the kite is a snap, set the depower system to full by pulling the depower strap toward you. Attach the leash to your harness and pull tension on the leash lines which keeps the kite grounded, if the kite tries leave the ground put more tension on the leash lines. Hook the bar onto the spreader, push the bar away, let go of the leash and the kite climbs straight to the top of the window where its sits above you without over fly or too much lift. The Element turns quickly and develops good power throughout the wind window feeling very stable although the conditions were not gusty. The wing tips did tuck on occasion but this was due to a lack of wind and did not occur when the wind picked up. When it comes jumps redirect the kite and pull in the bar to develop extra power giving nice lift and floaty landings. In A buggy The kite works well in a buggy as it only has a small bar and is in easy reach when the bar is out. Its smooth consistent power lent itself to ground base tricks such as wheel stands offside and kite-side which were mainly all I could produce in the available wind. The few small jumps I achieved were floaty and the kite redirected well for a soft landing. On A Board The kite is well suited to kiteatb, again the even power developed, gave a feeling of security whilst leaning back against the kite. At no point in both in regular and toe-side stance did I feel It would let me go and id eat sand. Due to conditions most tricks were unattainable but as with the buggy the jumps achieved were floaty and I had no difficulty re-directing the sail to power up on landing. Conclusion On the whole a good kite with stability and smooth power. It gave the impression that in good wind it would give a good speed run or free ride without the rider having to concentrate on the kite leaving you free for tricks. This is certainly a good first depowerable foil kite. By : Phatdan

Actually this is no foilkite - but I guess some of you might be interested in some infos about the Elliot Mirage XL. I shot my Mirage XL for 100 Euros at ebay, a fantastic price. Well, I thought a big power delta will be fun and I have to say this kite is awesome. Package: A 180cm nylon quiver, black. All you think of on seeing this is 'what will this look built up?'. Kite: Ok, no five minutes after getting hold of my little darling I was starting assembling the kite in the livingroom - after a few minutes I worried if there will be enough space. The wingspan of the Mirage XL is 310 cm, the height around 130cm, so this is very impressing in a normal living room. The spars are 10 mm CFK so you can make a good guess what this kite is built for. The wings have two stiffeners and one GFK standoff each. The sail is made of several panels, the sewing is accurate and of a very good quality. However the standoff fittings needed to be fixed with some glue after losing two of them while flying. The bridle is made of a quite thick material which stretched during this summer making a resetting of the bridle necessary. I attached a pair of 35m, 130 kg Cyclone Extreme, which I think of being enough for only powerkiting. Starting and Flying: This is a heavy kite, more of a bomber than a lightweight precision tool. The 900 grams of kite really need a bit of a breeze, so flying under 2 BF is not possible. Starting needs as expected a bit of a tug and concentration, but as soon as the current is on it will 'talk' to you! The whooshing sound is really very impressive. This is a fast kite, as anyone can guess from the stretched shape. It is not only fast, with the speed there comes the power! This cannot be compared with a foilkite, the power delivery is more of a merciless kind. Loops generate more power and you think twice flying a loop with such a fast powerkite. This kite is a jealous one, it demands your total commitment to flying it, because of the speed - or maybe I am just too slow for it 😉 . It flies as on rails, however it overturns a bit because of the weight. Oh - does anyone expect me to talk about some tricksy line fiddling stuff? Not with this one, try to axle it and 900 gramms of kite just fall out of the sky. You may do that with an S-Kite, but the Mirage XL is too stretched. Conclusion : No foilkite flies like this one. Flying the Mirage XL is such a great experience. Speed, power, total commitment. I love my ram-airs, but this one is special, the fun flying it is incredible. I would not buggy with it, maybe an experienced buggier would try, but I think it is just too fast to buggy it. Fly it in higher winds, get dragged over the area, you can even get some small air with it - the merciless power the Mirage XL delivers will give you a big grin on the face. ... maybe a mystique from Elliot could top this experience. By : StZ

This is my second year of kitesurfing. I never used a LEI kite (yet). I started with a Flysurfer Warrior 9.3, which in hindsight was not the easiest to fly. The power of the Psycho² 13m is comparable to that of the Warrior 9.3, but the range is much bigger. It is very stable, hard to stall or get out of the air. Huge power range: I estimate it gets you planing with 8 knots using a 7m line extension, WAC+ and a 170 cm board. The art is to get the board planing. When sinusing, the kite develops most power on the way up, so when it is rising, I steer the board on a broad range to gain speed. With little wind I adjust the steering to Tip Break, so I can sinus better, although Full Break is supposed to deliver more power. With 25 knots it is still manageable, although not comfortable. I use a 147 long but narrow board with big (5cm) fins. When people were planing fast with 10 and 12 m² LEI kites, I was still in control. And when people came off the water with their 16m² I could still go. I tried the 17m² once and felt that there is not much of a difference. The 10m² feels a lot different: easier and quicker to steer and more direct. With the 13 strong gusts can be scary, especially on the verge of being overpowered. The safety system is good. I had some violent events because I lost control and this inspired me to be quicker with using the safety system. After using it, the kite is still relauncheable after all. Once the kite starts looping because of steering error, use the safety system as soon as possible, because the force becomes incredible and really dangerous. So in my experience the kite is like a loyal and powerful horse, giving an easy ride, but make any error and it becomes a monster that can really hurt you. Durability: I dropped the kite in straight onshore condition in 2 m high breaking waves and was pulled a few times before I released the kite. The only damage was 1 broken bridle. The kite was full of sand and water. It was quite easy to clean it, though. Jumping Performance: Here I rate MY jumping ability with this kite. With the 10 I find it much easier to jump, probably because it is quicker. Upwind performance: I notice I gain more height with this kite than anybody else on the water. Water relaunchability: In normal situations excellent. The kite seems to be scared of water and wants to relaunch by itself, even if I do nothing, just wait. Once I had such a crash, that the bridles where around the kite. Even then it would relaunch, but not disentangle, so I could only slowly bodydrag to the shore and there start the tedious work of sorting out the bridles. Safety features: The quick release works. Wish I used it more often. It leaves some rest-pull, but that is the price for the ability to relaunch after using the safety. Also the rest pull can be neutralised if needed. I recommend to install a Wichard system aside from the chicken loop, so the chicken loop can be used as spare after using the safety quick release. Skill level: Because the kite flies with very little wind and is easy relauncheable and very stable, it is suited for the absolute beginner. I wish I had it when I started. If it is suited for the pro I let you know in some years. Author : AriLex

The "ME" section: I have a 17.7m and 12.8m Kobras. My board was a Liquid Force MLF 120cm (just sold it to get a Pike SpeedFire). I weigh 75Kg or 165pounds. As for my skills, I can land simple backrolls, backloops, jump not very high, hold an overpowered wing, catch 1-2m waves, nail off-the-lips and ride switch and fakie. As you see, I'm just an experienced beginner. I intend to nail the forward-loops and rolls, manage to really surf a wave and make cutbacks one after the other and fly really high and long. My last board was an Airflow 162cm and a 14m Toro. I've tried some slingshot, naish, windwing, gaastra and north boards and kites, and x-shooter boards. The Advance's Kobra 17.7m Kite section When I bought this kite 5 months ago, I had people telling me that it was too big for the wind in Lisboa,Portugal. Usually people here get a 14m if that's their only kite. Guess what, my 12.8 was only used 3 or 4 times in 3 months. The 17.7 is MY kite, I'm on the water with 10-11knots (and the 120cm MLF) going upwind. When the wind picks some more and the 14m are getting powered, I'm still riding. When the first 12m start going upwind I'm getting on my max (16-17knots not "scientifically" confirmed). So this is only a review of the 17.7m, the 12.8 has not been on the water enough time. What I love the most in this wing is the feeling it gives me piloting it, it just feels right, feels good and I know where it is all the time. The kobra riders know what I'm talking about, the others will have to try it to understand it. Another interesting fact is it's stability, remember this is a 17.7m kite with a high AR, the 17.7 has a 6.4 AR, for comparisson, a Rhino 04 has 6.2 AR for kites 14m to 20m. Many times when you screw up, the kite will start falling back, will open wide, glide back and when it catches some wind it will fly again, saving the rider from a water relaunch. Over here in Lisboa there's even one instructor that uses the kobra to teach the students after they get in the water, how's that for a high AR kite? When you really screw up and the kite goes to the water it's dead easy to relaunch it, this is due to the relaunch stiff tip, an extra batten in the tip to help the relaunch by allowing the action of the brake lines to be spread over a greater portion of the wind. In the few time I've really screw up, I could launch it quickly and without any hassle. When the kite is in the inverted C position and if it start to hover get ready to pull hard one steering line, it will launch very quickly and start to fly allready powered, this makes a blazing fast relaunch The wing has enough power for me, what I mean with this is that I haven't yet fully explored its potential. I'm not very good at flying high, mostly because sometimes I still lose my balance and land in some akward positions, gradually I've been able to push it a little more and jump higher, and the landings are allways soft, the "trick" is to use the repower at the apex of the jump to glide. The wing develops lots of power in slow speeds, I just need to sheet in and feel the force, but in faster speeds the power, as expected, is more powerfull, like I said, I haven't had the courage to really speed up and go big. When that happens I'll post and update The build quality is simply excellent, it's on par with (some of) the other 04 high quality kites (you know who they are): trailling edge wear protectors, one handle for the pump leash, one handle in each wingtip to self rescue, defined valve pressure for each struct, double wall bladders at the end of each struct, 2 line attachments for the Panacea 5th line in the leading edge, 2 line attachments in the trailing edge, etc. , go to the site for more info. One point I've came to love is the two valves in each struct, except in the last one in each wing tip. One valve (Inflate) has a return stopper, wich prevents the air from escaping the bladder (no more pinching skills required). The other valve (Deflate) is free flow and it makes deflating the kite a quick and efficient affair, even more in the winter, when my hands are almost frozen. The last struct in each wingtip has only an anti-return type valve. The leading edge has 2 free flow valves (get a friend to help you pump it faster thanks guys ). This wing is not fisical, it feels really soft on my arms, long 5 hours sessions are not a problem, even when I'm riding with almost no depower left it is still light on the arms. What makes it a little less easy to turn is the fact that the depower line has a wear protecter clear rubber tube around it and the rubber can make it harder to turn and sheet in at the same time, but after 5 months it's still as new I just had to get used to it, now it's not a problem. The only point that Advance could and should improve is the safety. My depower loop has lost the safety pin in the middle of a session, the pin straps "lost" the sewing and away it went to the bottom of the sea, fortunately I regulated the depower to the minimum and engaged in the big loop. I'm still waiting for Advance to launch their revised version of the original depower system, it was leash-free, with the release after the bar, it was excellent except for the durability of the lines. Now I ride with a kite leash. The Kobra really rewards you after you get to know it, it loves to fly just a little sheeted in, you can find this point by fully sheeting out, getting a little speed and then sheeting in until you see the angle of atack increasing, there's a sweet point that will allow you to rocket upwind and still be powered. Once you get it you will know it The kobra is a really accessible wing that rewards you once you get the skills to find the limits. I'm completely delighted with my Kobra 17.7m By : Djizasse

Have to agree with the other reviews of the C Quads. Have used three different sizes and although they are damn powerful for their size - and more importantly price, they are massively un predictable. Lose sight of your kite in mid spin in a buggy or board and there is no way of telling what its gonna be doing when you re- sight it unlike a foil which is pretty easy to pre empt. Have also had a lot of trouble with broken spas which as mentioned are easy to fix, break a bridle (or in a lot of my cases the bridles come undone)- if you dont get the length exactly right when you fix it the kite becomes a monster to control. Was starting to lose faith in kiting until I realised what C Quad flying for 3 years had made me miss out on, when returning to foils recently (Frenzys) the whole aspect became lots easier. No unpredictable power surges, control, no breaking spas or bridles- kite flying has once again become enjoyable when for a long time it wasnt ! By : ian cormack

I recently purchased a JoJo RM 3 for buggying. I have flown it in various wind conditions in Central Texas including some very gusty 25mph + winds. It is almost as agile as my Revolution 1 and outperforms other traction kites that I have flown. It is a handful when the winds are up because it is so fast and manouverable. It generates great traction and powers up awefully fast, but it also can be powered down very quickly. It has great upwind performance and I do not think that it is any more likely to bowtie or collapse than any other high performance kite. It likes to move and won't generate traction if it isn't, just the way I like it. I would highly reccommend this kite for any avid buggier who is up to the challenge. By : Steve Edley

Initial Impressions : When this kite arrived I thought 'Whoa this looks big!' as the bag was nearly my height 186cm. Nothing however could have prepared me for the full 285cm wingspan of this monster. Now don't get me wrong I have a 4.5 Little Devil and have flown bigger kites just not Deltas this big. I then did a quick check to make sure all spreaders and bridles were intact and instructions included. The latter were printed in German but a quick email to the company solved that problem. Setup : The kite is quick and easy to setup once you get used to the new standoff technique. The standoffs on a delta are the little rods that push the sail of the kite away from the cross spars. In other deltas that I have flown these are usually stitched onto the trailing edge of the sail and are popped into a retainer on the cross spar. On the Outback the standoffs are thin fibreglass rods which are inserted up special seams in the kite sail and are then popped into retainers on the cross spar. This serves to give the kite extra stability and hold the sail in place. I attached a pair of 150kilo lines and some straps and ... Flight : The location was Murlough strand Newcastle Co. Down N. Ireland with a SE wind of around 18mph. I stood back and tipped the kite into the wind and was dragged up the beach nearly on my face! Now I weigh 15stone so that is no easy feat for a delta. I realised then why the Outback is called a power delta. Once I had the kite under control it sailed to the top of the window and sat there until I directed elsewhere. I then proceeded to try a few figure of eights and the kite coped well. It also managed a few spins and even recovered from a backward tumble when I ran towards it to make the lines slack. I tried a few tip stands at the edge of the window and only once or twice did the kite show any signs of instability (this I would put down to the fact that the wind was not that clean). Landing was very easy and stable at the edge of the window although I imagine trying this in really high winds on your own would be a nightmare. I couldn't resist the temptation so I turfed my mate out of the Vmax and sat down expecting to be laughed at! Turned the kite into the wind and off I went down the beach. Now this was a new one on my mates (I have since discovered that buggying with a delta is quite common!). I found the Outback to be a very forgiving kite whilst in the buggy and had no problem racing up and down the beach and actually managing swift turns without getting the kite in the wrong part of the window. The Outback is not specifically designed as a stunt kite so you won't be pulling off Lazy Susans or Flick Flacks easily but it certainly entertained me for a few hours until my arms became too tired. Verdict : A brilliant kite. The Outback is built to incredibly high standards and I would recommend it to any kite enthusiast looking for a challenge and something just a little different. By : Steve Porter

In many ways the CQ is a great kite. There seems to be a love/hate feeling about them in the kiting world. I find them more powerful them the equivalent sized foil, but the power is delivered differently. It pull hard and suddenly. This makes for exciting buggying. The power is very predictable. You know how much you will get and when it will come. With foils, the amont of power varies depending on the level of inflation. You will read many complaints about broken spars and packing difficulties. Leading edges do brake, but they are simple to fix and don't break that often. Packing is simple too. C-Quads are great to buggy with, but I have had enough of them and will be replacing mine with foils. I am sick to my teeth with broken bridles. I have never heard anyone else having this problem, but I have had it with ever C-Quad I have. I also get the feeling than the way the kite delivers it's power hinders learning tricks such as wheel-stands. There seems to be no way of feelind the power in and out to maintain balance. By : Peter Thompson

Right where can I start, this kite is the best of the best in my view. it has all the pulling power you could want, time after time you can just hold it and it will pull and pull and if you want more power you can start moving it and you will pick up speed very quickly. Its stable probably not the best but not the worst, in gusty winds it can be a bit of a nightmare but again not as bad as some race kites. Race kites, well I have had a mixed view on weather the pred is a race or intermediate kite, to be quite honest I don't really care as I don't race professionally but I do race with mates etc and it seems to piss all over the rest and my skills aren't that great so i'm probably not pushing the kite. The build quality is great and you cant fault any of the hand made work. THE BAD NEWS: SKY KITES are no longer with us in the kiteing game, so you are no longer able to buy brand new, however look around as there are a few up for grabs, have a look they are great!! By : olie

I learnt a lot at the Last Gasp, including the fact that I needed a small kite for the full on that I love so much. After flying the EKKO I knew that flaffing around with shorter lines had it's limits. A smaller kite with long lines is better. An opportunity arose and I seized the moment. Bill Williams Scotland's and possibly the UK's rep for Airea, Had read the Viper review on a site that no longer exists. After a lot of haggling, and what the lads said amounted to emotional blackmail, Bill agreed to lend me the kite to test and do a write up. He He He... That whole thing about getting a new kite to fly all over again, only this time it was the other option, waiting for the wind! Boy did I wait? Worth the wait? Hell it most certainly was. An Easterly arrived, the likes of which had not been seen or felt forever such a long time. A rare treat, perfect conditions at Millisle, and a 1.7 Raptor to make the best of it. The beach was in a state that it only achieves in darkest winter. Big moguls everywhere and firm sand where normally you would need Bigfoots. Infact this is what the lad's up North have wanted for years, buggy-cross. It took a while tweaking and twiddling, adjusting lines etc, when it was tuned, it was wicked, everything I expected. The Raptor 1.7 is one stonkingly good kite Airea have something to be proud of in the Raptor series. I could tell immediately that Bill would not be getting this kite back, as it was performing the miraculous at will. It has all the qualities that I usually witter on about, it is fast, stable and at home all over the window with awesome power. There is a local that walks his dog at Millisle and has watched our progress, he watched me do the wall of death stunt that Steve and I have been perfecting, then he came over and said "your going well today; new kite then". Well he was right. For over four hours I worked the 1.7 stopping every now and again for a smoke as you do, and loved every minute of it. When it was time to wrap I had a closer look at the marvel. The finish on the kite is second to none. It is robust and sturdy. The colour scheme wouldn't be my normal choice, but I'm no great authority on colour, so I'm told. The one thing that pissed me off about the package is that there is no room in its little bag to accommodate lines and handles. Now what's that about? A bit of a slip up if you ask me. I like to keep lines and handles dedicated to each kite I have, and I don't think I'm the only one that does that. A small detail ok but relevant to a review. The next time I was about to fly it was at Benone just before the New Year. Steve El Presidente fly past me at a rate of knots sporting a 2.5 Raptor, I was flying my predator 2.8 over powered, and losing, now I really hate that. I realised that by moving down to the 1.7 it wouldn't allow me to catch Steve with his 2.5. All of that became immaterial as I went airborne into the front of my own car finishing off my years kiting with a spectacular. It was this incident that made realise that there is too much of a gap between the 1.7 and the 2.8. So I have ordered up a 2.2 Predator and Steve is taking my Raptor 1.7, and is changing his entire fleet to Raptor's. Airea's Raptors are superb kites, truly high performance and friendly with it. When I phoned Bill to tell him so, he replied with, "I told you so", he also told me he had been kitesurfing. Shame on him. By : IR23

Firstly I would like to thank the AER8 guys for sending and giving me the opportunity to try out there kites. Due to the lack of wind and crap weather during the week I had the kites I didn't get out as much as I would of liked to with them, but still I did have a couple of excellent days with them. Build Quality I was told when receiving the AER8, not to expect anything fancy as it was made out of seconds with it being a proto type, and the fact that it had 3 ribs ripped out due to it getting mangled in a buggy's axel. When opening it up, it looked in great condition you would never have guessed it had 3 ribs taken out. When checking over the kite to see the build quality it was far more than what I had imagined. The prototypes are made using ripstop seconds, 42gms which is ok for kite making but tends to hold moisture even though it is coated on one side. The real thing is made out of chikara, so much better and water just repels off this fabric. The bridle lines are made using sleeved dyneema 90KG, I was expecting something more like what the predators use, which is un-sleeved, a total pain forever getting tangled and twisted up. The bridle is attached to 15mm polyester webbing, which is sewn into the seam, back stitched then top stitched and back stitched again for extra security. Lunching When launching the kite, it went straight up and found its zone at the top of the window, where it sat like an eagle in the air looking down at it's pray. During take off I got scudded a bit, but no more than usual, in-fact I would say it was better than some other kites I have been on. During launching a kite some struggle halfway, and you tend to get more scudding, but this can also be down to the wind. Landing I find nothing worse when landing a kite is to find it spinning in the air, so when trying a new kite I like to try the landing out straight away so I know what to expect. After trying this with the AER8, I was impressed. After a minute or so of launching the kite I began to land it by applying the brakes, as you do. The kite began to come down quite fast, but stable, no spin what so ever. Jumping As most people know, who know me, I love jumping with kites and get a little too carried away sometimes, but I had to try this out with the AER8 and wow was I impressed or what. Racing I've not really used many racing kites, so can't comment that much too what there like compared to other kites. I had ago on my Mountain Board, and I was storming down the beach, and to be honest held back quite a bit, due to being a bit of a chicking you could say, and that it was only my second time out with the kite. Well the buggyers that afternoon only had 2.1 LD's and they where shifting down the beach. Manoeuvrability As an all-round impression I found the AER8 a very nice kite to fly especially in high wind, it was very stable and controllable with quick response. Not to forget it was quite fast and packed some power. I'm even considering getting one of my own. I would have loved more time with this kite to try it under different wind conditions, but unfortunately only had it for a week. However I am told I will get my hands on the MK2. Pictures can be found of the AER8 4m MK1 in the Kite Central gallery, where you can see me jumping with the kite, I also have some video clips of me boarding and jump which I plan to add later. By : Kite Central