jazzyjazz

Ya, the 8.5 really is great and your are right...you can very easily get some spectacular lifts. As someone once said, "all it takes is a gnats fart" and you're off the ground. My girlfriend was really upset putting it the tree. But as a true 'nice guy', that was none of my concern at the time and I sent her home to get a saw so I could cut half the tree down to get my blade back without damage. One quick question with the brake knots for the 8.5. Did you find you had to adjust your brakes or do you use the standard knot location?

Some days I want to fly without the having the 'crapola' scared out of me. I'm leaning towards the bullet the problem is figuring out the size. 4M maybe be a little to tame...7M to much. Anyone have any recommendations? A little bit of fear is not a bad thing.

Ya, I'm starting to re-think getting a smaller blade and getting a bullet instead. Sounds like the B4.9 will still be a handful when the fall winds pickup and the B4.0 might be 'enough' (could be wrong). I'm hearing about too many people being picked and dropped with the B4.9. I'm curious though...someone needs to do a poll on flying experience level vs type of kite owned. I have seen other threads where it seems a lot of newbies want a blade 4.9 for their first kite.....not a wise idea.

My girlfriend tried the blade 8.5 only once when there was hardly a breeze...leaves on trees did not have much movement. It was enough to get the blade up and not hurt yourself, but never under estimate it. It still gave her a good pull and she basically 'walked' it into a bunch of trees. She let it pull her and didn't even try to 'fight' it. When she did decide she had enough, she was too close to the tree line and brought it down in a bunch of high branches.....2 friggin hours (on a Friday night) to get down without any damage. I can't say the same about the trees. I had to cut half of it down. She has decided she never wants to fly it again. Too bad;) . She's also decided she is going to start reading these posts so I have to be careful about what I'm saying. For the record...Honey, you handle your Super 10 like a pro...you could fly it blind folded!

I still think he had a chance to control and prevent what happened......how? From my experience, when I feel things getting a 'little hairy' and the blade is close to the zenith (ready to launch me to the moon), I'll 'toggle' the brakes (right/left depends on what's happening at the time) and bring the kite far right or left (well out of the max. powerzone). Then, I'm able to hover the blade about 5 - 10 feet of the ground at the edge of the wind window (minimum power) and keep it there until the gusts are gone and I re-group. Of course, if you do not not apply the brakes correctly while moving to the edge of the window you could seriously screw yourself by bringing the kite down into the max. power zone. Then its all bad news from there as you'll probably drag yourself on your face along the ground. That only works BEFORE your feet leave the ground. If you are already airborne forget it, don't try that unless you want to die. This works for me and I'm confortable using the brakes this way..may not work for others. Not sure what the wind was doing in the video, but like my little accident it may have been too strong to be flying a big kite. Seems like the guy was flying inland, which I often do, and the problem with that is the wind can be very unpredictable. Turbulence is also crazy at times. Posts have been great. I hope some people get some good info, from it. My overall opinion of the BIII 8.5......love it! But will only fly it up to about 15mph max. gust from now on. Learned it will whip my @ss again if I push my luck and not about to let that happen. Plus my injury in nothing compared to some of the posts here. The only injury I want from now on, is sunburn from being out for too long without sunscreen (not really). Take care! I need beer.

jules_b, i hear you man! 99% of the time you may very well be in control of these kites but its that 1% that gets you! that usually happens when you think you are better than 'mother nature'. you really got hurt! i do need to ask.....how long, and what were you previously flying before your mishap? that's crazy!

Poipoip, I've been flying flexfoils for almost 10 years! I'd say there must be a little experience over the years.

That 'tims big jump' video is crazy!!! I my have been a bit of an idiot flying in the conditions that I did, but I certainly wouldn't have been like the guy in the video. WTF!!! He clearly didn't know what the heck he was doing. He had a 'ton' of time to steer it out of the wind but he didn't do it! Hope that dude doesn't tell anyone he had control! I didn't put this in my first post but what I did was steer the blade into a gust (by accident) as I was coming down. Everything happened fast, it lifted me up again and pulled me a little to the left. When the gust was gone I came down hard on my left foot. If I had video it certainly wouldn't have looked a crazy as that one! Bottom line for line for any newbies reading this....almost any medium to big sized kite and seriously hurt you if you are stupid and it'll happen fast. Even the experienced get hurt. I gotta watch that again!

Hey Pablo, I know what you mean about having to use ebay....not much here in Canada at all. Ya, the smaller kites definitely move fast during a good wind. Besides the Super 10 and BIII 8.5, I have a Stacker 6...my first kite almost 10 years ago. During strong winds its fun to take out......it's fast and all you see is a blur when it turns....very responsive. I only fly it now during strong winds. It was fun when I was learning but kind of boring now in 'normal' winds. I figure the B4.9 will have much faster turning ability than the B8.5 and slower than the stacker 6 (although, that's like comparing apples to oranges as they are totally different kites). After my experience with the 8.5, I wouldn't fly a 4.9 in 'strong' winds. Interesting though, a couple of you have said the 4.9 has a tendency to drop you back to earth fast. From your honest experience is that a control issue, or just the nature of the B4.9. Except for my one stupid move, most of the time I can get the B8.5 to float me back to earth like a feather landing on the ground. Last Saturday as I was 'coming back to earth' I made the mistake of turning my B8.5 into the strongest part of the wind. That pull me slightly left and dropped me fast. As a result, I landed with all my weight on my left heel. That's what caused damage. I can fly the blade well enough to not be dragged on my face...its my jumps that need a bit of work

I'm about 15 minutes west of Toronto. Close to Lake Ontario. Unfortunately I haven't seen another blade flyer's around here so the advice from this site is well taken. Anyone have a bullet...not for my head. Just wondering which is better, a smaller sized blade or small bullet. Keep in mind during winds of 5 - 10 mph the blade 8.5 and myself have a tug of war...but I always win and have controlled fun doing it. I want the same kind of fun for the days when the 8.5 should stay home (injuries are not fun).

Thanks guys! I know it was my bone head move flying in those winds. Don't get me wrong, in lighter winds I can do loops, spins on it axis, fly inches above the ground in from left to right, low jumps, etc. etc. It can sometimes be a handful for sure but I always been in control..I just got cocky. From what I'm hearing, I think my next purchase is a 4.9.....I won't be flying in during a 'hurricane' so no more hospital visits. I read a post last week about a guy wanting to buy a blade III 10.5 for his first kite.....if you happen to find and read this post......Don't be an arse man! Trust me.

I've had fun doing low jumps with the blade.....my problem was thinking I would stay low during winds of 45 - 50 kph.....don't say it...I know. I should have my head examined! I have always had respect for the blade......I think I will bring the respect level up a little higher. Foot is feeling better today, I only need one crutch. Can any of you tell me how a blade 4.9 is winds of 30 - 40 kph??? Due to recent events...I am thinking I should be leaving the 8.5 at home on 'windy' days. Not sure if I the 4.0 will give me enough of a thrill. Any advance is helpful. Oh, thanks for the feedback.

After flying the Super 10 for years and, in sometimes powerful winds, the thrill was gone. A few weeks ago I got the Blade III, 8.5......just awesome!!! Here's were the trouble began......My girlfriend, who thinks she is an expert flyer just because she can do loops with the Stacker 6, kicks up a fuss because she wanted to try the Blade...I had flown it for less than 5 minutes. Being a true guy...I said no frigging way! Of course that made me the 'bad boyfriend' so I finally said just for a bit. Totally open flying area and she put it in the only tree in the park........took 2 hours to get it down (no damage to kite.....only half the tree left though). I've had some great fun with it until yesterday. My girlfriend and I take the kites out and she begs me to leave the blade at home because the wind gust were a little crazy. My ego and cocky butt thinks....I've been doing well with the blade...this stronger wind will make it fun! So I took the blade out anyway. So, she's flying the stacker 6 and being pulled while I setup the blade. Finally get the blade up and away I went. Caught some good air and had full control sort of. I began to think the wind might get the better of me and just wanted to do one more jump before I put it away. Well, I jumped alright and caught a gust at the same time. I was up about 15 - 20 feet and floating then, stupid me, turned the blade into the heart of the power zone! Too make this long story short, I was at the hospital this morning and there are no broken bones. Will be on crutches for a bit and I'm thinking of getting a blade III 4.9 for the 'crazy' days. I know what I did wrong (besides take it out) and that 8.5 and I will have it out again (on a less windy day). From this Canadian boy to anyone flying the the Blade 8.5 or 10.5....respect the beast and don't get cocky! This sucker is unforgiving. I may have lost the battle, but I will win the war. The blade will be back in Canadian air space....just as soon as I can walk again!