trouty

For sale: Flexifoil Ion2 8.5 m mint. £300 (Red) (Kite has been flown 4 times and is mint) This kite has a massive legendary wind range. It has had me going in as little as 18 knots and can be de-powered massively. It has a huge wind range. 18-50 Knots. I doubt there are many people who would go out in more wind than this kite can comfortably handle. This is easily the best kite i have flown and that's quite a few. This kite jumps "BIG" but is also one of the easiest kites i have flown. All the Ions also land and launch very very easily and were a big step forward in kite design, but still managed to keep things simple. You will not be dissapointed with these kites they absolutely "ROCK" ask anyone in the know. I also have: 1 set of Bar and Lines for the 8 and the 10.5 £125:00 vgc Flexifoil Ion2 10.5 £250 (Yellow) VGC Flexifoil Ion3 12m £200 (Rasta) This kite has been repaired proffesionally (Good condition) All kites have been very well looked after and always carefully packed away. Reason for selling: I kitesurfed once last year due to my other hobby mountainbiking completely taking over my life. Unfortunately i have no time to kite at the moment. Please contact: Paul on 07947 367995

thanks for your replies people. I think he only pumped the kite upto 6 psi but as he is learning the kite is taking some very hard landings on water and beach. I am amazed it didnt burst !! I;ll get him to put more air in next time and see how we get on. Also move lines to a more central point (thanks) Great build quality and a really nice kite to fly and jump with id have one for sure thanks again paul

I have also posted this over on kite forum but would really appreciate some help here thanks. Hi guys i rode a friends new 9m 2009 Rev (not 2010) on Friday in very gusty 30 knt plus wind. I really liked the kite it felt smooth with good range and an awesome bar (i fly Ions) The kite seemed to have really good hang time and i was very inpressed with the build quality. I had no problems with this kite but my friend who is a beginner somehow kept getting the kite to invert ? Has anyone seen or heard of this problem before and if so is there a cure for it ? We flew the kite on settings to give maximum depower and i did notice the more we cleated off at the depower cleat the worse is seemed to make the inverting ie: slacker lrear lines. In the hands of an experinced kiter the kite flew and behaved very well but in the hands of a beginner the inverting did'nt look good. I can only think that very fast and uneccessary bar movements caused the kite to oversheet and invert in the gusty winds we had ??? The kite was probably flying near the top of its wind range at times altho im 12 stone did not find myself overpowered at all. Would be nice to know if this is a known problem. many thanks Paul

Thanks Si , i had a great 2 hr sesh on the Ion 3 yesterday and have bought it.I was slightly anxious when i 1st got on the water i dont know why i guess beause of all the hype i had read in the past about this kite.i really had no reason for this as within 10 minutes i had settled down and really could not believe how smooth this kite fly's :)I was suprised at how light the bar pressure was and how nicely the kite turned considering its size. (i have Ion 2's 8.5 and 10.5 which i love)Took me a few jumps to get the timing right but boy ! the hang time is awesome on this kite Wind topped out at 25-28 knots (chimet archives) and i did'nt have a lot cleated off at the bar which i find quite hard to believe ?I had no problem with being overpowered and felt very safe through the whole session.All in all a fantastic kite which im sure will inspire me to push to the next level.Cheers againPaul

Hi people i have the chance to buy a used Kite either an Ion2 12m or Ion 3 12m. I have flown the Ion 2 and have found it to be a very grunty kite but have not flown the Ion 3. I have heard that the Ion3 turns quicker but does not generate as much grunt as the 3 can anyone comment on this .... The 2 kites being offered to me have both been repaired. the Ion2 has 1 repair (leading edge bladder replaced) and the Ion3 Has had 2 repairs Cant make me mind up which 1 i should buy ? any help appreciated Thanks Paul.

mau0049 you are probably correct on the Contra sizes as it was a while back and i think it was one of the 1st contras out in the UK. My mate who owns the 14.5 Ion likes to ride well powered so it would give him a good wind range. It all comes down to ability / board size / weight and personal preference at the end of the day. I have also flown the 16 Ion 2 a few times and that has got to be the slowest kite ive ever flown apart from My old Flysurfer warrior My North Rhino certainly jumps way better than the 16m Ion for sure. Im sure that this years 14's can generate some good power when worked in light winds and a skim board would open up a whole new world when it comes to light wind riding. I'm still sticking to 12 knots as an absolute minimum and between 12-15 knots i use the biggest kite ive got a 16. My mates also own 2 North 20m kites and i can count on 1 hand the amount of times they have used them. The wind range on em is so small that if the wind picks up that little bit too much you are gonna' get spanked At the end of the day its horses for courses bro Keep us posted id be interested to see which road you go down and how you get on ! cheers paul

Hi i guess it depends on what you mean by lighter wind. I have flown a 16m contra and a 14.5 Ion 2. the contra def generates a lot more pull at the lower end of the scale but it would do being a 16. A mate of mine has the Ion 14.5 and it is one of his favorites and he has learnt lots of moves onit due to it being so stable and forgiving. That said he wont even get it out of the bag unless the wind is a good 15 knots + . He can hold it down well into the mid 20 knots range and he is only 13 stone altho it does start to deform and not want to fly properly after around 25 knots. The contra i flew on the other hand was great in 12-18 knots but then just became too much (im 13 stone). I think what i am trying to say is that there is not a kite on the market that will perform in under 12 knots. Some people will scream Flysurfer speed air blah blah blah but the bottom line is it depends on what you want to do. Yeah you may be able to get going on some kites in under 12 knots but you aint doing **it !!! My 16m North Rhino will get me going in 12 knots but i cant really do anything but hold a reach whereas in 15 knots its starting to come alive !! IMHO for your weight with that board you have got to be looking at a least a 16 for light wind days . Speed wise all 14 -16m kites are going to feel slow when compared to a 12m or less ..... At least you have the option of rigging down if the wind really picks up .... but like i say for light wind days 12 knots + you want something with as much power as possible and all big kites fly slowly. I can hold my old 04 Rhino 16 down to 20 knots admittedly once im starting to get over powered i preffer to rig down as it just aint that much FUN !! Its the age old arguement at the end of the day that you will come back to and unless there has been some major advancement that ive missed 12 knots is still tha base line for the age old LIGHT WIND arguement. Hope this has helped id go for a 16

Hi all, just read this thread with interest as both me and 2 mates all own Ion 2's and have all had problems. We have had 5 kites between the 3 of us .... 2 x 10.5's Ion 2s , 1 x 12.5 Ion 2 , 1 x 14.5 m Ion 2 and a 10m Ion 3 all burst on the main bladder and put quite a substaansive tear in the leading edge middle area. I will rule out 1 of these as it was a fairly hard impact on a 10.5 in gusty 25=30 knot + wind. Other kites burst whilst being handled prior to launching. We are all experinced kiters (9 yrs) and have never had any problems like this before. 2 Kites have been repaired by Flexifoil and i must admit that even tho turn around was a little slow (3 weeks) the actual repairs are 1st class. Last 3 kites have been sent to the loft who we know from previous experience offer a 1st class repair service. My repair at Flexifoil cost £110:00 which after paying £800:00 for the kite complete i was'nt too happy about as the kite was only 1 year old and had been very well looked after. I cannot praise the actual kites enough as i love em' but i really do think Flexifoil have some quality issues that do need addressing. We were never offered any type of warranty claim or good will gesture for any of the repairs. I would seriously consider buying another brand next time as my faith in Flexis quality has been lost. Just reading this post and totting up the number of kites (thats 5) between the 3 of us that have needed repair i think is a very poor show. I still have Wipika Amps and North Rhinos that are going strong and they are way older and have had a lot more use.

I am absolutely shocked at the above, i kite at the Bluff when i come down to my inlaws and it is without doubt my favorite spot. There probably are not too many beached in this country with that much natural beauty all around it is a stunning spot. If there is anything that can be done to help no matter how small or trivial feel free to pm me and i will try and help in any way i can. Paul

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How heavy are you ? Im 85 kilos (shinn 134 x 42) and have the 10.5 and 8.5. I can get going in 15knots on the 10.5 but things dont start livening up till at least 20-22 knots. I have flown it in over 30 knts but didnt feel comfortable and would say the top end for my weight and ability is 30 knts. Found the top end of my 8.5 a few weeks ago in Cornwall. Launched in 35 knts (measured with wind meter on beach) but wind was a lot stronger once on the water. Kite was just awesome !! Only had half cleated off and kite was really easy to manage. Had a total of 3 hrs on the water in which the wind really picked up ! people were out on 5's and 7's and were lit. I decided to call it a day when there were only 2 of left and i was almost getting lifted off the water at times. Spoke to a few locals who reckoned it touched 50 knots !! One guy said to me he can hold his 7 to 42 knots and he came in and changed down to his 5m. So only speculation but it certainly did what the forecast said and 50 knots could have been true? All i know is i would have no worries about going out in 40 knots on the 8.5. Even if the wind picked up i still had more depower to go and the kite behaves impecably. The only problem i had was landing the kite when the young lady who grabbed my kite had it blow out of her hands just as i started walking towards her ! luckily i was in very soft sand and got buried up to my knees when the pull came. If i had been on my local beach i would have gone for one ! I would say the 8.5 has a lot more range than the 10 it really is a sweet kite.

Hi guys i have aquired a 5th element bar to use on my North Rhino 04 16m. I have been advised i can attatch a leader line to the leading edge which will enable me to use this bar. leadeHi guys i have aquired a 5th element bar to use on my North Rhino 04 16m. I have been advised i can attatch a leader line to the leading edge which will enable me to use this bar. leader line length needs to be from centre of leading edge to wing tip in length. I am reluctant to pay £14:00 for the north leader line attatchment i need . I know the line should be dyneema but i dont have any. i have some thicker 3mm climbing cord would this be suitable ? or too heavy ? thanks paul

I have aquired a fifth element bar but will it work on an 04 Rhino ? I dont think the 04 was designed for 5 lines . Can it be converted ?

My mate had excactly the same problem with his Ion2 14.5. It too flew like apig compared to the 10.5. All you need to do is add 2-3 additional knots at equal length apart to the rear leader lines on the kite. Then experiment a knot at a time until you nare happy with the result. H e has pulled the trailing edge in by 2 knots and it has made a huge difference to the performance of the kite. He still states that the 14.5 needs a good bit of wind to really get come alive but he does like to ride very powered up. He loves his in 20 knots but as 15 not a great deal is happening. hope this helps i have the 10.5 and the 8.5 and missed out out on getting the 14.5 as everywhere was sold out. great kite cheers paul

Hi guys i still have a quiver of c kites and i am keen to keep using them. The only thing that puts me off is the 2 bars i currently use a Wipika Amp bar and a North bar (not 5th element) DO NOT have a spinning leash set up. I want to practise my loops and rolls more on these kites but after 3 or more spins the leash needs to be undone then unwrapped and re connected as it gets caught up around the bar. This is not a problem on my Ion2's as they have a great spinning leash. Does anyone know of any good bars that i could search for that have a good spinning leash set-up and decent safety system that will fly my Norths and Amps ok ? thanks paul