Blade1990

If I can get hold of some petrol I'll be up about 2 ish, wind is looking pretty good, if a bit calm . And if I don't get there Happy Birthday Rhys, hope you have an awesome session!!

Great thread! Below is my offering - Identiti Dr Jekyll, built her from the frame outwards, mainly used for all mountain and light (ish) DH/Freeride. Needs new forks though...

The Manta 10m is an awesome kite, I have the M3 and to be honest it is my main weapon from roughly 10mph (no jumping, just cruising at this speed though!) to about 25-30 (when I'm feeling particularly brave and there are other people about if it goes wrong ). I do however find it a bit of a handful in gusty conditions and like some other Ozone foils that I've flown, it doesn't like being trimmed back - gets real twitchy and tends to take you for a bit of a ride, might be worth bearing in mind, depending on the winds where you fly - smoothish = gusty = . I would also say that the de-power range isn't huge - certainly compared to LEI anyway. The 8m may not behave in the same way but I'm also not sure it'll be as fun... Kieran

Jesus, can't believe this, absolute legend, he had so much potential!! He was THE best personality in all of MotoGP, PERIOD - It was only yesterday I was reading an interview with him in Fast Bikes - Sad times for Motogp, RIP Dude.

Hopefully I'll make it up, weather depending of course!! Probably be up a bit later on though, got work till 2.30

anyone up today??

Yep, perfect - In theory I have a new found respect for power-kiting when using that thing, as awesome as it is I'm still easing myself into it a little bit - scares the s*** out of me - tried it on a strop the other day as well, never again lol! Was properly lit on the Manta this evening, trying to get the hang of foot-outs, but the vital requirement of getting the foot back in the board is proving pretty difficult

Just come back from work, wind gusting 12 to 22 mph, think I might head up just after 3 if anyone else is game - could be a bit frantic ?? Kieran

NE wind forecast for tomorrow, I'll probably be up sometime in the afternoon if forecast becomes reality and there's enough of it! Haven't been to Cleeve for ages, think I'm beginning to suffer from withdrawal!! Kieran

Makes for an interesting read lol, one thing puzzles me though, why is there a head on picture of a passenger jet at the bottom of the ad...

Hey Tom, sorry I couldn't make it to Cleeve that day, work commitments unfortunately , I've got the week after next off so I'll probably be up at Cleeve a fair bit then if you're about (weather dependant). You're very welcome to have a go on the Blade, it takes a bit of getting used to though, I spend more time off the ground than on it - Bloody thing snapped the stake loops as well but that's a whole other story! Anyone else likely to be heading up in the near(ish) future?? Nice one on the Sabre, best colours as well, although not a lot of lift?? I must admit I thought they were supposed to be the opposite, the 12 certainly gets me off the floor! Yeah, I also had to fiddle a bit with the adjusters to get mine working properly - though it still has it's moments . If you don't already, try flying it with the depower line slightly pulled in, I find it makes the sabre fly a tad more stable and better upwind - might be worth a go... Thermal - VIP, mmm could be interesting methinks All the best, Kieran F

Right, after flying the VIP in varying winds on a beach in Cornwall I think I have a much better foundation for an opinion, bearing in mind I’m not the most experienced kiter so this is entirely an opinion and may be completely different from another persons experience (I’d love to hear anyone else's views!!). First off, to put it bluntly, to me, the VIP is a bit of an animal, it seems to be higher aspect than the blade 3 and therefore as, if not more aggressive, there is a lot of lift, although use of the AAA adjuster can tone it down to a certain extent. It was successfully lifting me off the floor in 7-8 mph winds and throwing me 15+ft in 15-16mph (highest wind I’ve flown it in so far and probably will fly it in )! There seems to be a very smooth transition from grounded to airborne - slightly less ‘punchy‘ than the B3 but still as lifty/floaty. Although it may be present on Blade 5’s (I haven’t flown or even seen one!!) there is also another adjustment that can be made on the crossover bridle that as far as I can tell, adjusts the handling by moving the wingtips inwards or outwards from the center of the canopy, it did also seem to have an effect on the power (1st knot/tight less power, 3rd knot/loose more power). The turning speed of this kite is very impressive and it moves quickly across the window, for an 8.5m FB foil (contributing to the extra lift), however, it still feels very stable when held still at any point and has not collapsed at all so far - for general handling and maneuvers it seems to be very agile and is great for static jumping! When boarding, the upwind capability is awesome and again, it is very stable, however, go easy on the turns else, as I found out, you get a stupid amount of air, even more so than the B3 8.5 though I think this is mainly due to the extra speed of this kite - as you’d expect the amount of float on the VIP is great and similar if not slightly better than the B3. Using a strop/harness is also advisable as, unless you work out a lot, you’ll be knackered in the first 10-15mins The one issue I did have with it, I don’t know whether it was down to the lines I was using (brand new flexi) or the kite itself (higher aspect??), was the fact that, when staked, the kite did not sit at all well - ended up snapping the stake loops on the handles (also brand new flexi). To fix this issue I added an extra knot to the brake leader (same spacing as standard) and this so far seems to have worked, I think the amount of slack in the brake lines (on the tightest, standard, setting) was the root cause of the issue - be interested to know if anyone else had the same problem. Flexifoil and Powerkiteshop - where I bought the kite from were extremely proactive and sent me a new set of handles to replace the snapped ones, so many thanks to them!! To summarize, I think anyone who likes the Blade 3 8.5 (as I do) and is pondering whether to upgrade, the VIP is certainly worth a test, as although retaining and in many cases furthering, in my opinion, the aggression and lift of the Blade 3, the speed and overall feel of the VIP is also superior, but like I said, everyone has a different opinion, so I suggest giving one a test fly at the very least . I can’t compare to the B4 as I have never flown one. Be great to get some other opinions... Cheers, Kieran Cus Flysurfers look so damn awesome:D

NE forecasted for Friday, anyone likely to be there?? I'm itching for a fly and gotta give the Blade VIP its first real test... might be handy to have a few people on hand in case it turns out to be as lethal as Flexifoil are advertising it to be Sorry to hear about your thumb Phil, out of interest, I notice you've aquired a sabre, what brought that about? how are you getting on with it? Hope to see you guys soon, Kieran F

Well, I took it out last night, wind was pretty shite: 5mph gusting 10 ish but what can I say, initially, I'm very impressed! Although I've never flown the 8.5 B4 so can't compare to that, the first thing I noticed was how quick the VIP turned on the 'normal' AAA setting, on the whole it is a very fast kite (turning and moving - for an 8.5m) and much faster than the B3. Grunt wise, although I can't really comment on that until I've flown it in proper wind there was certainly ample amounts of power, it definetly bites like the older blades! Even some small gusts lifted me off the floor. I get the feeling this could be my new favourite kite, however, as said the wind was shite so only treat this as an initial assessment . It does feel very aggressive, even in light winds so definetly not a beginners kite!! Hopefully I'll take it up to Cleeve Hill at some point this week for a proper test where I can compare it back to back with the B3 and probably get some pics - It is a very nice, but evil, looking kite, though it seemed a little smaller (face on) than the B3. As said, so far, it has impressed. I'll keep you posted, Kieran

Ha, I know, just been delivered as well, hope to get out this evening for a quick blast after work , I also have the AAA adjuster on my blade 3, I think it greatly depends on the setting - the fast setup worked best for me but as you say I'm not sure it makes it better than standard... I think it's going to take me a while to get into LEI's, for the minute foils are winning - opening a can of worms with that debate though I feel !!

O.k. (getting back on topic ) Flexifoil have manage to stir my curiosity enough, I put an order in this evening . I'm going to hang onto the blade 3 for the moment though, if I get chance I'll write up a comparison of both side by side for anyone interested. Cheers for the views guys!! Kieran

Do you reckon it's just a standard 8.5 Blade 4 in pretty colours then? Or an 8.5m Blade 5? On PKS they're talking as though it's a developed blade 4 but they don't say it's an 8.5m version of the B5 ?? Not that it matters that much to be honest, I'm real tempted to give it a go though. I agree with you on the B3, awesome kite, that's why I'm interested to see if they can possibly make it better!! - Surely there's a limit to the lift/pull a kite can generate in a certain wind Kieran

Sorry dude, here it is Flexifoil Blade 5 V VIP 8.5m Power Kites Traction Kites Buggy Buggies flexifoil blade 5 Landboarding Kiteboarding V Control Bar Handles Four Line 4 5 Kite Safety Power Kite Shop UK Equipment Powerkiteshop Review if that doesn't work it's in the dealer/trader offer section on the front page of kitecrowd.

Just seen the above kite advertised for pre-order on kitecrowd, anyone flown it? Reckon it's worth trading a blade 3 8.5 in for it (or money towards it at least)? Sounds like a proper beast but I know the Blade 5 series has pretty mixed reviews, it'd be good to get some opinions!! Cheers in Advance!! Kieran:D

Anyone up today? I'll probably be up after the IOM TT finishes, about 2 ish I think.

Anyone heading up tomorrow? I'll be up around 3 - 4, till dark hopefully if anyone's about, wind/weather dependant of course! Kieran

Today looks good at the minute, 15 mph is showing on the weather station, I might be up around 1 ish, anyone else going up?

Hey, how old is your kite? Do you reckon it would be suitable as a first LEI? I've been flying de-power foils for a little while but lately have been wanting to give LEI's a go, do you think this would be suitable? Does the price include postage? Cheers, Kieran

Hey, Whereabouts did you see the kites?? How many were there?? I go out on Milton village green pretty often flying blades but I'm always alone... I tried landboarding there a little while ago but there isn't really enough space and you have to be pretty aware of gusts, easterlies smooth out a bit but again, space is a bit of an issue. Static flying/jumping etc is ok tho... I don't know if you've already been but Cleeve Hill is a great location - loads of space, good wind, great people etc. It's a bit of a drive but trust me, it's worth it when you get up there! I still haven't got round to doing a reccy over Leafield way but there was a discussion on 'Whitesheet' recently and it was found to be miles away from where it is marked (somewhere down south I think). I do however seem to remember there is a disused airfield around Leafield somewhere, I'll start asking around again but you may have to bear with me, work is pretty mad at the mo... Fly safe, Kieran

Good luck! I had a 4.9 Blade 4 out on the local green yesterday evening and that was lifting me 20-25 ft, absolutely mad:eek:, gusty as hell, first time I've felt properly worried when flying a kite!! awesome fun though:D