Jangla1600949550

First Impressions: Basic draw string bag and nothing more. No safety leaflet, no sticker, nothing. A little disappointing as I especially like to see some documentation from the manufacturer to outline the safety precautions you should take and the wind ranges in which the kite can safely be used. Take the kite out of the bag, though, and things look up. The kite is obviously good quality; excellent double stitching all round, stiffened panels to help hold the vents open and a handy loop at each end to encourage turning by curling the edge of the kite slightly. Flexi handles, lines and killers provided with mine - all top quality. Setup : Being the first 4 liner I owned, I needed to set the kite up myself so began by equalising all the lines and going for a test flight in low winds. I don't really trust people to set up a kite in the store without seeing you fly as everyone's flying style is different. Had heard that the Bego's require some brake to really bring out the power so you will need to adjust yours to your flying style. Needless to say, the odd tweak here and there and you can up the output by about 15%! I have also added adjustable power rings to trim the kite slightly dependant upon the winds. Launching : I think the term is whooOOSH!!!! Straight to the zenith with no mucking about. You can tell from the word go that this kite begs to be flown. A little tricky to reverse launch properly but possible to get it off the ground sufficiently to turn it around and up with a little practice. This may be due to the need to balance the amount of power and brake you give the kite but I don't see it as a disadvantage - if anything it's taught me more about fine control of the kite. Flying : Fast through the air with positively ludicrous amounts of both pull and lift! Keep it low in the window and you accellerate into a skud so fast it takes your breath away, swing it up through the power zone and say goobye to the ground! Superb for landboarding and buggy jumping as well as static flying (although it's usually anything but static!). Naturally with this much performance it can get scary in gusty conditions but I've yet to have a completely involuntary lofting. I have, however, hit the deck pretty hard after a fantastic jump when the wind dropped - be careful! Turning is smooth and controllable and with the right input can turn about it's own centre axis with ease. Looks amazing in the air. Compared to other kites I've seen flying, you really get the feeling that this is completely solid once it's up - the kite fills completely and looks taught and ready to go. Gave it to a friend of mine who was determined to put to rest his own doubts as to whether it was indeed more powerful than his Blade II 4.9. Not sure what his full expression was as I only heard the first syllable before he face planted it! Suffice to say he was rather impressed - he now wants a 400! Landing : Brakes on, down it comes. What more is there to say? Can be a little tricky if you're really, really overpowered. Overall : Amazing kite. Phenominal power and lift from such a relatively small kite (remember this will easily out-do a Blade II 4.9 and the jury's still out on the Blade III 4.9). This kite never ceases to being a smile to my face and leaves you with a real feeling of exilleration. Be careful in gusty conditions though - it can bite! By : Jangla

First Impressions: Good quality bag but could do with a carrying strap as it's an awkward shape. Bag is mesh vented to allow moisture to escape. Small pocket inside the bag to store your lines but the padded handles have to be slid down the bag as they're too big! Once you have the kite out you notice the excellent build quality, as you would expect from Flexifoil. Gauze covered vets add some small amount of stiffness to the leading edge but are mainly there to prevent debris getting into the kite. Handles are very chunky and well made. Full instructions are included, as is a safety leaflet, manufacturers guarantee and a sticker. As with most Felxifoil gear, there is a 30 day repair voucher included in the price - an excellent idea! Setup : Very easy indeed. Construct the leading edge spar and slide it into the kite. Lines go through a metal loop attached to the kite and then slip over the ends of the spar with a larks head knot. Job done. A quick check to make sure the lines are the same length and you're ready to fly. Launching : Initially, I found it difficult to launch in low wind without the help of another, but a little practice should sort this out. Once you get the technique down the launch is usually fast and the kite hits the zenith quickly with little or no over-fly. Flying : Extrememly workable and quick through the air. The leading edge spar means it won't fold if the wind leaves you in the lurch but it obvioulsy adds some weigth to the kite so you'll need more wind than an equivalent sparless kite...but not much! My first outing with the Proteam was off the Durban coast in South Africa and with a pretty hefty wind I was feeling the pull but never felt in danger of being involuntarily dragged. Not had the opportunity to stack these kites but obvioulsy the more kite area, the more pull you can get. Stacking also looks very cool but remember to have the largest kite at the top and work down! Landing : Well, it's a 2 liner so it's not just a case of backing it down the wind window. Moving the kite right over to the edge of the wind window allows you to, with some practice, land relatively smoothly. Overall : A great first kite. Superb build quality (I've dropped this pretty heavily into the ground several times when I was learning with no damage at all), excellent flight behaviour and will never get sold as it's great for days when it's just too windy for the rest of your quivver. Reltive to the rest of the market, they're not the cheapest around but they are a classic in the kite world, very adaptable and will take a proper hammering from a beginner and still come back for more. By : Jangla