be as the cloud

-First Impressions- I had been out buggying underpowered on my Blade III 6.6 as there was such little wind! However the first kite I got to try was the 7m which is equivalent to the Blade III 3/4m size, and hell was I shocked, had a quick go flying it about and thought very nice kite it produced some nice steady smooth power throughout the wind window while dragging you along with out any problems. -The kite- From statically flying these kites I was amazed with the performance of them. Firstly the kites were very easy to setup, just get the kite out and unwind the lines and you are ready to launch. Secondly with how well these kites fly in such little wind. We had wind of around 7/8mph if not a bit less and these kites went up with no problems and most importantly stayed in the air which was quite shocking. I tried so hard to get the kites to over shoot but had no joy even trying all the usual methods. The kite is of a medium aspect ratio so it is not quite has quick as the blade but produces a much slower nicer pull. In all of the kites there is plenty of power variation enabling you to get a larger wind range out of each kite than usual. - Turning- The kites all had superb turning, the smaller sizes turned very quickly and maintained power through out the turn. The 11m was slightly slower than the smaller sizes but still turned quickly very similar turning to the 4.9 and 6.6 blade III. Even when you vary the power by depowering and powering the kite it still turns the same which I was very shocked and impressed by. This meant that you didn't loose any of the turning when on different power which I thought was very good in winds that are constantly changing. - Depower- In each of the 3 kites there was plenty of power variation, each of the kites depowered and powered up nicely with ease. The bar setup enabled you to easily and quickly vary the power to get the optimum performance. The kites also did not loose any of their performance when depowering or powering the kite up which was very nice especially while in the buggy. Overall the Depower of the kites was superb and I was greatly impressed with how the kite did not loose any of its performance or turning ability throughout the different power variations also the power range within each size was fantastic much larger than other kites I have tried. -Bar- The bars were very nice but these were also prototypes so you can not be sure these will be on the final kite. It was very easy to vary the power of the kite using the Cleat similar to what is already in place on the Strike And Storm, which is located on the centre line and was easily within arms reach. The line for which you could move the bar was a nice length with it being easy to reach as far as the bar would go forwards so you could place it here and use it 1 handed. (Not recommended). The bar was of a nice diameter allowing you to firmly and securely hold onto the bar. Over all I was impressed with the bar setup and the safety system on it and if flexi improve it any more it will be fantastic bar set up! -Safety- Superb! The bar had been setup to allow you to easily pull the safety and it would instantly take the power out of the kite. Once you pull on the safety it pulls the back lines on and down comes your kite safely landing safely and ready to re launch when you are ready. Once the kite is on the ground you can secure the bar easily on the ground and the kite will sit there with no problems. Once you are ready to re-launch all you need to do is put the safety back in and pull the bar towards you to inflate the kite and you are away, the kite will launch without any problems. IF need to release the kite completely then all you have to do is pull a chicken loop, which releases the rest so if you needed to get rid of the kite for some reason you would have no problems. Overall I found the safety of the kite to be top notch but what else do you expect from flexi! Also flexifoil have now managed to design a bar that enables you to have a spinning bar with the safety all on and also fir it into a normal spreader bar which is very appealing when your lines are twisted. -In the buggy- Well hell was I shocked! Firstly I went out on the 7m equivalent to a Blade III 3/4m, it managed to create loads of traction and I managed to get out and do some nice long fast runs, there was not quite enough power to get any jumps out of the buggy but it was certainly good. Turning on the kite was really smooth with the kite generating nice steady smooth pull through the wind window. You could easily let off a bit of power to take it round the corner and then power up to get some speed up! While I was on this the bigger sizes were coming out, so I headed back in to have a blast on the larger sizes. I picked the 11m and went back out. Now I was expecting this to be a slow sluggish kite especially in these wind conditions but I was wrong! The kite was quick through the sky and turned exceptionally well. Using the de-power strap you could easily set the kite up while in the buggy to the optimum power for you. Evan though the bar was 65cm I did not find this a problem, I'm usually a handles person and don't enjoy bars but have to say the bar was not as bad as I was expecting. I did try and do a jump on the 11m but unfortunately there was not enough to get airborn, however when I took the kite back I could feel some lift and I reckon in about 10mph+ it would be superb. Personally I felt the 11m was not the ultimate freestyle buggy kite but if you were after a kite that you could pick up speed do the odd few ground tricks then this is excellent for the job, I felt that the 9.5m was the better option for freestyle. It just had that extra edge to it with the slightly smaller bar and the bit of extra speed in it, but this could have be down to the wind and with a bit more wind the 11m may be great for freestyling. The 7m I can imagine being a super stable moderate to high wind kite but I was unable to test it in its optimum wind range so can not realy comment on it for freestyling. -Overall- I was very impressed with the kite and its performance in the very light winds. The safety was exceptionally well and had been well thought through and worked well. The only down side to it was not getting to keep the kites after! And all I can say is I cannot wait for it to come out . More info www.flexifoil.com By : be as the cloud