sparky211600949554

Intro Not the newest of kites by a long way, but real strong and robust. I haven' never had a problem with my one, apart from the pink colour. Was purchased initially as my learner when stepping into bigger kites and still solves a problem when the find is too strong for anything else. My 3.5 is used entirely as a buggy kite. Never used it even near water. Main thoughts. Not an outstanding kite any more, as it is actually quite old, but hours and hours of enjoyment as still to be dragged from it. Launching is a real issue, with the way Peter has designed the non return valves on the leading edge. Due to the fact that I never use it on water, cutting the valves out of the leading edge has never concerned me and it has solved the issue really. For those that might laugh at one of these still in use, this one has cost me two broken ribs and has knocked a guy out cold, from a buggy before. And yes we do actually know what we are doing. Strong winds you must pay attention to what it is doing. Upwind is of course not optimal due to it's age, but again in the right wind, still plenty of hours of enjoyment left in the old girl. Conclusion If you can get one cheap and have a hole in your range at this size, then consider it. I have had plenty of fun times with mine. It also makes for a great beginner kite, if you are showing newbie's what HP Kiting is about. It will not scare them too much and is actually pretty tame. Next adventure with mine is 8-10 meter lines and playing around in car parks. By : sparky21

First impressions Built well, and a nice strong kite results. Can be flown and enjoyed in virtually any wind, as long as it isn't too strong, then you fast approach the madness factor. I use it as a buggy kite and do not hand it to anyone who hasn't flown big kites. Getting used to it This kite is not a toy, it needs to be kept working for a living and will come and bite you if you do not keep it in check. As with all race breeds, the leading edge needs to be kept moving forward all the time, otherwise it will collapse in a heap. Having said that on the odd occasion you can park it up and have it sit in one place when the wind is right. Taming the beast. Not for the fainted hearted, for sure, but a real beast if you are looking for speed from virtually any wind. The kite turns well at speed and only when doing something wrong will it luff. IE if you don't keep the leading edge moving, then do not expect it to stay in the air. Once moving in a buggy, my main problem is trying to stop it over powering me or trying to take me quickly to speeds I am not looking for. The Razor has already taken me beyond 70 Kms per hour with plenty still in the tank. I think that main issue with real speed with the Razor is not the kite, it seems to just want to go faster, but actually the drag presented by the lines. I have had one occasion when the kite was being pulled back by line drag. I now find (after three for four serious runs) that I can keep it in the air and generally under control all the time and as such have no problems stating that it is my best kite for speed. Upwind performance is great (noting that you can never have enough), I have never had any time when I have been disappointed with trying to go upwind against any other kite. Conclusions Not sure that you could say that you can tame a Razor, but rather they let you control them for a while. If you do not want to go fast and be challenged y a real high performance kite, do not purchase a Razor. If on the other hand you want the thrills of a life time and a bit of a challenge, in relation to trying to tame one of these, then I would hesitate to recommend a Razor. I have no problems with any aspect of the design of the kite, or it's performance in the buggy. By : sparky21