crobo
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bakersdozen reacted to a review:
Flexifoil Blade III 4.9m
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bakersdozen reacted to a review:
Flysurfer Cool 9m
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Nice review Dave, with the safety systems there will be two red toggles/quick release mechanisms. One when pull will kill the kite and put it onto the ground. When this one has been pulled and you pull the second one it will completely release the kite. This is a standard feature of ALL depower kites, it is incase the kite gets sucked under the water/hit by a car/just becomes way too much to handle even with the primary safety pulled for whatever reason. If you have added your own leash make sure you can still completely release the kite, you ARE meant to be able to. Chris
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Ok, I cant really fully pass comment on my 13m Scorpion yet, however I have done about 3 hours back to back flying the 13m Scorpion and 16m VII. Wind conditions was 15mph avg with gusts up to 20mph, inland location so fairly shifty wind. Hope this helps people choose if they are thinking of investing in either the Scorpion or VII, or have a VII and are considering upgrading to the Scorpion. Speed: So this time I got going on the board on it and god damn it is so fast compared to the 16m VII, like a Ferrari being raced against a pick up truck! Was easily traveling twice as fast and really sitting back into the kite, was lurrrvly! Turning Speed: This kite is so easy to work since it turns on its pivot and doesnt backstall when you do this, like the VII sometimes does, however I was finding sometimes it was hard to bring the kite around when it went across the zenith one way, trying to pull it back the other way sometimes required more bar input than expected. Stability: The VII was definitely the more stable of these two kites by quite a long way, the Scorpion was quite twitchy in the gusts and required quite a lot of adjustment of upwind/downwind direction of the board to keep on top of it. Lift: The Scorpion is in a different league to the VII on lift, I was flying on the VPC intermediate setting so not most aggressive or most gentle. When I redirected I was being fairly aggressively picked up without pulling the bar even half way in, and going about the same height as the VII. Ill take a while to get used to this because you get to the same height alot faster with the Scorpion so any incorrect balance is soon noticed as you get launched! On the last occasion when I really went for a jump and pulled the bar all the way in and redirected really hard I went the highest ive ever gone, was a bit scary and didnt redirect enough at all so went a bit pair shaped. Brought the Scorpion down at this point as was getting a bit cocky and didnt want to get hurt. Float: Both these kites have absolutely stacks of float, but the VII definitely had more, ill take a bit of getting used to the less hang time and less time redirect and land. My main problem was sending the Scorpion too far back so ended up half way between a transition and the kite over flying before I could redirect, this is pilot error obviously and im sure ill get more float of the Scorpion, but itll be hard matched to beat the VII. Final thoughts: The Scorpion is definitely for the more advance kiter, would not recommend it to a newbie to depower for the same reason that I wouldn't recommend a blade to a newbie, it has a high potential to take the flyer high, and take them there fast! I personally will need to get alot better to even start getting the most out of this kite, and cant wait till I do! As for comparisons go i'd compare this Arc kite more to the 6m Air Evo Hybrid I owned for a short time than my VII's. For all you people who dislike Arcs for the common given reasons then give this kite a go, it will not disappoint! There is a short video of the kites maiden flight in sub 10mph winds at: Ill update this thread next time I get a good session on it and can pass more comment. By : crobo
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Great review, ive got the 16m and 10m ones myself and love them to bits! Dont let the idea that packdowns or set ups take any longer put you off. My friend flys fixed bridals and I set up just as fast as him when there is wind to inflate the kite, and I actually pack down faster - so thats not really an issue! Chris
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Nice review, ive heard the same that they are sluggish to turn. Also from what ive heard Id watch out for the lines stretching as they are not pre stretched like flexi/ozone/flysurfer etc do and of low quality. Mite be worth investing in some decent dynema lines from a kite shop. Not too expensive and more than likely worth your while!
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Im replacing it with a PL twinskin, most likey a VII 13m, just waiting for one to come on the 2nd hand market!
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Intro: I bought a 9m Flysurfer Cool back in January of this year. This was to be my first depower kite after having a Blade III 4.9 for two years. I had just taken up landboarding and decided a depower kite would be better for me to learn on. The kite the bag and the line setup: I bought the kite from Oceanside Sports as they are one of the main dealers in the UK of Flysufer kites. It arrived well packaged and I soon got into it to see what it was like inside! The first thing I saw was the bag, and I was a little disappointed in it because I was used to the very well made and funtional Flexi bag. However it did the job, just not alot of spare room and not too comfy to carry. However the apparent quality of the lines and handle soon made up for this, the handle seemed solidly made, and all the knots to the lines were secured and covered. The lines themselves seemed of high quality and were coloured for use on the snow, and to help untangle them if the need arose (never did!). The kite itself looked great in the yellow and white colour scheme. I unfolded it and had a good look, all the stictching was sound, the cells seemed to be well supported and all the loops and line connections looked very solid. First Outing: The first time I had the kite out the wind was around 8 knots and I was at a fairly naff inland location with lumpy wind. I flew the kite quite hard to try and get moving on my board, but apart from the initial pull of bringing the kite down I didnt get much momentum going as it didnt turn quite fast enough not to go out of the window. However given the wind conditions I wasnt disappointed or surprised! More outings: I've had more outings with the kite since then, again can't seem to find the correct wind conditions for this kite. I fly at an inland location where the wind is rarely very clean and I think the open cell design of the kite suffers due to this. I would get going quite nicely just cruising then the kite would just deflate and fall to the ground whilst I was moving along at about 15 mph on the board! This was quite scary to say the least, especially if the kite decided to repower up whilst I was on the board still! This happened to me once and I went flying off the front of my board and was pretty lucky not to seriously injure myself. My kite buddy was scared incase I wasnt going to get up! I must admit ive never flown the kite in some clean onshore winds, however for the lumpy inland locations this is not a great kite, it cant handle the gusts very well as the open cell design just deflates the kite. This kite has scared me more than once, and as a result have sold it. This is a fairly biassed viewpoint as I've probably been using the kite in the worst conditions for it, I just dont want someone else to buy the same kite and end up losing money on it when it doesnt perform well inland. Hope this helps a bit! Chris By : crobo
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I have a 9m Cool, cant get much out of in less that 8kts. Did you make any tuning changes to yours at all to get so much performance?!
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Nice review, bet that kite is ideal for your son. However doubt you will get far on your board Believe the bullet is mainly a buggy kite. If you are looking for the next stage up why not try a smaller blade, great fun static flying, or ever look at the depower systems. Ive just invested in one, will let you know how it goes!
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I first encountered the blade almost three years ago now when I had a shot on my friends on some sports pitches in loughborough. This was the very first time I had encountered and traction kite for that matter! Instantly I was hooked and went out and bought a 4.9m version of the blade III. The Kite I bought the package off ebay as a second hand deal and paid probably too much but was desperate for it! The kite is pretty huge on first inspection in my small university room (I considered living under it as it was bigger!) The build quality was fantastic, I closely inspected it as it was second hand. The stitching was all uniform and secure, the bridles look like they could hold a tank and the lines were brand new, lightweight and sturdy. Maiden Flight I took it out in very light winds, talking 4-5mph if that. I did struggle to get it going as can be imagined but it did fly, and could even get some pull out of it if I worked it. However I thought id save my energy for a windier day! Continuation Since this time ive been taking the kite out in progressively more windy conditions. If you have ever been to loughborough then you'll know it can be a windy place. The first thing I realised about the kite is its amazing amount of lift, it lifts you up with barely an audible "whoosh" then floats you down with a very audible "thud". Second thing I realised was its amazing wind window. Im a bit of a wind freak, sailing, windsurfing etc, and I really was quite shocked that it appeared to go upwind, fantastic! Thirdly its stability. Ive thrown this thing around the sky in very little wind right to the edge of the window with hardly a luff. (When the kite depowers due to lack of wind). And also when it does lift me it is very easily to keep it powered up for a nice gentle landing. I could go on forever ranting about how good this kite is. However it does deserve alot of respect too. I have been static flying mine for two years now and have never learn't how to pendulum jump (thats how much lift it has!) it has lifted me clean 12 ft in the air in 20mph wind and I weigh 12 stone. And it also concussed my brother on his first go (he weighs 13 stone). Aslong as you respect the kite, it will look after you and make you a happy bunny! Landboarding For christmas this year I recieved a landboard - a flexifoil flexdeck (I dont know alot about the different types of board so I wont pass judgement on it just yet!). The blade 4.9m is great fun on this, it has immense power at the edge of the window, more than a 9m samurai or a flysurfer cool 6m. Both of which I tried on the same day. I got some good speed on the flat beaches, but the only problem was stopping. Due to its lift, turning the kite upwards to slow the forwards speed only did 1 of 2 things. It spanked me - lifted me up, forwards, left, right, and finally DOWN.It made me go even faster arrgghh! I guess when I get more compedant on the board my powersliding will stop me, but for now ill carry on jumping out! Finally Id like to say I have no regrets with buying this kite, its an awesome bit of kit that will give fun at all levels but also deserves respect. Also sorry for any bad spelling/bad punctuation! Chris Roberts By : crobo
