ABBOTT

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Bag, very cheap and its made from rip stop, probably from offcuts, no size indication on the bag. Lines, very cheap and nasty, put one end on a fence post and they stretched about 300mm when i pulled them one at a time. if this is pre stretched, i'd hate to see unstretched lines. Foil, looks nice, very slippery material, very thin, very poor stitching, the bulk of the foil is single stitched, only double stitching i could see was around the holes on the leading edge and on the trailing edge. Bridle: sleeved, yes, quality of the line, not good at all, and not much bridle to speak of really. I will have to do the brake bridle mods i have seen in other forums. Overall: i would say 4 out of 10. OK it was only AU$166 for a 7m kite including lines so what can one expect. I dont know what the web site base their savings on (all kites have a saving off next to the price) as i would not even say it is 20% of a PKD Buster. When i fly this kite, i expect it to fall apart at the stitching. i will only ever fly this kite if there is little to no wind. AFTER FIRST FLIGHT: This kite actually flies very well, unlike reports i have read on other forums, it turns on its wing tip and produces ample amount of pull. There will be no need to do the complex brake bridle adjustments as i previously thought. this morning there were very slight winds, in the region of 1 to 2 knts, gusting to about 3knts. the kite took off very easily, without much effort, and i was able to keep the kite moving quite well, at first the brakes were sluggish, and a simple small adjustment to the brake leader on the handles had it turning on its tip. The lines felt very solid, may be due to my stretching them yesterday, and are of an even length. only time will tell. i will be looking forward to having another fly, this time down at conway beach, in about 5 to 7knts, when the conditions are right. i would not attempt to fly it in 10 knts as i think the kite would fall apart due to the lack of stitching. A very nice looking, sub 8knt kite. At the price, and after the first flight, i am very pleased with overall kite package, after replacing the handles with standard PKD Buster ones. Overall rating after first flight 4.5 out of 10. ( 1 being a brick, and 10 being a Buster II) By : ABBOTT