SeaView1600949565

Introduction.I have been flying static for around 2+1/2 years and have a collection of the "Usual Suspects". Those being, 6" Stackers (x2), 2006 Bullets (2.5m, 3.5m), Original Sting and a New Jam delta. The purchase of the "Punk" was initiated by an e-mail from Flexi themselves announcing a release of the 2.4m Punk as a limited edition. I felt that the stability of the medium sized Sting would be a useful addition, especially as a "Limited Addition". To note:- I am 5'9" and weigh around 13 stone. Materials and Build Quality. The kite is enclosed in a shoulder bag. Suitable graphics announce the contents. Nice qualitly, but I can only assume this adds a little to the overall price of the kite. The kite itself is made of RipStop and seems to be the usual Flexi quality. Upon opening up the kite I checked the bridles and noticed that the "Larks Head" knots on the bridles were a little loose. I felt that this would not be a problem once the lines were powered up and only bring this up as a comment. I was a bit dissapointed in the size of the handles supplied but once the kite is in the air I believe that there is no real need for anything much bigger (see later). The kite has deeper vents and cells than the bullet which I gather add to the overall stability of the kite during flight. Flying So, as soon as I could, I went off to the beach with my 2006 2.5m Bullet and the new 2.4m Sting to get a comparison. Wind was about 10-12mph and directly off the sea. As clean as you could ask for, so stability in gusting winds could not really be gauged. The first thing I did notice was even in this "clean" wind, how stable the kite is. The kite is very, very easy to control but I did need to alter and shorten the brake lines as they were a little loose. Once these had been shortened, by adding an extra knot on the kite bridle, response to any movement was well noticed. Landing is a breeze and re-launching is simple. I even had it doing controlled cartwheels along the beach with the wing tips just touching the sand. As much as I tried I could not luff or overfly the kite. I would like to try this again in changing wind conditions though. While not being as quick as the 1.2m Sting or the Stackers, the kite is still pretty fast across the wind window. All the time the main impression is that it is always easy to control. After about 45 mins I felt it was time to put the Bullet up and compare. The first thing I noticed was the amount of "Pull" the Bullet generated compared to the Sting in the same wind conditions. I could easier get the odd "scud" with the Bullet which was not possible with the Sting. On the whole, in the same wind the stability of both kites was pretty much compareable. Conclusion. I feel the Sting is a wonderful starter kite and something you would be happy carrying out with you at any time. It is stable, forgiving and just has enough pull to let you know it is there but not enough to warrant the chance of any scares. I can only assume that even in higher winds, this is still not going to be too much of a handful. I would also feel that if could be a pretty decent introduction to 4 line static flying for any one of average build. I do though feel that if you were to want something more challenging in the long term, then go for the same, approximately sized, Bullet (or new Rage) and start off in lower winds. At least then as your confidence grows you will still be able to get a thrill from the kite. I only wish I had got the 3.3m instead. By : SeaView