dragratchet

Like many people here, when i started looking at traction kites i did my best to ignore the volumes of sound advice urging me to go for a small manageable kite to start off with and focussed my attention like a laser beam on the dribbling inner idiot who'd been pouring over pictures of Blades and u-tubes of 20000 foot pendulum jumps for the past couple of months. The struggle was soon over and many a cold afternoon was spent chasing, tripping, slipping, untangling, cursing and nursing wounds at the hands of FF's demon child. Dont get me wrong, i had a ball, i was just terrified throughout. As the winter weather here in Dublin is pretty unforgiving i decided to take a leap of faith on a Pansh ace 3.5 in the hope of getting more flying done without further risking my skeleton. Like many people i was both put off and attracted by the ridiculously low prices and free delivery Pansh were offering. So based on other R.C members reviews i thought it'd be a fairly good leap of faith for the money and promptly harrassed my girlfriend to get me one for xmas. i got her a Flexi sting so fair swap. As Andya has already written such a comprehensive account on the build quality, all i can do is agree wholeheartedly. Surprisingly excellent in every way, from material and stitching to bridles. The line sleevings I believe have changed quite recently in that the powers are now green and the brakes red which is great and works well with intuition, especially for any newbies that might have needed the aid of a good manual which sadly isn't included. Like the lines, the handles appear to have been recently upgraded and whilst looking pretty basic, aren't actually too bad and suit my smallish hands alot better than the larger flexi handles which tend to tire me out after about 10 minutes in strong winds. My only build criticism is purely superficial in that id like to see the size printed on the canopy to avoid any confusion with any future ace purchases as the stuff sacks are all the same as far as i know. In fact, whilst im aware of cost, I'd personally favour Pansh putting up the prices a little bit and upgrading their bags to an extent. Whilst i'm not suggesting a Flexifoil type work of art, i think many kiters would welcome something a little more practical in terms of size and perhaps a pocket or two.. It's pretty tough going trying to stuff a wet kite / accessories into those bags in the middle of 25+mph wind. So using the kite a few times has me firmly in the pro-Pansh camp. In high winds it has a stunning amount of power and is definitely not for the inexperienced flyer. In 30 mph+ winds it lofted me 5 feet without warning from directly overhead and proved to be livid anywhere near the power zone. Without a board or a buggy anyone using this better be prepared to run/slide or be dragged after this puppy. Leaning back/ bracing yourself isnt going to cut it unfortunately. Bearing in mind im about 6'2 and 14 stone, lighter users would want to be very careful taking this out in winds of 15+. Whilst i'm only really getting used to doing small jumps at this stage, the ace has a lot of pop and provides more float than i expected from something of this size and what others had said Insane Power aside, it handles wells and retains it shape in the window and at the zenith with its tips folding only as it creeps/overflies the corners of the window. Both take off and reversing are childs-play and a lot more manageable than my Blade3 4.9. In v. low winds i encountered real problems getting the kite off the ground (requiring power leader adjustment) and once airborne found it needing some pretty aggressive flyer input to keep it moving and stable. Conversely high winds allowed me to hold the ace quite easily near the corner of the wind which obviously would make it reasonably suitable for high-wind buggy/board users. So for a relatively inexperienced static flyer such as myself wanting something both exciting and controllable in the higher winter winds, the 3.5 ticks all the boxes. Whilst its fun and user friendly in low winds, it behaves like its downed half a bottle of whiskey when the wind picks up. Only minutes using this proves that its not intended for a complete novice but its instantly more forgiving than my flexi which is exactly what i was looking for: Something smaller than a 4.9/5 that would give me the same thrills in conditions too hairy to take out the blade. At the prices Pansh are currently letting them go for, even the most hardened skeptic should give this a shot. Its well worth knocking drinking on the head for a couple weekends. By : dragratchet