kiteboystu1600949570

BUGGYBAGMAN'S NEW SEAT FOR THE FLEXIFOIL BUGGY INTRO I've been kite buggying for nearly ten years now and have owned several different buggies over the years. The buggy of choice for me though is the Flexifoil buggy as I'm now into 'buggy jumping'. There are high stresses and loads placed upon a buggy when using large fixed-power kites: strapped in, holding down loads of power and then jumping and often landing hard. The frame of the buggy can withstand most abuse, but I have bent and snapped the odd bit here and there over the years. For me, the weakest point on the buggy has always been the seat. The plastic buckles all broke and I ended up replacing them with metal 'd' rings just to get by. The stitching also came away in several places and the webbing frayed in other areas. When it came time to buy a new Flexifoil buggy I was determined not to trash the seat of the new one so quickly. I've ended up cross-bracing the underside of the seat with heavy duty webbing straps across the frame. These help take the loads of hard landings and so far have 'saved' the seat from failing...for now. When I spoke to Jon at buggybags.co.uk about his thoughts on a replacement seat for the buggy I was excited at his ideas and he soon started work on a protoype. Pretty soon it was ready to be tested and Jon popped one in the post to me to try out... images/reviews/kiteboytstu02.jpg FIRST IMPRESSIONS When I unwrapped the seat from it's packaging I was very pleased with what I saw. Straight away I could see that the build quality was exceptional and the craftsmanship was of a high standard. The materials used were very heavy duty and hard wearing and I was impressed with the additional sewn in under-layer of wipe-clean material. It's almost like a built-in splash guard. The stitching was strong and neat and the webbing straps were of a higher grade of material than on other seats. The stainless steel double rings were a really good idea. They're so much stronger than plastic buckles and will NEVER break - even under the load of jumping. The seat had padding sewn into it all over and it was wider so that it came up over the side rails to provide built in padding there. The back rest is also very sturdy and well padded. I took the Flexifoil seat off and compared them side by side. The Flexifoil seat feels lighter in comparison, but that's because it uses thinner material, webbing straps and plastic buckles. Jon's new seat is a little heavier, but that's because it is slightly larger (as it covers the side rails) and will last and is made of much heavier-duty materials and stainless steel rings. Once I'd fitted the seat I stood back and was pleased with the 'look' of it on the frame - really smart and stunning in the electric blue material Jon had chosen. It really stands out! images/reviews/kiteboytstu03.jpg TEST TIME I got set up and lowered myself into the new seat and thought - wow this is actually really comfy and supportive. I strapped myself into my captive systems and launched the 8.5 Blade into the air. As soon as I took off I knew the seat was great! It felt like I was actually sitting IN the buggy instead of ON it (which is a common complaint about the original Flexifoil seat - some people prefer to fit Peter Lynn XR seats to them). I popped straight up onto two wheels and leant right over as I sped across the field at a fair old lick! I felt confident, comfortable, supported and safe. I just grinned from ear to ear for the whole session! I immediately sent the kite over for a jump and went skyward. Again, everything felt strong and supportive in the air. I came down fast and a little hard - not one of my best landings. But immediately I thought, WOW that didn't hurt. That's a new experience for me. The seat was very forgiving and definitely soften the blow of a 'hot' landing. I was again IMPRESSED! The original Flexifoil seat feels so much less forgiving, being stiffer and more taught across the frame. As a result, when you land hard you feel it! You get a jolt right up your spine - which is not good. This does not happen with Jon's new seat at all. I cruised around for a good four hours - fully powered on the 8.5 Blade III. I soon realised I could hold down more power than before as the seat sat just that little bit lower than the original. The wind was much stronger than what I'd normally fly this size in. My boarding friends commented on the fact that they thought I was doing well with such a big kite in the strong, gusty conditions we had. You can also lower the seat even further for that real laid-back beach cruising style. images/reviews/kiteboytstu04.jpg I performed all my usual flat-land tricks with ease and could move and turn freely within the new saddle. Aerial antics were also on the menu for the day. I just felt so much safer and supported that I had the extra confidence to really go for it and try bigger jumps. I just kept wishing I'd had a seat like this a few years ago. Perhaps my back would be in better condition today if I had. I did have to tighten up the straps on the back rest after about two hours of constant thrashing, but that's not surprising. And in a way, I'd rather that the straps gradually loosened than snapped or frayed under the loads I was imposing on them. I probably need to tighten them up before each session and they'll be fine. This to me is a good thing. If something's designed to give then it will last longer than something that's fixed, taught and under load. So top marks again on the straps and fixings. I didn't find the need to fit either the home-made cross-bracing or the belly pan I usually use. The amazing cross-bracing sewn underneath the seat was doing a wonderful job of load-spreading and extending the lifetime of the seat all on its own. No need for extra straps underneath. The belly pan is also redundant now as the built-in wipe-clean underlay keeps you dry. Any hard or sharp objects would also struggle to get through to your precious behind (unless you buggy over steel spikes regularly). CONCLUSION Overall I'm very very impressed with the seat and would recommend it as an upgrade to anyone using a Flexifoil buggy