Outdoor_Adam

My mission was to find a cheap board on which to learn to landboard on. I had been static flying for about 10 months before I got this board. This is a basic and cheap board its spec is: * Freestyle deck, overall length 97cm, 89cm (laminated maple) deck. * Full coverage grip tape. * Raider 38cm (15') alloy trucks (PU cushioning suspension). * 10cm nylon wheels with 18cm (7') tyres. * ABEC-3 (608Z) bearings. * Freeflex bindings and leash. I got this of Ebay for only £10 and it still had plastic on the top of the board! So as value for money goes it can't be beat - though I believe that it was on sale in Argos for £70. But as the old adage goes you get what you pay for. This board doesn't look particularly sexy and is basic. The footstraps are only adjustable by moving which hole they are bolted on to the board (a choice of 3 on each side) so it is rather limited and I have found that for my feet it is either too tight or a bit loose - I have gone for a bit loose (as I'm still doing plenty of falling over and don't want my board to follow me as I do!). The deck has got virtually no pop - so it's not going to be the best for jumping with, and add the weight factor (as this board is a bit of a tuck shop kid) to this and you can most defiantly find better free style boards out there - but this isn't aimed at that. As far as learning to board on its fine, it feels sturdy and can take a lot of hammering - just what you want for all those crashes you going to make learning. The trucks look cheap but do the job and are on the softer side of medium - so if you're big you may find you need to change the rubber shock for stiffer one (though you will need to get Scrub ones as Exit don't seem to do spares). The whole deck is covered with grip tape which makes the board look rather bland but it enable you to ride 'feet out' if needs be when learning. Overall, this is a fine board for learning on and if you can get one really cheap like I did then go for it, otherwise if you are going to pay full price for it you would probably be better using the money as part payment towards a better board, as you will soon see the limitations of this board. By : Outdoor_Adam

I have been flying this kite for over 18 months now and was my first kite. It has proved to be an excellent kite for learning the basic flying skills needed to progress onto larger kites. It flies well in a wide range of wind speeds – needing only about 6mph to get it airborne and I have flown it winds of 35mph without getting pasted. It behave impeccably throughout the whole wind window and doesn’t luff unless at the edge of the window in very low wind conditions. However after a few months of use I started to feel the need for a bigger kite. I don't see this as a bad point though' as this kite has inspired me with the confidence to attempt flying a larger kite and also gave me confidence to go out in stronger wind conditions. Although it is small (compared to most kites) it is more than enough to learn on – and will stay in your collection as a high wind kite. It gives enough pull to get you moving on a landboard with 10mph winds, being a low aspect kite it doesn’t generate much lift so if you want to jump you will have to work at it – and learn how to pendulum unless the wind is going some. Everything is extremely well made and thought out. I found the Velcro tags for fastening the bridal when packing away very useful. The handles are the most comfortable I have used so far and I know a lot of people who use these handles on other brands of kites. It came with a strap that you can keep your kite folded up when packing – something I took for granted until I got another kite which didn’t have one. It didn’t come with a stake but I found using a tent peg worked well, another improvement would be a bit for emptying out sand (like on Peter Lynn kites). As for value for money, I'm know there are cheaper kites on the market but this is much as an investment as a purchase and it would be likely to stay in your bag for a long time. It put as smile on my face just unpacking it every time. In conclusion I think this is a great kite. It flies impeccably and is a very well constructed I don't think anyone will be disappointed if they choose a Rage 2.5 for a starter kite.