Frakke

@Koma - I normally use cycling gloves - the fingerless ones these give enough protection between your fingers and on your palms to prevent blisters... even so if you're out enough you'l ldevelop some callouses after a while anyway.. But in saying that the coating on the new flexi handles is a soft and pliable rubber coating soft and grippy so blisters should be minimal - if they're not then a pair of fingerless gloves will do the trick F

@Max - that's one way to do it of course especially down under....we normally just send tehm back to flexi in the UK and we get free replacements within a week F

Hi All, I've not been around on here for quite a while and Joel gave me a nudge to comment on these new handles.... so here goes I've had a set since about september last year as I was at the top of Flexi's "most sets of handles broken in a season" list (or near the top anyway). First thing to note is the handle is a bit shorter that the current ones so brakes will need to be reset wich is a minor point but the length difference is sufficient to move a couple of inches on brakes. Handle length is designed for line length and kite size so a change in handle size will need a change in one or other of the line sets to compensate... The handle is a solid block of polymer with moulded strengthening shapes to it with the pin in the top for leaders and strop attachments and it is very quick and simple to strop up - all you need is a small screwdriver and a strop The handle part is covered over with a very comfy and "sticky" rubberised grip where stickiness changes with the oil content in the handles - mine are prototypes so I have odd ones with different rubber compounds but both are comfortable and the top of the handle where your thumb would normally be is "thumb shaped" so your thumb sits at a comfortable angle and improves braking capability as thumb pressure is more easily applied when braking - hence one reason they could be shorter I guess... The only noticable difference is that the softer handle (more oil) is more comfortable at extreme low temps (close to freezing) and doesn't seen to nick or scratch very much. I think Flexi have gone with the softer one Now for performance I have had these handles out in very cold, very wet (sand and mud), very high winds (50mph+ :eek: on a couple of occasions recently) and have been OBE'd and dragged across beaches for many many metres at a time and hey haven't given up where current standard ones surely would have. Under extreme loads i.e. high"ish" winds and a 4.0m or 4.9m kite I have felt some strain in the handles but they haven't given up yet and I can't see them ever doing so. My goal it to try and break at least one of 'em to give flexi R'n'D something to think about but I must say it's a tough job... (my confidence level in these new handles is therefore not surpisingly literally sky high). My latest efforts in 45 - 55mph winds involved a 2.5m Rage and as you all know how fast these little bug-gers are in that amount of wind they generate quite a lot of grunt and lift so the handle strain is still high so even when I was airborne :eek: (yep I was airborne AND double kitelooping a 2.5m Rage in 50+winds) I was still confident.... I think Flexi have "very much so" cracked the handle problem which would explain why the after sales team (Wendy et al) were happy to replace the current handle sets FOC with these new ones in the bag... Finally the number of situations I have been in where I have said "that jump or that OBE would normally have cost me a set of handles" hasn't changed but the number of handles I have broken since I got these new proto's is still a big fat ZERO hope you all get some soon...... Frakke

You could actually try "flying the kite" as well ..... as opposed to the "park and ride" approach if you keep the kite moving i.e. fig of 8 type flying then it is less likely to deflate and fall... to practice this you can deliberately go out underpowered and then you will almost always have to "work the kite" to generate motion..... another thing if you've got the basic skills set it to set a slightly upwind line i.e. turn away from the kite to keep the lines taught... obviously if you go too far you'll set off sideways then backwards so its a balance really but with a little practice you'll do it like second nature and then if the wind is picking up tack to a slight downwind line (long reach) to pick up speed... actually as some of your mates have mentioned go out and try and follow then up and down the beach.. closely watching their kite position and buggy direction.. buggy direction is easy if you follow exactly which means that you can concentrate more on the kite position... most of us learn by copy cat anyway it's natural so go chase yer mates :D:D and most of all have fun Fly safe F F

WEll I hope they turn up on here too then coz I've highlighted your forum again over on Flexi to "help out" withthe contacts.... BTW happy new year to you all.... F

http://community.flexifoil.com/showthread.php?t=135558 just doing my bit for international relations.... anyone up for meeting some peeps from "up here" ??? please feel free to introduce yourselves thanks in advance Frakke

Blader last weekend at the Ho!... We're all at it now lads keep up

^^^ I knew something was "not quite right" with the HAKA but I've seen a good performance from the 7.0m and the float was "as good as the 6.5m Biv if not better so it could be down to the rider... no disrespect intended but if for example Phat Dan helps design the HAKA it will be to suit his style as it will be built on his input... if you fly / learn from Dan then you will have a similar style and therefore be at one with the kite... if you're used to a totally different kite then it may be strange and this could be why those folks who chase the latest newest on the market (i.e. I got a CULT/HAKA/MANTA/Biv/sabre coz they're new ... not coz I like em or have had a good experience from them..) 5.0m is a "very nice size" for a kite look at how the 4.9mBIII has been lauded over the years ... it's still an awesome kite... and now Flexi have managed to get that speed into the 6.5m Biv the 6.5m is a good development.. so if the HAKA is at the 4.9m BIII standard then Ozone should have doen their homework well and produced a good kite as for losing the "pop" in bigger kites I don't necessarliy agree there as it's about holding down the power... If you can edge hard with a low C of G then you can still hold the power and the pop is still there... well it was last night on the 8.5m Biv ... to the tune of approx 10 - 12 feet of air with a 540 rotation..... in 13mph wind fly safe F

I think I was trying to say that too Zee but it came out a bit wrong (typical northern english problem we tent to say what we think mostly)... there is no other forum quite like it for fame.... OK Best have one ozone have one (thanks to Appo) but no where near as infameous as the Flexiforum and quite rightly said it a meeting place for kiters no matter what you fly.......... In the UK we use oit all the time to arrange meets/events all over the country and flexi don't have a problem with it .... nuff said F

Hi Peter.. I think your Century is a race kite (isn't it ???) usually designed for going very fast and quite responsive kite for 7.5m... I don't think it is ideally suited to jumping but that doesn't mean that you won't get air from it either... I've only ever tried a 5m ish cerntury and it was at an inland site which wasnt ideal and I had a terrible time with it...at teh same time my BIII 6.6m was OK (in my slightly incapable hands ) Also if you choose to go to the manta/sabre route these are depower and exhibit a totally different aspect to buggy jumping.. there's the whole depower to contend with and having a bar in a buggy can sometimes be a bit cumbersome.. Now at the same time I say this there are people who can jump buggies quite happily on depower... APPO and PHAT DAN both on the ozone team are happily boosting manta's frenzy's and even the instinct on land. PHAT DAN is of course on he Strealth buggy too others on depower that I know over here even jump well on peter lynn phantoms and venoms however the trick base with these is a bit more limited (well it's big air but its a plain jump... rotations are more of an accident due to the size/speed of the twin skin.... Finally that leaves a fixed bridle kite (yeah like a blade) personally i've had air from a 4m radsail, a 5m crossfire, and blades 6.6m and 4.9m BIII and now the Biv's (all of em:D).. if you want to try an ozone kite have a look at the HAKA they are not a bad kite but are new on the market so could be prone to improvment tweaks in the near future as the foil / bridle is refined.. Personally I prefer blades but that was a choice I made early on and have got used to the way they work. Of course it was influence from close kiting friends too but I noticed that there were pockets of kiters who were influenced by those around them so sabres were being used in places sometimes ozone depower sometimes blades... IMO I think the "best" freestylers are on Blades that I know in no particular order ...richy stones, stupid dave, rob hills, mark everitt, craig sparkes,will mckean, junior(freddy), me, blader, docgreen, royster, sylenz, all fly blades, mad dog pete (who was on a sabre but thought it was holding him back)... Now in saying this we all meet at the same beach/fly in on a regular basis and have no issues with mixing it with the ozone boys or anyone else that might turn up were all freinds at the end of the day and all kiters (some just have bigger ego's that others ) anyway I hope this helps with choice of kite and if ou have to choose BLADE or HAKA try to fly the 4.9m Blade agasinst the 5.0m HAKA for direct comparison it may help.. F

Hey Joel....soz I was a bit slow .... mrs marman is awewsome isn't she :D:D Jess to us and she's pretty good on the other end of the camera too - she took most of teh marman bits this time out.... Marman has helped develop a M3 and is waiting on delivery... the M2 he has now is tons better than the original and that wind on that beach is awesome when it's like that.... everyone was dialled

you don't have to bother dude you have the choice (or are you just jealous I don't know) but I know Joel, zenon, rocket and some of the others welcome marman productions and they'll put up their own clip eventually...... nothing wrong with "that site"... and considering Richy303 rides for them it's appropriate isn't it same as there is nothing wrong with this one (for you lot ) or Appozone (for OZONE) or racekites.com or atbshop.co.uk forum either (which is our local) or the marman production house which is where we live www.skypirates.co.nr (you could have looked here.. it s in my siggy) predjudice gets you nowhere F

I've just dropped the latest input from marman video on your section too so have a look what we were messing with last weekend... god it was the best for ages... I actually thought that I was losing the edge till I was back on the beach... it has been a while but I am now well happy with my capability... I did get double foot out, one handed, aeriel 360, kiteloop very nicely in the end on an 8.5m Biv ..but it wasn't on the vid unfortunately as I was away practising for ages till it was right... then there was no camera..still jumps are jumps I was boosting all day just because I could and I was really lovin' it 6+ hours on a beach with 154 - 20 mph... 8.5m Biv = awesome F

latest hot off the press from Sunday 5th August at the HO! http://community.flexifoil.com/showthread.php?t=126307 wind was back... 8.5m Biv's were the order of the day well for the buggiers anyway (Me (Frakke), Richy Stones (Richy 303) and Will Mckean (Ginge)) Marman is now officially HQ hence th Montana and Mr Strange Al flies Ozone enjoy.... Frakke

I ran a flexibug like this :D:D Just lashed a spreader bar across the siderails and hooked to that ran a 6.6BIII off and jumped it as well.... C of G was a bit high though as stated and two wheels was easy..... I didn't have weights obviously and kkilling the kite wasn't a problem. High C of G still meant that a crash was a crash but I could get out of the mess and leave kite and buggy on the sand.. Killing the kite was also as easy as it it with a harness on Went to a harness eventually as C of G came down loads.... Must also say that this was not a dangerous thing in my eye as it seemd to work well... it was just unconventional and DID GET A LOAD OF FLACK from the doubters I changed of my own accord to a harness - just saw it as a developemnt phase I was going through F