Advance Offroad 5.4M

Ok, lets start with the basics..

As everyone says, the kite build quality is wonderful, as are the quality of the lines, bar etc.

My Offroad 5.4 came with the bar, as the plan is to use it for skiing, as well as possibly with the buggy in the summer, although I already have a 4.9 Blade and a few smaller, so there may be some overlap.

Although the Offroad came with a bar, the standard setup is for handles, so you have to take the short pink bridle extensions off before the pulleys etc go on. All this is well explained in the paperwork supplied, so it is pretty straight forward to swap this over.

What is not explained, and caused me LOTS of confusion and "interesting" flights to begin with is the bar setup. I have finally got it sorted out after 5-6 flights. The best illustration of the bar setup is at [ link ]. It's in Swedish, but it is pretty self explanatory.

The important points to remember are that the black bobble on the powerline extension (3 in the pdf) is used in the quick release, and the looped end of the quick release should go over the harness bar behind the hook, so it can't slide along about, otherwise it keeps sliding along the harness bar, which is annoying.

Mistakes that I made were..

Powerlines on the bar ends! Just plain stupid. Kept my friends laughing for ages watching me fight with the kite..Harness attached via the free end of the power adjustment strap (4 on the pdf). This time the kite flew, but the power control didn't work (not surprising as this is not how it should be setup)Quick release attached via a loop at the end of the powerline extension, as shown on [ link ] .The kite will fly like this, but it reduces the range of the "depower".

So, with the kite finally set up correctly, how does it fly ?

Lets get the depower out of the way first, as I guess this is why many of you are reading these reviews. As mentioned before it is really more of a repower system, as the kite still pulls pretty well, and flies well when depowered. However, this is not to say that it doesn't work. The system is quite effective, and in stronger winds is very handy, as it gives you fine control over the performance.

As most of the time the bar is hooked into the harness (remember to have the harness loop below the powerline extn/quick release, or it is a bugger to hook in!), the power level is adjusted with the strap at the top end of the powerline extension, which is just in reach. With this pulled in the kite is depowered, pulling the white knob on the strap buckle will let the strap out for full power. Releasing the bar will also depower the kite..

As the repower system effectively changes the lift of the aerofoil by effectively putting the flaps down, as you see planes do as you come in for landing, this has two other interesting features in addition to changing the power levels. With the kite depowered, the flatter shape is faster, and will travel further upwind, so this setting is great for tacking hard upwind, or just resting with the kite above you head. Vice versa in the powered up position, the kite is slower, so it is a bit easier to keep from running too far ahead when running downwind.

In light winds, you may have trouble using full power, as the kite can stall and then start flying backwards. As far as comparisons with other kites go, Last time I was out on snow we had 8-12 m/s (18-27 mph), which seemed almost perfect to drag my bulk about. With the power control strap it was very easy to tweak the power to the right level as you are skiing along.

The bar also means that once you are hooked up, you can ski one-handed, so you get a chance to put you hat back on, eat a mars bar etc with the free hand. We also had my 4.9 blade out, but it was too brutal with these windspeeds, and just kept trying to rip you arms out.

There were also two guys with 5m Frenzies, who seemed to be having trouble keeping them under control and gave up. I am not sure it this was the kites or the users, I hope to have a play with one of the 5m frenzies soon to compare it with the Offroad.

The handling of the Offroad is very predictable and stable, although the turns on the bar are quite slow. This is not a problem most of the time, it just needs a bit of planning ahead. However, looping the kite to take out twists in the lines can get interesting, as the kite flies in a 7-10m diameter circle, which takes it through the powerzone even if you start it above your head, so be prepared to loose some distance downwind while it spins.

Turning at the ends of a run is something I still need to get sorted out, it you start a turn at full speed, the kite can either lift you off the ground, or if you run downwind too far it will luff, and then recover at some random angle, normally the least helpful! I usually slow down, before doing as fast a turn as I can with the kite above me, and hope for the best.

Landing the kite is also rather interesting, although I am hoping I'll soon find out a better way. In low winds, you can stall it close to the ground and than back it up to land it on its tail. You can also pull in the brake lines by hand to force it into a stall, but in higher winds both of these only really work if you have the space to run downwind with the kite to reduce the pull on the lines, otherwise it climbs too fast to reverse it backwards onto the ground.

In theory you can also land the de-powered kite at the edge of the wind to either side, but my experience is that on snow it will tend to slide back downwind when it lands, so you have to be very fast on the brake lines to stop it taking off again. Often I have to resort to pulling the quick-release when the kite is close to where I want to land it, then bring it down on the wrist loop lines. Once on the ground you can hook the brake lines around the harness loop to keep the kite on the ground if you are just pausing. If you are planning to keep it on the ground for a while, a good stake is very helpful, as the kite still pulls quite hard on the wrist loop when parked.

Summary

After initially wondering if it was worth it, I am now very happy with my Offroad, and getting happier. The price is perhaps 50-70 quid more than a Blade 4.9, but I think this is worth it, particularly as I hear the flexifoil VPS is more of a power switch than a control. The Frenzy could be a close rival, as it is cheaper. Personally I think it looks dull, hopefully I'll get to test one soon.

But all considered, the performance, quality of bits and bobs and the shear fun I have had with it, I would say get one now.

By : Richard Yeo