Flexifoil Blade 1

First flights:

These were in low winds initially and with kite killers fitted. I had some great fun doing small static jumps and big scuds.

Initial thoughts – very happy. After a couple of weeks just static flying the kite, I got the opportunity to try it on my board. It worked so much better than my beamers ever did. For the first time I could concentrate on the board, rather than having worry about trying to wrench more power out of the kite every second.

General flying characteristics:

Compared to the later Blades (Blade III’s in particular) this kite needs to be flown a lot less actively. It also has masses of grunt – the power it generates is all there all the time. If you let it, it will hover over your head all day and still pull like a train. The upside of this is that you don’t have to look at the kite to know what it is doing, but the downside is that you get tired very quickly flying it. To prevent it overflying and to aid with turning, this is a kite that benefits from tight brakes.

Turning speed and maneuverability:

Poor. The only kite I’ve ever flown that turns slower is the 9.7 Oxigen pro – and that has the excuse of being 2.5m bigger. This kite is known amongst my friends as “the whale”, and with good reason. However it can be made to respond fairly well by using the brakes sharply, or by fitting a crossover system.

Because this kite moves so slowly, it is possible to exert a great deal of control over what it does. If you’ve got some strength in your wrists then you can do tipstands, hover the kite, slide it sideways, fly it backwards and basically whatever else you want to do with it. This isn’t something most people bother with, but it’s really good practice to learn the delicacy needed for these sorts of tricks. (It also looks cool when you’re balancing a kite with a 6m wingspan on its very wingtip).

Lift and jumping:

The bit you’ve been waiting for. This kite has tons of lift, but in a rather different way from later Blades. The Blade III and Blade IV (the IV in particular) generate their legendary lift from their speed through the window. The Blade I hasn’t got any speed through the window – it has masses and masses of overhead lift that makes lofting fast, high and vicious with this kite. I’ve jumped over 10ft a number of times with this kite – but although it has lift in bundles, it’s not necessarily suitable for massive jumps, for reasons detailed later. It has masses of float – very confidence inspiring on small jumps. The downside is that the float isn’t always there – if you re-direct the kite properly there isn’t a problem but if you don’t, it’ll drop you like a stone.

In a direct comparison with a Blade IV 8.5m, there is no doubt that the 8.5 is liftier, but it also feels much less likely to kill you. The Blade IV is a crane, and the Blade I is a rocket launcher. It’s certainly exciting though. Even a jump of a few feet is enough to get the adrenaline going like no other kite.

Light wind performance:

Awesome. This is, without a doubt, the very best light wind kite I’ve ever flown. It will launch in only a couple of mph and fly and generate power. I know for a fact it will fly when a 10.5 Blade III won’t even launch. Perhaps the best proof of this is that I flew an 1800 with it the other week – by running backwards in no wind, I flew the kite around myself five times – something which I couldn’t have done with any other kite. I think a major contributing factor is the lightweight material the kite is made of.

On a board:

This kite picks up masses of speed from apparent wind. You start moving and keep moving until you fall off or hit something. It is extremely good as a cruising kite, but your speed is limited by the speed of the kite through the air. It is also a surprisingly stable kite once you get moving – it’s not likely to do anything sudden or worrying.

Jumping on a board:

This, actually, is quite hard with this kite. Because it is so slow to turn and move, if you’ve got any decent speed going then by the time the kite’s turned, it’s already in the middle of the window. What air you do get is very floaty – just don’t expect to go spectacularly high.

Upwind ability:

None. It just doesn’t do it. At all. Ever. This has an advantage and a disadvantage – the advantage is that when you’re boarding or buggying with this kite, you don’t have much chance over it overflying unless you do something really stupid. The catch is that if you want to go upwind, you’ll be dragged downwind. This is the problem with jumping really high I mentioned earlier – in strong winds because the kite sits so far back from the edge of the window, it can just drag you downwind and make running for pendulum jumps impossible (or at least very difficult). But bear in mind this is only a problem in 20mph+.

In a buggy:

This is very similar to the “on a board” section. But I would add that just because it doesn’t move very fast normally, doesn’t man that characteristic carries forward entirely to traction activities. I’ve outrun a buggier with a 7m bullet with this kite (in another buggy), as well as a buggier with a 13m pulse (when I was on my board) so don’t underestimate it. The apparent wind it generates is considerable. When turning the buggy (if you’re planning a sliding turn) bear in mind that this kite is slow through the window and spends a long time in the powerzone – it’s easy to slide further than you want to and end up facing backwards. If you put the kite overhead to turn you’ll simply be lifted out.

Construction:

You have to bear in mind that this was the first serious power kite manufactured on a large scale, but the build quality isn’t up to much. The bridle attachment points have no re-inforcing at all, and this has given me trouble with a number of attachment points ripping and having to be repaired. The fabric this kite is made of is the lightest and thinnest I’ve ever come across (including that used in the Mac Bego). The overall effect of this is that the kite itself is quite delicate. The bridles are good quality though – stitched rather than knotted, and there’ve only been a couple of replacements in 8 years of use.

I can’t comment on the bag – having bought this kite secondhand, I don’t have it. The original handles are fine for me, but some people complain that the leader lines are too thin. I think they may have a point, but you can easily fix this if you don’t like it. The original lines (which I used up until last month) were fine for simple jumping and traction, but they’re no better for having been used for 7 years, and I suggest replacing them (as I have now done) in the interest of safety.

Appearance:

The Blade is one of the most easily recognized kites in existence. Everywhere you go; people will know what you’re flying. That being said, it’s not the prettiest kite out there. The design is fairly simple, and not that amazing to look at. To improve on this, I cut out small strips of reflective tape and stuck them on my kite, all around the edges. This means that when you fly it in the evening, it glows. The advantage of a simple design is that it’s there to be improved upon…

Conclusion:

This is not a kite for beginners. This is a serious and sometimes unpredictable kite for the old school kiters out there. Some kites I’ve flown have a very smooth, progressive build up of power. This doesn’t. When it delivers its power it does so in a massive slam that quite literally flings you wherever you want to go. Jumps are easy in just about any conditions, but because this kite is quite slow through the air, you need to really watch your timing for maximum performance. This kite can be superb to fly in the right conditions, but in the wrong conditions a mishap can lead very quickly to serious injuries.

To drive that home, let me say that I reckon his kite has tried to kill me, on average, twice a month since I got it. I’ve been ripped off my board at 20mph, lofted 15ft in the air, bruised my pelvis, hurt my back more times than I can count and nearly broken my ankle twice.

In the 15 months I’ve had this kite, I’ve flown it in every type of weather conditions imaginable, from 37 degrees in the shade to 10 below with windchill, taking in freezing fogs, horrific gusts, rain, hail, sleet, snow and on one occasion a collision with a golf ball. I’ve flown at night, day, evening and dawn. I’ve had to shake ice off my kite, drag it half a mile through the sea and chase herds of bullocks away from my kiting gear. But it’s been worth it.

I can’t say this is the best kite ever made, because it isn’t. But one thing’s for sure – it’s never dull.

Author : MatJ