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  • Chewy1600949570
    Chewy1600949570

    HQ Symphony

    I've been reading through this site for a few days to help with the purchase of my first kiteboard, and I then I thought I'd look up my kite, only to find it's not listed. So, I thought I'd remedy that.

    I picked up this kite in Poole last summer on a whim, having left my old kite back in London; whilst I forget the name of the shop, I fear they undercharged me massively, since I walked away having paid only £19.95. Had I known at the time, I would have said something, but I was upgrading from a completely battered old Lynx Mercury 130 cx, which I'd restitched a few times thanks to never-ended crashes by friends, causing the main strut to poke through the material. A bit of old denim sewn onto the top extends the life by a good 6 months, in case you're interested.
     

    images/reviews/hqsymphony.jpg

     


    So, I unpacked it with some trepidation, and tried to work out what the pictures meant, and how to lash the lines to the kite. Eventually, my girlfriend, being a sailor, took pity on me, glanced at the instructions, and knotted them up fine. I get it now, but I guess I can't follow instructions too well. Not a big deal, though. It takes me about 2 minutes from getting to a good spot to flying time.

    It's got 2 strings, and no struts. As mentioned elsewhere, it packs up into a teeny little bag, which you can attach to your belt. My friends with Flexifoils are always jealous when we pack up. but I digress.

    We headed down to the beach and launched it for the first time, and it immediately ran into the powerzone. I was amazed at the pull on it, having only flown little stunt kites previously. It was great. I was being gently pulled along the beach in the middle of the powerzone in quite low winds. We spent about an hour just mucking around.

    It's very responsive - quick and nimble in the air, much more so than other foil kites I've flown. With a little practice, it will turn on a sixpence. I've yet to manage to self launch it, though.

    I've got a friend who lives near Burrough Hill, in Leicestershire, and we took it up there one weekend. The wind was very strong, and as soon as I'd launched it, I was dragged face- first for about 50 yards, before letting go of one string, and then spent the next 40 mins trying to untangle the lines. Oh well. So, if you're in any doubt about the pull on it, don't be.

    Having spent more time flying other kites (mostly flexifoil, all 2 lines, though) the one thing I'd say is that the power comes on very fast. Out of the power zone, it's like a little puppy, but as soon as you cross that line, it bites and bites hard. There's no gentle easing in.

    Summary

    It's a fun kite, easy to pack up, and with enough pull to put a smile on face every time I use it. So far, it's dragged me, my girlfriend and a friend along the floor, and I've managed to get a little air off it (I weigh 80kg/12.5stone), so there's no problem with power if you need it.

    I've just bought a Kheo Air Flyer, and I'm sure it will be adequate for powering that. It arrives tomorrow, so I'll send you an update after the easter weekend.

     

    By : Chewy

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    I'm thinking of getting this size symphony myself, the problem with the self launch has me wondering if you can suport the kite on a couple of rods stuck in the ground at the right angle and then give it a quick pull and away, has anyone else tried anything else like this?

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    Got a 1.8, managed to self launch just fine by putting sand on the trailing edge, running back to the handles and giving them a nice big tug. Only problem I had was how to land the kite and keep it on the floor long enough for me to run to it and pack it up!!

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    Hi, I've got the 2.2 and the 3.3 and both are really nice. Starting seems no prob to me, just lay it out, give it a tug, and off you go. In higher winds just lay somme pebbles on the trailing edge (like blah said) and starting will be no problem. In my opinion the Symphony is the ideal starting drug :-) only the way HQ names the kites is confusing. 1.8, 2.2 or 3.3 means the wingspan.

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    I've got one of the smallest Symphonys. Being used to 4 lines (Now) I do find it a pain to self launch/land. When it is in the air though, it's a great laugh as it's as fast as hell! Believe it or not, I've actually had it pull me down a beach on my atb. Not far and pretty slowly, of course!

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    I have a Symphony 2.2 and other 2 line kites. Self launch is not a problem if you use the stone or sand methods. The only way I have found to self land is when the kite is on the floor ,looping one of your straps over a peg then walking a few paces towards your kite before putting your other strap down . In high wind the kite might flap about but its better than sprinting after it down the beach !

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    Good review I thinking of a synphony for just the purpose of throwing in the car. I have a 1.8 Beamer which is suffcient for any face planys I ahve wanted to do. Though I'm haven't chosen a size the HQ I have are all sweet seems you can't go wrong with a proven thing.

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    Hi, New to this forum but came across this review and was asked to comment. Live south of Sweden and met a kite flyier at the beach one day when going there with my kids. He was flying an HQ Symphony 1.8 and let me try it. The deal is tha for the last 10 years I have had increasing lower back problems due to my hight, 1,97cm. I must say it was a lot of fun with the 1.8 and so much fun I went and bought the big brother the next day, the Symphony 2.2. My novice reviews are: Bad lines. They have snapt on me tvice cousing excrusiating pain in my 38 year old porly made back. Great pull and speed. But I do have a problem with trust after the lines snaping. Self lunch? Not a problem. But the south of Sweden a windy, maybe it is so at lower winds. The handstraps is not good enough when pulling it though the powerzone in higher winds. After 10 minutes or so the nylon straps dig in to your skin. I know this is an old thread but to me it raises som interesting questions. All of you that have commented this kite, what are your experienses today? Have you bought something else? Bigger, better and lest but not last, more power. The 2.2 for me and my 95 kg, it has not enough power. But I

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