HQ Montana II 9.5M

High Quality Design

Montana 2 9.5m blue/white/black

First impressions:

The kite comes very neatly packed in a sturdy rucksack, there are plenty of clips and attachment points on the bag to add a board and helmet for transport. One thing I found for this kite (9.5m) is that the bag is quite big, the kite sits right at the bottom whilst the majority of remaining room is left for the bar. I think you could easily fit two kites into one bag.

The lines come separate to the bar and you merely have to unwind them and choose your attachment point. Included also is an instructional DVD for setting the kite up and flying it for the first time.

In the air:

Launching the kite is very simple, let the bar out or pull on the center lines and the kite accelerates to the zenith, it is advised to launch towards the edge of the window for more control and less of a power surge.

Once in the air the kite feels very direct on the bar, small movements turn the kite with great ease. Even on the sharpest of turns the kite maintains its shape and does not suffer from 'wing tuck' which so many other depower foils on the market have. The kite flies fast through the window and in the buggy or on the board you can park the kite in the wind window and go for miles with very little input. Beware though; the speed this kite puts out is incredible!

I would recommend this kite more to the freestyle market, people interested in participating in land boarding, kite buggying or snow kiting should look no further than the Montana 2. It gets going in very little wind due to the lightness of the fabrics used and the wind range is good to.

So far I have flown the kite in as little as 7mph, up to winds gusting 25-30mph. I would not advise anyone to take this kite out in more than 15mph for their first session. It is surprisingly powerful for a 9.5m. For an idea of its power it will give you a good freestyle session on the board when others are out on 15m phantoms, 16m venom II's, 10m frenzies, 13 and 11m Waroos and larger blades.

Safety and landing:

Going to be a short section I'm afraid, there's nothing to say, it's stupidly easy! Either pull on a connector between the two brake lines to back stall the kite or pull on the red safety toggle (shown in bar picture) and the kite will loose power and descend back to the ground. To keep the kite on the ground just attach the safety or brake lines to a fixes object or stake.

Reverse launching the kite is done by pulling on the backlines and takes seconds. As said previously this is all explained in the provided DVD.

In all I am thoroughly enjoying this kite, I have owned and flown many depower and fixed bridle kites and this has been my favorite depower foil. I would compare it as a cross between the 07 10m frenzy and a manta. It has super smooth power delivery, good pop on jumps and real glide in the air, depending on where you redirect the kite to you can go straight up and straight down, up and downwind, up and to the side. The limits are only restricted by the rider.

So... if you're looking for a freestyle board or buggy engine with pop for rotations, heights for board offs and speed for kite loops... Montana 2 9.5m.

If Ferrari made kites... they would make Montana's!

Hope this review has been useful to people. If anyone is interested in a test flight please don't hesitate to contact me and I will try my hardest to get you on one.

Thanks

Marcus W/Marman

mediakiter@gmail.com

http://www.powerkites.de/

www.atbshop.co.uk

By : marman