I've not been flying kites for very long, a while ago I bought a 1.4m Symphony to have a play with but I soon found myself trawling the reviews online looking for advice on that first kite that would be able to power me along on my mountainboard.
Eventually I decided that I wanted a Samurai II, lots of people rated them highly and it seemed like a kite I could progress on.
I was fortunate to find a local flyer in my area who was happy to give me a go with some of his kites and give me some much needed tuition, this gave me the confidence to go for a 4m Sammi instead of the 3m version I'd planned on originally.
I bought the kite second hand with the control bar option but it was only 2 months old and the condition was as new (Minus sticker and keyring).
The stitching is even and neat throughout the construction and the cell edges and trailing edge are taped. There are 2 dirt outs, one at each side of the rear edge - although I've not really needed to empty dirt out of it yet so can't say how useful they are yet.
The bridal is stitched and the attachment points are numbered for easy set up - although it was already set up for me so I've not had to use this either.
The control bar feels good and sturdy and the grip is comfy, it's red on one side, black on the other so you know which side is which. The harness line has a quick release safety which is really easy to use (just pull the red tab) and easy to reconnect also.
The brakelines are attached through a pulley on the end of a webbing strap with trim loops on - pull the red one for more brake, the yellow one for less - simple.
The wrist leash is attached via this strap too.
The winders have elastic loops to hold the lines on when wrapped up and do their job well. It all fits in a rucksack which is red and black and is, well it's a rucksack! the kite fits in it easily.
I've been out with the kite a few times now, but mostly in lower winds as I'm still learning. It turns pretty fast and reverses easily when crashed.
I've managed to drag myself back and forth across my local flying fields on my board and the kite has a nice even pull. It doesn't seem to have masses of lift, but on the windiest day I've taken it out in (last week during the warm Ex hurricane Gordan winds, not sure of the speed) I found it lifted me just a foot off the ground whilst sitting at the zenith during a gust, nothing scary or violent, just a gentle lift and fall, but the pull of the kite lower down in the wind was awesome!
I'm looking forward to gaining more confidence and taking it out in better winds now, and I'm definitley pleased with my new toy!
By : TwistedAnimator
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