Peter Lynn Venom

This is my second kite; I bought a Flexifoil Bullet 2.5 last summer as I wanted to try kitesurfing and I was advised to get a traction/power kite and get some flying time.

I first flew a Venom on the beach at Aberavon when I went on a 2-day kitesurfing lesson with Bruce from Airways. The wind was a bit patchy but it still dragged me along the beach a few times. I didn't get to try it on the water as the wind dropped some more and Bruce ended up getting a 17m Strike II for me to get some planing speed with.

I bought the Venom because I decided that I'd be more likely to get time for landboarding so I wanted a kite that would be suitable for both land and water. The Venom fits the bill, is easy to inflate and launch solo, and looks cool. Once I get some more flying time I'm sure I'll be able to say more about it, but the main thing that I can say is that it almost looks after itself. It is very stable once you get it adjusted right.

The quality of the kite is very good, everything was perfectly in order with no loose seams. The stiffening rods are going to be a source of sharp fibres, but they can be stored in a separate pocket in the supplied bag. With a reasonably steady wind, inflating the kite should be straightforward, and completed within the time it takes to sort out the rigging. Once the kite is reasonably inflated you can solo launch or get someone to help you. I've managed solo even in gusting conditions.

If the wind isn't quite strong enough you can encourage the Venom into the air with some tugs of the brake lines. Once it's a few metres off the ground you can dive it around to get it fully inflated. That's when the fun really starts! If it is full and the wind is strong you are going to know that you have a big kite up there. I weight a heavy 95kg and it has no problem in doing with me whatever it wants.

My only criticism is the quality of the instructions supplied with the kite. The booklet isn't for the Venom, so you must refer to the addendum to spot the differences. Also the supplied DVD would work in any of my DVD players/PCs, so I can't comment on that.

Otherwise I am more than happy and looking forward to many hours of kite flying/boarding/surfing!

By : NutSoft