PKD Buster 4M

This kite was bough as my first "big" kite after learning the ropes on a 1.3m 2 liner. (A fantastic cheap learner Xenon 1.3). It was bought from bilboquet.com, a french company. Be aware that followup is a little difficult if you have any problems but for £124 inc. p+p for a 4m kite you really can't complain. Arrived 4 days after ordering.

A plain white nylon drawstring bag, no pretensions there. But complete RTF as advertise. Build quality is good, its obviously sold as a budget kite but you wouldn't believe it to look at it. Fabric is a little heavy compared to my blade but then its not going to rip after that first crash landing. Seams are perfect. The bridle construciton has come under a bit of fire in the forums and is made from the same loosely woven dyneema(unsleeved) as the lines. This looks a little cheap, to the extent that I contacted Roger from PKD UK to enquire about it. He reassured me that its plenty strong enough and has been changed recently to this.

The lines are dyneema, fairly loose weave and THICK. Compared to the lines I tend to use now (c-line dyneema) they look like kitchen string. I think they were meant to be 180/100 but I couldn't guess from the thickness. Handles are adequate apart from the brake line cleat. You're meat to use the cleat as a quick adjustable brake line. In truth the buster likes to fly with really slack brakes and I just left it hanging loose until I got a pair of flexi handles, no comparison.

Took the kite to my local playing field for first flight. Wind was no more than 8-10 mph. Stake out the handles(no brake loop on handles), lay the kite out, a quick pull and up it went. Perfect first time. Straight to the zenith and stayed there. Pretty responsive when flown on power lines but likes a bit of brake to turn quickly. Big scuds even in these light winds. Landed perfectly with brakes applied. As a first flight it couldn't have been easier.

Subsequent to that initial flight my opinions are even higher. It can fly in anything from 8-20 mph without scaring the pants off you. Its utterly predictable in its power output. Dip it into the zone and away you go. Took my mate out for the first time recently and he wouldn't let me have a go all afternoon. Managed a 125m scud on wet grass with it recently! That was without a harness, just me and the handles.

This is a great beginer/intermediate kite. It would be great for buggying due to its consistent nature. I've more recently got a blade III 6.6 which will spank you if you're stupid with it. None of that with the buster. For the money you could not beat this kite.

BUY ONE TODAY!

By : sip1410