Rhombus Firebee 1M

The Rhombus Firebee 1.0 was my first amatuer power kite. I only considering buying this size due to the magically low price and time that I had to receive it before my vacation. Below you will find a breakdown on the kite.

Packaging.. 3/5
Kite arrived in a decent backpack. Backpack material feels like thin plastic but its a $89 kite so what can you expect. I was happy for the price. Also pack contains zipper front pocket for items- phone, keys, spliffs etc..

Quality of Kite Fabric .. 3/5
On inspection of the kite it was decently size for such a small priced kite. The material seemed DECENT when first having it. but soon started to present itself as cheap and wrinkly. I believe that Firebee use nylon instead of better materials and that is what brings them to a more affordable level then other kite makers. The stitching is fine and construction and sewing is well done. Just the material of the kite is a little pathetic. The colors and style of the kite is nice!.

Quality of Bridle.. 2/5
Bridle lines are week, thin and cheap. They looks cheap and feel cheap. The kite did come ready to fly out of the bag and was properly tuned for all types of flying.

Flying lines - 1/5
Worst and shortest lines i have ever seen. I think they are 20m Which is nothing. And the kites flyes out of the window easily due to the lenth of the lines. Lines are horribly thin and will tangle if you look at them the wrong way. Once in the tangle good luck and hope you dont mind the wind passing you by your head while you sit there untangling lines.(worst feeling ever) I have definetly replaced the given lines with longer better ones. You dont need strong lines for this kite since you might get 50ibs of pulling force max.

Flying handles .. 4/5
Handles are surprisingly comfortable and width is perfect for the hands. They were comfrotable though hours of flying and i use the same pair of handles for my much larger kites.

Instructions and Manual .. 1/5
What Instructions? Pictures are horrible and you might as well just learn what you need to learn online. With such a small kite you dont have to worry about being dragged or blown away if you weigh more then a large dog.

Flying Characteristics .. 4/5
If you dont expect uplift, traction power, and other qualities found in larger kites then this kite is a blast to fly in decent winds on 30m string. The kite is very quick and turns on a dime. minimun wind speed needed to enjoy the 1.0 is 8mph steady to 25+. The faster the wind the fast the bee gets. Does have slight amount of pull in high winds and is truely fun to fly fast. You can do fast spins and tricks all day long.

Try not to do 360 since the lines are soo thin and cheap that they will tangle easily in mid air and then your left crying on the grass while the wind blows by your ear.T he Beevery easy to control and as long you dont fly over the window its all good. The kite does want to luff A LOT at the edges of the window and light winds. Serious kite 4-play is needed to maintaine it for lower winds. I have found one problem with the bee, the tips tend to collapse for no reason sometimes.

I have been folding them over opposite to train them. Great kite to fly in higher winds when the big 3.0-4.9-6.0 are too terrrible dangerous. Speedy, quick, responsive and not too much pull. YOu can stand there all day and enjoy without having monkey arms in the end.

Overall...
I give it a good buy for the money. Although i would purchase a 2.0 rather then the 1.0. They are not much off on money and i think the 2.0 will provide a longer interest in the size and power. You will be able to fly in slightly lighter winds as well. great buy for the kids or the adults with no experience. Why buy a expensive kite thats dangerous if they loose intereste in the sport just like eveyrthing else they do.

By : zeshan