Rhombus Firebee 4M

The Firebee was my second kite, bought last summer as a step up from my little Skytiger. At that time I was just getting into kiting, and was mainly interested in jumping and skudding.

What sold the Firebee to me was it's price- I could get a 4m kite for under £150!? Wow....

The bag is a bit naff looking and flimsy (although saying that, it has stood up fine to over a year of abuse)!

The kite isn't up to the build quality of Flexi or Ozone stuff- on seams the stitching was irregular in places, but it is a tough bit of kit- nothing has ripped yet! The bridles are sleeved, but a common problem seems to be that they fray on folds, and little bobbles poke through the sleeving. However, I have noticed no change in performance and the bridles still seem pretty sound.

The material used is a little heavier than other more expensive kites, which means it doesn't like low winds all that much. I bought it as a package with 30m 500lb/300lb lines and handles.

The lines are great, and I've had no breakages so far, although I did shorten the mains which increased performance no end. The handles I got were dreadful- I ended up buying a decent pair of Flexifoil handles which suited it fine, and had kite killers included, which work perfectly.

I was very pleasantly surprised by it- whilst not the easiest kite to fly, I found it was massively powerful once used correctly. It likes brake input in turns, and with enough, you can get very sharp, quick rotations.

A few things that make Firebees fly better are ensuring the brake lines are fairly slack, and fitting 'power rings'. With both done, you have a rather good kite that is powerful, doesn't luff as much as without 'rings, and will fly to the zenith nicely. Without them, you may find frustration getting the better of you...

The 'race kite'/skinny shape does make them a little unstable, and they do like input from the user at all times- you soon get the hang of all their little quirks however! In low winds the endsoccasionaly get twisted round the bridles, but this is (usually) remedied by a few tugs on the brakes or a quick dive...

I've found my 'Bee great for skudding- you could go forever keeping up figure 8s through the powerzone.... In a decent wind you can pull reasonable jumps too- it isn't the most lifty kite around; you do get carried downwind a fair few meters! When doing jumps, I always squeeze on the brakes a little- this stops the kite overflying and collapsing horribly!

I've just started to use it with my landboard recently- If you want to get into boarding, personally I would not reccomend a 'Bee- the power is a little erratic around the window for balancing to be easy... It pulls like anything through the middle, and dies to nothing at the edges! I have got better in the last couple of weeks though- stronger winds are better to brace against the pull, and the kite moves faster, allowing you to work it far more easily and keep the power on...

So... Buy a 'Bee if you are looking for power on a budget. Don't expect an easy ride to begin with; but if you learn how to fly a 'Bee well, you should be pretty good with most similar kites! Get decent handles and lines, make sure you brakes are slack enough and fit some power rings... and have fun!

By : Wildcard