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HQ Symphony 1.8, 2.2, and 2.7 sport foils. I got these kites in fall of '07, and I write this review in mar 08, so I've had a bit of time with them. I see I am still unable to write a short review. Sorry, y'all. I've tried to make it easy to read, at least. I'm about 155 lbs, 40 yrs old, and fly lots on beaches with very little room to fly, so all static up to this point. I've got too many kites, about 6 of which I fly a lot: the 2.2 and 2.7 symphonies, the 2 & 3 m china special legends, and the 5m china ace. I'll have an 8m soon, just in time for summer light winds! I originally got these HQ kites to help get me kiting, but had some problems with delivery and got some pansh kites instead, so by the time I got these I was well past the sport kite stage and well into the scudding and learning to jump stage with my lovely red chinese 5m. But these HQ symphonies have become regular flies. They are very controllable, so i often fly them when my beach is too crowded (often: I live in Hong Kong) or too small (high tide) to fly my bigger 4-line kites. They are strong, and can haul around my 100' (kite!) tail in just a little more wind than it takes to get them up. They all have the capacity to generate significant power in strong winds (about 15 / 20 / 25 mph for the 2.7, 2.2, and 1.8 respectively). And they're guest-friendly. They all have a white upper surface and a rainbow motif on the lower surface, making them lovely kites to fly, the colors all rich and full of light. They are all a longish AR for their 2-line status and their size, ranging from 3 or so from the smaller kite to the biggest at nearly 3.5 AR. Each size has its own design: it isn't simply scaled up or down for each size. The size refers to the width of the kite, not its area. My 2.7 is 268cm by 78 cm, for example, with A, B, and C rows tied to the canopy at every other cell. 20 cells in all, the outermost three on each side without vents, a number of round holes in each rib, maximum wing thickness at the root (middle of the kite) of 11 cm. All the canopy attachment ribbons are stitched into the ribs. The leading edge vent is nice and narrow -- 4 cm at the thickest, and so it can take a few pumps on the lines to fully inflate the kite when taking off in light winds. My 2.2 is 220 cm by 70 cm, with A, B, and C rows (except for the tips A&C only there) attached to the canopy at the tip and first cells, then at every other cell until the root cell, which has canopy attachments on each side of it. 15 cells in all. And this kite has a double cross over, not just a single like the 2.7. The leading edge vent is narrow, but stitched into a length-ways linked diamond shape, with the outer two cells closed. All canopy attachments are sewn through into the ribs. The maximum thickness at the root is also 11 cm -- the 2.7 is shade thicker on a recheck, but the 2.2 is nearly as thick. I gave the 1.8 to my nieces for Xmas, and so it isn't here on my floor exposed to the mercy of my tape measure. I remember it had the same level of construction, a crossover bridle of some kind, and had an edge of performance. My nieces are 70 and 80 lbs, and it was too much kite for them in 30+ mph winds! They were barely able to handle a radsail 145! The bridles are good: strong, lean, and short, with a nice angle of attack that allows full use of the wind window, yet a minimum of overflying, but still has plenty of power: a nice balance. The 2.7 has two extra crossover lines, which extend from each power leader up across the root of the kite to link to the canopy right above the other power leader, making an extra X in the bridle between the power leaders. The 2.2 has four extra crossover lines, and is even more stable in tight turns. These two kites don't bow-tie, they can fly some very tight semi-collapsed turns with one power line completely slack (and so fast you don't know which way the kite will be heading as it comes out of the loop), and they are marginally easier to recover from crashes than a two-line split bridle set-up (altho recovery here like with all two lines is still largely a matter of luck, you're just lucky more often! :}) I fly them a lot with long tails. The 2.7 has pulled a hundred-foot tail loaded with thirty lightsticks in winds of BF 3-4 with no troubles. Sure looks cool at night, like a twitchy dragon looping in the sky. The 2.7 sometimes goes up in gusty offshore wind on 40 m lines to put it up above a 20m high wind shadow caused by trees at my beach. It gets me scudding in BF5 and starts lofting me in BF 6 going on 7. With an onshore breeze it gets me scudding in BF 4, but usually with a onshore breeze I'm flying a bigger 4-line and working on my jumps by then. A past poster on the 2.7 commented on the kite's surprising and rather unpredictable power when deep in the zone in decent winds. I'd have to agree. It accelerates and adds to its own apparent windspeed in the power zone, despite its mostly good manners at the edge of the window. So when it gets powered up in smooth strong wind it can definitely pull hard, and then accelerate (unpredictably to a 6-mo newbie like me -- you race kite guys probably know what this is about) and pull harder, and then with more wind and higher in the window possibly lift, but you would need long lines and reflexes like a fruit fly to pull reliable jumps out of this thing, imho, and I know I'd be thinking whiplash if not about putting on my helmet. I don't have the skill to fly this thing reliably when it's pulling me around, moving fast, and busy moving faster as long as i keep it in power (mind you, we're talking 20 mph gusting to thirty and this is in the gusts. In 10 mph its a bit of nice light yoga with the odd wonky-wind distraction). I haven't pushed this kite's limits, it's pushed mine. The 2.2 is quite a bit tamer, but I had it up in gusty BF 4-5 with a bunch of grade six kids, and about twenty of them had a go, but none of them could hold it in a loop in the power zone. (I was standing behind them, guiding them when needed with my hands on their elbows, and wearing modified kite killers that allow me to take a step back and take control of the kite... kids pick up kites fast!) And my two-line stunt kite buddy was just about to pin those stalled-out 360 maneouvers (axle spins?) with it when the wind died, so it has a bit of stunt potential. Not surprising with its double crossover lines. and the 1.8 you've already heard about. All the kites are precise in their handling. The bridles are short and have no stretch (unlike pansh, for example -- I recently checked my 5m and the total stretch from 10 lbs to 150 on one power leader was nearly 10 cm!) and the lines are pre stretched. The only similar kite I have in precision of feel is my 1.7 flexi sting flown without the brake lines and brake bridle in two-line mode. The HQ's are an 8/10 on my quality of control scale. with the flexi sting a 9.5/10 and the pansh 5 ace about 6/10, and a nasty cheapo 2-line at 4/10. The flexi sting is the highest quality kite I have flown, and so it's my benchmark. So they all have a degree of performance lacking in many two-line kites. Yet: had gusty light winds today (BF 2-3) and my 2.2 and 2.7 got two more people hooked on the sport (likely... we'll see... hee hee look at me i'm a wind junkie) despite shifting power zones and wind windows. So they are all also good all-around performers, and good kites for guests in marginal conditions. I often keep one ready to go on the beach when I am flying the bigger 4 line kites, and pick it up to loosen up when my arms get pumped from flying without a harness. And of course they're my first choices for a guest kite. And they pack down small. The 2.7 can go down to the size of two large paperbacks, and the 2.2 down to the size of two normal ones, with webbing handles and an extra set of lines. They go with me anywhere I travel, my 5m china special being #3 to come along. The HQ symphony range is a high-quality range of 2-line power kites suitable for beginners, yet offering an extra edge of stunt-kite performance and high-wind pull that will keep them in one's quiver, and not just as "guest" kites. They are small enough to be safe in most winds, but can also deliver thrills with decent performance in strong winds. If you are considering getting into kiting, and have the coin to consider an intermediate step on the way to that 3 or 4 meter 4-line that really gets you into power kiting, do consider these: they have lasting value. the 2.2 is the pick of the range, in my humble opinion, as folks say the B IV 6.5 is the pick of of the flexi blade range. It's the best all-around stunt / sport / intro 2-line foil. the 2.7 is the same, but with bite: it's significantly less safe than the 2.2. I mod my kites, and I'll likely have a go at my 2.7 soon, with an eye to adding two more crossover lines, swapping out the chunky (4mm?!? on a 2 sq m kite?1?) power leaders, and a go at seeing how it flies with a brake bridle in 4-line mode, though I've got no idea how that will work out. "BF" above refers to Beaufort wind force. cheers, erikw

HQ Apex 7.5M blue/white/black First impressions The kite comes in a sturdy rucksack (Day-Glo orange), with a few clips and attachment points on the bag to add extras, it also has an expandable/zipped opening to make packing the kite away easier. The rucksack is large and there's is plenty of room for extras if you desire, if you crap at packing you can still get it in. 1st Launch When we were ready and wind around 8mph we gave it is 1st launch. The kite powered to the zenith with ease and gave a nice reassuring tug on the harness. The winds were light and on a day when the winds are stronger I would recommend launching at the edge of the window until you get used to it. Airborne Once in the air and with calm winds we wound it back and forth across the window to see how responsive in low winds it would be. Providing there is enough wind in the sail the kite turns nicely but not too rapid. On sharp turns the kite held its shape well and we had no problems with wing tuck. At a later date (next day) the wind speed had improved although there were some strong gust (22mph) it was generally around 12 mph and this gave us the chance to feel the kite a bit more. Having finally got my nuts sorted so the harness was not crippling me I generally played around and had no problems getting some reasonable air 3-5' considering I currently weigh in at 14+ stone I thought this was good for a kite that is not marketed as having great lift but more of a traction kite. For someone new to the de-power kites then this is a great entry level kite. This kite will give you loads of found, is extremely easy to control on the bar, turns well and is responsive. As stated it will get going in very little wind and has a good wind range. So far I have flown the kite winds from 8mph up to winds gusting 25mph. certainly do not take this kite out in more than 15mph for their first go and definitely would advise not to go alone either. It is has great power for a 7.5m. Landing Not much to say - it's very easy! You can spend a little time making a nice landing so you can easily re-launch or just pull on a connector between the two brake lines to back stall the kite or pull on the red safety toggle the kite will loose power and descend back to the ground. Remember when the kite is on the ground attach the break/safety lines to a stake. Reverse launching is quite easy but a bit of practice to get a smooth rotation without crass into the ground maybe required. I enjoyed this kite, I have flown a few de-power and quad line kites and this has been one of my favourite starter de-power kites (if you can have such a thing as a starter de-power kite). If you want a kite for boarding or buggying then this will do the job, you will also be surprised at the fun you can have with it. If you want to have a go then let me know and I will see if I can get hold of another 7.5M for a week or two, I have a 10m here still in its packaging. By : rawair

Introduction I am fairly new to this amazing sport, started in June 05 while away on holiday in Fuerteventura. My wife made a comment that she could see me doing kite-surfing. Recently I added a new kite to add to my tool bag. I was not a bit hesitant to choose a bigger kite and the temptation got the better of me. So the Beamer 7 was the chose. Since the first kite I bought was a 3m Radsail I will be reviewing and comparing against this kite. OHH my, as I was waiting for the kite to arrive I read many more reviews and began to get quite nervous. Most of the reviews and shop owners that I spoke to did not give the beamer-7m it a good report, however I did noticed that these people were only speaking from other sources and never first hand. (I've heard! was the phrase). The Day of the Arrival Wow I could not get it out of the delivery box fast enough. I bought it from an Ebay company from Germany. I was impressed with the speed of delivery however the customer relations were good but the emails sent were in German. I'll tell ya thanks to Google translation I was able to understand the emails. When I laid the kited out in the living room, Ohh and the dining room I stood back at the size. I thought have I bitten of more than I could chew. Gulp I set the kite up the best I could. Looking at the kite I noted that depth of the kite (aspect ration) in comparison to the Radsail, it was almost twice the size. The lines that came with it were shorter 20M as apposed to 25M. I must admit I was a bit unimpressed with the handles, very hard rubber and not very comfortable at all. I have found that the best handles to use are from Flexifoil so I just added them to the kite. The bridles attached to the kite seemed to be well connected and ready to go. So I attached the lines and handles without adjusting anything. During my searches on the internet I found that most people talk about a problem with the bridles and that they need adjusting. Only time will tell. Flight day one I could not wait until I got the beamer into the air, (with caution and hesitation). I chose a field in the middle of know where so if something happened I would not look like a complete idiot. I laid it out got ready but the excitement and intrepidation got the better of me. I forgot about the wind. Ha Ha Flight day two This time I was going to get it up. Again I laid it out staked down the handles and stood there looking at the monster I just bought. I checked the wind 12mph with a few gust registering 15-20mph here and there. Here goes, I pulled back on the handles and WOW up it went and so did I. I weigh 10 stone a light guy so I should not surprise you when I tell you that kite jumping was easy, although this time I did not jump. I brought it out of sky composed my self and got myself ready for another go. Up it went and this time I went skudding down the field. Again I brought it out of the sky. I can defiantly say that the beamer fells and reacts so differently to the Radsail. It is certainly slower and harder to manoeuvre but not at all impossible. The beamer behaved, although differently was not was certainly not difficult. Mountainboard This time tested the power of the beamer with my mountainboard. The mountainboard I use is a Scrub silver reef series 2. The only thing I can say is Wow now this is it. The beamer took me beautifully across the field every time. No problems with kite boarding at all. I feel that I will be using this kite more and more. Conclusion so far I think that the beamer 7m is a kite that I will be using more and more. It is a completely different kite to that of the Radsail 3m but I guess that is obvious. The beamer is quite difficult to fly however not at all impossible. The only faults I can see is that when turning you have to use the brake lines more than the power lines and when bringing the beamer to the edge of the window it does luff a little. Maybe that is because of my skill level? The Beamer is a good kite and not one to throw out just because someone has says 'I've heard!' As they say try it you might like it. And well if it is a sniff of the price who's complaining! I hope this helps with those who are thinking of flying or buying the old beamer 7. By : PastorJase

Having flown the Beamer 3.6m for 6 months or so I realised that I wanted to be able to gain more lift than I was currently getting. I had flown my brother's Beamer 5m and although he was able to get some decent lift and drags, I found that I was always left on the ground unless using the pendulum style jump. My brother is about 2 stones lighter than me (I must be about 11.5 stone) so I considered the Beamer 7m but was put off by the descriptions of it being a pig to fly. I therefore decided upon the Crossfire. I did all the relevant research and decided that the 5m would be my best bet for getting airs. I decided to purchase over the net and eventually purchased the beast for £220.00 from www.action-pact.co.uk who I can thoroughly recommend. I have broken the rest of this review down for ease of reference. THE BAG: The bag is excellent. Its been designed like an actual rucksack, such as what you would use to go on a treck, rather than a school bag style. It has the trade mark big zip, which hides a large pocket ideal for storing the manual and receipt (in case things go wrong and I also keep a bin bag in there in case it rains so I can stuff it in the sack and at least keep some of my kit dry). The bag is red in colour with a description of the kite size on the front. There are no zips apart from the front pocket which means that there is no risk of catching the kite in the zipper when doing it up. I would say it is far better than the Blade bag and so much more stylish. Its also big enough to store a bar and still keep the bag closed. THE FREE STUFF: The kite came with kite killers, which on first inspection I thought looked quite cheap. However I used them with no problems and actually found them to be as good as, if not better than, the Flexifoil ones as they were well padded but did not appear to be thick and cumbersome. The kite also came with a ground stake which was not a cheap plastic peg. This was effectively a screwdriver style stake with a bright orange tip so you can clearly see it in the gound. It also comes with a belt holder so it is ideal for boarding or buggying as you will be able to take the stake with you and peg down anywhere. The lines were the usual high standard, all the same length. Both ends were black on both the brakes and power lines but you could clearly distinguish between the two so no problems. The handles were extra large Beamer handles. I like the Beamer handles and found these to be of equal quality. Some like the Flexofoil handles but I think it is personal choice. They had a brake loop for attaching to the ground stake and they worked well for me. They do not have sleeving where the lines lead out from the handles but I wear gloves and hence have no problems, but some people may prefer other styles. The instructions were very thorough and provided everything you needed to know, including details on how to set up the kite on a bar. No CD was included in the bag but I hear that this has occurred on many of the HQ kites. I have requested one and will let you know if it arrives and also if it adds to the package overall. THE KITE: The kite was huge, 452cm long (its 5m squared) and the bridles were kevlar/dyneema which I was not expecting. The strength in the bridles appears to be collossal and I would not like to catch them in mid air when the kite is fully powered. The bridles are stictched rather than knoted which is very strong. The kite came folded very well and the bridle attachments were held in place with the velcro strip on the centre leading edge. This was very impressive and I could not fault the bridles. They were all the correct lengths and not wearing down at all. The kite material was strong and well maintained. The 5m is teal blue with a yellow swoosh across the front. The pilot actually sees the colours on this kite which so nice when flying. The rear of the kite is white with a black swoosh which also looks impressive. THE SETUP: The setup was so easy, connected the lines and it sat on its trailing egde waiting to be launched. The kite did not self launch and behaved nicely on the ground. THE FLIGHT: I lauched the kite and it went to the zenith. I found that the kite needed a little playing to get off the ground as the trailing edge was folded under, but the wind was no more than 5 - 8mph and not constant. The kite sat at the zenith, but unlike the Beamers tended to sit directly overhead rather than slightly lower. This felt a little strange at first but I had no concerns that it would overfly. The wind window was large and it behaved well at the edges. I noticed that the wing tips did fold when it got to the edge but I found this useful and it gave a clear indication that the edge had been reached and you should start to turn back. I would state however that the kite sat well at the edge. I noticed that the kite was a definite step up from the Beamers in terms of flying skill required. I would not call this a beginners kite but the perfect model to progress to after the Beamer. The brakes were very sensitive which made landing easier. However, I have not really experienced lift on the Beamer and I think that many of the twitchy feelings were down to flying the kite as if it was a Beamer rather than an intermediate kite. The kite landed very well and always stayed up on the ground, waiting to relaunch. I did not manage to backward launch but I do not think the wind was strong enough. THE POWER: When launching the kite in the centre of the wind window the pull is immense. I went from crouching down to 3 feet up in under a second and it was fantastic. This kite has lift, but please remember that the wind was low. I found that when I jumped the kite would loose all its wind and collapse and often would do almost a 1/2 somersault towards me but I put this down to my flying as I noted that when I landed I was jerking very hard on the brake lines - in fact my arms were moving about 18 inches in a downward arch and I realised that it was making a major difference. When I sorted the jumps they were soft and floaty with no hard landings, which was nice. Flying across the window the kite moved quickly and when powered the scudds were long and very fast. I never felt overpowered with the kite and although it did bite back a few times I was always in control and able to land. CONCLUSION: This kite is a beast. I would not recommend it for a beginner to powerkiting but to those who have flown other kites I could not recommend it enough. The power is immense and the lift is great. I cannot wait to take it out in stronger winds to test its power. At the price and the quality I would say that this kite cannot be beaten by anything else that is out there. Yes, the Blade III may have more lift but its £150.00 more expensive and thats the price of a smaller Crossfire, so you could have 2 for the same price. Overall the package is great and literally nothing else is needed to fly it as it is all included in the bag. To top it all off when I was flying another flyer came over from his Bullet '05 and board and said that the kite looked great in the air, and I would state that it looks fantastic when in flight, its retains its shape and looks huge. All I can say is well done HQ, well done Jerry for testing it and finally... GO BUY ONE NOW.

Why did I buy this kite? My goal with this kite was to get good enough at flying it so I could use it to pull me around on the river ice with downhill skis. I bought this kite for $80 delivered to my home in Bethel, AK about 4 years ago. It took me a while to get the hang of keeping it in the air. The learning curve may have been a bit longer because I did not know anyone who had experience flying a power kite. As it tuns out, the value for the money I spent may have been the most fun per $I have spent yet. (Compare of the cost of one lift ticket at a downhill resort) What do I use it for? I have tried to use the kite with skate skis, lundhags long distance ice skates, and a kick sled with very limited success. I get the best control of the kite's power by using downhill skis on flat river ice and snow. I use a pair of old 205 cm fisher slalom skis that work well for my use which is going fast as possible. I have used the kite on the frozen river in the spring time with winds 30 to 40 mph and reached speeds over 30 mph. It does take a great deal of work to keep the kite in its narrow power zone with strong wind. I end up sewing it back and forth with very quick turns leaving little attention for skiing. I also fly it in the summer just to get a bit of a workout for the upper body. Durability: It is a two line kite and has survived many many brutal crashes, curious dogs, and tangles due to operator error. It is starting to look pretty frayed now and some of the stitching is coming apart. Overall I would say that it has exceeded my expectations as far as its useful lifespan is concerned. Ease of Use: It came with everything ready to fly with no other set up needed. gotta love the oversized zipper on the pack it comes in. It is a bit tricky to relaunch. If it gets wet, it will barely fly at all. When I am going for max speed it takes a great deal of work to keep the kite in its narrow power zone. I do rig it up to a harness when the wind 15 mph or better to take the strain off of the arms. Jumping: No, not with this one, I am about 190 lbs. On the other hand it has way too much power for my 6 year old daughter. Improvements I would like to see: Colored lines Summary: Worth every cent. It is a trainer for learning to fly two line kites, but it can be used to drag a person about on frozen river.

Having received my Brand New 11.0m HQ Neo (and an 8.0m Neo for bigger wind) I was eager to give her a try. My experience is limited to the Beamer 3.0m so the prospect of the 11.0m was a little bit daunting. After seeing the weather for today of 8 mph winds on Cleeve Common I decided to just take a look and not necessarily fly. On arriving at the common my wind meter told me that the conditions were just about right, 10 knot wind gusting very occasionally to 16 knots. I raced back to the car and got out the 11.0m. I staked out the bar and unfurled the kite. I raced back to the bar and pumped like mad. Of course by this time the wind had reduced to around 5 knots so I had to pre-inflate the kite by showing it the bits of wind that there were and gradually the beast started to take shape. I ran back to the bar and braced myself. I pulled on the bar and she reared up and attained a high of at least a couple of inches before settling back down. There then followed an epic dragging of the kite across hundreds of meters of Common whilst I tried to coax her into the sky. I then dragged her back to where I had started and repeated. This is when I was immensely glad that I had performed this act on a Friday morning instead of a busy Saturday. I had only a couple of sheep watching me and they will soon forget. It was at this point that I decided to really go for it and replace the power line into the safety mechanism and try it that way. What a difference that made. WIth a steady 10 knot wind she rose majestically into the sky. The power was quite moderate as she lazily rose up through the power zone. On arriving at the zenith she overflew slightly so I added a bit of trim and she then sat there quite nicely. My main concern with the Neo was how much power would be present when it was fully depowered. I am a total novice with depowerable kites and have had only minimal experience with the 4 line Beamer but I have had quite a lot of flying with Paragliders. With a paraglider you can hold it quite safely by managing the brake lines so I was hoping the same would be the case with the Neo. I was very pleasantly surprised that running the kite through a series of loops and figures of eight through the power zone resulted in a very controllable pull offering a comfortable amount of scudding and no hairy moments at all. Sheeting in and applying more power resulted in considerably more pull and it wasn't long before i was wearing my waist harness around my chest. I pulled it down and put the bottom strap below my belly and started to really enjoy the experience. A sudden lull in the wind resulted in a bit of a collapse and the kite floated down to land on its leading edge. I had wanted to do a reverse launch so was not too stressed although I had concerns about how easy this was going to be. With a steady 10 knot wind I gently pulled on one side of the brake lines. She rose gently and slowly flipped over. On releasing the brake line I was able to continue flying her. The whole process really impressed me, it was not at all fraught and through my very limited experience I would say it was very easy. I then tried popping the safety and she floated to the ground keeping upright all the way down. There was some pull on the way down but I was able to hold my ground without any problems at all and I don't think I even had to lean back. My next exercise was to try landing her using the brake lines. It was quite a reach to get at the lines (and I am 6' 2") but once I had hold of them I felt as if I was in complete control. I guided her down making adjustments on the way and she came down in around 20 seconds from the zenith. There was very little pull during this process and I felt as if I could have coped with any gusts quite well by just applying more brake. I decided to call it a day since it had started to rain slightly so I staked out the bar and ran over to the kite. I opened the zipper and spent the next 10 minutes trying to persuade the air to leave. If it had been more windy I think this process would have been more troublesome since being a closed cell kite the wing decides to wallow around unfurling itself as you squeeze the air from one side to the other. I really enjoyed my first outing with the Neo and would say that it behaved extremely well. Any collapses self recovered and did this quite gracefully. The power was very controllable and the build up was gradual. Reverse launching was very easy and normal launching was straightforward. I look forward to gaining more experience with the Neo under varying conditions before embarking on kite surfing and land boarding. I am very happy with my decision to get the Neo since I wanted to get a kite that could be used for both activities and I also wanted something that would be compact and quick to set up since the wife and kids would surely lose interest if I was to be pumping up a LEI. By : kitebond

When I can I like to go to the beach and have regularly seen kite surfers at Eccles/Sea Palling in Norfolk. It looks so much fun but I'm not a great swimmer so that side put me off a little. It did prompt me to look into kiting and after lots of hours online, many on racekites which has been a huge help and convinced me to take the plunge,and here I am a new proud owner of a Beamer III 3m. Needless to say this is my first power kite so I'm unable to make any comparisons from a review point of view but I hope if there are other first timers out there reading this they will do the same as me and go for it, you won't be disappointed! I got my Beamer for £99 from powerkiteshop, order Monday lunchtime arrived Tuesday morning. The Beamer comes as a complete package which includes as snazzy rucksack (no need to mention the zip!), stake, kite killers, line tidy, basically everything you need to go out and start flying. All seem to be of a high quality to me and for the price a bargain. One thing that worried me before I decided to buy the beamer was how complicated it maybe to set up after seeing pictures with all those lines. Believe me don't worry! It's so easy to go out for the first time and get the kite in the air within 10 mins. A little research on this site will help if you do have any anxiety with setting up. Check out the 'how to' section which has a guide for beginners and how to pack your kite away. Parapacking worked for me first time I highly recommended it. You can't believe the lines won't just be like a bird nest but so far so good! The beamer is well know for being a great first kite and easy to fly, I can only echo this from my experience. I had the kite in the air and moving around the wind window the first time up without it stalling or doing anything without me telling it too. Please make sure the winds are not too strong on your first time out, the second time I took the kite out was very gusty and resulted in a black and blue thumb which was twice the size for a good week. It's so easy to dismiss the safety advice but the guys on racekites know what they are talking about, best be safe so you can go out the next day and have fun. Use your kite killers! So if you are thinking about getting into power kiting then I can't think of a better kite to do it with. The build quality seems really good, the handles are comfortable, it's easy to set up and fly but there is so much to learn you will be happy with the beamer for some time to come. Don't be tempted to go any bigger than the 4m, the 3m is plenty for me as it can lift me off the ground and has loads of pull, and you will be more than happy you took the plunge. Happy flying! By : n2x1

I purchased a HQ Symphony 1.8 metre kite for my daughter and what great fun it has turned out to be. I found it quite reasonable in price and its storage was a small bum bag ideal to take with you on those great days out, we liked the colours and the easy ability to launch, and when it was launched what a sprightly and powerful little kite this was we took it in turns and crashed it loads as well the crash resistance is great the material well strong, although a duel line we found the lines supplied with the kite to weak for 20mph winds and one snapped we have since replaced these with stronger one's. the kite came with wrist straps which we found were not so good as those supplied with its bigger cousin the 2.2 metre but overall a well presented kite for those younger kiters wishing to get into the sport. the price of this kite varies you have to look around I picked this one up for £26.00 but I have seen them advertised at nearly £60.00 far too much for this little devil but the behaviour of this kite the easy control, speed and versatility of this kite makes it one not to be missed for the younger kiter By : routemaster

I've owned a Crossfire I 6.3m, Blade4 6.5m, Blade4 8.5m, Pansh Ace 6m, Pansh Ace 12m. Weighing around 200 pounds, the only two of the aforementioned kites to ever loft me were the Blade4 8.5m and the Ace 12m. The others had plenty of power, but I found myself having to run constantly to get jumps with them. I wanted a kite that could loft me with ease in 10-14mph winds, and also give me some control of the jumps. For the control criteria, I decided I needed a depower kite. Now I just had to figure out which one. After some homework on several affordable open cell depower kites, I came to the decision of the Montana IV. I read several reviews of the predecessors and decided that it sounded like it fit the bill. I then had 3 sizes to choose from... My initial reaction was the 7m would be too small with a higher low end wind range. The 9.5m would be the most popular if I decided to sale it in the future and seemed to give good wind range. The 12.5m is a monster size and would no doubt give plenty of lift, but I wondered how much the turning speed would suffer. Finding a good deal, I decided to jump at the opportunity for the Montana IV 12.5m. My first flight was in a breeze that could barely be felt. I set the trim strap to full depower, and gave a few good yanks on the power line and up she went. I flew it in the traditional figure eight motions while feeling out how depower worked. It didn't take me long to find the turn speed was rather slow in such light winds and so I packed it up for another day. The second time out was a much different story. With winds closer to 9-12mph, and me still being new to depower, I found that I was getting drug all around the field I was flying in. When I held my ground, I would get lofted a few inches at a time. I flew long enough to get some experience and learn the very basics of depower, moving the trim strap in and out and learning how the bar worked. The kite managed to overfly the zenith a few times and collapse. However I found that half way back down the wind window, it would unfold, catch the wind, power back up, and take me for another ride. The turning rate had also improved greatly in the higher winds, calming my only concern for the 12.5m prior to purchase. I feel like that most of the overflying the zenith was my fault as I was still new to depower. Now that I've had some more time to let my skills develop, I've found that by pulling the bar in before it reaches the zenith will usually send it into a light back stall and fall back into the window. I have managed some spectacular jumps (at least in my mind they are) in winds blowing steady at 10mph and gusting to 14mph. At the edge of the window, the kite is very stable and sits similar to a Beamer waiting patiently. I've found that for jumping, popping the kite works very nicely even flying static. Going up during the jumps are smooth, and the kite provides a soft landing due to the amount of float it provides. The rated wind range by HQ is 4-27mph. Currently, I can hold my own until wind speeds reach ~14 and then it starts getting hairy. This by far is my favorite jumping kite and I'm looking forward to getting a 7m to pick up the slack when this one becomes a little too dicey for me. I have yet to try it in a buggy, but feel like it's only a matter of time before I get the opportunity for that as well. I would have no trouble recommending this kite for anybody that has low average wind speeds but still wants to be able to jump. By : harddrive

Symphony Speed 2.5 My impression is that it is quick, has reasonable pull, and is a little harder to manage than other foils of similar size. I'm comparing it in my mind to the Snapshot 1.9 and Stylus P2, both of which I have flown a lot. Out of the bag it seemed to be well-made of white, red, and black, nylon material, the bridles even and well attached. The supplied flying lines were within half-an-inch of being the same length and the padded wrist straps had robust construction with metal D-rings to which the lines attached. The loops were a bit big, fitting loosely over my wrists, gloves, and even jacket sleeves. However, this is something I have noticed with several makes of kite. I first flew on a sub-zero day with a variable breeze (5 - 15 mph) on frozen ground covered with patchy sheet-ice over grass. First launch was easy and it came straight up from under my trailing-edge weight into quick but easily controlled patterns. It accelerated nicely in the center of the window and picked up well in gusts. There was enough pull to lean back into and a few slips on the ice to show potential for some low-key traction. After a few minutes getting the feel of it, I headed over to a 150-ft sheet of ice and spent a fun time sliding along behind it as it did tight figure-8s in the center of the power window. When the wind eased it would hang in a stall well enough, but with a tendency for the ends to deflate and fold in - more so, I think, than my comparators. Eventually, in mid-slide, I nailed it into the ground whereupon it instantly deflated into a rag. Unlike the Snapshot and Stylus, it refused to reinflate and relaunch from the crash. Probably its wide and shallow aspect makes it deflate more easily/completely and makes it harder to reinflate. Note to self - don't leave the edge weight behind! So, since I'd have had to set up as for first launch, it was time to call it a day. While it was in the air it was a satisfying flier - limitations of two-line foils accepted - with enough pull when the breeze strengthened to drag me around on the ice. I think it is a great beach kite for teens and older but, as a smaller foil, useful only for a bit of scudding and not for any true traction sports. So, it's good for its intended use. Is it value for money though? It's around 1.5x the cost of some other similar-sized two-line foils, or the same as a Beamer 1.4 four-line foil, but was it 1.5x the fun? For me, yes: it was faster and more involving to fly. By : DuncanLane

Introduction: The Beamer III is an excellent beginner kite as well as at the same time being good for an intermediate flyer, The bag that comes with it is a good size and can fit a lot of extras in it, ie camera sandwiches things like that, i haven't had any trouble with the bag falling apart so must have been fixed. While in the air the beamer is a stable beast that pulls like a horse, on the first day I had it it was only 4mph max wind and the kite flew up to the zenith easily tugging nicely on my arms 4-5mph is a good wind to get it started in and learn the controls, especially if like me its your first kite. The kite also holds up really well in the higher wind range after having it out on a windy day with gusts up to 36.5mph it was the kite that was in control that day lol. When it comes to lift I think that the beamer is underestimated as it will certainly get you jumping in the right wind which i did not expect as many reviews state it has little to no lift. Overall the beamer is a great beginner kite although the 5m might be a bit too much for a beginner as it really does pull like a horse Don't think you'll stop here though... if your like me then this will entice you into an expensive but very rewarding sport Im already eyeing up a Blade...... By : ElectricNoodle

I got this kite for my better half for xmas and today was the first time we found the time to go out and play together. So, off to the beach we went, 17mph winds gusting to 28-ish.....Can't really say too much about the little package the kite comes in, it's certainly like a "finger of fudge" (you need to be old to appreciate that.....) in that it's very small and neat ! The kite comes RTF with 30 meter lines on a winder, 2 loop handles and the dreaded "destruction manual"...Perfect for a noobie!!!! The kite itself is very well made, HQ means High Quality in my book.....Well stitched Ripstop nylon.....My missus tried pile driving with the poor little kite this afternoon on numerous occasions,with lots of noisy impacts I hasten to add....So, it's a tough little blighter, 'cos once my ever loving got the knack of tugging on the lines to get the kite the right way up, it re-launched itself and just laughed off the abuse! My turn.....Little indestructible kite turns into a VERY fast little screamer! To be honest, I was totally shocked at the amount of power this teeny weeny little kite makes.....The Symphony had my 11 stone frame scudding with ease in the power, and my 8 stone missus was nearly wetting herself laughing as the kite yanked her around! In conclusion....Pure bang for your buck! This kite costs around 40 quid and I reckon it'd be a great starting point for new pilots, in that it's simple and usable in winds from 4 mph up to 30 mph....If you just want a fun,learner friendly kite that you can fly static in high winds, has a bit of grunt , and looks nice in the air too,get a 2.1 metre HQ Symphony Beach.... By : Nobby in Jersey