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Having done a lot of reading on the net about different kites I had not really thought much about the Rebel.I had made up my mind to get another bullet,but in the local shop I saw one of these hanging on the wall in its cool backpack, so had a bit of an impulse buy.Taking it out of the bag i was impressed with the quality of the material it feels like my ozone samuria.The lines are good quality altough the black ones are sometimes hard to see if you get in a tangle .Handles are basic but they do feel solid , the strop between them is short but I prefere it like that.The backpack is excellent,lots of pokets and a sleeve on the shoulder strap to put a kite stake in First flight I connected some kite killers and just flew it as it came out the bag ,brilliant !! sweet turning ,fast and very stable.It had quite a lot of lift for a small kite but the landings were soft Small jumps are quite easy if you just work the foil around the zenith but nothing to scary. jumping in the buggy this kite generates huge amounts of pull especially when you work it. After getting 3 o,b,e's in my first session ,I now wear a lap belt to hold me down.Maybe i'm going out in to stronger winds. The upwind ability is great due to its stability and ive often past people struggling with larger kites All in all I think this is one of my favorite kites to fly ,maybe it doesnt have the overall quality that flexifoil or ozone do,but I do think it represents good value for the intermediate flyer By : mr big
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- Peter Lynn
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The Bag is Funtional. Your typical backpack. Not big enough for the kite though. It could have been better if it came with a drawstring bag too. So zipper and kite mishaps is avoided. Lines were of good quality. Something like Ozones. 30m 110kg. On the first outing, 5-8mph winds, over cast skies, launched without much fuss. Very well i might say for such light winds. Lifty at the zenith. Loads of power right across the window. Quite slow to turn, but that is also because of the very short strop between the handles. It is short by any standards. Even the Busters are longer. bridle construction was spot on. all sewn loops. no more tie offs. Sail construction, can't really commend coz my other foil is a buster. Very-very much better than the buster. Compareable to the blades(my mates). Was suprised by a lift of 3ft. when the wind picked up without even really trying. no running, just turned and off i went. landing was not harsh. Stable to a certain degree. Manage to luff it a feW times, intentionally, to see if it gives me any suprises. Was very predictable. For 1/2 an hour of flying, before the rain stoped my fun, was impressive. Left me grinning and cussing at the rain while rushing to pack up my new toy. Would be a very good buggy kite. Very wide wind window. Will try it on a buggy when i get a chance. Value for money? hmmmmmm....cheaper than samurais. Pros: Solid construction. Good lines and handles. Good & smooth power. Lift when u need it. Cons:Short storp, Over stuffed backpack(zipper hazard) By : benny
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- Peter Lynn
- review
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Peter Lynn venom 16m Recognised innovator and left field kite company Peter Lynn has gone from strength to strength in recent years. The introduction of their Arc series of kites marked a new era in terms of the stability of foils, and further developments with the Guerrilla, Bomba and Phantom series refined the idea and captured the minds of landboarders and kitesurfers alike. With the Venom, Peter Lynn hopes to bridge the gap between the Bomba and Phantom series kites, combining the stability of the former with the efficiency and turning of the latter. This pitches the kite into the hotly contested mid aspect ratio category, and on paper the Venom looks like an ideal crossover kite between snow, land and sea. Personally I'd been aware of the buzz surrounding the Venom for some time before release, but thanks to a lend of a 16 and 13 from Adam Jones at Turbulence, I had the chance to trial the kite on the water. So I decided to take the plunge and buy my first non Flysurfer kite in over two years, no mean feat in itself given my loyalty to the brand. But, you can't remain objective if you only fly one brand, and they say a change is as good as a rest... Construction/Details The construction of all Arc kites consists of two sets of strong fabric spars running from tip to tip around which the cells are arranged. At the tips are further fabric reinforcements, with webbing pockets holding foldable carbon spars which keep the extreme edges of the tips rigid. The leading edge of the kite features three sock type valves to retain pressure. The Venom differs from previous Arcs in several areas. Fitted inside is an internal strap which can be adjusted, altering the camber of the kite as well as the leech (trailing edge tension) depending on the feel required. Also, there are a greater number of closer spaced cells making for a more rigid, and therefore more responsive kite. The arc shape of the kite is also flatter, giving a higher projected area for better low end and extra overall power. Changes to the profile also allow better lift, pop and unhooked ability than previous Arcs. Also there have been some detail changes for greater ease of use. Now, there are inflation zips at both ends of the kite, and a central deflation zip. As well as this, the pockets for the spars are easier to use, with a removable spar cap on some webbing, which can be pulled to the end of the pocket, making rigging quicker. And the bag? Personally I hate it! Its awful! The idea is a good one, with a hidden pocket for the spars, an extendable bottom and internal sock style pocket to hold the kite with the spars left in. the problem is, it doesn't quite work out like that. With the kite in the sock part, the bag holds little and is cumbersome. Using the bag in the normal mode makes for a very squat but extremely thick rucksack. I much preferred the older style 'rocket launcher' bags which worked a lot better in day to day use. In the end, I ended up using a different kite bag most of the time. First flights After watching the instructional DVD several times, I felt ready to tackle flying the thing. The DVD makes it all look so easy! So, kite inflated, lines attached and primed in the prescribed manner, we were ready to go. Or perhaps not. Initial attempts failed due to the weight sliding off the downwind tip and the kite bowtieing. This was followed with swearing (lots of it). The first hurdle overcome, I mangaged to get the kite up towards zenith, well on its way anyway. Though the kite looked sufficiently inflated on the floor, once airborne it still needed another 1/3rd or so inflating. This would more often than not cause the tips to fall inwards and the kite turn inside out. Swearing time again... Now I was starting to get a handle on the idiosyncrasies of this kite, and this time got it up quickly and cleanly. As soon as the kite is fully pressurised, bar feel and kite response start to come into their own. The bar feel is solid, but not as heavy as a Guerrilla, a good thing in my opinion. Turning is also good, with the kite pivoting on its tips and maintaining speed on light to moderate inputs, only starting to pivot on its axis on large movements of the bar. Take your hands off the bar and the kite drifts slowly to the top, whether low or high in the window. Nice. Compared to the older Arcs, when at zenith and a gust comes through, the Venom takes more input to recover when it overflies; it does not drift back automatically as quickly as the older designs, especially if some trim on the depower strap has been applied. I'm guessing this is to do with the extra unhooked ability, as to be able to fly unhooked well the kite must be capable of holding a shallower AoA than a purely hooked in kite. It's not a major issue and hints at the intermediate and beyond target group of this product. Pulling the safety sends the bar shooting off towards the kite and it harmlessly flapping down. More often than not the bar goes through the lines and creates a tangle. This isn't too much of a problem on land, more of an annoyance, but on the water it means there's no real chance of being able to reset your safety and relaunch. I'm aware the kite makes up for this in other areas, but a system which gives the option of resetting and getting going again has got to be worth investigating. Land use On the landboard the Venom is fun. A whole lot of fun. Cruising speed is medium to high, depending on the windspeed. Upwind ability is respectable, but not in the same league as a Psycho 2, the kite just doesn't point as far upwind. However, the Venom is a whole lot easier to jump consistently. Load up, send the kite back aggressively, pull the bar in and arc the kite back over and forwards progressively, letting it come in front of you just as you land, and you'll get consistent, floaty airs. Length of the jumps is not as good as a p2, but there is more pop, and the kite is not as fickle with wind shadows disturbing the run up to your air-time. It's all very easy, and fabulously addictive. I learnt five new tricks within the first two weeks, which is normally spent just sussing things out with a new kite. Transitions are easy too, thanks to the quick responses allowing last minute adjustments to the kites' trajectory. I even experimented with some downturn/kiteloop transitions in underpowered conditions, and the kite coped well, but even still, it's not something I recommend pursuing on land. You just bounce too high after you hit the floor... The wind speeds increased and I got a chance to use the kite in its upper range. The most impressive thing about the Venom is the amount of available depower. It really is something else. Pulling in the trim strap allowed me to take it out up to circa 30mph on land, which is very impressive for a 16m kite. As the wind increases, so does the riding speed, as I found out at the Outer Hebrides using the kite in similar conditions. Everything works well, but throwing backloops etc at a cruising speed of around 30mph is well, a little disconcerting. The more wind there is, the better the kite holds its shape, and the stronger the auto-zenith feature becomes. The kite copes with gusts reasonably well, but a sudden increase in windspeed means to have to be on your toes, due to the overflying tendency mentioned earlier. Also, if suddenly caught behind a large wind shadow, the kite loses pressure and tension in the affected area, and more often than not, makes it bowtie and then propeller towards the ground. Something similar can happen if not redirected well in slightly underpowered conditions, seemingly stalling out one half of the kite and causing it to fold. Unhooked ability is excellent, the Venom being one of the few kites which can be turned easily with one hand, whichever side of the bar you're holding, as well as tracking straight and true. This helps with blindside tricks and passes a lot. Jumping unhooked on land is also very respectable too, with the float probably being a bit better than when hooked in. Water use Though the Venom is good on the land, it really excels on the water. That high cruising speed on the land can be easily managed by stamping on your back foot in the water, as I found out the first ever time I flew a V16, using a 120! I thought it would be a recipe for disaster but the Venom works very well with small or narrow boards. Initial grunt is impressive, allowing you to get onto the plane quickly, and the kite has the peculiar sensation of feeling underpowered, even in very high winds. However, this impression is soon dispelled once you go for a jump, as you can get some truly massive boosts with this kite on the water. When in the Hebrides I switched between waveriding and jumping often, and can report the kite sits well parked when you are catching some surf. You only have to be careful that you keep the kite slightly in front of you to prevent the lines going totally slack. Even so, relaunches are pretty easy (id got the hang of it by now) the kite coming off the water quickly, often just bouncing off if it comes in contact. Even bowties can be recovered, as long as the kite does not twist itself up too tightly. However, to be perfectly honest, the kite doesn't come down very often at all. Just get used to the fact that you take your hands off the bar, or make no input, and the kite will be right where you left it; as some as my friends will testify after watching the ensuing mess of arms and legs when I catch an edge at speed! The most wind I took the Venom out with on the water was between 35-40mph, and it handled it well. Considering the previous day had yielded similar conditions, and then I used a G9! Really quite remarkable. Hence the start of the phrase 'it's always 16m Venom weather'. I didn't think id be flying all week in the Hebrides given the change in wind, but the Venom coped exceptionally well. Problems Unfortunately Venom ownership was not without its trials and frustrations. Firstly, a spar failed mid-air when a friend tried out the kite the first time. The kite instantly looped through its own lines and dragged him off, but I was able to stop him. The spars had suffered no impact damage up to this point. I later found out through the Arcusers site, that the brass ferrules on the spars can work loose, and they recommended taping them. Such information included with the kite could have prevented a very scary looking failure. I replaced the foldable items with 1 piece spars to prevent this happening again. As well as this, the stitching on the webbing pockets started to come away, and had to be professionally repaired. This was annoying to put it mildly. However, the worst (and potentially fatal problem) centred around the bar. The Peter Lynn safety system relies on a red stopper ball sitting in a metal ring. This metal ring is spliced to one of the lines attached to the depower strap. Just before a jump on my landboard, this splicing gave way, sending the kite into a powered up death spiral, and pulling the elastic safety cord clean away from my harness, and the bar from my hands. If this had happened while kitesurfing, or mid jump, the consequences do not bear thinking about. Equipment failures are the scariest things in my experience, and this is only the second time ever something has failed on me. Consequently the kite was sent back for a refund. Conclusion Flying wise the Venom was deeply impressive, the most enjoyable and user friendly multi purpose kite I've flown since the Flysurfer Psycho 2. Its performance, stability and range were exceptional. Even the launching and landing became easy once some time was spent with the kite. However, such serious quality issues cannot be overlooked. I know many people with Guerrillas, and none have had problems like this, that kite just seems better built. Some research on the net revealed I was not the only one suffering Venom problems either, with spar breakages and problems with the pockets, as well as stitching problems on the V13 requiring a product recall on a certain batch. For such a manufacturer to allow something onto the market with such quality control issues is deeply distressing, and takes away from the innovation and performance made available from this product. I'm sorry to say that I wouldn't consider a Peter Lynn product again on a day to day basis, as I simply wouldn't be able to trust it. A great shame. By : bushflyer- 13 comments
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As a purist in all things I cannot resist adding a review of possibly the favourite kite I currently own. The two line peel is a bit of an ancient design (been around for fifteen years apparently) but is still for sale at around £200. Funny you don't see too many for sale second hand though, but I know why. Packaging and build As this kite is truly old style don't expect a flashy rucksack, just a simple drawstring sack with plenty of room for lines and straps. Kite material is Chikara and the build quality is superb as you would expect from Peter Lynne. Colour is orange and black yin-yang type design (love it or hate it, I love it) Bridle lines seem complicated compared to other foils but this is where this kites stability comes from, bridle lines cross from one side of the kite to the other. I have been told that as there is so much bridle tangles are rare, not quite sure of the logic here but I have been lucky so far. Just remember to attach line attachment points to top second or third in bridles when packing ( no croc grips here or an HQ style leading edge loop) Flying Two line kites are ever so simple that no explanation is required. Self launch is easy, Lay the kite out attach lines give a few tugs and off you go. However, beware, this is a 5 metre kite and pulls accordingly so watch those gusts. Having said that I would reccomend this kite to relative novices with supervision. I have found that this kite flies perfecty in very light winds with very little possiblity of luffing, in fact it is so stable that it can be taken right to the edge of the window and will just sit there waiting patiently to be turned so it can fly right to the other side for the same again. As this is a fairly slow moving two line kite in light winds ground passes are a real joy, especially if there are targets (consenting ones obviously) to buzz. Pulling Lateral pull is what this kite is about when the breeze picks up. I am not a buggier but know people who have used this kite with great results as an engine for wheels. All I can personally vouch for is the fantastic fun I have had scudding and body surfing. The kite's great strength is it's stability and predictable hanldling which inspires confidence to push the limits and have an absolute blast on the beach and in the water. One of my best kiting memories was a couple of years ago on a very hot day, low tide at Lancing, oh and then there was that day at Woolacombe ....etc..etc Joy I cannot stress enough how much I love this kite. after a frantic day wrestling with other big four line monsters there is nothing like relaxing with this thing of pure kiting beauty. And that is why you rarely see them for sale second hand By : johnkiteman
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Like most we buy our stuff second hand and this is what i did with this kite, i previously gave up kite flying about 2-3 years back and when i was kite flying then i use to use a frenzy 03 7.3 When they first came out so i knew about power and lift ect , but it came, the time when you miss kite flying so much, you have to go out and buy one. so when it came to purchase a kite i didn't know what i wanted but i knew i wanted to get on the water eventurally like most. and i didn't really want to go back to owning a frenzy as there are so many models out nowadays, and they are fairly expensive and you can't use them for water, done to the fact of it being a foil and i didn't really have the money for a flysurfer. So with some investergation i found a kite called 'Arcs' , 3 years ago ive never heard of them, so with being told that they can be used on both land and water i thought this would be a perfect kite for me. people told me and i already knew that the problem with LEIs are that they can break if crashed hard, and since i hadn't really kite flew for a few years, i didn't really want to risk it, and also ive been told the leis aren't brilliant in gusts but people say neither are frenzys. so i had a choice of either a flysurfer(which i didn't have the money for) or an LEI (which i may break) or a frenzy (which again are rather expensive even for the older versions and can't be used on the water) or this 'ARC' type kite. so after alot of investagation into the kite purchasing i found that arcs are very duriable, strong and easy to fly. Now the question is what type of arc do i get theres the F-arcs, guerillas 1 and 2, and venoms... the f arcs are the older ones (i think) and i didn't want something ttoo old tahts been raged about ect , the venom which is the newer out of the arcs which you can't find a cheap one dispate the venom 2 out now, your still looking around £400 for a 10m so that seems a bit too steep being a student and all. SO it was a Guerilla or nothing. the differnece between the guerilla 1 to the 2 is that the 2 moves quicker through the air appartly don't quote me on this as i haven't had the honour to fly a guerilla 1, so i decided to go for a version 2 but what size. ?? i looked on the flexi forums for arcs for sale and it was either a 13m or 15m, so i decided to go for a 13m becasue at the time i didn't have enough for the 15m. When i agreed to buy the 13m guerilla 2 the seller decided to come to my local town of harrogate to sell me it, and he came all the way from manchester!! so when he turned up he got it out and showed me the best way to set up. The winds were howling at the time so i was very nervours, so he un-wined the lines from the bar first, then got the kite out at first i thought it was massive and i ain't seen anything like it, i wasn't sure how it worked though , he showed me that the 'arcs' have two zips in the middle of the kite,one as an inflate and one as a deflate, so before flying the kite you use the inflate zip to pre inflate the kite to get it in the air! With the wind being so strong that day it took a matter of seconds to inflate the kite so once he was all hooked in on the bar, he pulled on two lines which were the furthest away from us, and this created the kite to lift and get in the air as soon as the kite was in the air he got dragged straight down this field, and straight away as he got back on his feet he pulled the safety lesh, and the bar, just flew up the line and the kite went straight down to the ground and told me you can't fly it today. but i knew straight away i wanted this kite !! so after showing me how everything works i bought it. Three months later, and i feel i have progessed so much with my kiteboarding, i haven't made it onto the water yet but im now doing grabs, deadmen and kite loops on the land. I feel if you want to progress fast then a arc is the kite for you, yes people say you need two people to set it up and everything but i feel i have creaked it and i can do it on my own now, but its like anything practise make perfect. The kite has so much de power, and the wind ranges on this kite is unbelievable, people say you need at least 10mph winds to get it in the air but ive had it in the air in around 6mph , the problem with the kite is that 'Yes you have to wait for the kite to inflate and if there is now wind then you have no chance, the kite does have vents in it (im not sure what they are there for ) they do allow wind in because when i inflate my guerilla i only tend to inflate it about 50% and fly it a couple of minutes and let it inflate its self. But overall i am very happy with the kite, its fast (even faster now i have it on a 60cm bar) , the bag is perfect for the kite and you don't have to put the spars away from the kite all the time as it has an extension on it so you can't put the kite away with the spars in. But yeah like i said i am very happy with it , im so happy i named my forum name from it and i even now own a 18m guerilla 2 (haven't written a reveiw on that yet , will do ) , but anyone out there loking to go de power i would recommend 'Arcs' any day of the week. By : GORILLA
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I’ve had my Pepper since Christmas (thanks kids) so I reckon it’s about time I repaid the good advice I’ve had from Racekites with a review. I’ve been flying delta stunt kites for a while and tried out a few small traction kites. I wanted something that would let me get some air and pose a physical challenge. I hadn’t really thought about buggying or boarding I just wanted to fly. Using the forum I’d narrowed my kite down to a Beamer or a Pepper as both are described as good for beginners. Advice from my (barely) local kite shop and from the forums said to go for a 3.5m kite but I doubted that, given my near 15stone, this would be big enough to give me any lift. Still, for once I took advice and on Boxing Day I had my first flight. The Pepper comes in a bag rather than a rucksack. Lots of people moan about this but I figured the empty bag goes in my pocket and that’s less to worry about. Build looked decent enough, not that I’d had a lot to compare it with (I’ve since bought a couple of Radsails and the Pepper feels better made). Lines were all the right length and the handles felt pretty comfortable. Thanks to the “How to” bits of the Racekites site, setting up was easy. No kite killers or ground stake but the shop warned me of this so they were also on the Christmas list. The wind wasn’t strong when I first launched but I was soon face-down in the snow wondering what had happened. After a few minutes, everything seemed easy. The Pepper doesn’t require a lot of skill to fly so it’s great for beginners. Given time the brake lines make sharper turning easier. My only criticism is its tendency to overfly. Author : Turks I’ve never got a lot of air using it. I think a combination of age, cowardice and responsibility have removed my adventurous gene; although my Radsails make it far easier to jump. Scudding and is easy though and keeping it in the power zone is simple. Today I found a different side to my gentle friend though. It was the only kite I had as I cycled home and although the wind was strong I though “Its not much different to yesterday, why not.” Minutes later I was covering 200metres on my face faster than Frankie Fredericks could’ve run it (kite killers and helmet saved the day). Definitely overpowered but I found a different side to the Pepper. Suddenly (carefully) air was easy and the overflight issue had gone. This kite can deliver a lot of power! I’m now aching and grazed but I’ve got a huge grin on my face. So the Pepper is a great starter kite. It’s gentle in the right conditions but waiting to slap you when you’re not concentrating. The 3.5 is definitely the right size for beginners. Mine has seen a lot of flying and hasn’t suffered for it, looking and feeling as good as new. If I was advising someone who was starting out, I’d include the Pepper on the list but suggest, given the price, they look hard at the Radsails. I'm keeping hold of mine though.
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OK.... some of you might have read my review of LAST years hotshot Arc kite... the Phantom... well.... I got bored, a new model was launched and "Oh please yourself" DOES mean " go and buy those expensive new toys my love!" So there we are.. the kites hit the importers, I turn off my mobile phone and go on a "mercy dash" for my local kite store!! My poor car takes a beating as the Satnav fails miserably to find the God forsaken fenland backwater where my new toys sit forlornly in brightly coloured bags awaiting my inept ministrations. At long last I decide that MUST be the place and dive in.... sure enough the door is answered by the Kite Keeper and I am ushered in to the inner sanctum of UK arc flying!! There they are a huge (ish) pile of bags marked "Venom"!! Our allocation is passed over to me and NO amount of begging will get an extra 19m one thrown onto the pile.... 3 in the country it seems and we get ONE! The 100 miles back home takes an eternity. The car is filled with the smell of new kite... my excitement levels are raised... the clouds grow darker and more worrisome by the mile. Sure enough.... raindrops smear my windscreen as I get within miles of home! The magical bounty is unloaded and the first owners in Nottinghamshire rush away from the shop in a state of extreme anticipation!! On arrival at adamski towers the boy is summoned to inspect our new kites... he grunts in teenage..... a rough translation would seem to be... "nice!" We check all NON flying aspects of the "new toys" (she really should get more involved!) out. The bag...and this pleases us greatly, expands AND has a handy "tube" bag inside for carrying the kite in fixed pole mode. Pockets.. yup plenty! PLUS the Spars fit in a pocket at the back of the pack stopping last years "oh there they are" moments as a carbon fibre splinter shoots up behind a fingernail!! The instructional video is now a DVD and it has a few extra bits on it. We are tight so went for kite only deals... we are running on 03 bars rather than 04s so need to add knottage to the front pigtails. Upon unfurling the kites we were startled by the extreme redness and blueness of the colour schemes.... some seem cursed with an attack of the pink foppishness... happily not ours!! Please be aware that these kites seem to be made VERY well just not with hidden seams and double thickness stuff. not worse than Ozone or Flysurfer just slightly more "agricultural"! Spar removal is better due to the eezee out system... just pull the white ribbon and they slide up the pocket and out of the kite! (please take GREAT care of these spars, they break far too easily!) After much looking, stroking and general kite worship we put them away and my boy decides they will stop in his room until flight day. Saturday comes , the wind sitting at about 13-17mph..... the 13m Venom comes out and is set up! The zip at each tip trick is great, MUCH easier to inflate fully than the zip in the middle one. We set the internal strap to half way and leave it there! It DOES take an hour or so of faffing about to get the pigtails at the correct length.... about 20cm from the end seems best. So.... come on adamski..spill the beans.... what they like? We have been flying them for 4 months or so now and REALLY can't believe what a leap forward these are. OK, setting up and packing them away is a total arseache sometimes!! NO easy out and tug the centrelines with ANY arc kite (yet!) but other than this ..... Launching.... they have more cells than previous Arcs.... this makes them stiffer. NO more of the Phantomesque bow-tie and death spin launches.... get it 75% full and up she goes!! The Venom WILL steer on max depower too, quite an eye opener that one... going back to an earlier Arc can seem VERY fluffy! Flying.... LOVELY! depower and the "oh my GOD where did that lofting come from!!" moments are cut RIGHT back.... two so far and that was down to stupidly gusty and turbulent conditions! The venoms are MUCH faster flying and turning than the Phantoms, our 60 cm bar is almost in retirement.. the 16 flies on 40 or 50 bar! Bar feel is GREATLY improved too, Phantoms and G's could feel a little too remote for some, the venoms are still nice and light but react more quickly and precisely than earlier Peter Lynns. I have a guilty secret.... I am deeply crap on my board! My Son is amazing... I try not ot be too upset by this!! I have been mainly looking after the safety side for my boy and doing some static flying. I got going on the Phantoms and got some static jumps going on but much more was beyond me, I just couldn't get it sorted. The Boy had huge jumps down and was improving. His first run on the Venoms and he gets one of the highest jumps I have seen him do! He comes back in ALL smiles and teen jabber.... again the translation seems to be "nice!" The Venoms are different to the phantoms in that they DON'T need huge speed to get jumping high! PLUS the float is vastly improved... he spends much longer sat in the air doing stuff.....in fact just last week he did a jump, got nice and high..... then sat there! He looked up at the kite, down at the floor, did a quick board off then waited to come down! He is quite good at this kiting lark though. I did mention that I am not too hot on a board? Well..... can I recommend Venoms to anyone wanting to improve. My son got sick of looking at me flailing about then falling over at the end of the run and took pity long enough to give me a quick lesson! I went from upright with straight legs to nice bent knees, taking my weight through the harness and getting decent speed in an hour or so. An hour later and I was sending the kite and doing (very small) jumps! I am now happy tootling about and doing my own Meta freestyle tricks (just like real freestyle only much smaller and kind of unpredictable). ALSO for the learner, providing you have a big enough kite/enough wind you will benefit from the Venom safety system...when you do something too stupid for even an Arc to protect you they float you down! I was trundling along, did a "jump" and landed sort of mankily...highsided my board and waited for the "thump" of adamski whacking the floor..... didn't happen.... i just touched down and lay there with the kite gently bobbing me up and down as it sat at the Zenith waiting for the stupid bloke to try again!! So... who would I recommend gets one or two of these? ANYONE doing a board sport that can live with the set up and pack down routine! ARE they better than earlier models? Yes, they are stiffer, more responsive and even MORE idiot proof. We will be out on the water in the next week or two so an update of the wet side will be forthcoming once I stop drinking sea water and can get splashing about! By : adamski
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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
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I got this kite as an introduction to power kiting, and it seems ideal. It was brought from airbossworld, just after christmas, and it didnt take long for delivery. The same day it arrived i was straight down to Crabtree Plantation, and the wind was blowing a nice SW, so i thought i would be fine, there were also other flyers there so i set up well out their way. Set up was very easy and away i went, and mean away i went, it pulled me for a good 25m before the kite hit the floor, and the lines decided to get tangled, but no worries i got the hang of it straight away afterwards. It comes in a neat drawstring bag which is good, and it holds everything it comes with, and is also ideal for storage when in a rucksack. The lines i pressume are ok, not flown anything else to compare with, but they do exactly what you need them to do , so in my eyes they're fine. The handle are aluminum with padded a end for hands again seem fine but have now been upgraded to flexifoil, as the flexifoil ones area little larger. The kite itself came neatly packaged, and is made of chikara material, which is what all peppers and rebbles are made, What i like is that there is a velcro bridle strap at the top to hold the bridles if you decide to roll the lines up seperatly rather than wind around the handles. The kite also is very easy to pack away after flight and its not massive. The kite is great for all kiting hobbies, and even just recreational use, in a good wind you will get pulled round, and it thats what you want then its great. Ive not yet used it for boarding yet, but intend to soon, as ive just brought a Kheo Air S. Being my first kite i cant compare to much else, but in the air it seems very stable and rarely luffs or flies over your head, it can produce just dynamic lift, but creates some static lift as well. Its also very easy to land with the use of the brake lines. Overall, a very affordable kite, for begginers to intermediate this kite should always be in the boot for just the right conditions. Excellent kite, job well done. By : iant
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- Peter Lynn
- pepper
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I've been putting off writing a review about my Venom 10m until I have a little more experience landboarding with it. ( I've been out less than ten times as yet so I'm still at that shaky stage.) I originally bought the Venom for about $900 from Kite-line, an online dealer and had it shipped to Saudi Arabia where I work. The kite has mostly been used to learn kitesurfing. Lately, I've been landboarding with it. I've had it for about a year. I have two other kites, both LEI pump ups but I bought the Venom because I was never happy self-launching the other kites while alone. Something always seemed to go wrong. With the Venom my self-launches have almost always been successful. The kite hovers a little off the ground while it fills with air then it heads to the zenith. This procedure is generally gentle and predictable, so predictable and confidence inspiring that I have given up using the other kites altogether. And I love the fact that I no longer have to pump up the kite. With the Venom, you just open a zip at either end of the kite and it inflates automatically. To deflate the kite, you open a deflate zip, put the kite ends together and start rolling. Then slip it in the bag to put it away. I've flown the Venom in winds of anywhere from 9 kt. to perhaps 30 kt. on land and in the water. The kite will go up in very little wind. I vary the line lengths depending on wind strength. However, I use my 13 m. lines almost exclusively for landboarding in almost any winds. I like the control the short lines give. The kite seems to fly mostly on its front lines. It turns easily and seems to stay wherever you put it. I like the auto-zenith because you can do almost anything while the kite just hovers overhead. You can put on your kiteboard in the water or adjust the landboard trucks with an allen key, all with the kite hovering above. The kite just seems to give you confidence that it won't do anything unpredictable. I can get going what seems quite fast on my landboard, an MBS Comp 16, in very little wind. So little, that it would be almost impossible to launch my 12m LEI. Even in high winds of near 30 kt, I've tried landboarding because the kite is so stable. I'm just not ready though for the speeds I think you could attain in such conditions. I can't comment on jumping with this kite because I'm not at that level yet. But the way it seems to yank up my hook when I'm hooked in at 15kt., I'm sure it has a lot of lift. And I feel this even with my 13m lines. At 15 kt. with 23m lines, this kite will, when power stroked, initiate a water start and I weigh 90kg. So I guess there's ample power there. I've crashed this kite on land a few times, always my fault. On one occasion, the kite ripped and the strut broke. I patched the kite with a long piece of sail tape and fused the strut together with a plastic collar and screwdriver shaft. It seems to fly fine again. On occasion, I've made a mess of the launch and the kite has twisted into an unpleasant bowtie shape. I've landed the kite, sorted out the problem and relaunched. If the kite lands on water, in high winds it will almost always relaunch easily. However, in low winds there can be a problem. The ends stick together and almost no amount of tugging on various lines can get them apart. Water can enter the kite, making it almost impossible to relaunch, at least for me. Then I have to wind in the lines and drag the soggy kite to land where I let out the water. This ordeal can be an unpleasant mess. The bar that comes with the kite is pleasant to hold and the bag a very good quality. It expands long so that you can put the kite with struts in it. Despite some drawbacks, I would recommend the Venom 10 for landboarding and kiteboarding. It is my favorite kite. I plan to sell my other kites. If I destroyed the Venom entirely in my clumsy way, I think I would buy another Venom 10 and use it as my one and only kite. By : mikeskor
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Peter Lynn Venom 10m I bought this kite as an ex demo kite from a kite shop, so i got it at a great price and it was as new with all lines attatched because it had been beach flown about five times. This was my first depowerable kite as i was flying blade 2's until i bought it. I mostly use my kites for freestyle boarding and a tiny bit of buggying so the venom seemed to fit the bill as a high lift depowerable suitable for land use. The kite bag: This kite comes with a great looking red/black/white rucksack which is very well made, has heavy duty zips and great padding. It is expandable so you can leave the kite with the spars in. This is a very useful feature as i never take the spars out! Build quality: This is one very solid kite, all of the seems are well stitched, the zips are all waterproof and everything seems to be good quality. The bar and saftey system are reasuringly good and well made. The kite material itself is light and crisp and has some kind of water displacing coating. It is some kind of ripstop but i am not sure what weight. Flying the kite: To launch the kite put your board or a weight on one of the tips and unwind your lines with the upwind inflation zip open. Go back to the kite and zip it up when it's 80% full with air, attach your lines. Then hook in walk back and the kite should take shape and go to the edge of the window where it will continue to inflate fully by the one way valves on the leading edge. Then you can let the kite slowly drift up to the zenith where the kite will happily sit with no rider input for as long as the wind blows. If a big gust comes and the kite overflies it will just drift back safely into the widow without any problems. The kite is incredibly stable and will only fall out of the sky if the wind suddenly shifts 180 Degrees or suddenly drops to nothing. The range of this kite is phenomenal, i can get going in my buggy in about 12kts and about 14kts on my board with a lot of working the kite. Can jump consitently 5ft in about 17 kts and once over 19kts i feel i can go as high as i want very floatily. I can then hold on being 12stone till gusts of 30 kts with the kite fully depowered. Jumps are incredibly easy with this kite in the sweet spot of it's windrange, you just send the kite back hard while edging hard pull in the bar and away you go. You go up so fsta and hard it is unbeleivable.There are no problems redirecting with this kite as it turns so fast. On really big jumps you can whip the kite from side to side above your head for that extra second of hangtime. You can control the size of jumps by pulling the bar in less, sending the kite slower or just going slower into the jump in crazy winds. This kite is very smooth in gusts,great for huge jumps and very user friendly. Within weeks of getting this kite i can do rotations and footouts confidently with ease and have a go at much more complicated tricks. This really is a great kite for progression. This kite is good value for money for anyone wanting to excel to the next level of freestyle boarding in saftey, but it's also great in the buggy, easy to get on two wheel etc. and is good for speed runs. For it's size this kite has good power, bottom end comparable to a 4.9 blade but the top end is unlimited if your heavy. This is fun kite to fly, has huge amounts of floaty lift on tap and is superb for just cruising. You always feel safe when attached to this kite. I beleive the stability is posibly the best of any kite you can buy and the depower range is simply anormous! Get One! By : Jack H
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- 1
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- Peter Lynn
- venom
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Venom 10m Have flown Bombas and Guerillas, so the next natural progression was Venoms. Used the 10m venom last week on 2 consecutive days and was smiling on both occassions. Launch was effortless, venom filled very quickly. the two inflation zippers are an excellent inprovement and are invaluable for pre-filling. Once on the water, was very suprised with low end. I guess the wind was blowing 16-17knts, gusting 20. Got me up and planing on a fanatic 130. The kite is so fast turning that the kite is very workable without too much effort even in low wind, and really gets going at about 20knts. More wind would have been even better. i think the Venoms definitely have better low end than other arcs. Very nice floaty jumps. The Kite like all arcs very stable and user friendly. i am not sure what I make of the internal strap. i had it farly loose, probably pulled in about an inch. I guess having it tighter would potentially give you more power, as the kite would be more rigid. I weigh 70kgs and will definitely try and use this kite in as little as wind as possible as it is so fast and workable. I find the bigger arcs are too slow turning, however I have heard the 13m venom is very fast to, but there may be too much overlap with the 10m at my weight. What do people think? Landing was effortless, pulled on depower strap and brought her down nicely down the edge of the window. Build quality good, nice colour and dseign (Black, red, yellow) Nothing really bad to say. Just got to decide another Kite for Quiver 13m or 16m kite. What do people think? By : jonboykitesurf
- 1 comment
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- Peter Lynn
- Kite
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Since I've been new to kiting i can't compare the Pepper to other kites. Therefore this will be my point of view to the Pepper as a beginnerkite. My local store had the Pepper as a promotional sale in stock and i bought mine with the collours red and yellow and a white underside. The owner of the store gave me a hugh lector of kiting and the Pepper, it took 2 hours :-), and full of confidence i went with the Pepper outside looking for a good place to use it for the first time. The kite come complete ready to fly in a stuff bag wich i don't care about. But now I've seen the bags other manufactures provide the kite with this one might look a little cheap. But then again it's a low budget kite. So opening the bag...this is what you get. Two big handles covered in foam and on top one handle is red and the other is grey coloured. The lines were 25m long with different colours. Red for the brakes, grey as the main lines. The loopends are different so it's easy to see where each loopend should be placed. This makes setting up the kite very easy. The kite itself looked good to me, since i've no experiance what so ever at this point with other kites. Other reviews can help you with this part. There is also a small instruction bookwork. Not there where kitekillers and a groundstake. The first flight took place in a light wind (2/3 bft). Getting the kite in the air is easy. Just pull the handles and it lifts of to zenith. The kite responds well. Left / right no problem what soever. It stays nice at zenith with no intentions to overlap. Turning the kite by using the brakeline will make the kite turn just outside the axis. The kite has good speed and is in this light wind easy to control for a beginner. After two hours of flying i think that landing the kite is harder to do then starting the kite. Half a year later.. I can only say this. To start kiting i would recommend te Pepper. In stronger winds, up to 5 bft, this kite turns into a beast that makes you scudd around the area. Small jumps up to 3/4 foot high are possible. But you need a good wind for that. The kite has some awfull pull in itself, lufs a little at the total edge of the windvenster and does not collapse of itself. Starting backwards is verry easy to do with this kite. Two hours of flying makes my arms a couple of inches longer. But that's to blame on flying with handles. The kite Pepper 4.5 can be flown in light winds as well as in strong winds. Flying the kite in strong winds, high 5 bft and stronger, is not for starters to do. The kite will absolutly overpower you. I still can be overpowered by the kite. Tip...start the kite at the left or right of the windvenster, cause it will show it's power right from the start. Overview It's a low budget kite, but it's a good one. I had a couple of frontal crashes in the beginning but no harm has been done to the kite. It still looks as new and it proves the quality of the kite is just plain good. Although the lines are pre-streched dynama, i had to adjust the length a few times. It's not much work to do, but i would recomment to check the lines from time to time. Steering with 1 line longer then the other makes it harder to control your kite. This kite is excellent if you want to do your workout outside the gym. I can feel my mussles for 2 days after a couple of hours flying. It also makes my face grim for two days. The kite is verry forgiving wwhen one makes a mistake. Overall good to learn kiting with, enough power. You can learn how to jump with this kite, just make sure you have the kite close enough to zenith. Otherwise you will end up inventing all these new tricks like bellysliding, run the kite and backscrubbing. By : Devoted
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- Peter Lynn
- Kite
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Well what can I say.............Well quite a lot actually. I bought this kite second hand off a great guy and the kite and bag was near enough brand new. I paid £362 kite only which is a silly price for such a fantastic piece of kit. My first impressions where thank god the bag is as nice as my Guerilla. There were a couple of differences, better pockets and a nice hole for the spars plus a much nicer inner bag but the downside was that unlike my G2 the whole kite with spars fitted didnt fit in the outer bag. The spars dont seem as strong as the G2 either but we will see how they go. The kite quality looks great just like my G2 and the enhancements are small but brilliant. - Launch assist, so simply but anyone who has owned a PL kite will tell you its annoying when the kite is flapping and the lines go underneath so you have to go back to the kite and try again. All they have done is stick a little bit of velcro on each tip where you secure the lines, brilliant. When you walk back, the tension pulls the lines out of the velcro and up she goes, simple. - Inflation zips, again simply but how much better it is. My G2 has a zip in the middle of which your supposed to be able to walk away whilst it inflates itself, not the case because as soon as it gets slighty inflated it closes the hole hence you have to stand holding the hole open. The Venom has a zip on each tip which means where you put the sand to weigh it down that also keeps the kite from closing the hole hence setup your bar, come back and kite inflated. Plus because the holes are on the leading edge it makes a more efficient job of filling the kite. - In kite power adjuster, Im not sold on this one yet. It does change the kite a bit but i havent noticed that much benefit at the moment, maybe gimmick maybe me?? - Smaller cells, I can not tell you the difference this makes. The kite has a much better feel though the bar. It seems really solid and so far hasnt folded like a sweet wrapper which my g2 does occasionally. I think this is also responsible for the difference in turn speed which is far superior than the G2 to the point it feels like a different kite but in a good way, no great way. As i bought the kite only i can not comment on any differences re the bar and lines. What I can say is I have used the Venom on my PL bar and also a nice Caution bar and though the Caution worked ok it didnt have anywhere near the depower range of the PL one so I would recommend a PL bar unless someone knows of other bars with a similar depower range as the peter lynns? I love arcs. I have never crashed my G2 15m but the second day with my Venom i crashed it into the ground quite hard due to the wind turning it inside out and inverting my control. No damage at all, if that was my Caution LEI I would be replacing the leading edge baldder. One other thing that seems to have improved is the auto zenith though Im not sure if this was down to how i had the G2 setup. The Venom just sits above you whilst you eat your sandwich, have a cup of coffee and wonder what you were doing standing there, oh yeah flying a kite, where is it???LOL In summary I can be nothing but positive about this kite, its an ideal size and though the changes are small the improvements/benefits are big. Downside: I was fortunate and got my V for a great price. I still think that if i had little cash the £200 second hand price difference between a G2 and Venom probably isnt worth it. The Guerilla 2 is a great kite with a couple of annoying tendancies but for over £200 cheaper than a second hand Venom it would be my choice for value for money. All that said if you have the cash its a Venom every time. Nice one Peter Lynn, with these kites the only competition out there is bows and I still think a Venom would hold its ground...... Go get one. (I liked them that much I bought 2!!!) By : Ramsey
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- Water
- Closed Cell
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I ordered mine when they had just been introduced, so I didn't really know what to expect. There weren't any reviews available yet, so I was going by the adverts and recommendations of the dealer. I was looking for a good all-around kite that I could use with my mountain board, and that would give me a bit more power than my 3M Little Devil. The backpack is nice; its got separate compartments inside for the kite and the handles, and there's enough room to put some other stuff in there, too. You DO need to be aware of the zipper, though. There are a number of pockets on the outside, which are great for things like kite stakes, cell phones, wallets, and the like. I didn't think this was important until one day flying at the beach with my mountainboard. I was able to pack up everthing in the pack (including other kites), put it all on my back, and take off down the beach on the board. I went a few miles, and didn't need to leave anything behind on the beach. The kite quality was fine; right up there with my Ozones, although the lines that came with mine aren't quite as nice as what came with the Ozones. The bridles required no adjustments (and still haven't, a year later). Flying it: I think a number of my flying impressions are driven basically by the shortness of the strop line that connects the handles. It makes you think that the kite turns sluggishly, when maybe it really doesn't. In fact, you have to use the brakes to get it to turn, unless you don't mind using the entire height of the window to get it to do a 180. Since it was there, I've tried hooking the strop to my harness just for fun. I noticed that after only about an hour of this there was noticeable wear on the strop line. I've ordered a new spreader bar with a wheel rather than the standard hook to ease the pressure on the line. But I think I'll replace the strop with a longer, stronger line anyway. The kite generates a good amount of power, and is a blast to scud behind. Jumps are predictable, with nice soft landings. It doesn't generate tons of lift straight up, but I think that's by design. Its not quite as strong for ATBing. Compared to other kites, it takes a while to get going. If you're at a dead stop and you swoop it through the power zone you'll get a blast of acceleration, then you'd better keep the kite moving because it will want to luff. If you gradually move it into the power zone the acceleration is much slower, but the kite will stay powered up. It doesn't travel upwind as well as a Bego or a Frenzy, but if you've got good steady winds and a lot of room to work with you can buggy or ATB with it. All in all I think it is what it was advertised to be: a good all-around kite. It doesn't excel at anything, but does a respectable job of a number of things. By : Speedbump
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I've owned 5m Rebble for some time and was looking for smaller foil to use as my buggy engine in stronger winds. My bugget also came into play as my finances were still recovering from purchase of the Rebble and the buggy. I've ordered the Pepper from our local kite shop on recommendation of its owner. Two days later the kite was here. I will not go into bag design as the kite comes in plain white bag which reflects its bugget price. The kite The kite it self is well made from quality Chikara fabric, all joints well stiched and I could not find any loose treads anywhere. Red, white and black colour combination looks great too. 25m lines are stronger then on my 5m Rebble and the handles have comfortable foam padding but are not colour coded. Flying Had no problem straight out of the bag. This is a kite which did not needed any brake line adjustment at all. It flyes up resonably fast and parks it self at the zenith and just stay there with hardly any control input at all. Drop it down to the power zone and it will drag you along in wind around 15-18knt and its power to size ratio is awesome. Its easy to fly and control in gusty winds and turns like a dream. I am very happy with it, it made all the difference to my flying and I can go and buggy in 20knt plus wind with confidence. I suppose younger fliers would want something faster and something with more lift, but for my age it's just the ticket I was waiting for. Pull is strong and steady, turns are tight and controled, and it's able to absorb gusts with ease...great buggy engine. I am very happy with my new 3.5m Pepper and can recommend it for anyone, beginner or intermediate, or someone who's looking for no fuss, easy to fly kite at great price. I am ready for 4.5m Pepper, just waiting for new models to come out in 2006...if they will 🙂 Happy flying, Jan By : Jan01
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- Peter Lynn
- pepper
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I’ve been wanting to write this for a while but since I brought this kite for my son it’s always been relatively calm. Anyway. yesterday it was a different matter, looking out of the window the clouds we breaking up and the trees were – moving – quite a lot actually. My son (who’s 12) quickly grew out of his little Radsail 145. He wanted something with more pull and that he could launch on his own. My thoughts were – he needs a 1.5 – 1.8 four line. So being the tight, scrooge that I am I said he’d have to wait and save up because they were not cheap – not when you’re looking for a decent kite to meet the required needs and at good quality. (PKD, HQ and Peter Lynn). So the following week we went down to the Portsmouth kite fair and I brought him a Peter Lynn Pepper 1.5 for £78 (I’m such a push over – it also means I can borrow it when the wind is to strong for my 3 meter.) Any other dads out there recognise this thought pattern? I like this kite, it comes in a no nonsense bag with and instruction booklet other, bits and pieces and a Sticker (which will go on my sons school bag). I think he’s on a mission to educate his classmates after a few of them watched us last night. The kite it has Velcro to hold the bridles in place then you unravel it (or pack it away) and the lines are on two nice winders. These are very thin lines and are coated. The power lines are grey and the break lines are red. I have one criticism here. The power lines are very difficult to see when on the ground! Ground stake in, lines attached and checked – perfect and off it went. This little kite is very fast, 2 – 3 seconds to go through the window and then it's a quick break turn and back again. It’s also quite lifty for a small kite and in the wind last night it was pulling way more than I expected – I had to lean right back and occasionally felt myself slipping. (I’m 12 stone by the way). The kite did have a tendency to overshoot the zenith and luff out but some nifty footwork and gently persuasion has it re-inflated and pulling again. It's not really a buggy kite but is great for those days when the anything bigger will have you dragged into the next county. We could have played around with this for ages but the light was fading and my sons arms and legs were getting tired. This is a great little kite, high quality, well made, it pulls hard and is reasonably predictable, fast and lots of fun in a good wind. A great introduction into four line kites and from a well espected name. And for the price we paid at the show – you can’t beat it…. He loves it... and so do I.
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I have owned a 3.5m Peter Lynn pepper for 6 months now and feel it's time to share my experiences as I have used the reviews on this site quite a few times and they have really helped. The pepper is advertised as a budget beginner's kite and I chose it for that very reason. I had flown Flexifoil Stackers and Super 10's for years but I fancied land-boarding and I wasn't getting enough controllable pull or lift with the Super 10. I looked briefly at the Beemer but finally decided on the pepper after being advised that they were better flyers. I initially wanted a kite around the 5m mark but was persuaded to go much smaller by the man in the shop. I finally decided on a 3.5m but with hindsight I would have been better with a 2.5m as I like flying when it's pretty windy and the 3.5m can be a little much. Out on the field the kite came out of it's slightly disappointing rip-stop bag (they call it a stuff-sack but it's a cheap bag) but when it was opened out I was more than happy with the quality of the build. Granted it's not double stitched, the bridles are knotted and the handles feel a little cheap in comparison with Flexifoil or Ozone offerings but overall it felt like a decent kite and good value for money. My kite was yellow and red and whilst I wasn't too keen on the pattern the pure white underbelly with the pepper and peter Lynn logos looked good. The lines were colour coded and fairly easy to attach but no numbering system like Ozone or Flexifoil. Once it was all hooked up and with the wisdom 'don't launch it into the centre of the window' ringing in my ears I positioned it diagonally across the field, released the brakes and pulled. The pull in light/moderate winds was awesome in comparison to a Stacker or Super 10. It was smooth, progressive and infinitely more controllable. I whizzed it about the sky for 20mins until it went dark, and packed it up exhilarated. The next time I flew it was in far windier conditions, it was gusty and the wind was unpredictable. I also had my MBS Sol 16 mountain board with me this time (see other reviews) desperate to get some traction. I set up the kite and got it into the air and then attached myself to the board. Each time it gusted I was pulled off the board with no movement. After two hours of total irritation I repositioned the board in the right direction and finally I was moving! Two things then happened, the wind picked up and I began to get cocky (I hadn't found this website at that point!). I should have packed up and gone home with a couple of downwind runs under my belt but I didn't and the awesome power of the wind, the kite and my stupidity combined and had its revenge. I decided to have a run on a concrete runway (I know but it was my brothers idea) as the grass was very lumpy and with the combination of the gusts and the unexpected speed (mountain boards bloody shift on tarmac) I got myself into a nasty situation. I was going fast (faster than I can run anyway) when the kite folded in on itself at the top of the window and re-inflated in the very middle of the window. In the stormy conditions this created so much pull that it tore me off the board and dragged me face first down the runway...and the kite killers didn't help as they were safely packed away in my bag. I learnt a number of things from this I'd like to pass on... Buy a helmet and pads and wear them even though you look like a t*tUse kite killers even though they can get in the way sometimesLearn to fly your kite in a range of conditions before you try to get tractionUnderstand the weather and the consequences of different conditionsPractice downhill on a mountain-board before using it with a kiteGet insuranceFly with someone elseHave a mobile phone with you This event made me much more cautious and as a result I have actually enjoyed flying the kite more. Granted I haven't gone as fast on the board since but with more thought and care I can now traverse the wind window rather then bomb down it which is not quite as exhilarating but infinitely more satisfying. Over the months since then I have found the Pepper to be a good starter kite but it does have it's quirks like all kites. It pulls well and provides steady power but it does fold more often than a Samurai or Bullet in gusty winds or at the edge of the window. It is a bitch to fly back up a field whilst kicking your mountain board forward and if you apply the brakes it often twists as it comes down. I now own a Samurai 2.0m for windy days and have flown a Bullet 2.5m on a number of occasions and they are better kites, the Samurai in particular is a delight, but they are roughly £100 more than the Pepper and that's a massive investment in a sport you may not enjoy or carry on. As a beginner the Pepper was perfect for me and I would recommend it as an excellent way to introduce yourself to powerkiteing and don't be afraid to go small, a 2.5m or 3.5m is more than enough to start with...why else would all those nearly new 4.9m Flexifoil Blades keep appearing on E-bay? By : monkeyherbet
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A few thoughts on my beloved 13m G1. 1. The Bag Ok, the bags annoying, size wize, because, unlike the newer models they had not yet developed the collapsable spars, so it does come in a rather wide bag, which is well constructed, but the zips are proned to getting stuck, and put the kite at danger of being ripped on if you don't take care. Still, as they say, you don't fly the bag. 2. Build Quality Build quality is great. Very simplistic designs make them very durable and will put up with a good deal of battering. 3. Flying characteristics. Let me just make it clear, Guerillas, and most of the arcs i have had experience in flying (G1, G2, Venoms) are near useless in sub 10mph winds, even the huge ones like the 22m G2, they are not designed for this kind of wind... so don't expect them to be, have different kites ready for those days! And... on water, they are useless in sub 15mph, which i think i fair to say also applies to most of the arc range, to get cruising comfortably at least. Flying them in low winds is down right frustrating and you will want to throw the kite in the bin if this is all you get to fly in! When that 10mph mark is hit though, these kites kick into life... they REALLY kick into life. The G1 is a slow turner, but very controlable, predictable, safe, and produces some lovely lift. Its extremely easy to jump with these kites and they will almost always bring you down softly and slowly. I use a naish UDP bar, which isn't ideal and doesn't give me quite enough depower on the kite, so when the wind gets up a bit more, the kite starts going a bit mad and totally kicks my arse. Won't life you too much unless you ask it to but the horizontal traction becomes a tad uncontrollable without a long enough depower line, when the winds right though these kites are amazing. However... I would not purchase a MK1 Guerilla larger than the 13m size. Even the 13m is slow, especially when you compare it to the venoms super speedy turnability. I find it turns at a comfortable, controllable speed at 13m, the larger models though are too slow and won't give you much pop because of this and so revert primarily to traction engines. In Summary... I love this kite, and no matter what other kites i get, i will always keep my 13m G1, its a lovely bit of kit. At the prices you can get these kites for these days, i would advise anyone to get one to just have one, as you can pick them up around £200 which is SICK money for such a wonderful kite. By : domdino
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Upon searching for an extremely stable depowerable i came across the guerilla from peter lynn. I opted for an 11m because i wanted to use it in similar winds to my PKD Buster 5.5 which is really nice at 15mph. The guerilla is a completely different kite in the way you look after it on land and in the sky. This kite is the most stable thing i have ever flown and has tons of lift if you need it because of its high aspect ratio (5.0 same as a blade 4.9). I recently used it last weekend for the first time with my ATB and it was the most fun time i have ever had, the wind was about 15mph and i was reaching 31mph on my ATB before i ran out of space.It felt completely safe with no sudden power increases or surges, just smooth acceleration that didnt stop, im sure i could of gone a lot faster with more space! When i tried jumping with this i was pleasantly surprised by the lift, it is absolutly amazing and it is easy to go high. Even though it has amazing lift and height it isnt dangerous, it feels safe and you land smoothly with the kites floaty characteristics. The kite handles exceptionally well in the sky, it never luffs or falls out the sky, in a session i can keep it up most of the time other than the occasional time ive fallen off and forgotten to steer the kite back to the top. Unfortunately i have not got the hang of the way the kite likes to steer, i can swing the kite around etc as normal but when i do jumps i dont seem to be able to get the kite back to the other side, i think it comes with practice so im not really worried about it. The 11m compared to the 13m is quite different, on the same day i first tried it i also had a go on the 13m and found that because the 11m is faster your acceleration and cruising is extremely fast. Obviously the 13m is bigger so has more lift, but for cruising in the same wind the 11m is better and seems to be more powerful. On the ground the guerilla (as with most arcs im sure) the handling is aweful, this kite seems to behave like a small child and is awquard to launch etc once landed or the safety has released. I spend a lot of time untangling lines and sorting out whats gone wrong. This is a small sacrifice for such a stable kite as the only time it ever comes down is if you need a rest or in an emergency. The safety system actually works and the kite falls down with virtually no power at all, once landed you can (depending on wind speed) attach your safety leash to your ATB whilst you sort out the kite. Launching is pretty easy if the kite doesnt play up (sometimes the edge flaps about and the lines wrap under the kite). Auto -zenith i hear you cry! whats it like? does it work? well the answer is yes and no: if the kite is powered up and its fairly consistent wind then it will pretty much stay at the top, but if there is gusty wind the kite tends to drift left and right quite far down at the edges and then drifts back to the zenith, if you are underpowered and the kite is just flying then dont expect the auto-zenith to work as you will need to keep the kite moving to keep it up. Overall (breathes) this kite is worth it for those looking for a really stable kite with oodles of lift BUT is not advised for impatient people due to its annoying nature on the ground. By : marsonpee
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Bought a Rebble 5m cos I had a selection of smaller Bullets and Buster and I have thing for NZ. Hahahaha! First day thought maybe not so good, compared to Flexi and Ozone, but what the hey! Why drive a Mondeo/Vectra when you have something different. This kite goes like a Kiwi on speed! Forget the wind window slap on the brakes and it hauls up wind no more crawling around at 2mph watching the sand fleas race you up the beach. Build quality is simple, spartan, and good enough, lines color coded as is the latest fashion and good quality, handles do the job and Chikara ripstop is a good strong well proven fabric. The kite is one of the least hassle sails out there for general buggying and I agree with one of the earlier reviewers Peter Lynn may be underated but having flown PKD Century, Blades, Bullets, Samurai, Yakusa, Buster & Vampir I like this the best. It flys smooth and light and you really get a kick by sticking on the brake lines and like put flaps on an aircraft wing you get a good accelaration boost. Can't say for boarding but have a go. Turns on it's own axis and sits quite happily where you put it. Buy one it's cheaper than the rest and probably all you will need unless you're into the race thing. Rucksack is the best out there for construction and it has a water bladder (camelback/platypus) pocket and hose entry points By : DPimborough
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Hello. This review is for my Peter Lynn Pepper 3.5. I am a novice to power kitting, and have never flown a kite before. I am 36 and weigh 11 stone. My brother bought a HQ Beamer 2 3.6 two weeks ago, and after watching him skid across the field about 20 meters, I thought i must get me one of those. So many choices. I wasn't sure what kite to get i.e. size and brand, I had read allot of reviews and spoke to a few kite dealers and narrowed my choice down to the Pkd buster and the Peter Lynn pepper. I found other reviews on the buster which that the kite was well made but the lines where weak, so i went for the pepper. Iwas going to buy the 5 meter because i found a site that had a special offer, but as a novice i think it would be to powerful. so i decided to buy the 3.5. Ordered kite. I bought the Pepper from www.powerkiteshop.com for £114.95. I had to buy the kite killers and a groung stake as well which cost £20. I ordered on saturday night and received on tue morning. When i got home from work i opened the package. The kite which looked very well made, came in a white drawstring bag, no fancy rucksack with a big zip here (beamer). In the bag there was also a pair of handles, the top half coated in foam, set of lines, power lines 170kg and brake 75kg, length 25 meters, the line look a lot thinner than the beamers, i hope they will be strong enough !!. When i ordered the kite it said the lines would be2 20 meters, I dont know if the extra 5 meters would make any difference. Also in the bag, instructions and a Peter Lynn sticker. After checking everything was there i repacked it and waited for the weekend to take it out. My first flight. Its Saturday morning 10.00am. I ring my brother, and we both meet at the local park. The weather is cloudy and the wind varying 6-12 mph. This is it i have been waiting all week to take my kite out. I layed my kite out, took the bridle lines out of the velcro loop and started to unwind the lines. I checked that both power and brake lines where the same length, and they where. I attached the lines to the handles and the kite which was all quite straight forward. Iattached the kite killers and i was ready to go. My brother held the kite up and i walked back, the kite went up three foot and turned on its side. The wind had dropped and i couldn't steer it. I had positioned the kite at 45 deg down wind, I moved it more centre and tryied again. I waited for the wind to pick up and the kite started to rise, I pulled back on the power lines and the kite went up and sat there right above my head. I wanted to check that the brake lines worked, so i applied a little brake and the kite came down slowly, i had to steer it down with the brakes, it landed perfect. That was easyier than i though it would be. Buy the way i was very nervous, i had worries all week that i would hurt myself the first time i took it up. The wind must be a constant 10mph now. I pulled the power lines and up it went again. This time i moved the kite around the power window and WooooooooW this thing pulls, i had to run with it, i started to lean back more and i got dragged along and got dumped on my behind, this kite is powefull !!.I put the kite to the top of the window to have a rest. This is great fun, i wasnt expecting it to pull me so much in this wind, im glad i didnt get the 5 meter pepper, i would have killed myself. After about 20 min, i got the hang of steering, and i was making tight turns. I just cant believe how much this kite pulls, its great, even though a bit scarry at first. After two hours i was knackerd, my feet and hands where aching. I was wearing motorcycle boots which where not very comfortable. It was 2 o'clock and i decided to pack my kite and watch my brother for a while. I got on my bike to go home and i had trouble pulling in the clutch lever, my hands ached so much. I think i was flying for to long. I got home and took my boots and socks off and all the skin on the top of my toes had peeled off, ouch!!!!!!!!. Next time i will take some trainers. Conclusion If your after a budget priced kite that is easy to fly and will pull like a train, Get the Pepper. Great fun. Cant wait to go out again (when my toes have healed By : nitro
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About a week ago I invested in my first power kite the PEPPER 4.5! I am totally a newbie and wanted something that would drag me along, let me get some air, playing around and not to expensive but o.k. quality! All the other Pepper reviews was enough to make me go out and buy the Pepper and now I want to use my review to confince all those who want to be power kite flyers that the Pepper is properbly the one first kite they should have! The Pepper is nothing fancy while it is in his bag. Its easy to assemble and easy to fly. It even flies in 5mile winds.(not always nice) But let me tell you once you have flown in 12mile wind or a bit more, you will want nothing else. Because this easy, gently and understanding kite becomes a beast and everything you wanted from a power kite. Example: While I was busy handling my kite in a gusty 14mile wind, it started handling me, before I knew, I was 10m further and on my back and full of grass! I am 80Kg/11stone. My friend who has not flown power kite for 5 years was even surprised, he is 90kg/12stone and even he was getting a bit of air and scuds of 10m. I am still a bit novice(scared) to try get some air. This kite is definitely worth its money, I believe its good quality and by now I know it has plenty of power. As a beginner this kite has more power that you can handle, but will be easy to get used to, having loads of fun for a long period of time without you out growing it. Conclusion: I was afraid I might buy something to small and no fun, but as a newbie I can say that this kite is everything that I wanted AND good quality AND very good value for money. It is not only a first kite for myself but also I believe a kite I will be glad and proud to have in a collection. By : Pedro
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I bought this kite second hand from a friend as i was looking for an upgrade from my 2 line Symphony, and wanted to get a four line kite that wasn't too extreme, but was a good intermediate kite. To begin with i was highly impresed with the bag, it's far better quality than some decent cycling rucksacks i've got. The build quality on the kite is good, although the bridles aren't colour coded, and have a slight tendency for the knots to get caught on the bridle. the handles are nice and comfy, not to narrow, and easy to grip for long periods. No killers, but i bought some third party ones. after I'd set the kite up, grabbed the handles and up it went, smoothly and quickly. It sat at the zenith nicely and didn't try and move until it was asked too. In stong winds, i was getting a nice pull, allowing me to scud a few meters. Otherwise, performance is good, power across the window is constant, and easy to control. Brakes nice and easily, and isn't to tricky in strong gusts, I've only been lofted once. Overall: great fun, not too much lift, nice constant power, not uncontrollable and all in all a good kite. By : rascalking
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i've used my phantom only twice now, the first time I was a little underpowered - 15knots or so, the second time I was on the upper limit of the kites windrange, about 25knots plus gusts. both times i was on the water though, so the lower figure no way represents the minimum wind needed to get the kite flying! i'm sure I would have been absolutely ripping had i been in a buggy. starting from the beginning then... the bag - great rucksack, with webbing that extends so you can pack the phantom away with the wingtip spars still in place. clips as well for holding a kiteboard, and a couple of nice pockets to put sarnies and things in. very adequate, and looks good to - well done there. the bar - the zero4 carbon bar is a slinky little thing and looks quite dashing. its looks quite short and is very light. complete with neoprene peter lynn embossed line covers and floats, and colour coded lines. the lines are reassuringly thick, and at 275kg should be ok for most folks. they have a shiny sort of appearance, a little like the new Flexifoil lines, which i think is a good thing and may help against abrasion. depower is by a webbing strap and simple enough the safety - two safety systems, both easy to activate and reassemble. the leash works on a re-ride line with a stopper ball fitted on kite length away from the bar on one of the central lines. the leash itself comes with an attachment so you can fix it to your harness keeping it out of the way. there is a safety release on the leash, should you wish to free yourself from the kite. the chicken loop has a nice big red ball that you tug to open it up, which lets the kite out on the leash. it is easy to grab, and releases smoothly. i leashed out a the end of my windy sesh, and the kite fell easily to the ground with next to no pull whatsover - this does inspire confidence. the kite - looks nice enough, the 9m is green and black, i like the graphics and it seems sturdy too. central zipper on the inside skin for inflation, one on the outside skin to deflate. two folding spars are inserted to give rigidity to the wingtips. colour coded lines attachments. on the ground seems long and skinny, looks a bit out of its environment as it flaps and undulates in the wind, like an eel stranded on a mud flat. however, in the air.... flying - the kite looks bloody awesome once it is sitting up at the zenith. the stark bold graphics and two tone colour instantly recognisable from a distance. the first thing that you notice is how light it is on the bar, even under power. the next thing is the turn rate, it is very quick and precise. pulling in the bar has a very positive response from the kite, but due to its high aspect requires no effort to fully power up. in the lighter winds, it sat and cruised well enough and supplied power when sined. the phantom goes much better when parked though with the back lines under no tension. i had a fun sesh and was impressed by the auto zenith feature - the kite wanders around between 10 and 2 oclock, but never drifts towards the ground - you can take your hands off the bar and run around hooked in making up your lost ground in light airs. the lift seemed okay, nothing spectacular but then i was underpowered. it was on the second outing that the phantom showed its true nature and its reasons for being. the huge depower on these kites and the way they handle the gusts soon became apparent. i was riding at a spot better suited to windsurfing, and only a couple of guys were out on LEI's but they didnt ride the whole time. powered up, the phantom goes upwind like a b@stard, and accelarates you to a very very fast speed in no time at all, whereas my LEI's seems to wind up to a top whack. sining the kite thorugh lulls kept me planing on my edge, and when the next gust came through, it was time to hold down the power and point upwind. the lift of the phantom is remarkable - a couple of times when i felt i would have been at the apex of a jump on other kites, it kept lifting higher, allowing lots of tie for tweaks and grabs etc...you don't seem to loose too much downwind after launching an air either water relaunch - i downed the kite once after a big wipeout, and it collapsed a they do tip to tip. just a little pull on the lower tip line and it took shape again and was in the air straight away. i have heard relaunch can be tricky with these kites, maybe more so on the bigger sizes in lighter winds, but i cannot fault the 9m relaunch when the wind is howling. conclusion the phantom feels different to an LEI, i cant put my finger on what it is, but it certainly does the trick on water. i was very impressed by the way it handled the gusty squally howling winds, riding in such conditions was not a chore and such a buzz. i much prefered it when it was maxed out rather than underpowered, which is when the criticisms that have been levelled against it become void - water relaunch issues and loss of power when edging too hard - definatley not the case when powered. i'm really looking forward to having a go with it on land in lighter winds, and of course will bust it out again for the water when it goes howling. i feel the phantom is a versatile, well made, high performance kite that would suit the quiver of anyone looking for an alternative to LEIs, or wants a kite that will be ok for land snow and water (LEIs and land are not a good mix) its not a cheap kite, but like the beer it is reassuringly expensive, and from a company as frugal as peter lynn, you can be certain you are getting quite a package By : mickjones
