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This was the second kite in my quiver, the first being a 2nd hand Blade II 3metre, so I've waited a couple of months before reviewing it to give myself an opportunity to improve my flying skills and a chance to fly some other kites for comparison. I bought it from ebay for £46 inc. so wasn't really expecting much from it, a combination of small repair and a not so well known brand keeping people from bidding. First impressions: Ths kite is well made (at least up to flexi build quality) apart from bridles which are very soft and light and knotted rather than sewn, something that caused me all sorts of problems to start with. So much so that I emailed Cloud 9 to query the bridles and was told the kite was built before they became cloud 9 (used to be called Jack kites I think) but were very helpful. I've since discovered that race kites have soft light bridles. Jackfoils are made to order so you can choose your own colour scheme, mine was a very fetching orange and red with white/black/white centre making it look a bit like a Spitfire (the wing shape is very similar to a Spit's shape). Flying: The kite sits up in the lightest winds like a jack russell puppy. Give it a litlle pull and....whoosh! My this kite is quick, if it's gonna bite it'll snap at your heels on take off, it does that "not quite sure if it'll launch" thing then hits the power and takes off like a Gemini rocket. it's so light that if you can get it up in a doldrum and keep it moving it will fly, tho it doesn't like the edges of the window and it bow ties if the wind drops unexpectedly; give it 5-10mph and you can make it fly with enough power to give you a decent workout; anything over 10mph and things get very interesting indeed: I've had it in +20mph winds and it'll loft you when you think it's sitting at the zenith a la Blade. Having said that it's more stable than my blade II 3.0 and i find myself taking it out in almost the same winds as the blade, it's more predictable which makes it satisfying to fly without getting boring. As for jumps and such, it seems to have loads of lift, not sure if it's as much as a 4.9 blade (but there aren't many that do) but it's a lot less of a sudden thing. When I was getting used to the jack I found it the most frustrating thing - a combination of finicky handling and lack of flying skills, probably more of the latter than the former - but it's fast become my favoured kite for lower (and somewhat higher) winds. It's now got to the point where I'll happily fly it in only slightly lower winds than the blade which gives me a bit of a dilemma: because I won't fly the blade in much higher winds than the jack they sort of overlap. So what do I do, replace the blade with a flying pillowcase that excites me as much as, well a flying pillowcase, or do I take the blade out in even higher winds? Hmm difficult..not!! Conclusion Ok so this seems a bit of a mixed review, but remember this: my Jack is about 4yrs old so why should I a) compare it with modern kites and compare it with even a new Jackfoil? Firstly I think it compares extremely well with modern kites, while not being the cutting edge of race kites it certainly cuts it with certainly the intermediate models, rather like the Quadrifoils. Oh, and my Blade II. Secondly, well i don't have a new Jack to compare it with (Cloud 9 kites I'd LOVE to review one of your new models hint hint) but I'm sure what they've done, not having a r&d dept like ozone or flexi over the years, is refine rather than redesign to make it similar but better. So, there it is, the best £46 I've ever spent, just wish they were all that cheap cos I'd have a complete set including that really quick 1.6 that everyone who flies at Castle Hill seems to own. If you can find a secondhand one then don't buy it - let me! Otherwise, get on the Cloud 9 web site, design your own colour scheme, and ORDER A NEW ONE, you won't be disappointed. By : mikeymustard