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Like most people, i did not want to spend a lot on my first buggy, so decided to go for the radbuggy. looked at a lot of different reviews , and liked the fact that the back axle could be taken apart for easy storage and travel. Buggy arrived and set about building it. instructions were clear and easy to work out. i no time at all it was built nad i could not wait to try it out, but as with all new toys had to wait for the wind to come up. First time out the buggy was good . Had to adjust a few things to get comfortable in the buggy. i found for me i had to move the down tube a couple of times to get the right length. i found that the buggy is very stable and is good a speed, even when going sideways felt very safe and rarely tipped out. for someone new this built up a lot of confidence in my riding. The down side to all this is some parts of the buggy are not the best. i have had to fix the seat about 4 times now, as it just seems to come apart. has taken a lot of stitching. also the bearings were not packed not well, so these have also been cleaned and repacked with grease. Over all i feel this is a good buggy to have started out on. The problems that i have had are ownly small and can be fixed easily.

It's my first review on this site and I'm getting back into power kiting for the winter as it's too bloody cold to go kitesurfing. I bought the Radsails Evo Trainer as a fun kite for medium wind days and have now flown it about 10 - 15 times. It comes in 3 colour options (red, blue or gold) and all look very nice. I've got the red/black/white version. It's a two line kite supplied with a bar and kite killer. RRP seems to be around £95 but you can pick them up for less by shopping around. Out of the bag first impressions are good. Nice crispy kite material, good stitching and decent bar with line winder ends and reasonable kite killer, only concern is the lines seem quite light (110kg) dyneema - more on that later. It takes about 2 minutes from getting it out of the bag, unwinding lines from the bar and being ready to fly. Great! Much better than faffing around with 4 lines and parapacking 🙂 I've flown this kite in winds from 10mph up to 25mph and it's always fun in different ways: 10mph - pulls well for it's size compared to other 2m - 2.5m kites I've flown and accelerates nicely through each figure of eight with no surprises. You need to keep it moving at these wind speeds especially in lulls or it will tend to collapse on you. 15 - 20mph - this is where the kite feels great. Lots of steady pull with no real lift. I suspect the lack of lift is due to it's profile 229cm x 95cm so not exactly high AR. It flys around confidently like a lttle jet fighter and will have you scudding across the beach nicely if you're medium weight or less (I'm 75kg). Fly this for more than half an hour and you feel you're getting a good workout. 25mph - probably at the top end of what this kite was designed for! Again very steady handling and lots of traction but on the day I flew it was gusting up to 30mph and in one gust "ping" the line broke at the figure 8 knot on the leader line. I've never had the happen before on any kites I've flown. Interestingly the same thing happened to a friend of mine two days later hot launching in same conditions with the same model kite. So would I recommend this kite? Yes if you want a great beginners kite that is well mannered has a considerable amount of pull and will give you a good workout in medium winds (10 - 20mph). It's also a great trainer kite for anyone wanting to practice kite skills with a bar prior to moving on to kitesurfing. Just be weary in taking it out in high winds unless you think about upgrading the lines.

The radsail 2.4m powerkite Got this kite for my b-day last year paid £89.99 for it but in the deal i got the rad 145 COOL!! what you get: well you get the rucksack which isnt as bad as people say, it opens and closes, it keeps everything in and it is colour coded to the kite. you get the quad handles with the soft grips, you get two colour coded winders for the lines red for brake and black for control lines, aswell youget the radsails flight school DVD which is brilliant if you are a complete begginer aswell you get a small booklet which takes you through the basics if you dont want to watch the dvd or you forget what to do on the field also it tells you what wind conditions are suitable for the kite and you and last but not least you get the kite. when i got this kite i was totally new to power/traction kiting i have only had a crappy stunt kite what a difference suddenly i was being dragged across a field this was quite scary considering i only weigh 53kg and being only 14 so i decided to invest in some kite killers well worth it the kite killers gave me confidence to take the kite into even higher winds GREAT!! In the air: well the kite is great for begginers because it will stay aloft in minute winds just untill you get familiar with it and then the fun begins when flown in medium to high winds the kite pulls very well for its size (it easily dragged me across the full length of a beach in 14mph winds) it turns very well in most wind conditions but if you pull too hard you can create a kink which demands alot of effort to iron out in the air but it's possible but thats the only niggle i have with it totaly awsome kite! Concusion This is a good quality power kite perfect for begginers entering the sport its great because you get the ability to put on kite killers so if you get too scared you can let go and the kite wont fly off never to be seen again. i reccomend this kite to any begginer thinking of kiting this is the kite for you.

This was my first power kite. An excellent kite to learn on, but i outgrew it very fast. The package is complete. Rucksack, beginners dvd for setup and flight, good lines, ok handles and a nice kite. It's made of ripstop material, meaning the fabric is divided into thousands of small squares. Therefore a tear will stop at the edge of the square preventing a tear to get bigger. (Same principle as ripstop clothes used by the army). The Kite is delivered idiot proof with color coded lines and bridled ends. An at piece of paper stuck to the bridled ends showing which line goes where. The Kite flies quite nice. Easy to launch by my self and stays up even i low wind conditions. I used the kite only a couple of hours, then sold it again. It has potential, but requires quite strong winds to really pull. Each time a good gust came along, the smile on my face grew leaving me hungry for more. My wife learnt flying this kite in the matter of 10-15 minutes. She could very well handle it without difficulty. My conclusion would be the Radsail Basic 3M is a fine first kite, but is outgrown quickly. It behaves with manners and seldom gives any surprises. It is wind thirsty for to give strong pulls, but flies well in low wind conditions. The package is totally complete with excellent instructions and a great place to start. By : trykkertor

Having static kited for about 6 years I wanted to take the step into traction kiting and was attracted to buggying mainly because I could do it sitting down! Cash was an issue so I went for the Radsail buggy at £260. I've now had it about 4 months and used it a fair amount. Initial assembly wasn't too bad although there was no manual so it was guess work. Then I watched the DVD that came with it and theres a video of how to build it. Doh! That said the video didn't go into details and it was trial and error to work out which way round the washers and other little bits go. The rear axle is in two pieces and slot together. Its also very wide. The seat is of the sit in type and sort of hangs between the side bars. The down tube adjusts for length and at 6 foot 4 inches I'm about the limit. Sitting in it's very low slung and adjustment didn't help. In use it's stable due to the wide axle and steers well. At higher speeds it has no wobble at all and you can concentrate on the kite and the window. Turning is no problem as it sits well and power slides are fun and no problem. Get the kite in the wrong place and it'll pull you sideways and the buggy shows no signs of tipping. Usually. Due to the wide axle two wheel tricks need a bit more effort. Haven't tried getting air yet and the buggy would need some kind of seatbelt to be added anyway. Also the rear axle seems a bit flimsy for landings and I've seem bracing bars in videos welded to it for strength. After a few uses the seat split and I had to get it replaced which isn't good and that would be my main criticism. All in all it does what it says on the tin but it's limited to just that. Once you get proficient with it going up and down it isn't really set up for freestyle stuff. It'll go fast but you'd need to adapt it to jump. In my opinion for the money I'd advise get the Peter Lynn one. By : dpbeds

Up until now I'd flown a 3.5 bullet and a 5.5 buster so felt I needed a bigger kite. As you do! Ordered my Radsail savage 8.5 on e bay for £270. I'd shopped around and read some write ups and reviews. generally everywhere else was selling t for £360 - £400 so bargain. Delivered about 5 days later from Marseille. Nice. I've been Power kiting static for about 6 years and started buggying about 3 months ago. Got onto a board... errr yesterday! That's also when I got my new Savage out. Laid it out and its a nice looking kite. build quality only time will tell. Handles maybe a bit small and come with end caps to wrap lines round when packing up (more about that later) Rest of t pretty standard. Connected the lines which are labelled in a square card so easy to larkshead and then remove the card. Handles were staked on the brake lines. Wind was light (about 6 gusting to maybe 10) but the Savage immediately sat up beautifully. Obediently obeying the brakes and spread out waiting to go. Up to the handles and that moment when you pull and wonder what's gonna happen. Whoosh the Savage went straight up lke a rocket. Loads of pull and as t reached the park, lift. Then it sat there looking (if I may say) magnificent. Shape wise it looks like a backwards bullet. Meaning the leading edge is flat and the trailing edge is curved. Time to rag it about the sky a bit. It turned well, if a bit cumbersome in the low wind so I tried applying a bit of brake and what a difference. It spun on its own edge lovely and came straight back on itself. It did however need a lot of brake. So I landed it (no probs balancing it on the brakes as it came down. There is no adjustment in the lines so I tied a knot at the hadnle end to increase the braking then off again. Big difference. Same ease of use in the air but less effort to achieve turn on the brakes. Had a bit of a play and as I say got on the board. Being new to the board I was a bit nervous but the Savage induced confidence as I could put it where I wanted and I actually achieved some forward motion as I quickly had no issues with where the kite was and what it was doing. Two of the other guys had 10.5 Blades which in comparison in these conditions seemed heavy and cumbersome and didn't want to leave the ground. (no I'm not saying the Savage is better than a Blade. I'm not stupid. What I am saying is in the conditions the Savage seemed happier). The Savage was also steady at the edge of the window at all points and quite happily overflew the park position then came back on the brakes. I did have an issue when I went too far. It huffed a bit but still came back but the egdes had a habit of coming in and getting snagged on the bridle. I was able to shake them free most times and I think with a bit more wind this wouldn't be an issue. Overall I'm over the moon and can't wait to get it out again. Plusses- flies really well, very controllable, pulls like a train, lots of lift and looks great. Negatives- handles are a bit small and brake turns make your wrists hurt, edges snagged on bridle occasionally when it huffed at the edge of the window. For the future I think it would respond really well to a crossover bar. I'm thinking Ozone Turbo........ Where's my credit card.... By : dpbeds

This is the first review I have ever written so bear with me.After receiving my RADSAIL PRO 6M mid week from skymonster kites I was not very with pleased rucksack it came in,the zip looks cheap and I am not sure how long they will last,but it does the job.It has an extra pocket on the outside for extra items. The kite was unfolded and I was very surprised at the quality of the build.The stitching was all straight and all the bridle lines are in good order.It has a crisp feel to the kite,and the kite lines are good but I would replace them for better lines.There are two nifty covers for each handle end which are used to wind the lines onto, this is a bit fiddley but does the job. The handles themselves are good and very comfy they are alloy with a rubber cover.So today 17/04/2009 with the wind blowing around 10 mph was to be the first flight.After unpacking the kite on the field it instantly inflated and was waiting for me to pull on the handles.So the first flight was great,it lifted off the ground with no problems at all,after a short flight and an adjustment of the brakes it was flying perfect.I was expecting it to pull like a dinosaur on steroids but it didnt happen. At the top of the zenith it held in the wind and turned with ease.in the wind window it pulls very hard but with a harness on your body takes the weight and not your arms.As for what to use the kite for I am 16 stone and it lifted me around 5 foot off the ground(this was my first jump so I got dumped on my backside)I also must say KITE KILLERS ARE A GODSEND used mine today and suggest if you are flying this kite in a strong wind "USE THEM THEY WORK". In conclusion the RADSAIL PRO 6M is a good budget kite that flies very well and is built very well.I would recommend this kite,it is no Flexifoil but if your on a tight budget this is the kite for you.I have just ordered a radsail 3m and you get a 1.4m for free(skymonster kites)I will review these when I have had a chance to fly them.Thanks for reading and happy flying By : dazza larsen

First I have to say that currently I have flown only few kites... I have bought my Radsail 2.4 after few flights with my friend's Magma 3.0 and other friend's 1.5 noname 2 liner. I've choosen this kite because the price was lowest (money/area ratio) in local shop. At home: First impression was great (my first kite), the kite comes in cheapish but usable rucksack. Kite, lines and handles in main pocket and paper manual, DVD and sticker in side pocket. Manual isn't very useful at all. DVD was much more descriptive with basic introduction "how to fly". Handles was simple aluminum curved tubes with soft foam grips. Grips slides on the aluminum tube over time. Ropes in the handles was protected against pruning by pieces of soft plastic tube (which fell out of tube first time I flew the kite - so useless). All lines was same lenght but each with different colour (will be useful if there will be one colour for main lines and another for breaks). Seems ok to me. The kite itself seems ok as far as I can say. In air: It has almost same pull as friends 1.5 noname 2 liner (big big disappointment) and much lower pull than Magma 3.0 The side ends of kite keep flapin in the wind like mad Kite usually kink up in the middle while turning, especially in low winds. The shape looks very creasy all the time. But it flies! It looks terrible but still it keeps in the air when others go down. In 8ms+ winds it works awesome and it pulls more than enough for beginner. Kite is nicely responsive and fly even with that terrible kink in the middle or when 1/2 kite drags on the ground (bad timing). The kite seems to be losing lot of speed and responsivity by approaching edge of the flight window (comparing with magma 3.0). Conclusion: Overall impression isn't so bad. It is ok kite to learn basics and have enough pull in good wind. The price is nice. Maybe there are other cheap beginner kites with better quality? By : synek_petr

IntroThis was my first 'proper' powerkite after my argos affair (check my other review). It was also one of the first things I bought with my own money (I was 14 at the time ). In the end I paid £110 for it, brand new, RTF. It was the newer 2007 model which I like to call the Pro III, even though apparently this isn't correct but whatever, saves confusion with the other Pro models. It's the one with the graphics printed on both sides anyway. So I was, needless to say, excited for the arrival of my new powerkite. Bearing in mind, I'm writing this review after owning this kite for 2 years. The Bag First looking on the bag it looks like your average backpack, could easily pass off as a normal school backpack. Said 'Radsails' and '4.0m' on it if I recall correctly, dont remember so well and why's this? Well becuase the bloody thing fell apart within a month Hah. The seam where the straps attach to the bag completely ripped. So it wasn't brilliant quality, but it looked nice, and it did it's job while it lasted. Also was color matched to the kite which was nice. I ended up replacing the bag with some Airwalk bag which was much better quality. But like they say, you don't fly the bag so lets move on. First Impressions of the Sail I unpacked the kite in my living room when I first recieved it to check everything out... wow this this was BIG compared to my old 2m Argos kite (which come to think of it, really couldn't of been 2m). But looking over the kite, nothing looked terribly bad on it, in fact it all looked very good. All the stitching was nice, admitedly I noticed a few dodgy/wavey sewing, nothing major though. Another big plus is that there is mesh covering the vents, very nice thing to have on a kite, stops leaves/grass/clums of sand/dogs/children getting sucked inside. Also surprising to see this on a budget kite! The graphics of the kite were also nice, white/orange/black where the colours of the 4 metre, other kites in the series have the same graphics with white/black but with a different colour to represent the size. I.e; white/yellow/black is the 3m, white/blue/black is the 5m, white/red/black is the 6m and white/grey/black is the 7m. Graphics were also printed on BOTH sides of the sail which I think is nice as the previous Radsails only have the graphics printed on the side facing the pilot, with the top side being plain white. Overall, pretty good, not brilliant, doesn't match Ozone/Flexifoil standards but it doesn't cost Ozone/Flexifoil prices either ;P. But still, it felt very nice and crunchy. Bridles, Lines and Handles Bridles were nice and thick, they were a bright green aswell, looked pretty good. Only complaint about the thick bridles is that the knots were also fairly large, so sometimes I got the kite out, tried to launch, and itd just spin/crash/implode, and I'd have no idea why, originally I thought something had broken, but turns out one of the knots had snagged on the bridles, was hard to spot, so be sure to check that out . Lines, didn't seem up to much, they were rated at 158kg/60kg. 60kg brake lines didn't inspire alot of confidence, but otherwise they seemed fine, no stretching or anything, they were nice and even in length aswell. And now the handles, I really didn't like the handles, while they were loads better than the handles included with the previous Radsails, they were covered in a very hard plastic/rubber that really made your hands hurt after awhile of use. Very much alike the handles that come with the HQ Beamer II. I'd recommend using gloves with these handles, your hands will appreciate it. The handles did come with these caps that you put on the top and bottom of the handles in which you wrap the lines around in a figure of 8. Before I learnt to parapack I used the winders as they stopped me from tangling the lines beyond belief. Overall though, the supplied handles do their job. But what's this... No kite killers! Get some, ASAP! The kite also came with some basic printed instructions, and tutorial DVD (which is pretty good for learning the basics) and a sticker. Let's move on to the important bit... Flying! Well, first time I took the kite out, it wasn't exactly windy, I still remember my first session well, at a guess it was around 6-10mph. Unpacked everything, with that weird feeling you get in your stomach when you're excited, launched up and... wow! This thing is completely different to that argos kite, the amount of power i got from the kite was unbelieveable. Flew around for awhile, getting dragged around like a ragdoll, all good fun. Fortunately (unfortunately?) I don't have any tales of how I almost died using it or anything particulary crazy, sorry . The kite was nice and smooth throughout the window, and it'll happily sit at the edge of the window doing nothing if theres a constant breeze, in lumpy winds it will lose power at the edge then will drift back into the center of the window, as opposed to luffing and opening up in the middle of the window with a bang. Saying that though, it has happened a few times, but I suppose thats unavoidable. Brake response at first was non existant, the kite flew fine, but it felt 'empty' while flying, kind of hard to explain. So I adjusted the lines, made the brakes tighter and it was MUCH better. Much more responsive, aswell as slightly more powerful. For scudding and such, the kite produced plenty of power I think. If the wind was nice and constant, +8mph, I was more than able to go into an infinite scud, figure of 8's just kept the kite pulling me, I'd always run out of field space before the kite gave up. While it took me awhile to get to the stage of learning to properly pendulum jump, I could do it with much ease with the Radsail. For real jumping to start though, the wind really had to be over 12mph. Above that it was great, nice smooth jumps, there was no ripping me off my feet unexpectedly, however, alot of the times, the jumps weren't particulary floating and you would come down with quite abit of weight. But for a beginner, the jumping capabilities are more than adequate. Buggying and boarding? Well I haven't made extensive use of the Rad with these, but the times I did, especially with buggying, the Rad seemed perfectly suited to buggying, nice smooth pull. Anything changed throughout the 2 years I've owned the kite? No not really I did however, quickly swap out the supplied handles with soem Flexifoil handles with killers. It was my main kite throughout the whole of the time, helped me develop my skills to no end and in my opinion is the perfect kite for a beginner who wants to get seriously into powerkiting. I tried a HQ Beamer II 3.6m, and well I just didn't like it, wasn't anywhere near as powerful as the Radsail, and the Beamer's lift was nothing compared to the Rad. Yes I know, the Beamer isn't made for lift, but I think, becuase of it's very weak lift, a beginner will outgrow the Beamer very quickly, which isn't the case with the Radsail. For the 2 years, the Radsail has been out in a large variety of wind speeds, 2mph to 20mph. Inland fields to beaches, in every condition the Radsail never failed to disappoint. It was always a thrill to use. Although, I did recently sell the kite, becasue I did feel it was time to move on. In winds from 5-15mph the kite while still strong for other people who were new to powerkiting, for me I just felt underpowered, however, above 18mph and it'd get abit hairy, the kite would be quite twitchy and was surprisingly lifty, it'd also be prone to overflying, luffing, the exploding open in the center of the window. So I sold the kite to a friend of mine who got hooked into powerkiting via the Rad. It survived 2 years with me, with getting thrashed around, with many newbies using it, and through all that, it's just abit muddy, only visible thing thats wrong now is that the mesh covering the vents is slightly frayed on a few cells. I foresee this kite powering on for a long time to come! Conclusion Having tried a wide variety of different kites; Beamers, Bullets, Blades, Samurais, I can safely say the Radsail Pro III does exceedingly well in comparison to these, being a budget beginner/intermediate kite I'd have no problems recommending this as a first kite (the 4 metre one anyway). While it has it's flaws, being a budget kite I'd have expected much worse. I think the fact that this kite has stuck with me for 2 years and only moved away to progress further into power kiting says alot. Bag: 4/10 Kite Sail: 8/10 Bridles/Lines: 8/10 Handles: 6/10 Overall: 8/10 Pro's: Cheap. Not easy to outgrow. Excellent performer. Suits static flying, buggying and boarding. Stands up to wear and tear very well. Con's: Naff handles. Twitchy in high winds. In high winds likes to luff and explode open in the middle of the window. Experienced flyers will prefer a more powerful/lifty foil. By : Cyph3r

I have been kiting for around a year now, started off with a 2 stacked flexifoil super 10's. Figured its time to go 4-Line, initially I was looking at a Rage 4.7 / Blade 4.9 but one day while flying at the beach came accros a guy flying a Radsail Pro 6m, impressed with what I saw I decided to try one out, at the price that they go for I would have been stupid not to,decided on the 4m as its my 1st 4line. I am about 1.8m tall 88 kilograms so figured i could hold it. Weather sucked the weekend I got it, so the initial inspection was on the lounge floor. I was impressed with the kite itself, considering its price, even comparing it to my flexifoils. The bag is perfect for its purpose, not that high quality but I bought a kite not a bag so I was happy with it. It fits the kite in and the handles with ease. The lines looked rather thin and cheap though, which was my only real worry, I believe they are 158kg/60kg. Handles seemed decent enough, although I cannot compare as I havent used any other. One thing which really impressed me was the caps that you place on the ends of handles which are used as the winder - brilliant idea - the handles themselves become the winder so there is no disconnecting any lines. Maiden voyage: Took it to the local beach - wind was great many kitesurfers out maybe a bit too strong for a maiden voyage but there was no way in hell I was going to wait. The handle winder system made setting up really easy, was ready to go within 2 or 3 minutes. Picked up the handles, lines became taught and kite took its shape without taking flight, a gentle pull on the control lines saw the kite lift into the zenith in all its glory - a very decent pull sent me scudding allong the beach a few metres. With the kite above me could feel it tring to lift me off the ground, I "tried" a pedulum jump, having the kite take me a good few meters after a few tries.Braught the kite into the power zone saw me scudding like mad. What amazed me was the stability of the kite, I could bring the kite to corner of the window, very low and just walk the kite a bit while I gave my wrists a break, the brakes work well to. The lines which I was initially worried about are working well after a few flights, I think I was comparing to my flexi lines which is a bit unfair. Over all I am very impressed, would reccomend it to anyone.

Just over a month ago, I was a complete novice when it came to kite flying. My experience with kites was one from the early learning centre. . . Anyway, we were in Fleetwood and we just happened to go down to the beach. We watched the kites for a while before going into the shop for a look around. The thing that most caught my eye was the large variety of kites available. My budget, however, was small. So therefore, I bought a little beginners kite. It was very easy to set up, with only a few larks head knots (at that time known to me only as the twisty thing) needed to have it ready for flying. It isn't the best made kite, but as it is only £20, this is to be expected. However, it must be very strong as I flew it in confirmed 40 mph winds without anything breaking! It withstood a very strong beating as I regularly crashed it at full speed on to the beach. It is easy to fly, except in low winds when it has decreased responsiveness. When in a moderate to strong wind, it is quick and agile and turns easily. It stays easily at the zenith and rarely stalls. It is especially good for a beginner who wants to gain experience with this kind of kite but without the power found with larger kites. I especially enjoyed flying this kite, as we were out for at least 3 or 4 hours each day. I think that this kite is fantastic for beginners and children. It is safe to fly in high winds, as the kite will break before any injury is sustained. However, if you want a traction kite, or a kite with a large amount of power, this is not the kite for you. For £20 however, it has definitely given me the bug for kiting. By : crazy-fish

well ive had this afew months now and its still goin well have been no injuries to kite or me. it was my first kite of this nature and it was great for a first kite and i still use it for my high wind kite when my beamer has me 6ft into the air without me expecting it ( im only a small guy) the packaging i thought the rucksack looked abit big and non-proffesional but you get round it. also the quality of the bag was very bad, because i found that the elastic on the front stretched out and wouldnt go back to its original length, and that within the first few weeks the zip to the front pocket had broken though the main zip works well. An upside to the size is that you can fit a ukulele into the bag. the quality overall its alright but the lines didnt feel that strong but they have held nicely. Although saying this the fabric of the actual kite its self is very good. the looks i think its a good looking kite with the white background and light blue strips i think it works well with the shape that it has (quite thin and long depending on the size). I have also come to the opinion it looks quite graceful in a high wind when its handeling is best the setup i soon found that the control lines were too long which i had to spend a which l had to spend a while sorting out which wasnt so fun but after i did it made such a huge difference to how the kite felt when holding handles, other than this minor problem the rest has been sweet as. the flying part it has problems with launching, in that in a low wind its assent is very slow, even in high winds its not particularly fast and takes some manouvering so that it will go up, because it seems to go through phases of slow and fast as it climbs, it does the same when flying.i have found that it has various power "bands" which makes it quite difficult to predict when actually flying so not hugely great for absolute beginners ( my dad has an ancient 6ft flexifoil so i had some experience on stubborn kites) but once you have got the nack for it its a great kite that can be turned on a pin if you need to (applying an amount of brake) so a good kite which is deffinately worth the money paid for it, but i wouldnt pay much more than i did (£110) By : shinpa

Well here it is, my first kite review, and its for the Radsail Pro 3m Bought as a joint xmas 2008 pressy to myself and my wife. The previous xmas 2007 i had bought my wife a HQ Symphony 1.4, we both enjoyed flying it, especially in strong winds, and this is what gave us the urge to get somethng a bit bigger. After much deliberating we settled on a Radsail, which we bought online from Skyhigh Kites. The price was good (£125) and the delivery was very quick, After sales service was spot on as well, due to the fact that i managed to snap the accompanying dvd in half while trying to extract it from the case, Skyhigh Kites replaced the dvd ASAP no questions asked. First impressions... The bag the kite comes in is very good and seems to be pretty sturdy in construction, holding the kite and handles etc, with some space left for a few other things if need be. I was really impressed with our purchase, the attention to detail was very good, the material of the kite did scare our dog though, its very noisy when you unwrap it, the bridles look to be made from quality line, with the control lines themselves being of good quality and, i think may be coated (not sure). I must point out at this stage that i knew nothing about checking line lengths etc, i have checked them since, (last week 10/5/08) and the brake lines are around 4cm shorter than the powerlines, wether this is down to stretch on the powerlines or they have always been this length, i do not know, BUT, this has not affected the handling of the kite at all, so my guess is that they could possibly have been like this when i received them. We had never used a 4 line kite before so the DVD was essential for us, more reason to panic when i broke the damn thing in half. Once viewed though, we felt more confident, and in all honesty, once you get the kite and lines out it is pretty well obvious how things connect up, we had the lines connected in no time at all. Now we just had to wait for some decent wind. First flight... It was nearly 2 weeks before we got some decent weather and enough wind to try our new baby. Setting up on this occasion took 10 or 15 minutes, mainly because of our previous experience only being with a 2 line kite. There was a reasonable wind, tops of trees moving, not sure of actual wind speed though. Once everything was laid out, i pulled back on the handles and the kite went straight up, no problems at all, the power was instant and the smile on my face massive. I gave it a few minutes flying, and pretty soon picked up the idea of controlling/turning the kite. Next up, i handed the handles to my wife, she launched the kite perfectly, but the power scared her and after only 30 seconds or so she passed the handles to me. Ive been trying to get her to fly it since in lower wind conditions, but she still preffers to watch for now. (Have since bought a Big Buzz to try and entice her up towards the Rad). Since that first flight i have been out many times, the second flight was almost a disaster due to my inexperience and lack of respect for the wind, i was pulled through the air around 3m, not sure at what height, hurriedly packed up, and my next purchase was a wind meter to give me a better idea of what i am dealing with. The kite is great for scudding or just a good workout, im sure if i ever decide to go further and maybe try landboarding this kite will certainly pull me along. The handles/line winder that come with the Radsail are great, why cant the other manufacturers take note, packing/setup is a breeze with the caps at each side of the winder. I can be unpacked and in the air in 3 to 5 minutes, and packed up around the same. I did notice a few times early on that the powerlines and breaklines can get tangled on take off due to the huge knots, so laying them well apart before hand is very important to avoid coming straight back down to earth, something you learn with experience. Overall i think this is a great kite, just the right size for starting out on the bigger kites, and i would recommend it to anyone. By : gorf

Kite : Radsail 1.45 (2005) Size : 145 x 59 cm. Fabric : 136 gr. ripstop 42 gr. Lines : 2 x 35m. dacron 75 kg. Packaging Neat little plastic wallet with the kite folded flat, web handles and lines separate. There's even a sticker in there, which came off and stuck itself in a crumpled mess to the brochure for Radsail's other kites and boards. Setting Up Simply put, a doddle, no problem at all. The instructions weren't especially clear, but then I only looked at them after I'd setup the kite. I didn't have any trouble with the thick Dacron lines being of different length. Mine were spot on. First Flights Had to wait a while to get it in the air, but wanted to try it out before the kids got hold of it. Took it to Castletown beach in my Friday lunch hour in light 4 - 7mph wind. It did fly, just. Well, it went up and in the occasional stronger gusts it responded to the lines which looked distinctly heavy as they looped upto the kite. Luffing was a distinct problem in these light airs, but I guess that's only to be expected. Second outing was much more successful. 17mph winds and the little Rad put some weight into the lines and went zipping across the wind window. Figure 8's, power dives, low passes and combinations were all easily performed with the Rad responsive to the handles. The thin web handles were not the most comfortable to use, but they are better than the plastic grip things the kids are used to using. So how did the kids get on.? Ages 8 and 10 they put the little Rad through hell and back. Slamming it into the beach repeatedly, dragging it along the sand trying to get it in the air like they did with their single string 'Fimbles' kite. Yanking on the lines for all they were worth, totally over compensating for turns and slamming it into the beach again! Did I mention the dives from the zenith, straight through the power window and into the deck with my son shaking his head saying ... 'That killed the pilot' ? Well you get the idea, but they loved it and in the end they did actually have some control. How did the Rad stand upto it? ... not a mark, nothing. Top marks for that. Onto the next level... 25mph with sharp gusts upto 35mph. It really does have some pull once the wind gets up a bit. The kids were skipping all over the field in the gusts laughing as their arms are yanked straight. The kite was zipping around totally demented, responding to the slightest pulls on the lines. Marvelous fun, even I had to smile. The gusts did cause problems at the edge of the window where a bag of washing was a regular occurrence. Keep it in a narrower window than the lighter winds and all is just grand. Conclusion Cheap kite, great fun when the winds get up, but even better to teach the kids a few basics when there is some weight in the lines. Built strong enough to take the abuse. Would I get another? I might just because this is a stacking kite and the kids want to feel more pull. Also they would have one each when not stacked. Expect another report of this kite stacked if it happens. By : Custheyder

As with most people on this site I have caught the powerkiting bug ! Ive been only flying two lines (to date) of the Radsail range 1.45 and 1.8. Onto the 1.8m. In winds of 18mph + what a buzz! The thing flys well with all existing lines as they come. The quality of the kite is as expected at this price point. Good beginners but not for the slightly faint hearted (or for the kids in my experience). I so wish I had videoed my 13 yr old son face planting into a muddy puddle the other Sunday. The kite looks ot be very stable and loves the higher winds rather than below 12-15mph. It being two line means that there is no real way to relaunch except by either patience or the use of a willing and seemingly bored family member. I cannot imagine this is of any real use except with feet (sliding) on the ground. Power isn't bad in high winds. I have sat on my bottom a few times trying to balance out the kite when pushing it through the power window to then be pulled back off my behind at the next pass. I'm 5'10" and pretty damn heavy - love this being pulled around stuff so far. Value for money I think is high - you can go and get some chinese stuff cheaper - but as long as you can stand the stigma of not owning a Flexi or Ozone you cannot do a great deal better. The only modification I have made is slight. The use of a flying two line bar with one sided kite killer is a welcome addition - now my son can watch the darn thing go without me panicking too much. ! Also I have tried stacking the 1.8 behind a Rad145 using the smaller kites connections. It was fun and worked quite well. Increased pull was not significant but they did look cool flying together. Would I recommend a 1.8m Radsail - for a beginner its a resounding yes. I keep mine in the boot of the car and find myself looking at the weather forecast all the time. Next item will be either a 3m Pro 3 or BeamerIII or Buster. Still not sure !! So many things to get and so little time off work! By : muddy_b

Well as every time I log on to Racekites I feel I'm being ticked off for not having written a review I thought I had better get writing. It just happens that this weekend I have something to review, and it looks like the first review for this kite. If somebody told me I'd be flying (or reviewing) a radsail I wouldn't have answered politely. But here I am. Actually I was after a Scrub Vapour, thinking about starting to board to make use of the smaller flying sites closer to home. I found one on Ebay as part of a kite/board/lid package which I won for 200 quid. So I paid full price for the Vapour and a 30 squid lid and got a £240 kite gratis. Well you never heard such a drawn out excuse for someone owning a Radsail!! So... I've got a new kite, and if you've got a new kite it ain't staying in the bag too long. As luck would have it I managed to get two outings in this weekend. Saturday: Turned up at Camber Sands nine am ish. The wind was cross/onshore and blowing a goodun. Couldn't say exactly how fast as the battery had died in my meter but it was strong enough to blow the buggy down the beach on it's own. It must have been quite amusing to see me try to step into a buggy that wasn't there anymore. Anyway I'm still pretty much of a novice so after half an hour of scudding the Savage went back in the bag and out came faithful 2.5m Bullet and carried on buggying up and down (mostly down) the beach until the tide came in. I then moved on to Greatstone. The wind there was offshore, lumpy and much lighter so out came the Savage again. I must say it handled it well. My 5m Sammy doesn't like lumpy winds so in comparison I was impressed that this kite behaved so well. Didn't get long on it as the tide was approaching and being offshore I didn't want to get the new kite wet! Sunday: Took the long drive down to Camber again watching every flag, every twig and every loose bit of paper on the wondering where the bloody wind had gone. Got there, parked up, walked over the shingle bank and there it was 13 knots (new battery) Does it to me every time. It was more cross shore this time but still quite clean. Back out with the Savage. With the buggy it was great, plenty of pull, smooth, fairly fast, turned well and was good upwind. As it was cross shore buggy runs were very short so gave me a chance to practice turns, and had a good session of about two and a half hours before the wind dropped and I packed up. So after a couple of sessions and a mixed bag of conditions this is my opinion of the Radsail Savage 5.5: - The bag is nothing special, has a waterproof zip, no pouch for drinks etc and the pouch it does have it too small to be that useful. - The handles and lines.... Tossed them and used Flexi lines and Ozone handles and killers. - Build quality of the kite is good, better than I expected. As with most kites it has Velcro tag for lines and Velcro zips for emptying sand etc. - Colours and design are ok, not particularly special, just my opinion. - I was more than pleased with how it flew, good pull, smooth, stable, turned well, fairly quick and fairly lifty. Very good with the buggy. - One thing I didn't like was the golf ball sized knots to tie the lines to, they are so big they sometimes hook on to the other bridles spinning the kite out of control. These are definitely going before the next session!! The Savage 5.5m isn't a blade but for £240 it's a good effort and might be out of the bag more often than the 5m Sammy. By : WhiteSquall

Okay...first off...AM I THE ONLY GUY IN THE WORLD WITH AN RS 4.0????? A search of racekites and beyond has yieded no results for this size and I gotta wonder why the conspicuous exclusion???? I am new to power kiting. Got one (cobrakites...EXCELLENT service;courtesy and elivery time)late december '07 and only have about 30 mins real airtime on. I sure would be interested in any info neg or pos regarding and following is what I think: I will also say that withy respect to warnings given about starting power kiting with a two line instead of 4( I read this admonishment all over the web), I do not see the sense of it. How can having BRAKES from the beginning be bad or a confusing thing to master? the normal hand position on the handles while flying cannot accidentally actuate brakes. You gotta want brakes to get 'em. In fact you gotta want them a bit too much as the RS linmes come stock(I had to shorten mine a bit). I flew this kite first time by myself at a big baseball diamond with minimal obstructions or windshadow to deal with. wind was 10 mph gusting between 12 to 15. I got an early taste of such gust and pull and it showed me you do not get distracted EVER when you get a kite of any size off the ground. I found myself listening to the trees up wind so I could hear gusts before they got to me(seconds later). My first time out was very dynamic and exciting for sure! I found the kite to be easy to control as long as I stayed relaxed and did not let the kite control me. Even when I was sliding on my butt across the grass(a few times)I put the kite where I wanted it for the most part. I have some hang gliding experience, so I am not afraid of flying things where my feet are still going to be on the ground! In fact..after this first power kiting experience I thought that it would be MOST WISE for anyone who teaches paragliding or hang gliding to FIRST have their students learn the composure ; attention and commitment to clear minded control of an airfoil that can be very and suddenly challenging, than to be confused or experience 'air-shock' for the first time when your WHOLE BODY has been commited to whatever errors in judgment you make. Power kiting wakes you up to what the air really is...a living and dynamic force that you have to cooperate with, or pay the consequences. I have already zoomed my PK into the ground and it makes a pretty good THUD, for being a couple sheets of fabric!!!. Relaunch and get better....WAY better than a hospital trip. since I launch alone...i went to the scuba dive store and bought 4 of those nylon bagged dive weights(2 pounds each). I found these to be a GREAT way to weight down the trailing edge while you get to the handles and ready to fly. Once you raise the LE of the kite just enough to puff(but not launch)the weights still hold fine. Take sta step back and pull on the control lines and the nylon outer shell of the bag allows the trailing edge to slide out as the kite takes off. I also use these to hold the kite in various states of fold when I am packing up. I also made a couple of velcro bridle 'keepers' that help eliminate any bridle line tangle or confusion. I made my own kite killers with some nylon strapping and two plastic gated clips. Work great. Thye bottom line is flying...besied the helpful gizmos and so I will share my so far experience with flying the RS 4.0. have no idea if it conmpares to other sizes of RS kites? I CAN say I was comfortable and in control of this kite very soon and so the beginner issue is not so much an issue as it might be with somebody more timid or whatever else might get in the way...? I don't know if it is a fast turning kite as i have nothing*but YTube vids!)to compare to. Seemed pretty fast but I can imagine faster as well. I was making som dramatic pulls and even coordinating brakes to speed the kite turning. Not boring! Overall speed? I don't know what 4.0's of other brands do? I am on 82 foot lines and I suppose some of the kites on horter lines will for real or appear to fly faster(or just cover the window left to right faster due to shorter lines)? I don't really concerm myself with all that kind of variable...at this point anyway. Just like I don't think about Ferarri performance as I drive my '89 dodge truck! Which is fun to me. Back to the kite... Pardon the negative first but I notice that at least half the time I have the kite less than 12 feet off the ground in any decent wind, it spins like a mofo. Thye lines are fine...groudn flat and it is centered in wind when this occurs. Above '12' feet all eles being the same...never happens without me making it . When it happens on the ground, I have tried opposite brake with and without opposite direction input and it only sometimes works. I am not experiencing weird flight control anomalies(time for a Star Trek term to be inserted) when the kite is higher. When I take it to the extreme edge of the window the tip on that side will luff and fold a little. I would expect that. It definitely DOES overfly at zenith. If I take it up there fast it is going to overfly...and even at not top speed I find myself hitting the brakes a tad just before it gets to the top. That is the WORST...having the kite tumbling and tumbling and getting all screwed up from the highest place in the window! I am VERY seriously considering addins some small fabric loops on at the bottom of the airfoil leading edge and running a very thin carbon (or?)rod across the span. The kite will still have the flex it needs but it will not then be able to have tips blow under bridle lines or get too twisted up. I'm thinking this little bit of extra support may be a good thing. Ri8gging it would be easy. any input on this from anybody who KNOWS for real; firsthand what the results are? are appreciated. I know that hang gliders have a distinct advantage due to the rigid supports they have. A little such support seems like it would be an advantage to power kiting? Even an inflatable bowkite is more rigid due to airpressure in it's frame. Those keep their basic shape even in a crash. the other challenges to flying this have been some pretty big and quick directional changes in wind...so that in one moment I am perfectly in the window and the next(in a coupld of instances)I am very far outside of it and the kite goes from power to sour in about 1 second; leaving me nothing I can do. It is very cool when the kite dies and before it hits the ground after looking very hopeless...the right line input and SNAP!!...it all comes to life again and shoots skyward! I know I will get better on this thing and I look forward to more consistent spring and summer winds/cycles. But even though the winds are manic right now I could not wait to get any time on this thing that I can. Anybody who flies anything(without a motor)KNOWS that you are at the mercy of the wind and you may be setting up to go home with NO flights at times. So any fight time is great. I also went to true value(ace or???)and got a couple 6; fiberglass garden stakes. I sharpened one end of each like a pencil(ground is frozen here currently!)and taped approx 2" by 30" strips cut from a garbage bag(very light plastic)to the other ends. Makes cheap but sturdy wind flags. I spread them apart at either side of the overall window. I like them because they show me when the wind is better on one side over the other or even quite different. Also: I don't know about lift comparisons among PK's ...I realise that a RS is not going to be a huge lift generator. I had this thing at or near zenith(the only way it could lift one STRAIGHTish up)in some big wind and it lifted me about 2 fee off the ground(I'm 185 at 6'). but when you race it back and forth at about 1 to 3 o:clock it really pulls well. I did some pretty good slides. Of course the big lift kites are big bucks and designed more for. Saving for one even now. Hope to hear from anybody about RS 4.0 (or???). Appreciate the forum for all the good vibes and info. I hope to eventually get on something...be it a board or a buggy. Isn't it weird the order things happen sometimes!? Hang gliding explodes in the 70's and 80's...THEN paragliding kicks in big time(in europe long before US)and THEN Power kiting technology takes off. Seems kind of backwards to me. Sure is cool though!!!! I remember the first day I flew a kite as a kid, and the first day I got a decent airtime flight in a hang glider. It was the SAME kind of feeling (given the age I was during each experience). My 'help me get a gyrocopter' fund at work only got a nickel in three months of the can being nailed to the wall(nobody can say they did not see it!), so having a power kite and the thrill of that has helped me not be so depressed. I guess the only real thing I have not enjoyed about this kite is the out of nowhere spinning (even with neutral input)that not infrequently occurs near the ground. Most times I can back it down with brakes and it responds very surely to brake input to keep it balanced all the way to relaunch readiness. So it kind of miffs me when at other times it starts 'break dancing' right before I get it down!!!! I like this thing. I have read that PK's are addicting and they are! My last two flight days were 25 degrees(not including windchill)and 10 to 15 mph winds. I am NOT a cold weather person. But I wanted to fly this thing! By : shoegooguru

This is the second kite I bought brand new it comes with lines, handles and obviously the kite. A bit disappointing was the lack of kite killers (which I think should be standard issue) and ground stake. It did come with handy hats for the handles to wind the lines on to if you don't parapack. The only downside was the bag, the main zip lasted two outings before it broke, so I replaced the bag with one off the market. Setting up was nice and easy as the lines were attached to the handles already and at the other end they were clearly marked with a bit of card. The bridle unravelled easily and again there was a bit of card explaining which was which bridle. This I can see as being very helpful if it's your first kite as it took me a while to work it all out the first time. My first flight was in about 5mph wind and I wasn't expecting it to fly but you still have to have a go when it first arrives. It did fly, not much pull and no lift but what do you expect in 5mph winds. A couple of weeks later the wind picked up to around 15mph and it was in it's zone. There was good predictable pull and it came on gently instead of ripping your arms off, it's very stable and easy to fly. There is a good amount of lift and it doesn't dump you on the ground after. I've managed 6 foot jumps flying it static on a harness easily. When on the board it delivered good speed nice pull and moved my boarding on lots, still haven't managed to jump with it on my board. I would certainly recommend this kite to anyone, it's build quality design and pure fun factor is fantastic. 10/10 By : Gaddy

First kite! I did a bit of practice on a Radsail 3m with some handy scudding experience but found after a couple of hours I was getting a bit bored. So I looked at some options for a cheap entry into kiting, having realised I wanted to be moving along. My only other experience being witha 5m with no brakes (removed to increase performance!!!!!!!) No idea what it was but it was too big. Skymonster were doing a deal with the Creek Canyon orangy board thing so I was committed! Firstly, lets get the bag out of the way as that seems to be the current hobby. ITS A BAG! Ok, back to the kite, I had read that the handles were a bit cheap and nasty. Personally I have found them Ok. Still working and I found that when I pull one the kite turns so I decided not to be too snobbish about it. I do occasionally get sore fingers where they are around the top strings but I have to be out for three to four hours first. Setting up was easy, strings were all the right length so I put them on, checked again because it seemed too good to be true and then I was off. It scared the pants off me. My mate davehippy was flying his 3m radsail again, scudding about and I was quite dubious about getting full on into the wind so I kept it to the edge of the window to start with. Its very easy to do this with the kite because it is so manouverable. In fact I was on my board after half an hour. I parapacked first time after reading about it on this site! so easy! Up and at 'em in about two minutes. The board is OK, I found it better to start with then a flexi I tried simply because it doesn't turn so easily and I was more interested in getting moving and keeping moving. Combined with the kite they are a good match in winds over 10mph. I found it easy to get going, using the kite over to one side of the window and then building my courage and moving it further into the middle of the wind. It does take a lot of moving around to keep the power on other than in very strong winds, so much so that I have it doing figure eights in the air to keep the power on. At first I could not go across the wind and only moved downwind but now I can tack sometimes, although I always lose ground eventually. This seems to be because it has a narrower window to work in in than say a beamer 3.6 I flew on the same day, or it may be that it needs 30m lines instead of 25m. So I have to have the kite lower and nearer the middle than a better quality kite. I also have the luffing problem I have read about from other members. As recommended a quick application of the brakes soon bring it around and tweaking one brake as it turns means it will turn very tightly. There is no pull at the top of the window, in fact it will collapse if it is too high. and has a habit of tucking one end or the other into the middle and then needing an untangle before flight but as I get more used to it I find it easier to catch it. I dont see other kites doing it and I dont do it with other kites so I assume it is a 'feature' of the radsail. When it does collapse it does usually easily catch the wind and reinflate, very often just before it hits the ground. Its very easy to take off upside down and then flip around when it does nosedive When its staked out it looks like a pile of rags, I found that if is allowed to partially inflate it starts hopping around with a life of its own. I notice more expensive kites will happily sit on the ground with the front edge up and not try to take off like this does. I have found the radsail to be an OK kite, looking at it from a quality point of view I have no complaints although it does look a bit cheap next to a beamer. After about 20 hours of flying I have found it to be a good starter kite. The strings have stretched a bit so they needed adjustment the other day. Although I am looking for another now and thinking depowerable because I use the board I would not sell the Radsail. I have noticed other people with the same view. It's so predictable and easy to control that I have found that when boarding I just keep it further to the edge of the window if it's blowing a bit. Also when on the beach it was totally predictable. Overall, am I glad I bought it? Yes. and although it does make me want a bigger one I have not considered Radsail for my next kite. I will buy a smaller one soon for the very windy days though as the 3m is just so much fun and so cheap. Of course having read all this you may think I haven't got a clue. You're probably right! But I am addicted and skip work at any opportunity (not many at the moment but I keep trying!!) just so I can go flying. Now while I was writing this I noticed the Ozone Access is on sale......... hmmmmm! By : wibbley

What my quiver of kites really lacked was a usable foil for stronger winds and something for my 12 year old son to get into four lines and not worry me too much. I read all the reviews and knew I needed something with a bit of lift (so being good for jumping and boarding) BUT on a really tight budget. If I had limitless resources it would have been a blade but we can’t always have what we want. I don’t buy second hand kites – it just seems too dodgy to entrust your safety (and kids) to something where the history is not fully known – don’t know whether I’m being overly cautious? The Eolo Radsails ProII 3.0m seemed to fit the bill and I shopped around eventually going with Mistral Kites for around £140 p&p free. As with all purchases of this kind I couldn’t wait and sure enough after ordering from Matt on the phone a kite arrived the next day – the wrong kite! They sent the standard Rad by mistake, a quick call to Matt resulted in serious heartfelt apologies and after much effort (and expense) on his part he got the right kite to me THE NEXT DAY. I don’t know whether I’m allowed to give dealer feedback in reviews or not but the service I received from Matt at Mistral was exceptional, mistakes happen but the speed and the way this was sorted out was above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks Matt. I like the bag! Nuff said. Handles seem OK too quite comfy enough although the little plastic bit supposed to shield the leaders where they meet the bar keep slipping out, I suppose it doesn’t really matter but overall the quality is not up to Flexifoil or Quadrifoil standards, but then this is a budget kite. The leaders themselves also seem a little short to what I’m used too, maybe reducing the effectiveness of kite killers (not included in the package) but then this is a budget kite. Handles are better than the ones that arrived with the standard Rad though. Lineset is the usual but the brake line rating seems a bit scant, 60kg apparently. Is this enough? Time will tell although I don’t want a brake line to fail at the wrong moment so a line upgrade may follow, but then this is a budget kite. Sail seems well made and bridles well put together, sturdy and coloured nicely which makes sorting out and tangles easy, also easy to check that all is OK pre-launch. The sail looks nice with black; red and grey wingtips but why not continue the colour to the reverse side? Overall the construction and finish reminded me of a Symphony rather than a blade, but then this is a budget kite. First flight was on top of the Devils Dyke! It was just the first opportunity I had, not ideal but the wind was fairly light and clean with few folk about. From the outset it was clear the break lines were way too long and I ended up taking about 23cm out of the lines. When it was just right the kite flew and responded really well, very easy to fly in that clean breeze, sat at the zenith patiently and at the edges of the window, power was what I expected strong but a little snatchy as befits a fairly small kite. The next day was at Goring and as the tide was out we headed to the sand for a real test, wind was probably about 10-15mph and this suited a really good test for me and my 12 year old son. The flight characteristics were very smooth and predictable with low passes feeding in loads of power to get me scudding (11stone of weakling) with a fair amount of lift although higher winds required for jumps. Landing seems quite jerky on the brakes but easy enough. Handed over the handles to son who weighs considerable less than me so he scudded much further! After an hour we had proved that the kite was OK, a joy to fly recreationally and, most importantly the right size for a 12yr old with lots of kite experience in these winds. Next time out was at my local flying field, typical lumpy wind 5-25mph and changing direction constantly (I’m used to it!) For me I would have been reluctant to put up a 5m kite due to the severity of the gusts but the Rad was perfect. There was a certain amount of instability at the edges of the window, to be expected in these winds but overall the kite flew like a dream, more scudding from the 12yr old (see pic hopefully) and some quite impressive air too. Overall then: Although “but then this is a budget kite” I can see very little to reflect this in the way the kite is put together and, most importantly, in the way it flies. There are loads of people out there looking to get into the sport and I can’t fault the Radsail for being an excellent entry level foil. 3m seems to be about the right size for a beginner or younger flyer. For more experienced pilots who, like me, want to be able to fly in all conditions this kite hits the nail on the head. The only thing I am concerned about is the weedy brake line strength. I would like to think that this kite now completes my quiver (10 kites last count) but I know this is not true! Maybe I’ll win the lottery soon and buy all the Blades (or Crossfires)….maybe… Will post more when I have tried it as a board engine etc

When I bought this kite, i was a total beginner. I'd never flown a 4 line kite before... come to think of it, I'd never flown a 2 line kite before either. I didn't know anyone else with at kite at the time, and hadn't ever seen one being flown, so I really didn't have a scooby. With my complete lack of knowledge about anything kite related, I pitched up at Sky High Kites wondering how much these things cost. After some deliberations, I ended going for the 2.4 - it came with a "free" 1.4 duel line babyfoil, so I thought that I couldn't really go wrong. It all arrived as expected and I unpacked. At first glance everything seemed ok, so I stuck the instruction DVD in the machine, and made myself sit through tedious, but informative and clear instructional video clips. I now knew what to do, so armed with this information, and a windy weekend in Derbyshire with some chums, I headed out to the field next to where we were staying. First flight: It was... a bit windy. I'm guessing something like 15mph, so knowing that I ought to be a bit sensible, I got the little 1.4m fella out first, set it up, and up it went. Left, right... job done. Down it came, away it went, never to be used again... by an adult 🙂 So, I unpacked the 2.4, did exactly what the DVD said by way of set up, and then came the moment off truth. Up she went... left... right.... down a bit.... *splat* After a few more repetitions, I knew vaguely what I was doing, and flew till my hands ached. That was my first flight. I've had that kite a while now, and have beasted it as hard as is possible, so think that now is the time to reflect on build quality etc. Rucksack: Crap. Not a lot else to say. 2nd time out one of the shoulder straps snapped clean off. I tied it back which did the trick. After about half a dozen times out, the zip broke.... safety pin fixed that until the whole think just fell apart in my hands. So i binned it. Handles: Not in the same league of crapness as the bag, but still not great. Brushed aluminium, and reasonably tough. The leaders are essentially made of rope, and are sleeved at the handle with a rubbishy bit of squidgy plastic which chafes the fingers. The grips are basically coloured foam glued on. I guess they do the job. You hold them, and they feel ok, and you can use them to move the kite about. If you handle wrap with damp lines, then the foam won't last. Mine are looking a bit worse for wear after only 6 months. (One thing i have noticed with the foam is that because it has more give, and is softer than eg, regular HQ or Flexi handle grips, if you have soft hands like the wife, then you won't blister as easily as you might with other handles. ) Lines: The kite is supplied with pre stretched 25m dyneema lines. They have a breaking strength of 100Kg for the control lines and 60Kg for the break lines. The 25m length is a plus. They aren't coated, so look and feel rather cordy, which means if you birds nest your lines, they are SOOOO hard to untangle. They are white with coloured (but not colour coded - why i wonder?) ends. They do the job though. Bridle & Stitching: The bridle is made of similar cordy el-cheapo material, but doesn't tangle (as it is fixed), so that isn't too bigger deal. The bridle is well stitched on to the sail, and doesn't look as if it would come away from the sail without really really trying to break it. I have to admit, I've not paid a huge amount of attention to the construction of the bridle, which I think is probably a good thing. I've not had cause to. The sail: is again well put together, and well stitched. It isn't as nicely put together as other entry level kites, but it is rock hard. On my first real windy flight with this kite, I ended up landing it in an apple tree and spent a good while rescuing it. It was so entangled, that at times I just had to pull hard, and see what happened. Thankfully the tree broke before the sail and bridles 🙂 Flying: The kite retains it's shape pretty much anywhere in the window, and it is so easy to fly. It is possible to park it right on the edge of the wind, sit it on the tip, then rotate into a climb without it losing shape. There is not a great deal of luffing, which makes this an excellent beginner kite. It is very forgiving. It is possible to fly it in as little as 4mph winds (not that you would want to but hey) and I've had this little fighter up in 30mph inland winds. On a greasy surface, it had me scudding in 15mph winds (I am 6ft and 13 stone), and above 25mph, I've even managed diddy little jumps. The scuds and jumps are small, but so is the kite! The power is reasonably smooth, and very easy to control - it doesn't take you by surprise, which is a good thing cause you don't get killers with this kite. For lighter flyers, like the wife, killers are a good investment as there is still plenty of power in the little badger. It is pretty quick through the air and in the turn. Faster than a 3m Beamer III, and faster ever than a 3.5m Bullet. This is where the most fun comes from with this kite - just for zooming through the sky, spinning, diving and climbing. The speed of the kite combined with that little bit of power means that you do feel like you have had a good workout when you fly it. There is no lift with this kite, so you can park at the zenith for a rest if your workout gets too much. I noticed that another reviewer had commented on the noise the lines and bridles make in higher winds. I kinda like it, it's cute. In conclusion: This is a recreational kite first and foremost. In a stronger wind it can get even my great bulk going on a board, and so is a good trainer for that too. You won't get many jumps out of the 2.4 unless the wind really gets up. This is a beginner kite. A training kite, and one for the quiver for those ludicrously windy days. For a complete noob, this is an excellent kite. It won't scare you, cause it can't, but there is enough in it to get you hooked, and to teach you the basics. It won't put you off because it is so easy to fly, and it won't break the bank cause... it's cheap as chips. By : The Moog

Bought this kite due to budget, i previously own a HQ Symphony 1.8 and after flying my friends 2m samurai i wanted something bigger but at a budget price. I decided on the new Radsail pro II 5m. I eventully wanted to buggy or land board, but just wanted to do recreational flying for now. So after readind a few good reviews on them i decided to but it from marion ville models. The service was great and recieved it two days later... could'nT wait to fly her PACKAGING The kite came in a well made backpack with plenty of room for other bits, not as well made as lets say flexi's or ozone's but for the price it seemed good value. The lines were good qualty too, but the handles were awfull so i bought some flexi ones. FLYING Soon as it came i took it straight to the local beach. unpacked it and... straight to the zenith with plenty of power ( wind was about 12 mph). There was a great deal of lift too and maged a few jumps. It was suprisingly stable but did overfly a bit (this is stopped by dabing the brakes) A few days later and 20 mph wind it took it to the beach agen. Considering i'm only 16 and 11 st, i'm glad i bought kite killers. It was a beast!! managed 6f+ jumps and was carried down wind a few meters and landing on my front, it was time to pack her up and wait for a calm day...lol. Overall i think for £170 it was a great buy and good for a beginner (like me). Might consider buying the 3m verson! By : andy123

After a few runs to the beach watching others and giving a try to somebody else's kite, decided it was my turn to get one and jump in the fray. The choice fell on the Radsail pro II 2m for mainly two reasons the first being the budget since I've found it for 99 euros at the decathlon shop, the second because I wanted something whose energy wouldn't have scud me around in light winds while training and would remain in use for high winds when starting to use the buggy. The package came in a backpack on which I agree with most of other reviews on the same kites, while the promo material and manual were just good for the recicle bin having already grasped the basics with the excellent how-to section of this site. The handles and bridles of the last version from Radsail are rather good on my opinion even though I've used the moulded caps for wrapping the lines only few times before start using parapacking (see further on this), but still think they are good to pack the whole thing for long trips. Since the very first time the kite looked fine and manufactured with sufficient accuracy. The only bad surprise was that the left brake line of the kite had the terminal of the same colour of the right one (green) but this is a minor mistake that I have forgiven within the first ten minutes. All the lines where the right length and the kite, once deployed on the ground with the brake line sides of the handles secured to the stake, sits half inflated without making a move until you wake it up flying. What can I say of a kite that came out of the bag since the first time and flew steady overhead without trying to overfly and never crashed unintentionally? I might have been lucky, but the training for me was very fast probably 'cause I had a sailing experience of more than thirty years and understanding of how a wing works and getting the feeling of it was a treat. After few days of static flying on the beach in Italy just few meters from my home place, I went to the middle of the Libyan Sahara (my actual workplace) with the kite and a buggy where I completed my familiarisation with both pieces of equipment. Here I found that in gusty wind, the kites as a slight tendency to be a bit "nervous" and I still need to keep an eye on it while making other manoeuvres like sitting on the buggy. This is the first time I've been using a buggy so that I can't yet make any comparison with other kites in terms of traction, but sure even with winds of 15-18 knots it gives me some hits of adrenaline on the rocky bottom we've got in this part of the desert. I've planned to purchase as the next kite a 3.5 m Cult from Ozone so that at that time I'll be able to make also some more significant conclusions by comparison. A nice addition I've made to the radsail set up, is an additional bag where I store the kite parapacking and that's why I'm no longer using the moulded caps unless I want to rationalise the stuff for a long trip. This allows me to be ready to take off in few minutes. The only suggestion I can give to those embarking into the adventure of parapacking, is that, when going downwind from the stake, if a portion of bridles come out from the bag appearing a bit tangled (i.e. loops of one line containing loops of another), just let it go for few feet and then grab the lines together with one hand and pull allowing them to slide a bit over each other, magic .... the loops are gone! and you can carry over with the rest of the job repeating the operation whenever required. I'll just add myself to the chorus of those saying that such kite is quite a bonus at such budget. Last but not least ... hope to come back again later on the same subject when I'll have gained some more experience and that somebody else can share these few impressions taking the decision to jump over the fence and go kiting. Cheers, Gianluigi (BenAli) By : BenAli

Introduction. This is my first review, I'm not usually one for writing about things I buy, but after reading the various other reviews about this kite before I bought it, I thought I would add my opinions as this brand of kite is seriously underrated! And I mean that... If there is one single word to encapsulate this kite "underrated" is it. I have been kiting best part of 6 months now, I've not flown many different makes of kite, but enough to form my own opinions on them. Build quality. Bag is what most other reviews slate, but so far so good with mine, quality is OK it looks very nice, few handy pockets and the zips are still working. But ultimately it is just a bag, if it breaks go to the local market and buy a cheap one for a fiver. Materials. Kite itself is comparable to the material on my Flexifoi, just the same and just as strong, all seems very well put together, main lines and bridal lines are strong and of good quality, all the knots are neat and tidy. Handles are comfortable, I personally find them nicer to hold than my Flexifoil ones. Flying characteristics and stability. Typically the first day I got it there was no wind, and there proceeded to be no wind for the weeks holiday I took off when I thought I would get a bit of flying in. But come the last couple of days of my holiday and the wind picked up a bit, more than enough to drag me around on my kite. (reckon its about 10-15mph) So... the lines unwind nice and easily from the handy holders that fit on the ends of the handles, unroll the kite and connect up the main and brake lines to the bridle, this couldn't be easier thanks to the cardboard holders on the lines that tell you exactly what to do. With the handles safely round my ground stake and a steady wind behind me the kite sites there all...... pert, for lack of a better word! I looks like it wants to say "Pick me up and play"!!! So helmet and pads on, pick up the handles, but some tensions on the main lines and the winds picks it up and sends it to the top, with a small forwards scud for good measure. It sits there at the top quite stable and happy, waiting for you to tell it where to go. Incidentally it is a good looking kite, I really like the white and blue colours and the nice bright bridle lines as well. Sending it round the window a few times there is not much folding at the edge of the window, nothing that a gentle pull on the handles didn't sort out. It turns surprisingly quickly, a lot faster than a Pansh Ace. I had it doing figure of eights and brake turns from one side of the window to the other resulting in some good long scuds. There is quite a lot of power on tap, but if you work the kite a bit it generates a hell of a lot more, more than enough to catch you out if your not paying attention, there is a fair amount of lift too, but nothing like a Blade of similar size. I used it solely on my board and I had it pulling me across the field in no time at all, it really is that easy to get on and play with this kite. I tried a few jumps as well, which got me in the air easy enough, jumps aren't something I'm very good at though..I spend to much time on the board to practice jumps. All in all it handles lovely and is an absolute joy to fly, you genuinely will not want to put it down. As for the best use of this kite, like above I mention I board a lot and it is perfect for this, I don't see why it would not suit buggying either. To wrap this little review up, I cannot recommend this kite highly enough, for the money £150-£170 (new) depending on where you buy it. You will not get more smiles per pound. And that is what it is all about, putting a big fat smile on your face! By : Northern Flyer

Introduction - Bought this kite off ebay and it was a bargain at only £150 (considering its the new 2006 model). Packaging- Well the zips are still rubbish and the bag isnt as good as Flexifoils, but you do get full intructions and a cool dvd teaching you how to set up/ dismatle and the basics of buggying. Quality of the kite/lines/handles The kite itself is very good quality and the material has been updated , my 4m is still going strong after nearly 2 years. The handles are constructed very well and the lines are also very well made, (supposibly stronger than those on a blade 6.6). there is also a new "winding up system, for easy winding and unwinding which works well. Looks- Black grey and white printed on both sides - very sleek and sexy. Flight - only took 5mins to set up , launches first time and produces a huge amount of pull , would be exellent for boarding/buggying. you can get lift on this fairly easy in nearly all wind conditions but not as much as you would on a blade. I would not reccomend using this kite in strong winds. overall an exellent kite competing with the Blade 4.9 and 6.6 ,if you havnt enough money for a blade buy this. By : Jake