Help wanted!

[Kite_Illiterate]

Hello there!

 

I have absolutely no knowledge about anything kite related and am in sore need of some assistance.

 

I am in possession of this… thing I can’t even name (a kite?) and am wanting to get rid of it. It was left behind by an ex who moved to another country about eight years ago, and at this point I consider it thoroughly abandoned. I am looking to get it out of my house, but have no idea whether it is something worth trying to sell, or if it’s a just donate it and be rid it of kind of situation. 

 

A quick google of the brand name left me no less confused, but brought me here, where maybe someone can help me out?

 

Like I said, I don’t even really know what this kind of kite is called, so if I were to put it up for sale, I wouldn’t even know how to advertise it. 

 

I realise that if I am to do that,  I’ll probably need to get the kite (?) itself out of the bag and figure out the size and state and such of it (I think?), but as I don’t even feel confident in my ability to put it away again properly, I’d rather check if it’s even worth looking into first.

 

As mentioned, it has been sitting in a cupboard in my current house (dry, dark, room temperature) for the past eight years, and to my knowledge it was never used during the three years preceding that either. I have no notion of how old it is, but my guess is that it has seen more moving vans and storage bins than outings over the past fifteen years or so.

 

So… What is it? Would an old, neglected one be worth putting up for sale? What might be a reasonable price range? If anyone here could either help me with these questions, or point me towards someplace better to ask them, I would be immensely grateful!

[BobM]

The bag is for a Flexifoil (brand) Blade 3 (model).  If the contents are the same as the bag, then that is what is inside.

It would have a size too and you might need to unpack it to find that out.

Where abouts in the world are you? That could help determine the market for this kite.  Don't forget to add postage and handling to your price

A picture of the kite as well as the bag would be  big help too

 

BobM

[Kite_Illiterate]

Thank you for your response!

The kite is indeed in the bag. Will it be marked with the size somewhere, or do i just need to measure it?

I am in Europe!

[nigel]

Hi Kite_Illiterate,

Welcome to the forum.

First thing, you can't hurt or damage this kite.

The kite is what we call a foil (parafoil) kite.

There are no spars (sticks) in the kite, it is completely soft.

Think of it much like a sleeping bag, but this one inflates with air when it gets used.

So folding the kite, or stuffing it back into the bag can't hurt it.

 

This kite is made by Flexifoil, and the model is a Blade III (well that's what the bag says? We might be wrong?).

To find out what size the kite is, you will have to pull it out of the bag.

There will be lots of strings on one side, this is the front of the kite.

Best to lay the kite on it's back, so all the strings sit on the front of the kite.

If you spread out the kite there is printing on the front towards the edges.

One side (the left) has the model "Blade III" printed on it, the other side "the right" is the size.

See the link below for a picture of a Blade III, size 3.0 (3 metre) in flight.

Your kite should look the same, if it is as listed on the bag.

If not, take a picture and post it up.

 

You also might want to take a few photos now, to aid you in selling the kite.

Things that we as kiters are interested in:

Are there any tears in the kite?

Is the material "crispy"? The skin of these kites become porous the more use they get, if flown for many hours, the material becomes soft to the touch, and doesn't make as much noise when crunched up.

It can also feel damp to the touch (even when dry) if it has been flown down the beach a lot, as salt spray sticks to the kite and gives it this feeling. 

Are all the bridal lines ok?

The bridal is the lines that the kite uses to keep it's shape in flight.

See if any are snapped, broken, or pulled out from the kite. 

Easier for you to take lots of pictures to use in the sale of the kite.

 

To fold it up:

With the kite on it's back, and the bridal lines sitting on the front of the kite.

Get one wing tip (the very left or right, edge of the kite) and drag it to the middle of the kite.

Keep folding in this manner (edge to centre) till you end up with about a 30cm width from the centre.

Do the same with the other side.

Now make the last fold, folding both sides together.

So you now have about a 30cm wide kite yet quite long, that just needs to be rolled.

Start at the bottom, not the top (the top is where the air goes in to inflate it.

So as we roll up the kite, the air is squeezed out.

You should now have a neat rolled kite to push into the bag.

 

Hope that helps.