Bad Blade?

[RedHotChili1599968600]

In response to a thread about Blade 3's being unstable, I an interested to hear from anybody who has bought a Blade 3, and wish they had not, and the reason why?, or maybe you had a Blade 2, and bought a 3, and feel it's not as good, please don't turn this into a kite slagging thread, constructive please, maybe all us Blade owners can learn something by sharing our experiences!

[BLADE2]

As you can see , i have a blade 3 4.9m too. And i love it i cant compare it to a blade 2 as i have never had one but it does tend to tuck in at the ends in a light breeze but in a 5mph wind plus it is a great kite and one of the best i have , i have had quite alot of kites but my blade 3 at the moment is the best proberbly, until i get this 9m blade 2 that i have seen for £350!!!

[Mouthwash]

I got my B3 4.9 a couple of months ago and have flown it in winds from just enough to keep it up, steady 15-18 and gusting to 25mph.

 

It does have a tendency to luff and drop like a stone in gusty conditions, one minute totally powered up and then the wind drops and it's gone. What's really quite worrying is that once, when it dropped the wind went straight back up to 20+, the kite reinflated and ripped out of my hands. "Hmmmm kite killers"

 

Conversely in steady winds it stays very predictable and there's no probs. 15+ and my 17 stone gets lifted and real grunt for scudding. Just got my board so no comments from me in that respect!!

 

I don't have any experience with other Blades but I have a feeling the B3 4.9 is a quirky beast. I am still learning to get the best from it, perhaps it luffs when I'm not paying attention;) ?

 

So, in summary, no I don't wish I hadn't bought it, I just wish I could fly it better..... :cool:

 

2.3p?

 

Chris

[bushflyer]

ive flown the blade II 3,4.9 & 6.4m (and the 9m a handful of times)extensively as well as the blade III 6.6 and 10.5m.

 

the main difference i found kiteboarding with them was the power delivery. compared to the rather violent kick of the blade II, the III was much smoother, with better float and glide. the quicker turning certianly inspires confidence when sending the kite back and lets you boost higher, you dont lose as much energy in the turn. plus when i was riding, gusts were much less likely to loft you on the move.

 

what i would say about the BII is it did feel more stable round the zenith (without a crossover kit at least) and didnt need checking with the brakes as often to stop it from overflying. the lower drag of the BIII blows it away upwind, and allows small guys like me to manage big kites in high winds more easily.

 

so in summary, for me at least, the BIII is a lot more manageable on the move, but for static jumping and higher lift at zenith the BII still has the edge.

[RedHotChili1599968600]

thanks guys, there seems to be some common quirks with the Blade but if we all share them at least we know it's not just something we are doing wrong, knowledge is indeed power, lets hope we get a lot more opinions, cheers!

[Crash]

I'm a realitive newbie, and I.m sure there will be some saying that a 4m Blade III was the wrong choice for a second kite after a Bullet 2.5 and six weeks experience.

 

In comparison I've found the Blade a beast much more power much less stable, so far i've only had good winds 13mph-20mph and it has scared the sweet begesus out of me. Having now decided that the kite will not be allowed out in 17mph+ untill I'm al lot more competent, I'm begining to get used to it. The kite has to be flown, even in good winds a bad move and its on the ground in a horrible tangled mess. With so much power in the sweet spots one has to be carefull or your six feet up or sixty along. Tiwards the edge of the window a listlessness seems to come over the kite requiring harsh movements to bring back some life at which point your sixty feet along again. None the less as I'm getting to know the kite the luffs are seeming less of a problem, delicate manoevers at the edge of the window more straight forward and the power zones more tantalizing than scary.

 

On the whole after a couple of shots I wanted rid of the kite and was about to become a desciple of Ozone. Now, I want to keep it and may even come to love it but I am keen to try some of the frenzy's to see whether this is a better mannerd kite for the next move up.

 

It would be difficult for any kite to live up to the expectation that is bred with the Blade III. Not just the wait for it to arrive but the perusing of endless threads promising the greatest kite ever. This is an adreniline junkie kite, its hard to fly and hard on the seat of the pants I suspect in six months we will all love it.

[the_lone_wolf]

i took my blade 3 4.9 out in (very) low winds first time like >5mph, and i thought it was sh1te - i had to keep running back when it turned at the edge of the window where my LD would have flown thru, but then the wind picked up and this kite is absolutely fantastic, really smooth power delivery compared even to my LD, it just seems to pull like a train at whatever angle its at.

 

it does seem to need some good wind to get the best from it, but i have never had a problem with overflying except when jumping. i even tried to make it by settling it at the zenith then yanking the lines down to the ground, it just flaps the wingtips for a second and reflys.

 

it can be a pain to turn at times but pull both lines back when you turn to keep both sides powered i have found no problems.

 

great kite

 

ps crash--> i dont think a blade 4m is a bad choice, i jumped from an LD3m (similar power to bullet 2.5) to a bIII 4.9m with no probs on aout 3weeks with the LD, you don't want to jump in too small a stage or you'll be left with a bag of kites all for the same wind conditions.

[Man_in_UK]

I have all this year with my BII4.9 and plenty of access to a BII7.8 and I thought my move to the BIII8.5 was going to be such a blast ..... not so.

 

I dont think its because the 8.5 is a bad kite, more of a completly different one. I was expecting it to power around in a 5mph wind and turn on a sixpence ..... and we all know it wont.

 

I dont like the way it gives up flying, when the wind drops it just stares at me and says

"what you gonna do now huh?", just before it sinks like a stone.

 

BUT

 

Give it some wind and its great. I feel more confident below it than with the BII4.9 as it has yet to bite me. Although, we all know it will one day . Compared to a BII7.8 I feel it does a better job of heading upwind and in windy conditions it dont keep reminding you that a face plant is only moments away.

[lazydog]

In my experience, the 8.5 flies great in low wind with handles. On a bar it's *much* slower at turning though so you need a bit more wind to keep it up.

 

Originally posted by Man_in_UK

I dont like the way it gives up flying, when the wind drops it just stares at me and says

"what you gonna do now huh?", just before it sinks like a stone.

 

I found that if the brake lines are slightly too tight or loose then this happens. A third knot in the brake leader in between the original 2 solved this.

[Adrena1in]

The turning speed of the big Blades was always the downside I thought, and though adding a cross-over speeded this up, it meant applying some brakes in the turn which would depower the kite. The Blade 3s turn so much faster which is the main advantage over the Blade 2s I think.

 

But in my limited flying of Blade 3s, (I've only flown an 8.5), I find it to be slightly more awkward to get going. Once it's moving and the cells are inflated it's fine, but it seems to sometimes be reluctant to fly up into the window. With my 9 metre Blade 2 in sub 6 mph winds I could simply release the brakes and the kite would rise into the power zone. With the 8.5 I find I have to work it a bit to get it up, (said the Bishop to the Actress!!).

[Man_in_UK]

More knots on the brake leaders are a must for tuning the brake line length, I have added another three in varous places.

 

Also moving the leash knot a little closer to the handle helps remove the tendancy for the leach to apply the brake from being too tight.

 

(sorry if this comment dont really follow the thread subject but it helped me)

[RedHotChili1599968600]

don't be sorry I'm sure any tips anybody has to share will be of some use to somebody, after all one small tweek may just solve that really anoying problem!

[Crash]

Is there anybody here who would trade in a blade 4m 4.9m 6.4m for a Bullet 6M 8M 10M from what I've the power is great its the delivery which is twitchy, get a bigger Bullet with some more lift and we could be on to something.

[RedHotChili1599968600]

A "hot" Bullet would be good, a 5M with a bit more lift would be good, I just love the way you can turn them!

[pdrake007]

So which is better:

 

Bullet 4.5

 

or

 

Blade III 4.0/4.9

[dan.white]

The Blade is better IMHO - more aggressive, more lift.

[RedHotChili1599968600]

I love Bullet's for their forgiving nature, and eagerness to turn, but the Blade has a lot more "grunt" and lift, and i think when I have learnt to fly it, I will miss these things when i fly my Bullets, but it's nice to have some contrast, and if it's gusty, the trusty Bullet will still come out of the bag!

[milkmans son]

Well i have 2 blades, but impressed with what i have seen of the bullet. But nuffin can get better than my little blade the 3.0 metre, when it lifts of the ground "snaps" into a solid looking kite and says go on son give me ya best shot! Lets face it, its sometimes quirky, but aint that part of the fun? It has a reputation, and how many other things in life can live up to the hype, the Blade IIIs do. And even a 3.0 metre blade can make u have brown pants, or knickers if ya a lady.

 

Most problems on my 2 III's was solved by playing with brake lines, but they still have surprises, and would anyone want a totally predictable blade? Saying that Bullets don't have lift so better for buggies, but I have seen people lifted by a bullet, so they have their quirks too!

[henry1234]

I have a 8.5 Blade III, which I think is an amazing kite.

 

It needs a little practice to get the best out of it, but then all good things do. Becuase of it's high performance potential I don't think it's possible to be able to fly it perfectly straight away without a few problems.

 

It can be flown on the move at about 3-4mph. It starts to become useful at 6mph and I think it's best range is 8-12mph.

 

It also needs dialing in with some extra break line knots and the kitekeeper lines need extending to prevent them effecting the brakes.

[Batman]

I am keen to try some of the frenzy's to see whether this is a better mannerd kite for the next move up.

 

Just been to Woolacombe for a blast with my frenzy only got one good day of off shore wind, couldn't get the smile off my face :) depower fantastic, for a 9.5 it doesn't half turn nice same as my mates 5.5 bee.

 

Any how the next few days the winds we're crap on shore wind cross wind and gusty you get the picture. Got the bee up no problem little bit of luffing nothing major, got the frenzy up a bit worse bit of left hand flap on the foil and over flying, first time I’ve managed to fly a kite 360 deg (out of the window and them back in ) . But also on the beach were BIIIs they went up-down, up-down in the bag. Just an observation.