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Shelter Cove, Ca has grassy, park by, plateaus running along 20 feet above the beach. Good wind and great views. So, yesterday I noticed National Weather Service says 10-15 mph, gusts to 20. OK. I have been looking for wind since the summer doldrums. I went with 90' lines and started with JB 1.5 mid vent. Since this was my first flight, I figured the mid vent would be the one to try. Not so. Too quick for me. Did ok but thank God my son in law was there to turn the kite when I crashed after about 30-60 seconds. I would go to the top of the window and hover thinking about what I would do next. Resting....hiding. Don't want to spin and crash. That's when I says " Let's get out the Full Vent." Easy switch to lines. Wind is wild. The mid vent Was pulling me forward and the kite looked liked like an emaciated old man's rib cage in the air. I must say that I am so happy I got the full vent in a deal. It turns out that it flew great. It flew slow enough that I could think about what I wanted to do and how I would do that. I was hovering anywhere I put it, take off and landings like a piper cub doing touch and goes. Inverted take offs were easy. The full vent turns out to be my great beginner discovery for this high wind learning situation. This first flight, doing some of the things I learned watching John Barresi videos, was a definite high. Thanks to the Kite Life community for all the help getting to that first flight with some encouragement and knowledge. Willie B

I have Premier, Intothewind, newtech at this time. Looking to add Prism to collection. Looking for wind range of 2-12 mph. Winds in my area are usually: 12-25 mph. Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

Everything is done but the framing now.. Putting it away for the weekend.

This is why I recommended the Z. It will allow you to fly in low winds that would frustrate the Quantum & Hypnotist. It is heavy enough to be robust ( I have never broken a stick in mine, and it is from the first release of the first batch (~2007) ) and heavy enough to do all the tricks with standard technique. Once winds go over 10-12 mph, I stop flying dual lines and switch to either single lines or quads. Maybe a foil, once in a blue moon... Good luck with your choice, but just accept that if you're bitten by the kite bug, you will end up with many choices in your bag to fly, depending on the WOD (wind Of the Day) !

LE Attached.. Edge Binding and finishing remain. I do seem to have a pucker near the center of the LE which I need to address but will wait until framed to see if that makes a difference.. I also needed to add a bit of build to the TE to give it enough belly..

I decided to stitch with white.. If the Purple will act a bit as a black light it might pop at night.. I can also try to find some Blacklight LEDs. Either way, I think the white offsets it pretty well. LE will also be white. Edge Binding (and wear strips) will be orange. The sewing on the panel is complete.. LE is made.. Time to marry the two and start finishing up this project.

I guess my question is - is there a "hole" in your quiver of kites that you want to fill? Low end? Middle? Personally not really into high winds here. Rather go quad if the winds are up. A low wind Prism would be the Ozone. Flies when most stuff is grounded. Not a "trick monster" and takes a light hand, but flew in winds my friend's Qpro sul didn't handle. But again, not a trick monster. The only other Prism I have really flown was the Alien. Odd little kite with a bent LE. I tend to fly it in slightly higher winds as the design seems to pull less. But again if the winds are up - I grab a vented quad. Both are no longer in production and there seems to be a cult of Prism owners that buy almost anything Prism. So keeping your eye on forums like GWTW is key - and having cash at the ready! I've seen kites posted for sale that go in minutes!!!

Got to talk to a experienced flier yesterday. He has and has had a bunch of kites. More of a quad flier now. In the short time he flew my Pro Dancer I was impressed with his skills.He thinks his Quantum Pro sul and hyper vented are 2 of the best kites he's flown. Speaks highly of the Zephyr but likes the earlier model over the later but not by much. Not sure what mine is. Zephyr is another kite I've thought about selling a lot to make room for a higher end kite. Still here. Think about selling it.Go fly it for the last time and back in the quiver it goes.It feels a lot like throwing away an old comfortable pair of shoes. Ya just don't want to do it.Very different than my Tekken sul. Most folks say the Z is a light standard more than a ul. All I know is it took a lot of hours , 2 broken spreaders and 3 broken LEs to be able to fly that kite in 1 to 2. Won't trick much that low but as Rob has said sometimes the trick is staying in the air. Moving from my Widow ng to the Zephyr was always a smooth transition. I've probably learned the most as a newbie on the Zephyr.Yeah I think I love that kite.