John Barresi

That's part of the adventure Rook, minimizing our existence and living cooperatively for a spell. And you're right, showers and couches galore every 300-500 miles I'm sure... We'll have opportunities for respite. Montana is indeed on the grid... Wonder if there are enough fliers around for a clinic?

Whispers... "Do it"

Sounds like something you pay for in Vegas. I never pay for whump... Heck, I'll whump it myself if it comes to that. Kites, kites, KITES.

Yeah, buddy. Not likely to see one of these, or the KiteLife Rev come up for sale ever again.

Bravo Ed, may not be for everyone but your short tale hits closer to home than you know.

Gone, thanks from both of us EG!

Hrm, seeing how close you are to SF, more so than I thought! Hoping to do a clinic in Berkeley, wouldn't be much of a detour to visit you Allen, I know I'd enjoy that. Fingers crossed... Got your email, all good, we'll talk soon.

Gone, thanks for looking!

Classic Paul, the ONE YEAR you come out, I might not actually be there. lol

We're obviously trying to get a few things together for the trip and some emergency cash just in case, so we're letting some real beauties go... FS: KiteLife Masterpiece Rev FS: iQuad Masterpiece Rev FS: Skinner Masterpiece Rev FS: Gibian Masterpiece Rev FS: Custom B-Series FS: First B-Series prototype FS: B-Series VTD Note, some of these might as well be made of "unobtainium" due to their rarity... It pains us to see them go, but it's going to a great cause and we still have a few special treasures saved away.

Another kite close to my heart, this is one of 5 made by Bazzer Poulter... Black Race frame, fair to good condition. $425 shipped via USPS Priority, continental US (Intl pays additional shipping)... PayPal personal payment preferred.

Just one of 5 made by Bazzer Poulter, this kite is near and dear to my heart for obvious reasons... Diamond frame, fair to good condition. $425 shipped via USPS Priority, continental US (Intl pays additional shipping)... PayPal personal payment preferred.

Number 6 of 6, masterpiece series made by Scott Skinner, originally sold for $1000... 3-wrap frame, good condition, except for small accumulation of powdered adhesive inside some of the sandwiched panels, invisible during normal flight. $400 shipped via USPS Priority, continental US (Intl pays additional shipping)... PayPal personal payment preferred.

One of just 11 "Archetype" kites made by Ron Gibian, this was the first true series of masterpiece Revs ever made... 3-wrap frame, good condition. $375 shipped via USPS Priority, continental US (Intl pays additional shipping)... PayPal personal payment preferred.

Special B-Series with iQuad printed fabric, signed by both Joe and David Hadzicki, 3-wrap frame, very good condition. $250 shipped via USPS Priority, continental US (Intl pays additional shipping)... PayPal personal payment preferred.

One of the two original B-Series made for testing, note the lack of B-Series logo ("Rev 1.5")... 3-wrap frame, very good condition, happy to sign the kite with "B-Series prototype" and the year it was made (2007). $350 shipped via USPS Priority, continental US (Intl pays additional shipping)... PayPal personal payment preferred.

Factory model (circa 2008) full vent, 3-wrap frame, between good and fair condition. $175 shipped via USPS Priority, continental US (Intl pays additional shipping)... PayPal personal payment preferred.

*drum roll*

Wow, where to start. Well, I'll open by saying that these past couple of years have been some of the most trying of my life, and consequently, my wife TK's. We've had a rough road of it, close to calling it quits a number of times and we have arrived at a "jumping off" point, both literally and figuratively. JB & TK's 2014 Adventure (initial plan, subject to changes and TONS of additions as we go) Indeed, TK and I are liquidating many of our belongings, putting a fair share in storage, and taking the rest on a several month, cross country tour that is likely to last into November. I have seen 49 of 50 states (damned Alaska on the other side of Canada!), and I want to share that experience with TK, stopping to give clinics and lessons all along the way in order to finance our travel, making like Mr and Mrs Johnny Kiteseed all across the US... Frankly, we need to fill our cups and leap out into the universe together so that we might drink of those cups into a ripe old age. Some will say "are you nuts??", some will revel in our decision... But truly, it's the right one for us at this point in our lives. Loose plan is to have most everything cleared out in 4 weeks, on the road 2 weeks after that (around Apr 26). KiteLife continues, kiting activity continues, except I hope to share many more adventures with you all as we go.

I can dance to that tune!

Ditto... I always have good results with USPS Priority in the triangle tubes.

Disclaimer here... I "WHUMP" really hard, not the sort of input your average flier uses - wouldn't so much worry about this aspect. Main concerns are flying a frame beyond it's wind range, or excessive (uncontrolled) ground contact.

For the n00bs... While black Race and 2-wrap may be roughly comparable in weight, the 2-wraps are much more flexible. I tend to avoid over-flexible spars because as the kite flexes, the airfoil changes... I want that change in airfoil to be held within a certain range. To add more insight... Let's say my hands are in a position for forward flight, same handle position on two different frames: Stiff frame = less forward, more sail pressure Flexible frame - more forward, more spill of pressure On a more flexible frame, one handle position yields different response from the kite as it loads and unloads pressure. On a frame that is too stiff, the sail never "billows" and loads up with the belly pressure that makes it fly so well. Again, I'm always looking for a median range of flex that gives me enough flexibility to load up, but not so much that my airfoil is changing radically throughout the window. Food for thought from the mind of one flier.

I don't suggest Berry Blue if you plan on flying with others... Works okay solo, but I've sworn off Blue Line after too damned many cuts during team flying. The new yellow stuff from Shanti seems to mix okay with spectra line sets and although I find it a little springy, some folks seem to like it. LPG is the bomb, very little bounce and a lower thread count (equates to less dust/dirt/moisture accumulation), been my #1 choice for years now.

WOW. Look at the depth of that glide!