Zuul

Looks awesome. Good job!

Premier Kites Power Sleds fly great, have tons of lift, and are reasonably priced. Lots of reputable dealers sell Premier.

We may be traveling to the Big Island and staying on the North West coast near Hapuna Beach. Is it worth packing my dual-liners? I honestly don’t know if there are places to fly, or what to expect in terms of wind. I read a VERY old thread somewhere else that mentioned that kites aren’t allowed on beaches there. I don’t know if that’s still the case?

I’d be happy to share what I know about Bols. They’re pretty. Not very helpful, right? 😉 Staying tuned in, though. Maybe I’ll make one some day.

The “normal” leading edge construction uses a 2” strip of material folded in half. On plans like the Escape, the sail material goes all the way into the fold, so the rod is following the inside edge of the material. The leading edge does not make the wing larger than shown by the plan. Maybe you are using the term “fiberglass rod” generically, but in case you aren’t... the spars called for in the plans are tubular carbon fiber. That makes them very light and stiff. If you substitute a basic, solid fiberglass rod, the kite will require a lot more wind to fly, and it’s it’s characteristics will be very, very different. (Probably not for the better, but hey, who knows?)

No shortage of Nirvana variants.

Nearly everything is made to order. The website hasn’t been updated in a long time, but they’re still filling orders.

Any difference you felt is due to how they were braided and coated (or not coated). LPG are my softest lines because they are not coated. Skybond are very stiff because of the waxing yellow coating. Both are Spectra. Matrix lines are somewhere in between (but closer to Skybond) and are not Spectra trademarked material.

Matrix is also a Spectra/Dyneema line set. (or other UHMWPE knock-off)

Same material, yes. They are braided differently and have a variety of different coatings, though. Most cars are made of steel, but that doesn’t mean they are all the same.

It’s nice enough for a while, but mine wore quickly and got pretty gritty feeling. I prefer both Laser Pro Gold and SkyBond. Matrix is better than most cheap spectra line sets, though.

Nobody builds a nicer kite than Tim, IMO. Lam’s are still excellent, though.

Many of the plans are “tiled” which means you print out a bunch of letter sized sheets with crop marks. Line up the marks, tape together, and you have a full size plan. Otherwise, your local office center (ie Kinkos) will print you full size plans for a few dollars.

All things ebb and flow. That’s just how things go. If you’d be willing to learn German, Drachenforum is still pretty active. So is the French one. (Au fil du vent)

Lam could Taz a chaise lounge. What he can do offers very little insight into what a kite is good at. Most SUL’s are difficult to Taz. I’m sure the Dream Machine is better than many, but I would expect it to be much easier to learn on a Std or even a UL.

Honestly, I would recommend learning the basics with what you have. The Jam Session can do a lot and you are already familiar with it. But, if you are in a retail therapy mood, look for a kite that comes in both standard (STD) and lightweight (UL) versions (SUL and vented versions are a big plus). One of the traps people fall into ... I certainly did ... is buying a new kite all the time because “it can such-n-such trick”. Constantly switching kites slows learning because they all respond to inputs a little differently. You are lucky because you have good access to some great European kites. Benson (UK) is an all time favorite brand, but the line up is a little smaller and caters to advanced pilots. R-Sky (France) might be my first choice, if I were you. Level One (Germany) is definitely worth a look too. The best place to purchase is your local kite shop, if possible. The advise and support they’ll offer is worth paying extra for. I can’t help you there. If you look up the Fractured Axle Forum, that was once where all the UK guys hung out. Sadly, it’s all but dead these days, but people still check in and post. They will be better to ask about kite shops. If you are lucky, you will meet some other flyers in your area.

No. Slack line tricks are much, much more than that. Spins, flips, tumbles, roll-ups. There is a whole new world of flying to explore. It’s not easy to learn, but learning is very satisfying! Watch some of these videos, and you will see all sorts of tricks you didn’t know were possible: Trick videos!!

Forgot to say... your kite is familiar but I can’t quite remember what it is. I’ve definitely seen them before. Made by HQ maybe? What does the wing say? I can’t read it in the photo.

What you get next depends on your interest. Foils are good if you enjoy strong pull and “playing tug of war with the sky”. If you want a totally new experience, a quad would be a great choice. If you are interested in learning slack-line tricks with a dual, then what you have is a good start, but maybe add something that can fly in lighter winds so your practice is less dependent on the weather.

Agreed about the lack of drama. I wasn't trying to start a "thing". If production had moved to China, I was legitimately curious as to when. No biggy.

I agree that there isn’t any proven performance superiority. Icarex has a long proven track record, though, and some people will be willing to pay for a known quantity. Others are cost sensitive and may well be getting the better deal. Given the small size of the sport kite market, it could be a couple more years before there is enough track record to say one way or the other. The only kite in my collection that might be PC21/PC20 (I’ve seen it called both) is the Sky Sport ATM. Honestly I don’t know, but it’s never worried me. It performs well and there aren’t any unexpected wear issues. The funny thing is, Icarex was short lived in the sailing market it was made for. Icarex spinnakers were known to fail unexpectedly and catastrophically. Boat owners didn’t care for that. It makes a nice kite, though. 😉 I’d be willing to bet there are other spinnaker fabrics being made that are as good or better for kites than Icarex, but that name sells.

Since when? It’s made by Teijin Limited; a Japanese company.

Exodus is Icarex. Vertigo is cheaper Chinese polyester.

The Hydra is made in Asia, and Dynamic spars are much cheaper than SkyShark there.

I own both a Deep Space and a Mamba. The question was, “how do they compare for pattern flying.” It wasn’t “can you fly pattern with a Deep Space?” If you’re intent is to fly pattern, there is no reason to consider a DS vs a Mamba. Can a DS cut a corner and fly straight? Yes. Nobody said it couldn’t.