graywind

Thanks. Funny thing is that I forgot about the ITW catalog all this time, but the kites themselves were brought with me to grad school (never actually got around to flying them, unfortunately). They ended up sitting rolled up in my kite bag (and still are) all this time. Once I get a chance, I intend to take some photos of the collection. I know I should fly them, and I'm confident that they won't break or be damaged in the process the first few times - I'm just a little hesitant to use them on a regular basis the way I used to. More than anything, I'm really wary of that moment of inattention that brings calamity to something that can't really be replaced (I have a car that I feel the same way about). There's something I really like about the Carrington nylon version of the Stranger, though I really regret not buying one of the Icarex ones back in the day. Looks like Flexifoil got out of the stunt kite market (pretty much like everyone else). Back in the day, the my friends and I considered the MEFM the be the kite to have - the one that does just about everything with aplomb. An old high school buddy of mine that I used to fly with still mentions it once in a while. I suppose it's why it was the last kite I ever bought. The Hydra looks interesting - it's got that same high aspect ratio as the stranger (just have to stick a cheater/bow-line on).

Hi, I'm a long-time kiteflyer who hasn't flown anything for probably 15 years (college and then grad school will do that to you). I stumbled on this site after a bit of a journey that started from my cleaning out my parents' house last week. I came across a 1990s Into the Wind catalog and decided to see if they were still in business (nice to see that they are, as so many shops seem to have closed). Noting how their selection of 2- and 4- line kites had dramatically shrunk, I started looking to see if my two favorite kites were still in some kind of production (whether directly or evolutions of the model); the Flexifoil Stranger (which came with an awesome VHS video that I used to watch with my friends back in high school) and the MEFM (a Big Easy-made one). Sadly, it looks like neither is in production anymore, and that makes me a little scared to fly them - both are in excellent condition and the MEFM is essentially perfect (the last kite I ever bought). Part of me is inclined just to buy a newer one (that is replaceable) and leave those two for very occasional use. Nice to see that Prism is still in business though, as I kind of broke a spar on my Prism Micron waaaaay back and never got around to fixing it. I'm guessing I'll need to get some new line if I want to fly again, as I'm guessing my Spectra/Dyneema has too far degraded to use safely.