Wayne Dowler

Maybe John can put up a pic of those he sells? The tops are plenty long at 13", it's just that you should almost never need to bring the top lines that close to the handles - that's why I suggested untying the first 2-3 on the inside. Overall length is good. Bottoms are OK with 3-4 knots really, you can use the knots to field adjust your lines if needed. But as was said - they really don't need to be quite as long. So next time out flying - try attaching the top lines at the outermost knots and bottoms near the middle of knots (assuming you shorten them to 3-4 knots). Try launching. If unable, move the tops in, knot by knot, til you can. You may have to add a step back to your launch routine and not just use your arms. But as you get used to this new setup, you'll find you have more control once airborne. The kite will wait til you direct it, not just shoot off at every gust. It starts responding to your will, not the other way round! PS: It will feel different!! Stick with it! Makes all the difference in the world on how these kites respond!

Aerosmith song - "Dream On"!!

Just using you!!

How long are they?? Probably never use those close in knots on the tops, if you want to try longer, just untie the inner 2-3 knots. Start attaching lines at about the middle knot on bottom and all out on top, then move in top as needed to launch. Use your bottoms to field adjust line length if needed.

Ya'll are way too new to claim anything! Mine - HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Not perfect but workable! Try tying knots in the top leaders about 3/4" apart, starting from the end to about 3-4" from handle. Gives you some adjustment! Now start flying doing this - put your lines on the outermost knot on top and innermost on bottom. See if you can launch. If not, let the bottoms out a knot at a time til you can. If you're all the way out on bottom and still can't launch, move the tops in knot by knot, In the end, you should be on a closer bottom knot and a further out top knot, that is the difference you hear about. Stock setup is to have both the same. It's easy to launch, but control suffers in the air! If you have access to leader materials - I would scrap them altogether and start over. Tying knots in the tops already fixed in length will mean as you add knots - they get shorter - kinda against what we want !! If you do make your own - leave plenty of extra to work with and make sure to make your knots as close to humanly possible - the same!! Yes - both leaders need to be as close to the same as possible! PS: not sure on the postage thing, but John sells a mean set of leaders here on KL!

First Rev - a full sail (std), and keep an eye open for a full vent (f/v) as soon as you can! Nothing more frustrating than going to the field and not enough wind for the only thing you own! Why my suggestion? Think of laying bricks - the 1st row is laid end to end, then the 2nd overlaps the joints. Pretty much how Revs work. There's enough overlap in the 2 sails to get you by. A mid (IMHO) is great for the sweet spot it fills, but is not a good first choice, unless you just have the winds all the time to use it! And please throw out the stated wind ranges! Fly in too strong a wind and you stretch the sail, never to return to what it was before! Therefore the 2 sail idea! Try to hook up with others first - the experience shaves light years off your learning curve!! Try some of their kites to get a feel for what you like! Frames: For starters, use the 3 wrap (marked with 3 feathers on label or UL) or the green race frame - both are pretty tough and will take most of the abuse you'll dish out to start. Then either the 2 wrap (2 feathers or Pro Use Only) or Black Race when you get past the stage of unexpected impacts! PS: all the 1.5 frames are interchangeable in any 1.5 sail! Lines: the 80-85' lines that come with it are a good start, long enough to have some room, short enough to fit in most places. IF you plan on flying with others - 120' lines fill the bill - bigger wind window and more space for a team. Handles: If you get a "B" or NYM - throw out the top leaders and make your own - much longer! A good guide is long enough to reach across the gap, bottom leader to top leader. Here's a link - http://www.revkites.com/forum/topic/4409-my-leaders-your-thoughts/ . Some pix that show things! PS: join the Rev forum too, lots of info over there on these kites! Equalize your lines!! Before you ever put a kite on them - stretch them out and check that they are even!! Uneven lines means you let the kite go wherever it wants, even let you take control! Single biggest piece of flying advice - learn this saying - GIVE TO THE KITE!! If it's gonna crash - LET IT! Better to go straighten it out than get down there and find something broken! Pulling only drives the kite harder into the ground!! GIVE!!! OK - end of book!! Good flying!!

I'll guess - looks like a "B" 1.5 mid vent, an SLE of some kind, a Sedgwick Rev 1, and something in the Blast family? Along with the Z-G!

You can do all 6 points, but I find only the LE tips and lower verts need them! Your conditions will dictate your need!

Routine cleaning is all you'll need! For the kites - just a gentle spray with fresh water on sail and bridle. For your lines - just place lines on winder in enough water to cover and watch the sand run out! Rinses off the salt too! The "O" ring idea works if you don't have too fine a sand. Some use a piece of slingshot tubing to cover the cap/rod connection. Either way it prevents sand from getting between the cap and rod, making it much easier to take apart!

kevmort - an EXP? Unmarked rods are 3 wraps (or EXP marked) for that kite! And usually offered only as a full sail. Still, all the other frames will interchange in the sail. Paramedic - Broke a 4 wrap? YIKES! Was it the rod let go or a ferrule? Any rod can have the ferrule slip or let go, but rare that a rod just breaks. Major impact with Mother Earth?? My clue is from your comment that Bill repaired it - might have only been a loose ferrule?

Maybe? You are supposed to have some bend in your LE! Let's the frame absorb some of the gust and pressure, not just the sail. But yes, you can have too much and it's time to either change frames or switch sails, depending on your equipment choices! You have to be comfortable with "how much bend is too much bend"! The one thing I can caution about - using too strong a frame for the sail you are using. Pretty much only an issue on standard sails, but I myself, never use a 4 wrap frame in my std. IMHO it is way too stiff for that sail. All the stresses end up being transferred to the sail and that equals stretch! Once stretched, a sail will almost never recover its original shape. Better to swap out sails to keep up with the changing winds if possible! YMMV!

The biggest problem with "cheap" kites is that they can ruin the kiting experience for many. Poorly made from bad materials, set up all wrong, they may look good, but in the end, fail. A small investment in a better kite is well worth the grief of getting crap and the frustration of trying to get it flying. Lines can be the worst! What is your only connection to the kite? Lines! Stretchy, uneven lines already doom you to an unsuccessful session. A better made, quality kite almost always comes with a decent set of lines, or they are suggested in the comments. Plus the better kites have some resale value, the cheapies don't. For many years, Revolution fought this battle, as no name copies were flooding the market. The copies flew badly, had issues, no customer support, but guess who got all the blame? Yep, Rev did, because most of the others 'looked" like a Rev. As the kiting world matured, the Rev reputation grew, and copies gained less ground. Know the old saying "there is no second chance to make a first impression"? I would encourage you to stop putting your money towards "cheap" and save a bit more and buy "good"! Then as your experience grows and you find the style that you like, you can target a type of kite that works for that style! Good luck and good flying!

Looking for used? Hahahahahahahahahahahaahahaha!!

Try to get her to remember this saying - GIVE TO THE KITE! If it is gonna crash - let it! Step forward instead and take all the force out of the crash. Easier on both you (her) and the kite!! Better to go out and straighten up things, than to possibly breaking something!!

go to the Rev main page and select "shop", then the "B" series. It should lead you to see most of their current colors, including the lime one. Didn't see the blue/black on there. Polo has his own webpage for his stuff. hyzakite - some pix if you could??

OOPS - by 15", I meant my handle length, not leaders! I use John and TK's leaders - love 'em! And I was referring to your 13" handles too! Sorry for the confusion!!

I personally modded the Indoor - it's in almost new condition!! Put vinyl caps on all 6 ends of the rods. It protects the ends better, the way they used to connect the rods in the old style kites. Handles are good too! I also can vouch for his rep - 1st class seller of good quality kites! If you pick up any of these - you won't be disappointed!

Never needed much over a 15" set myself! They do seem to help leverage in lighter wind, but you also need to moderate your inputs to match, easy to over control. Some use just one size (I'm guessing you have the 13" std length ) for just about everything, some the different lengths, it really comes down to what suits you personally! Remember - there is no right or wrong to this - only what works for you!! 6" ?? I'm guessing you mean the short knotted leaders that come with the "B" series. Those are not John's specifically, but Rev's version taken from his suggestion. If John had his way - they would be longer. His wife TK, makes sets tied off a jig ( guaranteeing them to be almost perfect!!) and sells them here. I'd suggest trying some!! If not, try making your own - but - make sure the two are as close to the same as possible!

Look for something around 80-85' long to learn on. It increases the wind window, giving you much more time to react!

First - have you flown one at all? Before you try short urban lines - I recommend starting out with the 80-85' lines that came with it. Get all the basics of flying down - then try urban flying. Most urban lines are somewhere in the 30' range, BUT at that length, things happen pretty fast! You'll go side to side in the wind window in about a blink of the eye!! So again start on longer lines first. Wind range? 5-15 mph, maybe a little less. Really depends on your skill level, how comfortable you can be in different winds. If I had my choice - go out on a decent day of 7-10 mph - not too much to control, but enough to fly relatively easily. With the decent winds, you can concentrate on learning how the kite works, not worrying about getting it flying.

Indeed it does! When I flew dualies a lot - it made a lot of difference. Learning how to adjust will make your kite very efficient in whatever winds happen to be that day. Some just find a "sweet spot" and never change it, others move all the time. But the key is to make both sides as even as possible! YMMV!

On older Prism gear - they used to have marks on the bridle for high and low winds, and you moved your attachment point pigtail up or down. Not sure if they still use this method today. If you have the knotted pigtails at the upper spreader, laying the nose back works for medium wind and slightly pulling the nose forward helps in light or heavy wind. But always adjust both sides to be equal!

With that as a budget - I suggest trying used kites. If you find you don't link up with something, you can resell it for almost what you paid - depending of course on how you treated it! Plus it will give you a chance to try a variety - again to know what YOU like, as far as the style of kite, your expectations, etc. Just watching here for kites FS (for sale) or FT (for trade) can get you into things on the cheap, until you settle into a groove of what strikes your fancy!

The way the bridle is set on the kite allows for it to fly nearly overhead. The higher the wind, the more easily it flies over you. There is a thing as too much wind for the kite you are using!!! Just because the "book" says X mph top end, doesn't mean that it flies well in that much wind. Most kites work better in about a max of 3/4's of the stated wind ranges, and depending on ability, low too. The stresses the kite takes flying at max wind, will wear it out faster. And if you do make a mistake, you could be picking up a broken kite! I sympathize with you after no wind - possibly too much. It takes experience to know what sail matches what wind, along with which line set, etc! We all came up the same way. Some learn it faster, others not so much. Myself, it took me several years to learn how to connect the dots, but that was way before we had forums to ask and share on. Asking here can save you lightyears of trial and error. Keep flying (in the proper wind)!!