RobB

I change mine when they break. I have some sets that are 10+ years old, I see no other reason to change them.

Love the design on the Zero. The VP looks familiar...

I agree, the PBSK Vanishing Point is a great low wind kite, but mine needs a little bit (0.5 mph) of wind to get going. Or effort. The PBSK can do a few tricks more easily than the ProDancer, but the ProDancer needs less effort to keep in the air at really low wind speeds. I like the look of the PBSK better, though, and there are some Vanishing Points out there that are to die for !

For tricking in low wind, Lam's kites are my choice. I have a Fearless Tattoo and Snow Devil SUL, and have flown some of the newer offerings, but not the latest. Absolute Zero wind, I prefer the PDSUL for its full size, closely followed by the Prism Ozone. 20+ year old designs, but they're hard to beat when there's no wind...

I agree, it would be nice to see more art in quad line kites, although I do like the stained-glass scrap kites, too.

If the Oz falls through, I'll be very interested...

Wow... it took me YEARS to learn the 1/2 Axel. I'm not sure still if I'm even doing it right. Forget about the Slot and the Taz, I've only done those by accident. Maybe. I've never flown with an 'instructor' (not true, I've flown with some very well respected fliers, but never for instruction, just fun), so I am just imitating what I see on uToob. Glad to hear that stuff is 'clicking' for you !

Those small stir sticks could easily be used to make a miniature 'Mad Bull' kite, like the ones in the attached post... You could probably use a plastic bag for the skin. Those guys made their kites from all kinds of scraps that they had, the long tails seemed to be strips of bedsheets.

RobB was found commenting on this elsewhere... 😎

Crab Meadow in Northport would be a good beach for you to fly. A little further east is Sunken Meadow, also a decent spot to fly. This is the best time of year to fly, from Labor Day to Memorial Day, when no one goes to the beach. Also, the beach is the only place worth flying, flying inland is much more difficult, and mostly not worth it with beach flying never more than a few minutes away anywhere on the Island. There are a number of ways to make messengers, the only one I have experience with is the parachuting bear. Really cool for the kids !

Welcome to the forum, Flap Floblem. It's good to see people from the Island getting interested in kite flying. I'm not sure if we've communicated before, but I live in Suffolk on the North Shore. I haven't been out flying much this year, but I still grab a short session here & there. Where are you on the Island, and what are your flying hours ? Maybe we can meet up...

OK, let me know if you need any help evaluating the high end wind ranges on these. Last weekend and this weekend we have had winds gusting to ~50mph ! 😆

Now I'm getting excited. What is the difference between the HV and XT ? I've been looking for a long time for something to fill in the 20+mph space in my bag. Not that my full vent can't take it, it just becomes work to fly...

Crashing is totally normal, I always say that I am better at fixing kites than flying them. I broke a leading edge on a treasured kite my last time out. It happens... Contact the Kite Shoppe (forum sponsor). I'm sure they can hook you up with the correct replacement. Unless you have a local store, T would be a trustworthy source on the internet. http://www.thekiteshoppe.com

Those are vented quad line winds. But, for the stated wind range, QPro & Zephyr. The Quantum & Hypnotist will not fly very well under 5mph.

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) !

It's been a while since I got a chance to go to a festival. It's been really hard to find time to escape life and find time to play with kites. I guess that's expected with 3 kids 10 & under and a full time job that involves a 4 hour commute. Yes, life has gotten in the way of kiting for now, so that made this trip extra special. The mid-vent Rev was my choice to fly on Sunday morning, after my Solus was munched & crunched by a wave. The weather was great, 80* and sunny, and the Atlantic was still warm enough to stand in comfortably while flying. Great time playing with the waves, and dodging the lines of countless SLKs. A friend of mine got some shots of me doing the indoor demo. I thought I had a different glider in my bag, but it turned out to be the Plutz, which worked out well anyway...

Ok, I remembered to get my camera out today while I was on the beach. The weather could've been better, and the winds were just little high for dual line flying, but that's all I flew, anyway. It was a great day flying OPK's, and some of my own. I met some incredible kite artists, and ended the night with a night fly... The experience of laying in the sand, flying the light kite for and hour was indescribable ! Highly recommended !

Hello... it's been a l-o-n-g time since I've gotten out to a festival, or had anything personal to post about. I've been around, still very interested in kiting, just haven't had a chance to get out and really fly much. I actually missed last year's LBI kite fest and that was a real bummer, because the pictures that I saw from friends showed that it was even better than the first two years. Well, LBI kite fest is four years old now, and will hopefully exceed expectations, as long as the weather holds out. I got here in the early afternoon on Friday, and was happy to see that there were all ready kites in the air. So, I went strait to the beach, put out the full vent as the winds were over 20mph, and got a taste of how rusty I am. Most of it came back quickly, but wow, don't take 6 months off and expect to pick up where you left off... Anyway, the indoor event is on the first night of the festival, it's held at a local elementary school. Not a huge gym, but big enough to fit about 200 people on the side-lines and in the bleachers. This is the first time I've flown indoors other than in my living room, so it was, uh, interesting ? I've flown in zero wind conditions plenty, so it wasn't much different that outdoors other than having different obstacles. I was very impressed with the skills of the many competitors, single line, dual line, and quads. I'll roll some pictures and I would guess that there will be some familiar faces to some of you... In the mouth !?! I know, right ? not only does he fly with a handle in his mouth, but he can fly 2 at the same time... Decas, no less ! The gratuitous Kaiju shot... 😎 So, this guy got me to fly my first demo. First indoor demo. I think he might be a bad influence... a great guy, it was so good to see him. This was an unexpected treat ! Hopefully, I'll remember to get the camera out tomorrow on the beach. I forgot today, but it was kinda nasty windy and rainy, so the camera is better off. I'll keep yous posted.

The QPro is the flagship of the current Prism line. If you can find one, scoop it up. It is a frustrating kite at times, because it demands exact, precise inputs, but when you get it right, the results are phenomenal. The Quantum and Hypno are tough, robust, capable kites that need a bit of wind to fly (5-7 mph, at least) and the E3 was Prism's attempt at a modern trick kite. I really don't like mine, or the others that I've flown. A better bet would be the Zephyr, it flies in less wind than the Quantum or Hypno, but it isn't as robust. It's a tough kite for it's lighter construction, but it's not a tank like the other 2. If you're only buying one, I would choose the Zephyr, unless you can find a QPro...

Lines for foils aren't as critical as framed sportkites. Just check them for being even every few outings, they should be fine. I've flown my foils with lines that were 6" different from the left and right and it wasn't too bad. I would never tolerate that with my framed sportkites, though...

I have gotten my lines twisted more than 2 dozen times before they start to bind too much. Once you feel resistance, loop the other way...

Not going to suggest anything, other than to be careful. I don't fly foils much (doesn't mean I don't have a few...) but one question did jump at me. The question of the force of the wind and danger. Yes, the lines will cut you. What's worse than a paper cut ? A string burn. They cut deep and hurt for weeks. My point ? Be careful and respect the power of the wind ! Oh, and have fun, too !

Best wishes to all you KiteLifers who live to the south of me. Looks like ya'll are going to get this one pretty good.