RobB

No, I don't think you're soft for not wanting to fly. Maybe you just don't have the right clothes... yeah, yeah, that's it... Here's what my fly after work looked like a couple of weeks ago... Yes, those are my footprints. 20* with a 10mph breeze. Midvent time !

Watch the arm-sweep, Wayne. I get most of my lift just from the gentle, but full arm-sweep. Anytime I take any step backwards, I try to regain that ground immediately by flying down & walking forward. Works the same way for Revs, except you can put the brakes on to increase your hang-time...

The new Sea Devil SUL flies in lower wind than the Fearless Tattoo. I've flown both side-by-side in the same winds.The Sea Devil SUL is my favorite low wind trick based kite, and the ProDancer is my favorite kite to fly when there's NO wind. The 4d has similar low wind performance, I could fly either in a similar lack of wind, but prefer to fly a full-sized kite like the ProDancer. Other kites worth mentioning for next-to-nothing wind would be a PBSK SUL, the Prism Vapor & the Prism Ozone. I don't have one, but the Benson Inner Space is also supposed to be good. If you're flying in zero wind, don't expect much in the way of tricks... the whole trick is that the kite flies at all ! ~Rob.

Hey Bob, that was the ProDancer by Skyburner. It just takes an arm-sweep to get that kite in the air in low wind conditions. The 4d that you have can fly in that same wind, it's all in the slow & steady arm-sweep... and a little bit of foot work. Low wind flying is my favorite because for all intents & purposes... you shouldn't be flying a kite, but you are ! ~Rob.

'Teaser Wind' ? How's this for a 'Teaser' ? Almost makes it worth it to put up with all the BS that goes with living here !

Hey Cody, I'd wear that shirt... Looks good ! ~Rob.

Oh, you've got the bug ! No turning back now... the mid-vent will be good to have for when you have a high wind day, or when you get out to the shore. My mid-vent is probably my most flown Rev, I hardly ever fly my full sail Rev. Congrats on your new addition... sounds like a looker, being that it matches mine ! ~Rob.

Hey Bob, I have a friend that swears by using that plasti-dip stuff that you use on the handles of tools for nose reinforcement. After flying the 4D for a while, my son got the spine to poke through the nose on his 4D. He's a young little guy, and actually thinks it's funny to do a top speed death dive into the ground. The 4D has held up remarkably well, considering... I fixed it with the tape method, BTW. ~Rob.

I got these Vector lines from Sport Kite Designs in Sweden. They were originally almost a bright orange, but the sun faded them to a pinkish color. Could I see them better ? Sometimes... I also have Skybond lines ( yellow), Berry Blue (blue), and LPG (white). Sometimes you can see the colored lines easier, but most of the time, it's all the same. Sometimes it's just hard to see the lines, no matter what color they are...

Hey CB... When I got my first quad (a NT Spirit), the brake lines came on a separate winder from the top lines. Also, come to think of it, my first quad foil, a 3m Radsail, came with two winders. That's how I did it, like you describe, until a few years ago, I got my first Rev. I watched all of JBs videos, including line management, and have followed everything the best I could. I still end up with wraps in the lines, but I fly them out, instead of trying to straighten them on the ground before I fly. I usually end up landing to twist the right or left handle once or twice, but keep in mind, no matter how twisted the lines are, you still have basic control. It is rare that I get involved in an extended untwisting project, but I think I did maybe twice last year. It was always as a result of packing up in haste the last time I was out. When you're done flying, make sure you land with only 1/2 a wrap in the lines, wind 'em up figure 8 or straight style, and there should be minimal problems the next time out. Remember what JB says about what looks like wraps in the lines, most of the time really aren't. I've found that to be true. I used to cause myself endless stress and trouble with the lines by overthinking it. Now that I've gotten used to it, it doesn't take much more time to setup a quad than a dual line. ~Rob.

Thanks, guys. A little background to the Solus... I originally got my Solus, a custom ordered sail from the Kite Connection, but found that it's performance was inconsistent at best. After talking to a friend of mine who LOVED his Solus set, we started comparing bridle measurements, and found that the bridle on mine was much different than his, it was also uneven from the left side to the right side. I agreed to send it out to him for a full tuning, along with some other kites that I had that needed sewing repair. Well, he took it to the next level, and tweaked the bridle and the geometry of the kite. It became the prototype for the 'Solus Comp', Skyburner's new offering of the Solus. My friend sent it down to Kite Party so some expert fliers could evaluate it, as well as the guys from Skyburner. I guess they liked the improvements, because they took it back to the shop for further evaluation & tweaking. They posted this video on their website, and adopted some of my friend's ideas into the Comp. http://skyburner.com/solus_video/solusVid2.swf So, after a year long tour around the country, I got the kite back last summer, and absolutely loved what had been done to the kite. I don't fly like the Pros that flew it on it's journey, but the improvements that were made totally agree with my flying style, too. If you were to ask me what kite to buy, a Widow Maker or the Solus, I would have a really hard time picking one over the other. The Widow Maker has been my long time 'desert island' kite, but the Solus has been challenging that top spot over the last few months...

The knot I use is called a 'Figure 8 Loop'... http://www.abc-of-rockclimbing.com/climbing-knots/figure-eight-loop.asp You could just use an Overhand, I suppose.

The hardest part of making a lineset is getting them even. It is critical that they are within 1/4" of equal when you're done tying the knots. Cutting them is easy... I carry a knife all the time, so I'm always ready to cut something... I use a knot like the one pictured here for the loops... http://www.examiner.com/article/rock-climbing-101-what-are-the-different-types-of-knots With a kite like the 4D, sleeving the knots isn't necessary because the kite has so little pull. Sleeving makes the whole line making experience a little more involved. I just tied this one real quick for a visual. It is really helpful to tie those little nubs on the end of the lines when you're untying the lines from the bridle of the kite. I don't have long fingernails, and my fingers are frequently numb when I'm breaking down, and having those little nubs to grab onto is priceless !

Sorry, CB, tried to link to my Kitelife Gallery... try this one... http://ferob.com/kites/P1050367.jpg

NikNak being flown outdoors... http://kitelife.com/forum/gallery/image/1187-p1050368jpg

Well, if you're like me, and find that low wind flying is some of the best flying you can find... you'll end up with more. I have the Shadow & NikNak (my first low wind kite) as well as the 4D. The NikNak can certainly fly outdoors, but like the 4D, it CAN be flown indoors, too. The NikNak is a little bigger, but not full sized. A big advantage to the NikNak is that it's made in the US, and if you want, you can have it made in custom colors. You can also pick up the phone and talk to the guy who makes it, unlike the others that you mentioned. The NikNak also has a big brother called the ProDancer, which would be an ideal choice for your second low wind kite. The 4D, NikNak, and ProDancer are all TRUE SULs, unlike the Shadow that needs a little wind to get going. Don't worry about getting parts for any of these kites, there are plenty of retailers online that will have spares to your door in less than a week. Good luck with the 4D, and don't forget to get some short lines for it, or just cut the factory supplied lines in half (20'-30') like I did. 50s are way too long for that little kite...

There are some more advanced flyers that can get more tricks out of the 4D. It is capable of so much more, I just didn't have the patience for it. This is one of the top -placing VF pilots...

A little Cross Training... found this in my camera from this summer. These are the two kites I've been flying the most over the last year. The duallie is a Skyburner Solus, and the Rev is a 1.5 mid-vent. The transition from one to the other was forced by my catching the lines of the Rev...

Ohhh.... nice colors ! I've never seen the full size roll-up in that color. I'm in !

That's a good lookin' kite ! Maybe I would get more use out of an Extra than a Zen ? So, there are 2 Revs I still need to get !

Here's what my doctor told me... nicotine is about as harmful as caffeine. It's the other 400 some-odd chemicals in cigarettes that are truely harmful. He also said that e-cigs were probably 1000% better than old-school smoking. I haven't cut my nicotine level (18mg) because I don't see the point. 15 months... smoke free !

The first 5 minutes I had my new 4D out, I was taking my knife to the lines to cut them down to about half. It was a 'close-to-zero' wind day. I had no problems with the way it flew after that ! The kite is just too small and has too little pull for 50' lines. This video was taken a few minutes after I cut the lines down to size... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raiIRRDBQNU

Leave your lower spreaders in the APAs on the LEs when you pack up your kite... it saves time breaking down & setting up. And just totally avoids the headache of trying to get them free...

Paul, did you fly there, too ? What amazing scenery ! I've been to see real mountains, but never had kites with me. Just the snowboard !

Jim, those are some AWESOME pictures ! Where I live, it's really flat, so anywhere that has topography looks stunning. And thanks for setting me straight, Nick, I never saw 'tell-tale' actually spelled out. I figured a tell-tale was like a kite tail...