Craig Best

Jeez.......I need more practice! Nice Video!

Sounds like you nailed it!

Sadly, I have quite a bit of experience trying to get by cheap and I still haven't learned. The end result for me is typically the cheap one (whatever it is) sits and gathers dust while I go out and spend the money on the more expensive one I should have purchased in the first place. I'm a big fan of HQ Symphony kites and have a Pro 1.8 and Pro 2.2. The 2.2 is probably right at the edge of dragging me across the field......I think the 2.5 would! In addition to the hard pulling action, the kites really pick up speed in the strong wind too. You can get the HQ Symphony Beach which is the lower price point version on Amazon.com for around $50 US. Mine shipped from a store in England. You can check my previous posts at the link below that shows me flying the HQ Symphony Pro 2.2 in some strong winds. You can see a video link in my post just under the pictures. FYI, I run around 235lbs. http://kitelife.com/forum/topic/6147-san-francisco-kiting/ My dad purchased one of those cheap Chinese kites. He's new to flying dual line kites so I had to help him. I struggled to keep the kite in the air and turning as one side of it would collapse during the turn. My Symphonies don't do that. Cheers!

Thanks for you comments! Color me the doofus! At some point, I had apparently clicked only the new posts that I started. It works for me now. Thanks again.

I'm logged into the website and until recently, I click the 'View New Content' link in the upper right corner to view the new postings since my last visit. My experience now is that it returns the message "Sorry, no new content found." even though there is new content on the site. I'm a Chrome user. Thoughts?

Here are a couple short videos of the day.... This video clearly shows the effect of the strong wind and kite on the pilot. It's also fun to hear the kite screaming in the wind. https://instagram.com/p/u4h9D_iwFr/ This video shows the dog chasing the kite. Near the end, I decided to fly the kite low over the dog and got too low to the ground. lol https://instagram.com/p/u4iQqiCwGE/

Sorry I'm so late in following up! The trip was shortened by some unexpected work travel and we only got out to fly once. We went to Crissy Field. The Symphony 2.2 fit perfect in my luggage and it's the only one we flew. The winds were on the crazy strong level so the Symphony 2.2 was perfect. Top picture is me and my son is flying in the bottom picture. It was a great place to fly, obviously not crowded where we were. At one point, a golden retriever come running over and decided to chase the kite. I got a big thank you from the dog's owner for giving the dog such a work out.

I'd recommend putting the kites in the trunk of your car. That way, when you're out with the kids and the wind is right to can stop anytime to fly.

You can start them very young!

Respecting what others have said about the kids getting bored with the single line kite (SLK), I'd suggest both a single line kite and a dual line. The kids are young and if they can't get the knack of the dual line right away, they may get frustrated and lose interest in kiting altogether. Anyone can fly a single line kite.....you can actually stake it to the ground and let it fly itself.

No quadcopter. Behind me is a hill that my wife was standing on when she took the picture. The field is part of an elementary school property about 5 minutes from my house. Next to school, there is a large soccer field and a baseball practice field and plenty of additional open space to fly. This was the first time I staked an SLK while I was flying a dual or quad and it was fun. I'm going to make up a couple more staked for my other SLKs so I can fly 3-4 simultaneously.

Ya gotta fly the kites! I staked down the 9' delta and practiced with my Rev. I'm getting more comfortable with it each time out.

I'd recommend you check on Amazon.com. I bought a HQ Symphony Pro 2.2 last year from a store in England. The price was better than anything I could find domestically. Shipping was free and I had the kite one week after I ordered it. I own a 9' delta in red-white-blue that I bought from ITW. Very solid kite that looks good in the air with the streamers hanging from it.

The best way to have the coolest kites in the sky is to build your own. These are awesome kites!

I like HQ Symphony kites myself. I have a 1.8 and 2.2 and my future son-in-law has a 1.4. Now, these aren't kites that can do tricks like the one you have. I like them because they pull hard in a strong wind and you can blast them across the sky and have a pretty good time. They are virtually indestructible. The 'beach' series are good kites that will work well for you. I own the 'pro' line which are made a little better......a little heavier duty. If you get a 2.2 out in the 25 mph wind you will have a pretty good battle. If you step up to the 2.5, it will probably drag you down the beach. All of them through the 2.5 can be purchased for under $150. We got the 1.4 for about $40 IIRC http://www.hq-kites-usa.com/products_invento_style.html http://www.invento-hq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=54&Itemid=61

Similar deal here......I took my son-in-law-to-be out last year to fly my Symphony 1.8 and 2.2. When we got back to the apartment, he was online shopping for his own and bought a Symphony Beach 1.4. Fortunately for him, there is an incredible place to fly a kite right next door to were they live.

Indeed! As soon as my son moved there, I began scouting places to fly a kite there to catch some of the ocean winds. Crissy Field caught my eyes and my son flew his kite there a few weeks ago. I tossed my kite in the luggage and was excited to fly there.

While visiting family in San Francisco, we went to historic Crissy Field near the foot of the Golden Gate bridge and launched my Symphony Pro 2.2 in some absolutely amazing winds. It was good seeing so many other park visitors stop to watch the kite. At one point, a golden retriever decided he wanted the kite and proceeded to chase the kite back and forth across the sky. The owner of the dog thanked me for giving him his exercise for the day! I wasn't able to clock the wind but this is clearly the max of my comfort level as the kite tried it's best to drag me across the field. The youtube link isn't the best quality but will give you a sense of how quick the kite was moving and how hard it was pulling. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx-QqjdDrn0

Ahhhh.......so there is hope for me!

Wow! I'm a new quad guy too but I can tell you I'm lagging behind your skills. I think I need to park my dual line foils for a while and focus more on my Rev!

Years ago there was a kite store in my part of town. Now there isn't one in the city. The only kites for sale that most people will see are the $3 'Hello Kitty' kites at Walmart. For the infrequent flier, they don't need anything else. I started out the same way and got frustrated with the $3 kite was ruined when I opened it or after flying for a few minutes. That prompted me to look on the internet for better options. I also used to fly just a couple times in the spring and that was it. Now, when I get out my Rev for dual line foils, it attracts attention and I can hear the people talking about it when I'm flying but usually I'm the only one out. I flew at a new place for me a few weeks ago (a school behind my daughter's apartment) and she told me some people with large kites showed up after I left and were there for a few hours. Other folks are there but I rarely see them.

I too was a dual kite guy before recently purchasing my first Rev 1.5 SLE. I've had it had a few times and progressively learning more about controlling the kite. However, I recently bought a new Symphony Pro 2.2 and took it out and I relearned some bad habits when I switched to back to the Rev. For sure, it's all about flying time....

Looks like our first trip will be late October

My son and dil recently moved to San Francisco. I'm looking forward to visiting and finding a place to fly our kites. My son lives just south of the Presidio. I thought I saw some recommendations about flying at Chrissy Field. Any other recommendations of places to fly? FYI, my son has a Mighty Bug 1.5 and I likely will be flying a Symphony 2.2 or my Rev.

I've only had my Rev out 3-4 times and I'm a new quadhead. Inspiring video! Thanks!