Atticus Posted November 13, 2020 Report Share Posted November 13, 2020 Hello all, Wanted to see what you think about the choice between these two? I primarily would like to fly with 20'-30' lines outside in very light winds. I'm finding that the wind in my area is non-existent mostly. I know the 4d is primarily touted as a lightwind outdoor kite. But, how does the Kaiju do on 20' to 30' lines in the same capacity? Thanks and happy flying. Todd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Eibey Posted November 15, 2020 Report Share Posted November 15, 2020 Never flown the Kaiju so not sure how that flys myself but have heard good things about it. I own the 4D. It flys really well in just about no wind. You can do zero wind if you want to keep walking but obviously its best in about 2-5 mph. That being said it's a great kite to fly when nothing else will because it stays aloft very well in the slightest breeze. However if you're leaning towards tricks or anything of the nature its not the most trick oriented kite. Though there is a gentlemen on YouTube that does phenomenal things with his 4D which are far beyond my skill set with the kite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy55 Posted December 9, 2020 Report Share Posted December 9, 2020 I have been thinking of a Kaiju, for the same reason as you, and would try to fly it on 30-40 foot lines. Because of the problems with shipping, I have had a go at making my own similarly sized kite to Kaiju, using 4mm carbon spars. I have had a few preliminary flights with 10 foot lines ( very very twitchy, almost uncontrollable), so now working on it with 15metre lines, not quite so twitchy, but need to do more work on the bridle. I have Benson Deep Space UL, which flies in almost zero winds, but I was thinking of something smaller that can be flown on short lines in the back garden, hence my looking at the Kaiju. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkieRob Posted January 3, 2021 Report Share Posted January 3, 2021 Flew a 4D on 20's once and thought it was alright. Good bit of kit. I found it a little twitchy with any more than a puff of wind. Not uncontrolled but bordering a little unstable. I had the chance to buy one second hand at a great price but never wanted to.I HAVE a Kaiju and much prefer the style. I do prefer 7-10 feet lines but have used up to 30's. It doesn't ever feel unstable like the 4D did to me. It is a real gas to fly and never fails to do what I want it to do. Bought it new from the Kite Forge release and keep it in the "everywhere" bag.Sent from my SM-G970F using KiteLife mobile app Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Barresi Posted January 3, 2021 Report Share Posted January 3, 2021 Bias aside, I found much the same - Kaiju was / is intended as a less quirky, more "all rounder" type of handling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Eibey Posted January 3, 2021 Report Share Posted January 3, 2021 I tend to keep my 4d just on the factory lines which I believe are 50 foot and really don't have much desire to cut them down from there. I've used some braided 30lb fishing line on another SUL kite to make some really nice lines with just about no wind drag. They don't seem to have any stretch with the ultra lights but can be very difficult to remove the larks head if you don't sleeve the ends. Definitly worth doing if you fly any ultra light kites and want to make line sets for just a few bucks. How does the Kaiju do outside on some 50' lines in a 2-3mph winds? The 4d does alright but does require alot of gentle persuasion to get any tricks going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frob Posted January 4, 2021 Report Share Posted January 4, 2021 I love the Kaiju on light wind days. If wind is too weak to hold up other kites I can still fly the Kaiju. If it goes completely calm I can switch to indoor techniques but I rarely need to. At first I wasn't sure it could handle it, so I bought a second for outdoor flying, then within a month I won my third. Now I have two I fly outside whenever winds get light, plus one I fly indoors. Usually I set one up after my Djinn or Rev is struggling to fly, and keep at it until somewhat beyond the kite's rated maximum. My only difficulty in light wind is forgetting the nature of the kite. Too often I have tried to pop a trick or get a tight hairpin turn, and instead have a spar pop out from the stress. While I have not broken one yet, one of the leading edge ferrules is somewhat bent on one of my kites. There have been many times I was certain I broke something only to see one (or rarely TWO) spars popped out. I have had three times going out into the water accidentally, one I was sure was broken but by luck my wife found the lost spar in the waist-deep water, not broken. I would not do it intentionally but I have seen them hold up to the stress of underwater flying. I have found up to about 5 mph and a little stronger it can be a great lazy kite. I can sit in a chair, hook lines on two fingers, and casually fly one handed. 30' to 50' works great for that. It requires very little input for basic control. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted January 5, 2021 Report Share Posted January 5, 2021 I have both kites, and would keep the Kaiju over the 4d. Both are small, but the K is a little bigger. The K is also a little easier to get tricks out of. Neither kite is appropriate for winds over 5mph. Neither kite is a favorite, just because of their small size. I prefer a kite to be 7' or larger, smaller kites just feel like toys to me. But... that's just me. 😎 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frob Posted January 7, 2021 Report Share Posted January 7, 2021 On 1/5/2021 at 3:21 PM, RobB said: either kite is appropriate for winds over 5mph. Neither kite is a favorite, just because of their small size. I prefer a kite to be 7' or larger, smaller kites just feel like toys to me. But... that's just me. Same on all counts, it isn't just you. I've pushed the Kaiju beyond those limits, but as I wrote above, it was after first getting comfortable with the kite and being in a position where if something broke it wasn't a big deal, plus a lot of fear and worry. It is small, it feels somewhat fragile (especially compared with full size kites). I've been more impressed that it survived some of the abuse I've given them. When compared to putting down a kite with sturdy spars (e.g. SkyShark P3X's) and putting together something with the tiny thin sticks (the website says 0.098 and 0.118 microcarbon) it can easily feel like a toy. Given my 'druthers, I'll take a full sized kite and strong steady winds over a SUL and calm air any day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobB Posted January 8, 2021 Report Share Posted January 8, 2021 On 1/6/2021 at 8:56 PM, frob said: Given my 'druthers, I'll take a full sized kite and strong steady winds over a SUL and calm air any day. A full sized SUL in light wind is divine. I am a size large person, so the small, light inputs required for the small kites just don't come naturally... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midibot Posted January 8, 2021 Report Share Posted January 8, 2021 23 minutes ago, RobB said: A full sized SUL in light wind is divine. I am a size large person, so the small, light inputs required for the small kites just don't come naturally... 👍👍👍 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjay Posted January 18, 2021 Report Share Posted January 18, 2021 I have wondered about the kachoo myself for outdoor sul wind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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