Zephyr by Prism Kites

[RobB]

Hey All...

I just got a Prism Zephyr, and had a general question about it. It comes with this great hard sided case that fits 3 line sets and 2 kites inside. The problem is that you have to collapse the leading edges of the kites to fit them into the case. It seems like collapsing and folding the leading edges would lead to extra wear in the sail at the hinge points. I always leave my leading edges assembled in my kite bag, even though none of the Prism sleeves are long enough. It saves time setting up & breaking down, which is better when you only have an hour or less to fly.

I guess my question is, is it better for the kite in the long run to leave it half assembled, and only break it all of the way down for packing light, like when you go on an airplane ? Should I only use the excellent hard case when nessesary ? Is there a drawback to leaving the leading edge assembled ?

By the way, the Zephyr is awesome. I only got to fly it for an hour so far, but it seems like an excellent kite with alot of potential. I would love to see someone that knew what they were doing fly it. It was able to do most of the tricks I know, but was a little resistant to backflips and flic flacs. Maybe better with the spine weight.

~Rob..

[badfish]

Hey All...

I just got a Prism Zephyr, and had a general question about it. It comes with this great hard sided case that fits 3 line sets and 2 kites inside. The problem is that you have to collapse the leading edges of the kites to fit them into the case. It seems like collapsing and folding the leading edges would lead to extra wear in the sail at the hinge points. I always leave my leading edges assembled in my kite bag, even though none of the Prism sleeves are long enough. It saves time setting up & breaking down, which is better when you only have an hour or less to fly.

I guess my question is, is it better for the kite in the long run to leave it half assembled, and only break it all of the way down for packing light, like when you go on an airplane ? Should I only use the excellent hard case when nessesary ? Is there a drawback to leaving the leading edge assembled ?

By the way, the Zephyr is awesome. I only got to fly it for an hour so far, but it seems like an excellent kite with alot of potential. I would love to see someone that knew what they were doing fly it. It was able to do most of the tricks I know, but was a little resistant to backflips and flic flacs. Maybe better with the spine weight.

~Rob..

Have you tried asking this on the Prism forum on their website?

[RobB]

Hey BadFish...

Did you see the date on this post ? You are the first person to respond to it. Thank you for that...

~Rob.

[ant man]

rob .. while i havent flown that kite yey .. other then mark,s prototype for a short while.. i never use prism bags for my kites . because of that reason .. once i put the LE,S together from the factory i leave it all on .. if the tensioners stretch out .. cut them off and replace them with shock cords .. you can makwe homemade kitebags out of anything like i do.. i have used cloth from all types of stuff .. even old t shirts.. if you have a sewing machine .. makeing kitebags are eazy ill tell you how i do it in 3 eazy steps..

1.. with the kite folded up measure the length of the put together LE,S and add 2 inches to that length.

2.. cut the metreal untill you can roll it loosely around the kite and have the extra room to close the top... the result should be a big rectangle shape by this point..

3.. fold the rectangle in half evenly,, and sew the outher edge from end to end.. finally fold one end of the bag over and sew the bottom closed .. then hot cut the top if you dont have the hot cutter then just cut the edge and with a lighter heat the frayed edges..

by this time once the bottom is sewed you see the bags pattern and you can put a kite in it.. to close the top you can use a piece of shock cord or rubber band.. this is a cheap and good way i like to make my own kitebags.. other fliers will have their methods but this is how i do it .. if you get confused on how to do it .. send me a pm..

[newschooljk]

i called prism and asked them the same thing...they told me to tie, and untie the tension lines every time i flew....a bit of a hassle...i would love to add bungies instead but i don't know how...i've only flown the zephyr once...very responsive and looks great in red

[windofchange]

Even if you leave your leading edges together in one piece you should always un-tension the sail when stored. Keeping the sail tensioned doesn't just wear out the bungee's or line, it actually stretches the sail out faster than normal and causes premature wear and breakdown of the ripstop. Some people may not care about this much, it basically depends on how much you want to keep your kites flying like new.

[RobB]

Hey All...

Thanks for the advice & suggestions. I have been breaking the Zephyr down and repacking it in it's hard case each time I fly it. I've gotten pretty good at it, all though it kind of sucks to untie those knots in the winter when your fingers are numb. But it only takes 5 minutes to set up, and to break down. The Zephyr is my most frequently flown kite in winds less than 5 mph. It has a great forgiveness for mistakes, and non- precise inputs. I find it easier to trick than the QPro, although both are pretty easy to trick with.

Ant... as far as the sleeve... I have yet to get a sewing machine, so I just recently ordered a QPro sleeve from Prism. It was cheap, and now I'll be able to leave the Zephyr long, stored with the rest in the roll-up bag.

~Rob.

[Dean750]

Another thing to think about is half inch loops of say 50# line. Spectra is the smallest. Take about 3/4" of Spectra, fold in half, tie off and try to get it as close to the end as possible. You don't have to be perfect. Cut the excess past the knot and burn the line back to the knot. Larks head around what ever line you need to loosen, and you won't have to struggle getting the line loose again.

This came in REAL handy with my Syncho if I flew it out doors. A 50# bridle, trying to get 50# line off was a bear. Or making any kind of bridle adjustments for that matter. Doesn't add significent weight to worry about, but anything Larks headed will benifit from this. Just make sure it's in the middle of what ever loop your trying to untie.

Dean

P.S. Herb Weldon of Weldon Aero Labs(Maker of the Synchro) gave me that tip.

[Dean750]

BTW, you can Lark's head a leading edge tip. Just fold the line in half close to the tip and then fold again to get the tension right. Also, with the little untie loop on there you'll have something to judge your tension by.

My pre 2000 Illusion is the same way and I have to tell you, if you get the leading edge to tight you'll break the lower spreader. Taking off is all it will take if it's just a little tight.

If putting the lower spreaders into the fittings seems tighter than normal, your leading edge is too tight and bad things can happen. Better safe than sorry, so lighten the load on the leading edge a little.

Great time flying hopfully.

Dean