Revolution Power Blast 2-4

[acckl]

I have never flown a quad kite before. I read that a Rev 1.5 SLE was a good place to start, but I really want a Power Blast 2-4. I am interested in both tricks and buggying. The 2-4 has power, and it can fly in lower wind conditions, which is common where I live. I have a few questions though:

1) Am I making a mistake by getting the Power Blast 2-4 as my first quad? I understand it will be more difficult to learn on, but I don't want to learn on a $200+ kite only to buy the 2-4 soon after.

2) How durable is the Power Blast 2-4? Hard abuse notwithstanding, will it survive crashes as well as a Rev 1.5 SLE?

3) Are there other kites (by other manufacturers) that are equivalent to a 2-4, or is Revolution the only manufacturer that makes power kites that aren't the parafoil type?

[Baloo]

Best advice I could give you is try to hook up with some other Rev fliers.

You never know someone near you might have a 2-4 you can try.

I have a blast, and all I know is it can go from gentle lamb to rip your arm off giant in a blink of an eye.

Power can be dumped almost immediatly. And I think it would have been difficult to learn on.

Of course if you have other quad line experience, like wih foils it will help.

[browndude3649]

If you knew folks that'd help you out with thier kites to decide, but an SLE to start out with would be a good idea.

Or try a quad-line foil kite. iI dont see too many supers out here, but all power-kites.

[Spence Watson]

The way I see it is to get both. The Blast is not as good for doing tricks and such, and the 1.5 is not so good for buggying. The 1.5 is fantastic to learn on, then once you get the feel for it you will be more comfortable with the blast.

As for durability, both kites are very durable. The only way to really break them is to do something that does not happen often like nose diving hard on a rock, or to getting the LE caught in receding ocean water.

I have never seen or heard of an other framed power kite like the blast.

[genesant]

I started with a 1.5 and got a PB 2-4 as my second kite. I think it was good to get used to the movements with the 1.5 first. I had a lot of trouble with the 2-4 initially because of its inertia and power compared to the lighter kite but I really like it for the variety now. I think Watty is right, you should get both but I think starting with the 1.5 would be a good choice.

[acckl]

Thanks for the help, everyone. I'd still like to avoid getting both kites if possible, primarily because the power interests me the most and I don't want to spend the time/money learning a trick kite just for the "training" aspect of it. Please give me your thoughts on this plan: I'm thinking that I might try to learn on the 2-4 on days/areas with very light winds. In my area, those days are common anyway, and under very light winds I understand it might even be easier than keeping a 1.5 up. Then, as I get better, I can use it in stronger winds.

So my bottom-line question is, would it be possible/practical to take this approach or am I just setting myself up for frustration in trying to learn with a kite that isn't made for beginners?

[Baloo]

Depends how long you want to spend learning I suppose.

As long as you accept the PB is not the best / easiest of Revs to learn on you should be fine, oh yes except for that gust on the otherwise gentle Day, tee hee.

I would still suggest you let folks know where you are inthe US and see if you could meet up to be shown the lines (I was going to say ropes)

Best of luck whichever you do. And I hope you are not the first person to fly a kite across the Atlantic. Might be best if you put your passort in your pocket, just in case. (just joshing OK)

[Spence Watson]

I mentioned on the other forum to try a small quad line para-foil before the PB to get the feel for it.

[windofchange]

Here is the post I put on the other forum for you if you haven't seen it yet:

The Revolution Powerblast 2-4 is not like the traditional power kites most people use but that is not to say that it isn't a good choice. The Powerblast is an awesome kite that will do exactly what you are looking for. You can trick it in the lighter winds which is very fun and as the wind picks up a bit it will challenge your skills with incredible power.

The numbers on the kite basically say what the kite is. The 2-4 means that the kite is actually a 2 meter flat area kite that has the equivalent power of a 4 meter foil....and they are not exaggerating on that either! This kite can produce some incredible power. The best thing about the Rev is that you can dump the power almost instantly at any time just by rotating your wrists and dropping the lower lines out of the kite. You can go from full on-arm ripping power to nearly nothing in a blink of an eye, something is is nearly impossible to do on other foils with the depowerable foils coming close to the same. Just as easy as you can drop the power you can power the kite up nearly as fast. Because of this the Revolution will take a bit more to learn and require much more attention to the kite when flying. It can get away from you quick if you don't monitor it regularly.

The kite is very durable and can take some pretty serious abuse but it is a framed kite so any major contact with the ground or other objects could result in a broken spar or rod that will need to be replaced. The same damage can be had on other foil kites as well if they are flown into fences or trees but they have less chance of sustaining damage than the Revolution does. It is very easy to replace the rods tho and most reputable shops will have them in stock for you no problem. Rods for the 2-4 cost appx. 15 to 25 bucks each depending on which rod it is and are a snap to replace. Just slide the broken one out, slide the new one in and your set.

The only other manufacturer that makes a kite similar to the Revolution would be the Peter Lynn C-Quad (no longer in production). The C-Quad is very similar in flight and power delivery but not quite as controllable as the Revolution is. Both of these kites produce extreme amounts of power in the right winds.

You should be ok with the Rev as your first kite as long as you fly it in the lighter winds and take some serious time to learn the controls and how to power/depower it. Once you get very familiar with it you can start in stronger winds and start rockin! I use the Revolution power kites often in the buggy and they are awesome.

Hope this helps.

[acckl]

Thanks everyone for all the detailed and helpful repsonses! This will seem like a dumb newb question, but would it be possible to fly the 2-4 partially de-powered (lower lines partially dropped or even lengthened slightly) while learning this kite?

[sailo99]

Thanks everyone for all the detailed and helpful repsonses! This will seem like a dumb newb question, but would it be possible to fly the 2-4 partially de-powered (lower lines partially dropped or even lengthened slightly) while learning this kite?

Not really. The power curve on a blast is not just dependant on the tension in the brakes but also the speed that the kite is moving at. As such just having slacker brakes would not really be helpful. But to be honest it is so easy to 'dump' the power with these kites (Just let the bottom of the handles pull forward and the power is gone), you wouldn't want to anyway I suspect.

[windofchange]

The Revolution 2-4 will need to have all four lines working to properly control the kite. If you lengthened the rear lines you will lose some of the ability to steer and control the kite, in the end all you would be doing is re-positioning your hands so the lines are all being used again. You can dump the power by dropping the lower lines out of the kite but you will need to re-tension them again to turn the kite once it hits the edge of the window. You really need to fly this kite, not let it float around on its own. It is a little hard to explain with words and something that you almost need to just fly to understand. The 2-4 is a very "safe"** power kite because of the instant depower that you can throw into it at any time, but it isn't really designed to "fly" in the depowered position. It is very different than a depowerable foil.

**Safe meaning that you use common sense and have experience with flying Rev's and power kites in general - and that you aren't using the kite past your abilities or its recommended wind range.

Hope that helps.

[acckl]

Well, I guess I'll re-think the 2-4 and perhaps go with a more suitable beginner kite. I appreciate the help that everyone has given. Kent, your detailed posts were invaluable -- Thanks!

[Penny Lingenfelter]

Well, I guess I'll re-think the 2-4 and perhaps go with a more suitable beginner kite. I appreciate the help that everyone has given. Kent, your detailed posts were invaluable -- Thanks!

Where are you at?

I'll have a Super Blast at Whidbey Island this weekend.

BB Penny

[windofchange]

Well, I guess I'll re-think the 2-4 and perhaps go with a more suitable beginner kite. I appreciate the help that everyone has given. Kent, your detailed posts were invaluable -- Thanks!

Anytime Acckl, glad I was able to help you out. The 2-4 is an awesome kite. If you can make it to Whidbey Island, look Penny up and have a go on hers. You won't regret it at all. Same goes for me if you ever make it out to Vegas, I have the 2-4 and the 4-8 that you can fly (wind permitting of course). lol