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Any interest in a Trade ? Rev Zen for Xtra Vent ?


RobB
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Update... I sold the Zen all ready, but still looking for a Rev with holes for the high winds !

Showed up to the beach today for another 20+mph wind day, this week ! Wondering as I sat there in the car waiting for the rain to stop... why did I get a Zen ?

I flew my full vent the other day in 20+mph winds, and was wishing for more vent, less sail. It may be a long shot, but maybe there's someone out there who got an Extra Vent that doesn't really have the winds for it and would be better suited with a Zen.

Hey, you never know... :ani_idea:

post-786-0-19896100-1411687766_thumb.jpg

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I might consider trading a Shook 100% Mesh for your Zen (It will be my 3rd one though!)

It's patriotic (red/white/blue) with a french bridle and magic sticks,.... I'll have to get a picture up as I don't have any (seldom used, never at home)

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Paul, that sounds interesting. I've seen the Shook mesh, but never flown one. If it has a comparable wind range to an Extra vent, I would be interested. After all the talk about the Zen when I got it, I came to the realization that the Zen was redundant in my bag. I flew the 1.5 full sail and the Zen side by side the last time I had low wind, and actually preferred the flight of the 1.5 on the same lines, same wind.

When I got the Zen, I was under the impression that it flew in lower winds than the 1.5 full sail, or at least more easily. But after 2 days this week over 20mph winds (not back to back) I realized that my high wind days outnumber my light wind days by a considerable margin. One of the main reasons I've been flying Revs so much recently....

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I've used the SLE tubes and 4 wraps in winds above 35 mph for team, but I prefer it more flexible with 3 wraps or green race when alone. I'd ship it to you for trials, but if not interested you need to pay for it's return back to me.

If you think it's a great deal, then ship your Zen back to me, eventually I'll need to order a new Shook to replace this trade-in. Eliot is also rebuilding my first Zen, replacing the trailing edge as necessary.

lamasters paul AT Gee-mail DOT com

The Zen can be reworked to magnificent, you just need some new crap slapped on it. THe diamond frame and some magic sticks at least, I highly recommend swapping out the bridle as well! It becomes an entirely different kite for very little outlay of add'l funds.

Mine is used to double digit winds and flies in a fart, no other kite can match it for low-no wind performance. That doesn't mean you can fly it laying on the ground or from a lawn chair though. It's a bus, big movements by you and time in between them for effects to take place, you're steering with a big wheel in your hands. Little movements are going to be ignored. But step back slightly and snap your thumbs to forward flight and it rockets out of your hands with supercharger force. You can slack line and re-power effortlessly. Tricks are timed with a sundial not a stop-watch. Lastly, field recovery is a pilot-less input for literally hundreds of feet.

I'd recommend you not give up on such a beautiful wing as your Zen, but if you are serious then I guess private emails are next for us.

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Paul - I have to agree with you on one thing - The Zen is a bus! But I'll qualify that by saying this - I bet most who have tried the Zen, didn't fly a Rev 1 either! It takes a different touch to coax the magic out of one! It isn't all snappy and acrobatic as a 1.5, but more graceful and stately. It feels solid against all floaty. Some would say boring, I say different! And I think that's the key - different! Many come with certain expectations only to feel letdown when things don't live up to that level. As someone that learned on a Rev 1, it just comes natural to me. The bigger (or smaller) movements a person makes to fly one don't throw me a curve, like others that have tried one! That said, it's all a personal thing between a flier and their kites, what works or suits them, may not you! I'm happy with mine, I know you are with yours!!

Rob - Paul takes good care of his stuff, I'd take him up, if he's willing to let you test out his kite! Don't like - you're only out postage. Like and a trade is out there - you decide!!

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Well, my birthday is in a couple of weeks... fingers crossed that my wife's been talking with Lam. He knows that I've had my eye on the ABS xtra vent... :cat_shifty:

So many "enablers" in the kite world... Why it feels like home I guess.

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  • 7 months later...

We have completely different local wind conditions Rob.

I've ordered my 3rd Zen, due to arrive this month hopefully. I've repaired that first one,.... several times myself and finally to Doctor Shook, it's now the prime again. The second one was ordered 2013 June and worn ragged in less than two years! They don't wear out sitting in the bag, mine is used until others have switched to mid-vents. First up and probably last put away, unless it's a team fly gathering. Still I was most likely there first and flying the Zen while everyone else slept or was in route.

The Zen makes those first few lessons so instinctive, it's a great teaching device, slow with a responsive feedback down the lines that beginners can quickly grasp.

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Hey Paul...

Since I wrecked the sail on my full vent after many years of tough flying, I've realized how much I need something with lots of vents in my bag. Last week I blew out my Prism Alien, which was my temporary high wind kite.

I did fly the Zen at Wildwood a bit, it was OK, but it still doesn't thrill me. A friend who was with me gave it a try, and couldn't get much out of it at all. He only flies once or twice a year, but does have an idea how to fly a Rev. I guess the Zen is nice to have, but it doesn't make sense for me since I only fly it a few times a year.

Our winds up here are stressing my mid-vent to the point that I hesitate to fly it... It kinda sucks to have to turn away from the beach because there's too much wind. I've got plenty of kites that can fly in no wind, but nothing now that can take over 20mph.

~Rob.

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  • 4 months later...

My Full Vent lasted 5-6 years, flying on my rocky beach in the worst conditions. It might have lasted longer if I hadn't flown it in 30+mph winds and flown it in & out of the salt water all the time. But what fun is that ?

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Here

Hey Mr. L...

I do like the colors of your FV... just to verify, is that a FV 1.5b ? I would consider a FV 1.5b at this point since I have nothing to fly when the wind is over 15mph, and I've been left grounded too many times recently. Getting desperate... PM me a price if that is a 1.5b. Thanks !

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Funny angle and the one on the right hasn't got the caps on, to stretch the LE to full length.

PS: were these a custom set? Not a color combo I know of in these, but ...?????

They are custom. Both. And I have no clue why the picture came out like that. They are both 2s. My friend is a rwb nut and he gave them to me for a good price, bc I can't afford them.

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