Prism Zephyr crash - service

[deerislandbrew]

I'm just recently back from a weeks vacation in Southern California, where I spent most of the week flying my three kites. I spent the most time flying my Prism Zephyr as the wind on most days was around 5 - 8 mph. I had a great time with this kite. I finally learned how to axel and do 360's in the fade position. This has been a great kite to learn with! Which brings me to one of my (many) crashes. I ended up breaking the male lower spreader at the joint where the two pieces mate. Of course I was playing hard with the kite. I ordered a new piece from Prism and it showed up today, except it was the wrong one. It was the female spreader. I called Prism and the guy's apologized and said keep the spare female part and we will send you out the male spreader right away. Great service from the guy's up in Seattle at Prism!

As for the Zephyr, I have heard it said that the kite just about gives away some of the slack line tricks. I think it's true! It helped cut my learning curve down a bit I think.

[RobB]

Good to hear the Zephyr is treating you well. As you said, if you ever do have a problem with a Prism kite, the folks in Seattle are usually pretty good at helping you out. As you found out, the Zephyr is a pretty tough kite, it took me a l-o-n-g time before I broke mine. I didn't actually break a stick, but the ferrule that connects the two lower spreaders together. If you need to get the kite in the air ASAP, you can retrieve the ferrule from the broken stick, and glue it into the new female stick that they sent you.

With the Zephyr & Hypnotist, you have most wind conditions covered. Two kites that will last you years ! My Zephyr (now 9 years old) is still plenty flyable, although the trailing edges are pretty tattered. I gave my Mirage (Hypnotist) to my nephew after years of flying it.

[Hadge]

If you want to try removing the old broken ferrule it's pretty easy. Find a piece of stiff wire or thinner carbon rod that will slide into the spreader from the other end and let you push on the ferrule from inside. Then get a heat gun - the kind of thing you use to strip paint - and gently heat up the area with the broken ferrule for couple of minutes- keep it moving - once it is nice and hot ( you can usually see a little 'vapour' from the spreader when it's hot enough) push the ferrule out with the wire/rod.

[Dave362]

I flew a friend's Zeph for a few minutes once. Very well behaved and everything is there,deep turtle, plenty pitchy for all those kinds of tricks. My feeling is its all the kite you need. I've had a number of these lets call them mass produced/factory kites. Great values, IMHO, you just have to realize what youre getting and watch things like glue joints, end caps, etc. Once I find a kite I really like I try to buy another as a backup. This is so much easier with a kite like the Zeph, E3, Acrobatx, than a boutique kite. Congrats on your tricking prrogress. Sounds like you're doing great!

[deerislandbrew]

I broke the ferrule, not the spreader. I had thought that the male end of the spreader was turned down, not a separate piece. Thanks for the advice RobB and Hadge. I will remove the shredded ferrule and get a new one inserted so I have a spare. My replacement arrived today!

[Dave362]

I used to keep a bottle of CA (super glue) and spray accelerator in my tool kit for when these things come loose. Problem is, super glue doesn't last forever so I need to replace it. Oh yeah, you can also get CA de bonder which you spray on the ferrule to break it free. Makes it easy to insert a new one if something goes south on the field.....

[dmcneil]

Hi Dave - I got a Zephyr for Christmas and have only flown it a few times, but just love it. I also have a Hypnotist for the bigger winds. Interesting how different the two kites are in terms of inputs required. Takes some getting used to. I love how pitchy the Zephyr is. Goes into a turtle so easily. And it also wraps up for yo-yos just as easily. I have been away from flying since January and recently just got back into it. Pulled off my first rung of a JL with the Zephyr recently. I was so surprised I didn't have the wherewithal to try for a second rung!