Which Revolution?

[Robertsepolen]

Currently flying Prism 4D and Prism Hypnotist. Mostly fly 4D. 

Winds mostly 4-12 with 16-20 not unusual. 

Which Revolution should I be thinking about? 

What are advantages of vented/unvented? 

What is significance of number of wraps?

thank you! 

Flying in Walla Walla Valley.

[riffclown]

The Revolution (or other 4 Line kite) you should be thinking about is called an OPK. It stands for Other People's Kites.

I'm sure there is a current quad-head in your area or within a somewhat reasonable distance.. Meeting with them for a few hours and flying their kite with a bit of friendly instruction from them will save you Money, Time and in the long run will give you the ability to answer your question from the most authoritative source... You..

Sharing of kites in an indispensable privilege we all share. It will also afford you the opportunity to fly a kite already tuned for the conditions, further honing your interest and helping your selection process in ways you can't imagine..

A few words of warning and wisdom though.. As you probably already know, "Kite" is not a word often spoken in singular form. Nor is "quad" or "Rev." One will NOT be enough..

 

[makatakam]

Yup, what riffclown said, plus a couple of other things. There's a lot of Rev pilots in the Seattle and Portland areas. I realize that's a bit of a drive, but not way too far. It would be beneficial to meet with one or more of them on the flying field before you buy for the reasons that riffclown mentioned, and also because the folks in that area will know the type of winds you are likely to encounter. In addition, there is no one-size-fits-all kite. The standard sail kites are made for wind less than 12 mph, and the midvent and fullvent sails are made to fly in stronger and much stronger wind, respectively. The actual wind range of any sail depends on your level of experience. Those with enough experience can expand the recommended wind range of any kite 4 mph at each end.

A two-hour drive one way will save you so much grief. Check back here soon, I'm sure people near you will chime in and say hello. Kite flyers are a friendly bunch, and we don't bite. To have someone who can show you what not to do when starting with a quad is priceless. Think back to when you started with dual-line kites and multiply any difficulties you may have had by a factor of four. Click on the map tab at the top of the page to check the members closest to you and stay tuned to see who is active.

The number of "wraps" or "feathers" is the strength/stiffness of the frame tubes. Two=flexible, three=medium, four=stiff. There are others, and you will learn of those eventually. They involve the characteristics of more than one rating, for instance, the stiffness of a three-wrap with the flex and/or weight of a two-wrap. You can also mix and match frames to create custom "hybrids" to suit conditions and flying style. You can double-up the leading edge in hurricane force wind. Quads afford you with many options to have the kite handle the way you prefer.

If you must have your own now, go for it. Get a full (standard) sail and fly it within the recommended wind range. Flying above that range will prematurely stretch the sail. A standard sail will give you the most flying days per year, unless most of the wind in your area is over 14 mph average.

Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

[Robertsepolen]

Thanks all for the input. I will be watching.