be safe with those power kites

[feelxitxburn]

i was considering buying a 2-4 or a 4-8 down the line, but after watching something like this it scares me.

good thing he made it

[windofchange]

Yea, that is some pretty scary stuff. Aparently that has happened quite often down at that spot because of very extreme thermals. You would probably never have to worry about that with the Power Blast kites because they are not really designed for the same type of lift that the surf kites are designed for. The depower on the Rev's is so big that you can dump most of the power out of the kite very quickly. Surfing is quite a bit more dangerous than buggying or land boarding (not to downplay the need for safety in those sports at all) The reason for the added danger in kite surfing is you are usually rigging up a kite that is very huge in size and on land you are usually on the edge of being overpowered. The extra power is needed once you get on the water because of the enourmous resistance there. And lets face it...the thrill of kite surfing is also the ability to get huge airs, something the surf kites are designed for and the Power Blast is not....not to mislead anyone....the Power Blast 2-4 can produce plenty enough power to get my 240 lb frame 10 feet in the air with very little effort.

For normal buggying or other land kiting use, you would usually never need that big of a kite in the first place. To give you an idea...the kite in the video I am assuming is in the area of 13-16 square meters in size. The Power Blast 4-8 is a 4 square meter kite....although the Power Blast is a much more efficient kite in delivering power than the large surf kites are, it is still appx. 3 - 4 times smaller than the ones used on water. The two kites may be similar to the same amount of power output, but the lift, float, hangtime, stability, and of course water-relaunchability of the surf kites make these two kites nearly impossible to compare side by side.

As with any power kite tho...you always have to keep safety in mind above all other things. Just like in the video if the pilot would have activated his safety release the very second something started going wrong he should have been able to dump the kite safely and quite possibly never would have got lofted that high in the first place. So many times people start to think that "Oh, I can control this one, no need to release" and then when they realize that they have lost control and need to release...its too late and they can only hang on and hope for the best. It still comes back to watching the area and conditions where you fly, being aware of the types of winds in your area and only flying a kite that you know is ok for those conditions....oh...and having (and using) a safety release system in the event everything goes wrong. Helmets, pads, protective clothing, gloves, etc... are also sensible precautions when power kiting.

He he he...throw your kite to the wind, not caution.

[audioRob]

Ive had stuff like that happen before... ive seen it happen to others too.

But it'd never happen with a power blast.

[Penny Lingenfelter]

Not like that video. But a surge of wind w/a power blast can put big men on their faces. Being aware and being careful is what it's all about.

I like that Mike... throw your kite to the wind, not caution.

Two weeks ago I was buggying with my Super Blast and doing a little sideways sliding on some turns. I've hit soft sand in a turn before and flipped pretty hard. When I had enough of a slide that I thought I might get flipped or pulled out, I released one of my handles. Instant save.

I'm not a buggy guru, I'm just a powder puffer. I want the power to play soft and not get hurt.

BB

Penny

[windofchange]

Mike?? And here I thought I had something original. he he he

[Penny Lingenfelter]

oops sorry.. Kent

[kite slinger]

http://community.webshots.com/photo/210497...72413283ldbUbS#

2-4 in front of a 4-8

[kite slinger]

4-8

http://community.webshots.com/photo/290279...72413283VqRWPQ#

[windofchange]

Great pictures Kite Slinger - Matching power blasts...way kewl!

Here's my 4-8 sitting next to my 1.5 stack. It's quite amazing just how big the 4-8 really is.

Power Blast 4-8 and 1.5 Stack