Kite buying tips

[Gladders]

I could do with some advice.  Im new to sports kites. Im flying an HQ limbo (150cm span? Something like that) at the moment and finding it very fast and crash-y. I realise lots of that is pilot error. Im getting some quite nice shapes with it and can land and take off ok, but I'm not finding it very satisfactory. Having read a few threads on  here,  I'm starting to understand why.  

I'd like a larger, slower kite that I can learn to stall and trick a bit more easily. Robust construction is quite key, for those abrupt landings. Being in England, the buying options are a bit limited.  There isn't a shop near me to visit,  so I'm reliant on web research and advice.  I'm looking at a Prism Quantum or an HQ Jive, though I think it's ugly. Both about £100. Maybe an Elliot Slide. Am I missing something? If there is a second hand market,  I haven't found it. 

[Wayne Dowler]

The Quantum is a good choice. Strong and robust, able to handle abuse reasonably well. No framed kite is indestructible, so be aware. That said the Quantum is pretty strong.

Tip:

If there is no hope of saving the kite in a crash situation - STEP FORWARD, DO NOT PULL! All you do by pulling is drive the kite even harder into the ground! Learn to - Give to the Kite!!! Take all the power out of it. Better to go straighten up your kite after a crash, instead of finding a broken mess of rods and/or torn sail.

[Gladders]

2 minutes ago, Wayne Dowler said:

Tip:

If there is no hope of saving the kite in a crash situation - STEP FORWARD, DO NOT PULL!

Thanks for the reply Wayne. I'm getting better at that ^^^. I spend quite a bit of time practising my crash technique.

[Breezin]

Not sure what access you have to Premier but after much research my 1st kite was a Widow ng. I've looked at the Limbo a lot as a higher wind kite. As you get better I think  that kite will teach you a lot in 20 plus winds.If you're going to stay with Prism the Hypnotist would probably be better. Limbo will take you thru the nose dive tricks that the Quantum excels at surviving. Kite World in the UK has the HQ Maestro 3 for 104.00 pounds.Going up in price the Zebra is top of the line.Pretty good reviews on both kites. Lots of people love the HQ Shadow.My HQ Delta Hawk is well built and I'll have it as long as I can fly the dang thing.It's named Wicked. Look at some of the cheaper Level 1 models and the Silver Fox line. For your skill set and where you live I think the Maestro 3 is a good choice. When getting my 1st kite it was #4 on my list behind Wolf ng, Widow ng, Hypnotist.Flying Wings Fox 2.5 #5 in that order. A lot more tricky than the Jive or Quantum so I've read. Widow was #2 because of cost.Most of the info I got on the Maestro came from UK fliers on GWTW and Fractured Axle. You can follow how it evolved from 1,2 and 3. The mods folks have done is good reading also.Not a lot of Freilein duels in the U.S. that I can tell except the OSK line. Outside the U.S. people seem pretty happy with them for the price. Mostly from China sellers.Got a great deal on a Mind Trick vented or I would have gotten the Freilein Challenger max from OSK.

[Gladders]

Thanks @Breezin, TBH i fancy a change from HQ. I saw an interesting deal on an Elliot kite earlier but I can't find much about them.  I had a look at the freilein kites too but I didnt find the website very friendly.  Unless I order from Europe, the choices here seem to be either fairly mainstream HQ/Prism/CIM kites or super-boutique high end ones.  

And anyway, now I've read a bit on here, I'm wondering about a Rev. 😁

[khsidekick]

One other option is the 3wind quad kites that are sold thru The Kite Shoppe. You can customize your colors using kite paint.com and they are relatively low priced.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using KiteLife mobile app

 

[Breezin]

Had a Elliot Jet Stream Speed Reloaded. Not a trick kite. I was new and didn't do it justice.I got 9 different kite brands. Totally get wanting to try other brands.I had 2 kites that I'd sold to get a high end kite. Missed them so much I got replacements. One is a Sky Dog Black Dog. A lot of days I start out on it or my Nighthawk to settle me down a bit and get some focus. They're pretty fast 3/4 sized kites. Fly very different from each other,  tricky and tons of fun. More I fly the Black Dog the more I like it. You have access to Sky Dog in the UK.  I'm pretty impressed with the simple functionality of my Black Dog.  Flown it to the top of it's stated wind range and lower than stated. They have 3 sizes of trick kites all framed in 6mm carbon which should make them very durable.Nice looking kites to boot.Should be very competent mid priced kites.If something happened to my Black Dog I'd get the Freebird(smallest) without much thought hoping it would be similar. They don't make the Black Dog anymore.  I started on Premier kites and am kinda biased towards that and Sky Burner brand when recommending kites to someone. Just nearing the end of my 1st year but I read a lot 😊. A quad huh? Man that's a dark subject.I got a nice looking Rev 1.5 that I don't know how to fly yet. I'd say get some kind of  Freilein, Kite Forge, Pollo, Bazzer, Revolution what Khsidekick said or something else. Another words I'm no help with quads AT ALL.Rain Monday. Snow Tuesday and Wednesday. Freezing fog till noon today and drizzled all afternoon. Been logged in all day popping in and out. Think I might be going a little stir crazy not flying for 4 days in a row. Still better than dealing with a hurricane though. Sheesh I better go for now.

[frob]

If you are considering quad line kites, the skill sets are mostly distinct.  You can learn to fly a quad without learning to fly dual, and you can learn to fly a dual without learning a quad.  Quad line kites are generally slower and deliberate, far more precise with the ability to slow, stop, and reverse. Dual line kites have more options including kites with high power or force if you like a workout, kites with extreme speed, and kites capable of amazing acrobatic tricks. 

Some skills are transferable like understanding the wind window or understanding how air turbulence affects flight, but mostly you can learn either one in about the same time frame.

With the help of an experienced pilot that can give immediate feedback you can learn basic control in an hour or two.  Without an experienced guide you will need experimentation and instructional videos and it will take longer.

[Gladders]

4 hours ago, Breezin said:

 I started on Premier kites and am kinda biased towards that and Sky Burner brand when recommending kites to someone. 

I had a look at the Premier Addiction. Nice, but I though it looked a bit fast for my needs. Never heard of Sky Burner.

 

[makatakam]

9 hours ago, Gladders said:

Never heard of Sky Burner.

They make some great kites. Check them out, for sure.

[cerfvoliste]

Secondary Market:

Besides here, check out Fractured Axel and GWTW Forum. You will will need to register to see the GWTW swap meet.

@

 

Sent from my SM-T380 using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

[Breezin]

A lot of Premier kites single and duals are designed by Wayne Brunjes and Jon Trennepohl. Jon owns Sky Burner kites which are made in the U.S. You'll here a lot about Sky Shark framing . Believe he has controlling interest if not all in Sky Shark. Had a Addiction that's been replaced with a Psycho. Grand kids still have one. Kites still a little fast for them. They prefer my Zephyr and Pro Dancer.Kite is a total blast to fly.Out of the 3 similar sized kites I've had it is the fastest followed by Nighthawk and Black Dog. Carbon framed like the Black Dog and a little tougher IMHO. I've broken 3 whiskers on the BD. If you got the parts simple fix that costs about 12 to 15 cents. Those 3 don't fit for your wants at all. Premier Widow ng is a good kite to read up on for a baseline. Then compare to other similar kites. If I were just starting out the newest Flying Wings Silver Fox 2.5 redesigned by Lam Houc would be high on my list. Don't pay that much attention to the UK market but like Premier I don't think Flying wings is in many of your kite shops. Bought and sold kites on GWTW and have not had a bad experience at all. Another option is to contact Krijn thru GWTW. He is a topnotch sail maker and flyer in Holland.Kareloh is another. Both have excellent videos and Icky TV is fantastic. Tell him what you're looking for and then let him lead you to a kite design. He can make you a sail and bridle. That saves on shipping and import costs.He'll tell you how to frame it. Then get your frame from a UK kite shop.Framing is pretty easy.You'd get a ton of help here and the other forums if you got stuck.Pretty sure Krijn wouldn't let you get stuck in the first place. You'd end up with a pretty sweet kite. If Sky Burner doesn't make some Widow Makers this fall or winter I'll be talking to Blue Moon Kites and Krijn for my next sul. I'd get 1 from both but budget constraints only allow for 1 at a time. I'll be getting my 1st true speed kite this winter too. Got all the parts just have to figure out which one to make.Oh and how to make it LOL

[Exult]

On 10/12/2018 at 5:08 AM, frob said:

If you are considering quad line kites, the skill sets are mostly distinct.  You can learn to fly a quad without learning to fly dual, and you can learn to fly a dual without learning a quad.  ....

...

Some skills are transferable like understanding the wind window or understanding how air turbulence affects flight

Yes one could do one of them only. One could also eat plums as the only fruit and refuse all kiwis from right from the start until the end of time with no exception. That being said I have been doing mostly HWKing (Hadziki wing kiting, yes Rev like QLKing i.e.) lately, because locally (well in the Nordic countries – you can’t be too picky when defining “locally here”) HWKing has offered some kind of surrounding sport kiting activities (which is a luxury). When returning to DLKing I hope that I’ll make some use of the (this sounds fluffy) the QLK way of feeling the presence of the kite. When doing DLKing, have I 100% left the harder with too little feedback (from the feel through the lines) from the days of learning a long time ago or can something be added from QLKing? Another thing I’ll try to transfer to DLKing is more methodical way of learning with more repetition that I’ve applied since starting to learn QLKs (1.3 years ago).