Fractured Axel

Hey guys.

I wondered if I could possible gain some advice from you.

I am a complete newbie when it comes to stunt kiting. I am after a stunt kite for my partner for his birthday.

I really like the look of the revolution kites and he really likes them so I know that kite would go down well, however he also likes the look of the other stunt kites which you can different tricks with, (inverters and flips and things) not sure if that's what they are called.

I really don't know much when it comes to stunt kites in the respect that im not to sure what is good make/model etc to get. Give me an 8.5 blade and a flexi bug anyday and if be fine but stunt kites are don't have a clue. haha

So I was just wondering what you guys recommend, He is a very experienced kiter so looking for something he is not going to grow out of any time soon. ( I know its a whole new ball game but I have every faith he will pretty good at it once he learns the tricks if he doesn't already haha

Thanks guys

Helen

Hi Helen

Ask five people here, and you'll get ten different recommendations How much are you willing to spend? If your partner is completely new to dual-line kites, it may be good to get him a decent starter before going down the route of boutique kites, simply because a starter is more resistant to the inevitable crashes, and it will be cheaper to replace broken spars.

hey, cheers for the reply. Its horses for courses then hehe.

Im pretty sure he has flown dual line kites before, I think lol.

That's why I was quite enticed by the rev.

I don't really know whats a good make for stun kites and what I should be looking at when it comes to the dual line kites. How much am I looking for something that is quite intermediate, enough to keep him going for a while?

Also where would be the best place to pick up a second hand rev and how much are we looking?
Suppose want to spend about 150 max really. Its just something to add to our collection of kites and hopefully be good fun on those low wind days/not enough wind to get air bourne to keep us occupied, or should I say him.


Thanks so much

For £150 you should be able to get something decent. Keep an eye on the For Sale section here, as good dual-liners will pop regularly for reasonable prices. If your partner is familiar with flying dual-liners, boutique high-end makes like Benson, R-sky, Jest of Eve, Kitehouse, are some to look out for. Others will chime in with other suggestions no doubt.

For more intermediate dual-liners, you could look into for instance a Skydog Dream On, or a Prism Hypnotist. HQ Jive also gets favourable reviews as a starter kite, but I've not flown that one myself.

As to a Rev, kiteworld now has a clearance sale, with new Revs costing £160 (without lines and handles).

brill thanks so much. How much to revs tend to go for 2nd hand, and where am I most likely to find one 2nd hand to buy?

I would go for the rev on kiteworld, but without lines and handles I gets quite expensive.

Ill have a look at those ones you said, so the better ones are benson, rsky, jest of ever and kitehouse, over the skydog etc?

Many thanks

hels

Besides the For Sale section here, also keep an eye on eBay for 2nd hand kites (Rev or dual-liners). Be aware that cheap Chinese copies of Revs are offered as well, so if you want a genuine Rev, make sure it is indeed a genuine Rev. You should be able to pick up a good-condition 2nd hand Rev for £150 or less, but it may take a bit of time before the perfect one pops up.

You could also put a 'Wanted' post in the For Sale & Wanted section; you never know!

And yes, Skydog kites are good kites, but not in the same league in terms of manufacturing as, say, a Benson. Price reflects that, as new Bensons are £200+, whereas a Dream On is just under £100 new. Hypnotist is about £120, I think.

You did mention 'low wind' in your earlier post. What exactly do you regard as 'low wind'? If you want to be able to fly the kite regularly in winds less than, say, 6mph, you may want to consider an ultralight (UL) rather than a standard version. The Hypnotist, for instance, is a rather heavy kite, and won't fly in what dual-line flyers consider 'low wind'. Several Benson, Jest of Eve, Kitehouse, etc, kites come in standard and UL versions.

Good luck

thankyou so much for all your help, I will have to start looking luckily im not in to much of a mad rush to get one until august.

Well we fly blade so anything under 11 mph or 10mph can be quite difficult to get going and well its virtually impossible to get any air in a bug with those winds, so I thought if I went for something that is a lower wind kite, least he would have something to mess about with and use and have fun with in those winds. However one that would fly in these sorts of winds and a bit higher to would be cool

So basically you are saying you want a Rev?
Lots of lots of great dual line kites like the ones already mentioned in this thread.
I think there are dedicated Rev forums if you really want to go that way, most of us are 2 line flyers here, but I have every type in my bag.

Have a look at the 'PAW' version of the reloaded... about £100 from level one kites. wide wind range, very capable and cheap to repair.

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=12101

If you get one go through Jens via http://shop.levelonekites.com/index.php ... 4mme43pu16 and make sure you ask for the PAW version.

At around £100, the HQ Maestro 2 is a very good all round kite, easy to fly, good precision ( for a trick kite) and it does pretty much all the tricks - it also comes ready to fly with a reasonable set of lines. The PAW modded version - see elsewhere on this forum - is even better. Rev's come up quite often on Ebay and usually go from around £80 ish for the EXP to £120+ for the better ones.

hey guys thank so much for all your help.

No not at all really, I don't mind if its a dual kite or a rev.

Do I take it you can do more tricks with a dual line kite instead, as I know the revs do a lot of the hovering, and stopping suddenly don't they?

There really are so many to choose from haha..

the ones mentioned all look good

hel123 wrote:

Do I take it you can do more tricks with a dual line kite instead, as I know the revs do a lot of the hovering, and stopping suddenly don't they?

Revs do this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfycOiLCqc4


Duals do this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjL-36tMhwc

Revs don't get interesting until there are at least three of them flying in formation.

RoyReed wrote:

Revs don't get interesting until you're a pensioner and/or too fat to move about a bit

fixed.

-Frazer

A decent entry trick/freestyle kite is the l'atalier Cesium Access if you can still get them in the uk.

On the note of revs they take a bit of getting used to if you normally fly dual or single lined kites, you have to essentially re-learn most of what you know.