montana 6

this is a second review of a hat Ive done for these pages and i believe ive found a winner here. The Animal beenie hat is truly a master of head snugness. featuring a 100% acrylic knitted weave, doubled over to give you a very warm head. machine washable at 30 anddry on a radiator mine came in a dashing olive green and matches a hoodie i often wear perfectly but it is available in other colors so you dont have to worry about clashing. a really nice feature is the peak or ''visor'' built onto it, this is nice for keeping the sun off the back of your neck, or from out of your eyes, and also because i know that is how a few of you roll to cover part of your face and look all gangsta' the weave of the close knit gives the hat a nice tidy look and nothing like grandma's tea cosy and also give the hat a great stretch without looking lumpy underneath. it does keep nice and cosy on your head and it has yet to blow off though i did feel it lifting a bit last time i had my head out of the car window. (i have to test these things in case some of you good people try to do it and something bad happens, i concur sticking your head out of the window of a moving car is not a good idea and should only be carried out by trained professionals on a closed street or movie set) i have decided to set this as an intermediate level hat as novice and new hat wearers may not be able to pull off all the looks of the hat, and the G look is often not for the faint hatred or sound of mind. By : wenglish

I've recently been sent one of the Air Evolution beenies, its black with a stitched logo on the front and back. made from 100 percent acrylic its AZO free and can be washed on the standard 40 cycle or if your really into energy saving turn your machine down a notch to 30. Measuring 8 inches from base to top its big enough to cover most heads and the acrylic material means it will stretch and fit snugly and not blow off in the strong winter winds. i have been wearing one now for about 4 days and i have to say my head has been kept very warm though my hair has suffered as a result. perhaps some of the new Shockwaves gel that keeps shape even under head wear is advisable. all in all a very good garment and i would highly recommend one to anyone looking for a nice warm hat. By : wenglish

when it arrives you will find you have a stuff sack with everything in and the bar and lines in their own seperate bag. so take the kite out and you will notice that unlike most depower kites it has two knots on the bridal that the outer lines connect to. This is for the hooked in and unhooked setting. use the knot closest to the kite for regulay hooked in rideing and as usual on this setting trim right in and you can fly unhooked. however if you use the setting furthest from the kite you will be able to ride unhooked and still have full use of the trim srtap giving you a much bigger wind range when rideing unhooked and so improving your chances of learning that new trick you have been trying but not had quite the right wind for. its also small at only 50cm it dosent get in the way and they have kept the same size for all the kites across the range and it hasent affected the turning even in the largest size (12m) the kite its self is very light and well made. it has gause mesh covering the openings and closed cells not only at the ends but alson the two cneter cells are closed. the trailing edge looks a little odd at first if you are not used to air evolution kites as it has small spars permantly in it helping to keep its shape when you pull the bar in and so giving a smoother power delivery. running down the lines to the bar you have a standerd trim strap that is very easy to use and dosent slip and operatesvery well. the bar is nice and comfy, coverd bar ends with extended leader line covers stop any chance of the lines cutting across you hands if your turning hard and an ergonomic ridge makes the bar very comfy and helps with grip when your hanging on during powerd moves. the primary sefety is the chicken loop, pull the red toggle and the kite will flag out on one line but the bar dosent shhot away from you its still easily within reach. seccondary safety is the leash , pull the stopperball and you release the kite compleatly leaving yourself with a chickenloop to remember it by. so time to hook in and fly, once its in the air you can tell its diffrent from all the previous models, less downwind drag at the zennith is one thing, more stable as well. turning speed is the same as the HUC still nice and fast but the new swallow tail design works very well, you can see one half of the trailing edge moveing seperate to the other when you turn the kite this is designed to give a smoother power delivery and act more like the flaps on an aircraft helping to create even move lift and float. the 8m x air has the power of a 10m depower foil, fact you carnt argue it. air evolution kites are very powerfull so you have to order a size smaller then you would normally, not too bad realy as it saves you a bit of money. in the case of a lufting just give the center lines a little tug and it sorted its self out at no point in the last 3 sessions have i had trubble with tip tuck and i dont belive that it is an issue with this kite possibly due to the design of the bridal. on a mountain board i found the kite pulled very well all across the window, able to go upwind easily and after a little time to tune in i felt confident that the kite wasnt going to do something stupid like try to kill me. It dosent fly the same as a frenzy more like a flysurfer and so will take a little getting used to. setting up for a jump i found it best to get your speed up a bit and send the kite back hard edgeing and pulling the bar in as you would for any depower. the lift is steady and strong, boosting high and realy floating you down it caught me out a few times finishing rotations far too early and finding im still 6 ft up. the bottom end of this size is very low, put it on the unhooked setting and trim in a bit to help with and chance of backstall and with a few tugs on the center lines it will go up in as little as 3mph, getting you rolling about on a board at about 8 or 9 mph. the top end im yet to experiance but i have been told that you can still hold it down around 25mph (this is however an experianced rider who knows the kite well and is sure of flying conditions) equally at home in a buggy though it does offer more lift then many buggy pilots like it would be ideal for freestyle as its very quick and stable. By : wenglish