Flexifoil Blade MK III 4.9M

Readers should not that this review is about my first ever kite. Since buying the 3m blade (6 months ago) I have bought a 4.9m blade & the 4.9m is the only kite I can compare it too.

I bought my first kite thinking I would mainly be static flying and jumping & later get into boarding. Hence the requirements for my first purchase were(in descending order):

1. Lift for jumping
2. Quick
3. Be able to board with it

After investigation on a few forums it quickly became apparent that the 4.9m blade was the kite I wanted, plenty of lift for big static jumps. The only question was, given my level of experience(none), was the 4.9m going to be a really stupid purchase? More investigation on the forums and it seems obvious the 4.9 is too much. How about the 3m? Some people are saying the 3m is still too much for a beginner but I decide to take my chances.

The kite comes in a very neat and tidy rucksack. The kite itself seems well built. I've manhandled it exactly as you would expect a beginner too & 6 months down the line it still seems as good as new. The flexifoil handles are comfortable to use and the kite killers easy to fasten (I think both killers and handles are better than ozone's which i have on my 4.9 blade).

The first couple of times I took the kite out I found it intimidating. I'd unwittingly take the kite straight through the power zone & I'd do a superman impression before burying my face, body, then legs striaght in the ground. But it didn't take long to get the hang of flying it. After 10 hours flight time I was confident in winds up to 20mph & was only being flattened on the occasions I launched the kite directly down wind on high wind days (i.e. it would only bite me when I was lazy).

This kite is easy & intuitive to control. It moves quick in the sky but needs quite a bit of brake input to turn it fast. One problem with this kite is it seems prone to overfly the window & fold but it is easy to adjust your position and get it reinflated or even better to apply the brakes before it overtakes the window.

Once the wind speed hits 15mph, with a bit of working the kite generates enough traction to get the kite board rolling & small pendulum jumps are achievable. At 20mph you can leave the kite in one part of the window and it will pull the board, no need to work the kite anymore. The kite is now producing enough power to statically jump 3 or 4 feet without the need to pundulum. At 25mph I'm getting quite intimidated by the kite. I don't even bother getting on the board. The kite is now producing so much power that I can park it at the zeneth and every time there is a gust I am lifted a few inches off the ground. At 30mph there is no denying that it is the kite, not me, which is now in control. When the wind drops below 15mph things aren't so interesting. Flying statically you have to invest a major workout to get any kind of lift. Boarding is very hard, you have to work the kite alot to get moving and I constantly fall off as the power either dies or suddenly kicks in.

In hindsight, given my main agenda was a beginners kite for jumping & boarding I think this kite was a good purchase. At the beginning you can take the kite out in winds less than 15mph where it is quite tame so long as you understand the basics. Yet in winds over 15mph it is still an exciting kite to fly.

By : moonboy