HQ Beamer II 1.8M

It will fly in lighter winds, with work, but I not recommened anything less than 5mph which is the lower end of a 2 Bft.

Package :

The new Beamer’s for 2005 have undergone several changes. The marketing lists them as :

* Completely redesigned sail graphics

* Extremely pre-stretched bridle lines for even better performance in high winds

* New quad handles with kite killer and ground stake loop

* Metal ground stake for securing kite on ground

*Cool and completely redesigned “Big Zipper” backpack

The graphics do look better to me, and my daughter is delighted with the “purple” of the 1.8 version as to her it is “pink”.

Not having flown the previous version I can’t say if the bridle is any better, but it certainly held it’s shape and performed well in the 20mph winds I tested in, but more on that later.

The new handles, again can’t compare them with the “old” handles but I have to say I liked them in general. They are thinner than my flexi handles, as well as not being so deeply soft. To me this is a good thing. The black coating over the handles did feel as if it was moving slightly, rotating on the handle in the more powered up passes. To me, not a good thing.

The ground stake is a solid piece of kit with a bright orange knob on the top. It comes in a sheath and is a vast improvement on the tent pegs I had been using.

The backpack, hmmm, well, I wouldn’t say cool. I’m a middle aged bloke and I really don’t need any comments about the big zipper from passing kids. There are some stitching issues with the bag I received. Time will tell how resilient it is. On the plus side it is spacious enough with at least one good pocket. (I don’t think I’d trust the “Big Zip” pocket for anything essential, maybe a chocolate bar. Nope in my book that’s classed as essential as well.)

You also get a CD with a video on it. Worth watching at least once.

Kite Setup :

Getting everything out of the bag on the local playing field in light winds and laying it all out was simple enough. I had an issue with one brake bridle having a longer “tail” then the other so counting the knots from the end and attaching the brake lines resulted in uneven lengths. Easily resolved by moving one side up a knot.

The stitching on the seams looked solid and even. The material was light and very “crisp packet” sounding. Just because it sounds good what does that actually mean? If the material was a cotton it would be so pliable it would have difficulty maintaining the foil shape. The material on the Beamer is a rip-stop nylon and so maintains its form much better by not being so soft. Having said that, most modern foil kites use similar material but not all “crisp packets” are created even.

My little Radsail 1.45 gets heavy when it’s wet, my Blade III also takes on a little water, but not as badly as the Radsail. The Beamer is more like the Blade than the Radsail in terms of water retention. Not very scientific, I know, but there you go.

The bridles are knotted rather than sown, and while setting up there was the inevitable “loop through loop” thing going on. Easily sorted though and now the lines are on, their not coming off, so it shouldn’t be an issue again.

Flying :

When I set the kite up it was blowing between 3 mph and 5 mph, which is perhaps not the best time to fly this small kite, but you know what it’s like. It’s all set up and you have to give it a try. Surprisingly the Beamer did get off the ground, and in the stronger gusts it gave some promise as to what it might do.

Sunday afternoon, and I had the afternoon to myself, but very little wind about. The “new kite phenomenon” strikes again. However I set off for the correct side of the Island for onshore winds. The sea looked like a mirror.

“May as well go fishing” I thought and so headed into the mountains to Sulby reservoir. On the way I noticed hat the paragliders where out doing their thing, so I took a change of direction and parked up behind them. 7mph, much better! Looking upto the peak of Ben-y-pot I thought “What the heck, at least the view will be good.” So off I went, chatted with some of the paragliders still on the ground as I passed and headed to the summit.

12 to 15 mph. Much, much better! There wasn’t too much room on the top so setting up the Blade III might of seem me off the edge and joining the paragliders, so I setup the Beamer so see if it would pull.

It certainly did!

Straight to the top of the window, smooth and stable. No luffing, bouncing or jitters. It just sat there grinning. Brining it down into the power and immediately the pull came on. Nowhere near as aggressive as the Blade, and much more predictable.

It flew fast across the window and was totally responsive to the brakes. Turning on a wingtip was easily achievable.

The wind gradually picked up to between 15 and 20 mph as I was flying. Now there was some real pull on the handles, which occasionally had my 18 stone taking a few steps forward as it hit the middle of the power zone. I have no doubt that the same wind speed on the beach would have had my bulk scudding. An adjustment to tighten the brakes, a little more, was required in the stronger winds, but with all the knots pre-placed by HQ that wasn't a problem at all.

Fast figure 8’ing, to keep it in the power, was frantic but positive, with feedback through the handles as to the kite’s position a welcome change to the Blade experience of “watch me like a hawk because if you stop I will bite.”

To rest my arms I setup the two line Radsail 1.45. In comparison the Radsail had very little pull, as you would expect from such a small kite. What you perhaps wouldn’t expect is that across the window it was only marginally faster than the Beamer.

Being on top of a mountain, and flying at the ridge, one thing your going to get is updraft with associated lift. When the updraft kicked in, and if the Beamer was at the top of the window, the lift was immediate and apparent as I adopted the classic Blade flyers pose with arms outstretched overhead, however most of the time there wasn’t much lift at the zenith from the Beamer. This was not the place or time to setup the Blade though.

I did come down eventually to the lighter winds and setup the 3m Blade III. Having flown on the Beamer handles for a few hours it would give me the opportunity to compare Flexi handles. For the first time I noticed the neoprene sock on the Flexi handles and that difference in feeling between the fingers on and those off. The extra cover over the main lines was thicker but it didn’t feel as if it chaffed as much as the bare lines of the Beamer handles. I’ve got big hands, so the extra width on the Flexi handles has never been an issue for me. In fact on balance I prefer the extra width. That is not to say I dislike the Beamer handles, because I do like them and certainly won’t be looking to swap them in the immediate future.

Conclusion :

My daughter hasn’t had the chance to fly the Beamer yet as she was at a party while I was testing. You’ll have to wait for a follow-up review when she has got her hands on it.

To me this is going to be a great high wind kite, and lots of fun for a lunchtime whiz. The package is great value for money. When I do get a ATB I think this will be the engine for it while I’m learning, as it is much more forgiving than the Blade.

As it is so stable and forgiving I have no worries about using this as a training kite, putting it in the hands of the totally inexperienced in lighter winds. However, once the wind picks up, make no mistake, this is a serious bit of kit.

Author : Custheyder