HQ Crossfire Depower

Crossfire "Depower" Review

Kites Tested –

HQ Crossfire 2.4m, 3.2m, 5m, and 7.7m

This is not a review of the standard Crossfire, but an account of my findings after retro fitting a depower bar system to the kite.

In the beginning

For the last 10 months or so, I had been using ARC style kites for my buggying and boarding exploits. While the stability and performance of these kites cannot be denied, sometimes you can be left with a slightly muted, detached feel. So, last month, when I received my first HQ Crossfire kite – to be flown on handles no less – it was something of a wake up call...

Crossfire owners will know exactly what I mean when I say this kite has character – very fast across the sky, great upwind, surprising lift and float even in the smaller sizes, and more power per square inch than most kites I have flown. The Crossfire ride is raw and direct, the anti-thesis of the sometimes remote characteristics of my staple kites.

The Crossfire is mostly flown on handles, and really responds to active brake input from the pilot to get the full potential of the kites stability and performance. For this reason, flying on a bar with the Flexi style free brakes system is not really an option. There was speculation of a depower option being available for the kite before its release, but it never materialised. There are some great boarders using handles these days, but I am not one of them (!) so, being keen to use the Crossfire for my boarding sessions, I decided to retro fit a depower system to my quiver of Crossfires...

Retro Fit

My retro depower system comprises – one depower bar complete with trim strap, two small pulleys on to which is ‘larks headed’ an 18cm loop of nylon (available from any chandlers), two 116cm lengths of strong nylon chord. In the nylon chord, I tied a knot at each end, and one more 23cm in from one end.

To fit the system is quite straightforward. With the kite secured on the ground, remove the brake and power lines from the kite’s bridles. Take the pulley with its attached nylon loop, and larks head it onto the power bridle, as you would normally do with the lines. Run one of the 116cm lengths of nylon though the pulley, and attach the power line to the end furthest away from the knot you have tied in the nylon. Next, tie a loop into the end of the brake bridle leader, and 'larks head' that around the knot you tied 23cm in from the other end. Now to finish off, attach your brake line to the remaining end of the long nylon chord. Do the same to both sides of the bridle.

The bar set up is the same as with any depower style kite – brake lines to the ends of the bar, and the power lines to the trim strap. The bar that I used was the one from the Advance Offroad kites, with the safety leash attaching to the brake leaders, so when the safety is pulled, the kites flutter to the ground on its brake lines. This system worked well for me; I have not experimented with ‘re-ride’ safety systems.

Test Conditions

My location for testing the kites was at the Skypark, an inland flying site. The winds, while constant, were sometimes lumpy due to the presence of rain and heavy cloud cover. I have not tested the kites in very gusty conditions.

Launching and Edge of Window Control

The Crossfire launches much the same as other depower kites – sheet in the trim strap and push the bar forward to create slack in the brake lines. Pulling on the centre lines, just in front of the trim strap, helps the kite up to the zenith in lighter winds. With the kite at the zenith, a little input from the bar is needed to prevent over flying. Guiding the kite round to the edges of the window, tension is needed in the brake lines to ensure stability, much the same as when flying with handles.

Kite Feedback

All the Crossfires I tested felt surprisingly natural and comfortable on the depower bar when static flying. Turning is crisp and predictable, the kite even responds like a proper depower kite – pulling the bar in gives you a faster turn rate, while letting the bar out slackens the brake lines giving you a larger turning radius – some older, big name depower foils didn’t manage to get that bit right! Bar pressure is solid, with the bar feeling nice and ‘springy’ in the middle third of its travel – a good sign.

Four Kites, One Bar.

My retro depower system worked the same for all the kites, no extra modifications were necessary. Starting with the smallest kite, the 2.4m in 10knots wind, the kite zipped around the sky, retaining its feisty characteristics. The 3.2m was a real peach, fast and precise, nice and stable, and great fun in the buggy. In stronger winds, the 3.2m proved to be a great boarding kite, retaining its shape very well, and even generating a nice bit of float and lift, allowing some nice jumps and grabs with the board. The 5m, in 15knots of wind, required a lot of active brake input to keep its shape in the sky, and it took me a while to get tuned in to the kite. With practice though, the kite began to reveal its potential. On the day of testing the 5m, the wind increased some more, and this made the kite easier to fly. Being hooked in to the kite with the depower system made holding the power in the stronger winds easier than with handles and a strop (for me personally). Possibly my favourite of the whole quiver was the 7.7m. I had really enjoyed this kite on handles, and with the depower set up I was able to hold the huge power generated by this kite. Smooth, big floaty jumps were no problem, with enough hang time to land foot outs, rotations and other freestyle tricks. Turning speed was still rapid with this kite – even using the same bar length as the tiny 2.4m – that’s the beauty of brake line turns! Redirecting the kite in the air was easy, and by sheeting the bar right in, I could extend the length of my jumps and prevent the kite from collapsing due to slack lines.

From the 3.2m Crossfire upwards, all kites produced great lift for board jumping. The technique I used was the same as for most depower kites – bar sheeted out, holding an edge cruising upwind, quickly send the kite to the zenith, and pull the bar in. It is vital to pull the bar fully in on landing to prevent the kite from collapsing.

Repower more than Depower

The Crossfire is a lot of fun on a depower bar set up, I was impressed enough after my initial experiments to want to use the system again. The Crossfire is not a beginners kite, and it would be wrong to tout it as a ‘my first depower’ option. The kite requires good flying skills and understanding of performance kites to avoid frustration. The rewards are certainly waiting for those willing to try, and the depower option further adds to the versatility of the kite – the market is far from crowded with kites that can be flown on handles or a depower bar.

The wind range of the kite isn’t really increased, the Crossfire still generates a lot of power even with the bar sheeted out and the brake lines slack, so don’t expect to be able to take your 5m out in 30knots! Using my set up, I found that the kite wasn’t usable on all settings of the trim strap – with the strap let right out, the kite would back stall.

But for me the advantage of putting my Crossfires on a depower set up was not to increase the wind range and give me an alternative to the state of the art depower kites on the market, but to add a new dimension to my session with these kites. Since acquiring my Crossfires, they have quickly ascended in my estimation and I now use them as my first choice for recreational and buggy riding. For boarding, I can get higher with my ARC kites – but the Crossfire makes for a more full throttle session, still allowing me to practice my freestyle tricks.

I feel the Crossfire on depower bar is a proper option – it take minutes to set up, and give the less dextrous fliers like myself chance to get some serious freestyle action with the kite, but still retaining that raw power edge that defines the Crossfire experience. If you are enjoying some great sessions with your Crossfire, check this system out – you’ll be surprised at what these kites can do…