Mac Bego 400 4M

Bag, handles and lines:

My Bego was supplied with a simple draw-string stuff-sack. Nothing unusual and the material is nice enough but in my opinion, the bag is a little tight for the 400, especially if you want to para-pack. It’s long enough to hold your handles and lines but not too wide so stuffing can be tight and your handles may hang out of the sack a bit if you don’t want to force them down. Additionally, the drawstring on my sack was originally too short to allow the sack to be fully opened. I cut it off and re-thread a new and longer string through to allow the sack to be fully opened. This is not a big deal.

Mine came supplied with both Mac lines and handles and Flexi lines and handles. The Mac handles are simple PVC with foam padding. I’d say they are around ¾” or 2cm in diameter before the foam padding is added. They are very light and look cheap but I actually prefer them to the flexi handles. Their leader line is very skinny (2-3mm) and makes flying with the line between your fingertips rather painful but the leaders are extremely long with 7 knots in both the brake and power leader lines – not that you’d ever need that but it looks nice when harnessed in. These handles are roughly cut and can be sharp so I added stoppers to both the top and bottom of the handle to prevent them cutting the kite when stuffed. Though some may think they look cheap, I’ve got no problem with Mac handles (except for the thin leader line).

I haven’t used the Mac lineset. It’s 30m (I’m told) and unsleeved and appears to be spectra. The brake lines are thin and maybe 150#. If I were to use them, I’d undo the knots and sleeve the brake lines so the knot doesn’t cut through the line. The power lines are sewn and have a thicker dimension (at least 300# but it’s a thickly braided line so its diameter may not be indicative of its total strength (or taughtness vs. stretchiness).

No need to comment on the Flexi gear, as that is commonly available.

Bridle: The kite is nicely bridled and the bridle material itself is of high quality. Bridle lines are sewn and attachment points are good. Because the kite is so thin in diameter (high A/R) when you unroll it, all the bridling seems to be a mess of spaghetti but it sorts out fine and I’ve never had the bridle snag or tangle.

The brake bridle incorporates the “riff-raff” system, which is a sewn ring that the outer brake bridle leg passes through. If I recall correctly, this allows the kite to turn on its wingtip without shedding power by pulling the wingtip in during turns without collapsing it to allow the kite to accelerate through the turn without the loss of power. The kite will turn on a wingtip.

Sail: The sail is very nicely sewn and the material is light and depending upon the color, semi-transparent. The cells are reinforced at their opening with mylar inserts to keep them open and in the proper shape allowing the kite to fill faster and launch more easily. There is no mesh or screen covering the cells. Internally, the kite is adequately cross-vented.

Power Rings: Though not sold with them already installed, the seller I picked the kite up from gave me a set along with the kite and I’ve never flow it without them so I can’t tell you how the kite performs without them. Mine are Ronstan kite pulleys and I have them so they are adjustable from 2 – 6 inches in length. Both their position and length do affect the kite’s performance (too short and too high will make the kite turn rapidly but if you’re not on it, the kite can easily rotor and become difficult to recover). The sweet spot for me has become 6 inches long with the placement right on the second power leader knot.

Cons: Let’s start here so we can focus the review on the best aspects of the kite. There are no dirt outs but that is not a major deal as the cells are large enough to dump sand and debris if needed.

There are no croc-clips for the bridle. Not a big deal either but they would be nice because there is so much bridle for a thin kite. The kite is not overly bridled its just narrow so when folding up to parapack, it would have been nicer to have something to affix the leaders too. Especially since the power rings hold everything together close to the kite.

The kite does have a tendency to backstall if you let it. I believe fliers call this the “bego flop”. Basically, the kite builds power by moving and using the brakes to pull it back into the power zone. If you let it charge it will go past the edge of the window and then stall and sink back to the ground (or collapse if you way out shoot the window). If this happens you’ll probably need to step off your board to pump it back into the air. You can prevent it from happening by riding the brakes.

Performance: I’ve owned the kite for 7 months now and I’ve been power kiting for 2.5 years. In addition to this I fly a Blade and several JOJOs and my prime interests are skiing land boarding and static jumping.

Originally I flew the kite on 11” handles. Those will work but because the kite needs to be flown on the brakes longer handles are better as they add more leverage and throw. At some point I switched to the longer HQ handles (15 or 17” – can’t recall) and the kite performs better with those (I don’t like Flexi handles which is why I haven’t used those).

I suspect the paragliding background of Mac heavily influences the kite. By that I mean the kite wants to be right over your head (or just past vertical) and constantly pulling up. Upon launch the Bego wants to get to the top of the zenith and if you let it, it wants to fly just past the zenith so it is behind you (you’ll learn to prevent and control this with the brakes) and once there it wants to lift up and with a simple redirect, it certainly will. This kite wants to be high in the window and once there it pulls and pulls. You need to ride the brakes if you want to keep it low and in the power zone.

Of the kites I own or have flown, this is the most fun to fly static. Jumping is a breeze and though it’s a 4m it has plenty of float and if you send it, the lift is great too.

The kite needs to be flown on the brakes – not just for turning but also for tending and proper power delivery. The kite likes to be balanced on all four lines. If the powers go slack, the kite will implode and collapse and then likely reopen in the center of the window and power up dramatically. If you work the kite around too hard it will loose power (traction not lift) and if you loose brake tension it will fold.

If your brake lines are saggy the kite will become sluggish and struggle through turns. If the brakes are tight the kite will be snappy and responsive. This kite requires that you fly it as opposed to being a kite that can simply be flown. Aside from the brakes being used for tending and turning, they are also your main method of building and delivering power, acceleration and traction. You can’t simply dip a Bego into the power zone and be off and boarding. Whereas the overhead lift is constant and readily available, you have to build the power for traction purposes. Instead of dipping it into the power zone and taking off, you have to lower the kite into the power and as you feel it build, pull the brakes in to retain the power and as you start to go, ease off. You want more power, pull the brakes in again and then ease off. More power still, repeat the process. You can “shift gears” on the Bego repeatedly, increasing power and speed exponentially.

With a Bego, lift is pretty much always there but power (traction) needs to be drawn from the kite. Anyone can move this kite to the zenith and jump but if you want to use it for traction sports you need to know how to milk the power from it by tensioning and holding the brakes in or out as the kite builds power through the window. Because the kite wants to race to and out of the edge, you need the brakes to back it up and keep it in the power zone in order to build and deliver constant and progressive power.

If you just dip it into the power zone, it will race to the edge with some but not full power, collapse as the lines slacken, drop back and then reopen with a major desire to go to the zenith and spank you. As I said, you need to FLY the Bego.

The Bego builds traction power slowly and if you ride the brakes the kite will really get moving and as it moves, the power comes on but you need to harness and retain it. As such, it doesn’t like to be aggressively worked. You can’t throw it all over the window and expect it to keep pulling. You need to build the power by dipping it, parking it and then working it through the brakes. Acceleration is unbelievable and once going, if you send it back, it will take you up and float you down. Because the overhead pull is constant, you can’t help jumping if you redirect the kite back.

Conclusion: Because of its gear shifting ability and enormous speed, I would think it would be a great buggy engine and it was a blast on skis on the frozen lakes this past winter.

Because of its lift it has been a great kite to board with – though it does require attention so if you simply want to dip and go – you probably won’t like this kite as it requires more attention and flier input. I’ve heard other Bego owners say that the Bego is not a “point and shoot” kite and I would agree with that. You can point it but then you need to work and control it. It will take you where you want to go but not without direction.

In summary, it is a very well built kite and it is unique. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who just wanted to static jump as I think that is one of its strong points. I’d do the same to anyone who wanted it for a buggy engine as it performs like a race kite (gear shifting and brake riding) but lifts closer to a Blade. I’d recommend a Bego to anyone interested in using it for boarding provided they understand that they can’t simply launch it, hook in and ride. You need to work the kite. In time, you’ll do it without thinking, but initially, that could prove frustrating.

If want a kite that flies great but needs to be FLOWN get a Bego. It is a kite that you need to connect with but it also is a kite that really delivers the goods and gives you the feeling of being connected to the wind like no other.

Author : Brian O