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I have only flown stunt kites before and spent some time playing with a small powerkite several years ago. I've fancied getting a powerkite for a while now, it happens when you hit your forties, mid life crisis and all that. Another motorbike was out of the question and too expensive so the idea of a kite seemed reasonable. I did a lot of research (mostly on this site). I considered one of the Radsail pro's or a Beamer, but then thought a Crossfire would be fun as the idea of a bit of lift appealed to me. I hadn't even heard of PKD until I saw one on ebay, so I checked out the reviews and it sounded like it might be what I'm looking for. The reviews didn't seem to think it was that lifty but may have potential in stronger wind. I managed to get it for £90 including postage and it arrived the next day. I unwrapped it like a maniac and seeing as I'm self employed, phoned my customer up to say I was feeling under the weather and wouldn't be coming in today. Everything was fresh and crisp and nothing was showing any signs of wear, quality seemed fine. I prayed that my customer wouldn't be walking her dog near the beach as yes...you guessed it, that's were I was heading. I did some speed reading on this site regarding set up etc and off I sped to the beach. On arrival I had to spend a fair bit of time sorting out tangles which I found a little tricky and more annoyingly so because the handles have a strop keeping them together and make sorting them out a bit complicated, but seeing as I was going to para pack it later the worste was out of the way. The wind was a steady breeze so I grabbed the handles and checked the kite killers, gave a tug and up she went. The kite sat at the top very comfortably and within seconds I was moving across the window left to right, up down, all over the place. The wind picked up a little and I managed a few 8ft ish skids here and there. I had great fun but after about an hour or so I thought "yes great, but is that it....what now?,should I have got a bigger kite?," I Para packed it ready for it's next flight. Ok.... let's fast forward three days. It's blowing a bit and the trees are moving and my friend phones me and asks whether I fancy showing off my new kite...Err it's a bit blowy out there, I say. Ten minutes later we are on a local field as I refuse to make an idiot of myself on a public beach. At this point I cut the strop in the middle because it was confusing the hell out of me trying to get the lines sorted and I tied a knot in the loose ends so I at least have the option in the future. I later sealed the ends with a lighter Ready for lift off.....Sh*t........where has my kite gone, no worse, where has my upper torso gone, are my legs still connected to me, let go, no keep hold, brake..brake...brake...bloody brake....why don't the brakes work? Kite killers, that's it ..kite killers...let go ...let go...Agh! thats better, the kite hits the ground and I look behind me and my friend is about 100 yards away pissing himself laughing with a video camera in his hands. Do I need a bigger kite? No. Do I need to be a little wiser about flying in strong gales? Yes I tried again and managed to get the kite to the top this time and managed to hover and travel a few feet in the air but as soon as I lowered the kite I was off like a missile. The wind was getting even stronger now and I actually lost the bottle to try anymore. The kite killers were a God send in these conditions and saved me running for miles. I think this is a great kite for begginers as it's easy to control in light winds but you need to bear in mind that it can be a beast if you don't respect the weather conditions. I can't comment on line quality etc as I've not really looked closely at any others but i'm almost 13 stone and they held me in the air ok. Even if you pay top whack for this kite I think it offers good value for money and if you ever think you've outgrown it then try it in a strong wind. I think I'll keep hold of this kite, but i'll get a smaller kite for the gales By : anton6

Introduction But ye gods, this is a responsive kite. The handles are shorter that any other kite I have flown, but to me this is an advantage. The control that I have over it is instant. I was flying it at Skypark, using my buggy, and the winds, although coming from the west from the sea, were unusually blustery. The gusts were between 12mph and 25 mph. A large range, and it gusted up in a second. The kite just took all this in its stride. It happily let me ride on a close reach, using the strength of the winds, it let me buggy round the mound in the middle of the field, and it let me turn at will. This combination of winds and a good high wind kite helped me improve my skills round the obstacles arranged around Skypark. The kite also has some lift and quite a powerful pull in higher winds. I find this a stable kite to fly, once the wind is strong enough to pull me along, you can place it in the wind window, and it stays there. When the wind drops, you can instantly start swooping the kite, which, as I say is extremely responsive. Buggy and Board You could use this kite for the buggy or the board, for the beginner / intermediate. I mostly use it for my buggy, but my son has used it on his board. With the kite set up as per factory settings (see below Adjustable bridle) it does not give a great deal of lift, but there is some there, particularly if you set it up to give lift, so don't expect it to be a pussy cat. I would stress the importance of safety gear, at the very least a helmet should be worn even when static flying. My son and I have experienced the consequences of not doing this, resulting in concussion from being pulled by a small kite in blustery winds. Adjustable bridle This kite comes with an adjustable bridle. I have just kept to the factory settings, and the kite has performed well for me. It is now becoming more documented as to how a kite responds regarding different bridle adjustments so, if you would like to know more about it, Flexifoil have written instructions on how to adjust the Blade IV. http://flexifoil.com/downloads/instruction_manuals.php Click on Blade IV - Triple A Bridle System The principles are the same for this kite. I have also attempted to explain it myself In my review of the 5m Buster. Build quality To me the canopy of the kite is built well, which makes it such a fun kite. I like the bridle set up as well, but the lines are all one colour, white, which later become grey as you use it. Because of this the single colour of the lines the bridle can look confusing, so when you first unwrap it take a long careful look at the set up. It comes in a white stuff sack, not particularly cool, but practical, or at least it would be if it wasn't white. Value for money Definitely good value. For the £80 I paid for it new, I get a huge amount of fun out of iit. Downside It does not come with kite-killers, but I always fix them onto any kite that I am flying. Unfortunately an emergency release of the handles one day resulted in the break-line fixing to one of the handles breaking. This is repairable, with a globule of resin and some tape to secure the fixing whilst it set. Also these first busters have line stretching problems. For the kite to continue flying well, attention has to be paid to line length adjustment after a few good sessions. Conclusion Intermediate Once the problems have been sorted out, I think this is an excellent kite for higher winds for the intermediate and for getting the feel of the location you are flying at. I sometimes use it as a warm up kite, as it's responsiveness allows me to land it quickly, or to fly it away from danger in an instant. I don't tend to fly if the winds are gusting up to 30mph, so in my view, this is the time to put it away. Beginner If you are new to flying this would be good starter kite to fly in lower winds, to get the feel of how four line kites respond to the controls. Once you gain confidence, you can take it out in higher winds, and it will start to pull you on a board or buggy By : gammajonnysdad

Hi there, since a young boy I have always been fascinated with the power generated by a basic kite, only until recent after re discovering the thrill of kiting via my niece have my interest been re-vamped. Researching the possibilities via the net I decided to purchase a Buster PKD as this was strongly recommended as an all round general purpose kite for beginners to intermediate, which could be used as a traction/buggy/board. With this in mind I purchased the 3.0m squared (mid-range), being naïve my first attempt to fly the kite was inland, with a wind speed of approx 10 miles per hour, needless to stay my first flight lasted for a duration 30 seconds the kite spun 720 degrees within the power zone, thus dragging my 14 stone body across a freshly ploughed field until a friend caught the canvas of the kite. My second attempt was very successful on an open beach with a wind speed of approx 6 miles per hour, although it was not possible to takeoff /liftoff by walking backwards and yank the main lines was not possible, a friend had to shut the upwards before lift off was achieved. The kite was very responsive, basic maneuvers were able to be achieved with very little effort, although the bridging cable became restrictive with regards to arm movements. Liftoff can be achieved within winds speeds of 8 miles per hour and above by pulling on the main lines gradually, recently I have flown the kite within wind speed in excess of 16 miles per hour, with limited maneuverability in the edge of the power zone, if entering the power zone you can expect to be horizontal within seconds regardless of your body mass. Recently I have flow the PKD buster 3.0 and Bullet 3.0 (5m squ) with winds between 8 and 12 miles per hour, although Bullet was superior in power & lift to the buster, I found it to be extremely slow and limited in response, in doing so this made it easier achieve more complicated maneuvers, whereas the buster was agile, quick to respond and easy to position in comparison, I would strongly recommend a PKD Buster to any beginner wanting to start in the power kite world. Author : rugrat760

Hello, this my opinion on the PKD Buster 2 metre which is colour coded in red. I bought this kite in 2003 when i first started flying, this was recommended to me as a beginners kite. The first thing i noticed is that it came with everything so all i had to do is pull it out of the bag and it was ready to fly. The material is good quality, the stiching is good as far as i could tell. At the time i did not know if the handles were any good but since then i have had other kite and i love the handles on the PKD as the line off the handle for the brakes are adjustable in a locking system, which means you can adjust the brakes with the kite in the zenith. The other thing i really love about this kite is the adjustable power line on the bridle, there are several settings which means you can have more or less power depending on experience or weather. . When flying the kite i still can't get over how responsive it is, if you use the brakes to turn it will turn on a six pence. I've only ever used this kite for static flying, but having said that in 25mph winds it can drag you along. I've tried flying this kite on a bar, i found this did not work to well, wether it's me use to flying on handles or if it's the kite i don't know. In conclusion, ibought this kite 3 years ago for just over £100 and it's had a lot of use, it's never let me down and i've never got bored of it, so i think these kites are very well made, well priced and really good fun. Ideal for a beginner and intermidiate. Happy flying. By : grimpixie

Ok Where to start like the guide says build quality!! the kit it's self I can say I have no complaints about. I have owned this kite for over a year now and all I've needed to do was replace the line's which I did end of winter last year to Ozone. I only did this because the origanals where starting to furr up and did'nt want them to break. Flying I live in the north east of scotland so most of the time the wind blows and blows hard. I fly both inland and on the cost and I can say most of the time the kite never complains. like any kite it prefers clean wind but it will handle gusts and as it dose not have a huge amount of lift no nasty suprise's. I'm not saying you can't jump with this kite you can if you fly it inthe right wind. It will also pull you along the ground and give you a really good work out. If you fly this kite it will pull like a train and keep you grining. What I think for what its worth!! I would recomend this kite to all as it is not going to cost you a arm and a leg, you can start to learn the basic's of flying and four line kite. If you want to start board or buggy you can with it. My advise would be change the lines when they start to ware and enjoy flying. Fly safe and have fun By : Andrew

This reveiw is fairly fresh off the press. I arrived at Fraisthorpe beach yesterday (Sunday) morning with the intention of flying my usual 3m or 4m Ozone Little Devil. Nev/Stu (top kite flying gurus/beach advisors) were already there and hurridly advised me that today was a small kite day. Admittedly it was blowing a gale (don't know what speed but I had to hold my boot lid down for fear it would be ripped off and land in the North sea. It was decision time - I knew I had to get on that beach and get flying. The 3m would have been too much as I watched Nevs 2.2 Predator start to hunt him.... and he is a good rider. Down near Bridlington is the Kite shack only 15min beach walk I thought, so after trecking up the beach for what seemed like an era - on arrival/small talk they managed to sell me an over priced 1.4m PKD Buster (oh the shame of it !!!!) and I started on my trip back. I have never been a fan of cheap kites (they pop) BUT.... I was taught a serious lesson yesterday. The PKD bag looked cheap and I could feel the crispy material (like brittle crisp packets) inside. I opened the drawstring bag and set up. It all looked a bit cheap and nasty but fair play to PKD, it really was unwind and fly. I have never seen this before in a kite as they always require some sort of collective "too many cooks spoiling the broth" type effort to set them up despite the instructions. The lines are wound onto the usual line storage winder type affair thingy, however, instead of this being separate in a plastic baggy, it is positioned perfectly betwixed the two handles ready for unwinding. It is so easy it really is childs play. This quite clearly was a beginners kite pure and simple - its aim is to ease new users into the sport as gently and quickly as possible. Remember kindred readers, it was still blowing a gale and I had been at the beach about 2 hours without flying a single chuffin kite. I was getting a little fed up and was rushing. I wanted to boogy and the dance floor was empty !!! Sure enough the set up of this little kite did not let me down. It took all of about 10 mins and most of that was sanding the edges of the kite. I have read on racekites.com (and yes this is still by far the best site on the net) [just though i'd put that bit in bold... :oP racekites.] that PKDs have crap handles and lines. Maybe an issue for the bigger kites in the range but; I think many do not like the built in strop that connects the two handles together. The two top/powerline leaders on each handle feed back through in a loop therefore you have no need to buy a strop when deciding to use a harness. The brakes have a bizarre adjustment concept which is useless - apparently you can adjust your brake lines by pulling the toggles through a grooved "wedge" type fitting on the base of the handles. This allows you to adjust your brake lines so that you can try different adjustments. Advice - Stop messing around !!! For gods sake - just pull them all the way out to the toggle and have done with it. PKD are you listening/reading !! This extra adjustment facility is not required. So back to the beach. Check bridles, lines, small dogs and children are clear - Ready for action - helmet on, birds affirm birds away - a good tug on PKD kite and up it went like a chuffin rocket!!! I know small kites are fast but blummin nora. After the initial shock, something was blindingly clear. Don't diss the budget kite. Out of the 5 of us kiters, I was the only one able to buggy. We all had a bash on the kite and it held its own. Fair play PKD - I stand corrected. I have never buggied on 2 wheels before and while it was not intentional this little kite gave everyone a run for the money - even Nev who will not switch from Preds ! (although he did keep asking the price of the 1.4m PKD and looked thoughtful even tempted) The kite itself was very jumpy but it was to be expected in a seriously lumpy gusty wind. When it caught the gusts it did jump into the sky high above my head. When the wind was smooth the kite sat in the top of the window but needed watching. Its a small kite and will move very quickly as will any other kites of this size. The upwind performance is fairly limited but to be honest I was not complaining. I got moving seriously quick. This kite was teaching me how to react quickly. It allowed be to utilise braking technique and also control. A good little training session actually. I was also taught another lesson. After mountain biking for many years I stopped racing due to the snobs entering the sport. Way back then - if you didn't have the lastest kit then you were looked upon as inferior. I hated that and realised that I had started doing that with Kiting. What a t**t. Really sorry everyone who may have spoken to me and thought the same about me. We are all out to have fun and I repent my snobbish sins. So what am I trying to say..... I am not rich - so struggling to get the latest designer piece of kit is something that I have become almost immune to. Its second nature. and its not nice really. I would previously sold my soul to get the next best thing. How bad is that !!! After my epiphiny on Sunday I now realise its about the fun factor not the pose factor. We must have had at least £1500 worth of Kites available to us yesterday (not including lines/handles buggies etc) - but an £85.00 piece of kit proved to be the winner. If your toying with the idea of a PKD Buster stop it. Go and get one. I will be buying the 4m next payday no messing. By : Al Cross

What a great kite!!! I nearly bought a 3m Firebee but was talked out of it by the guy at the shop who seemed to know his stuff. Basically it looks like a D shape in the air and flys very well. It stays inflated in even extremely low winds, so low I have had to keep walking backwards to get it to launch. It generates plenty of pull when you get it moving. I haven't had it out in a strong wind yet but in a nice clean 10mph plus it launched well and flew perfectly. The only thing that I have had a problem with is the bridle adjustment - not great instructions in the bag. Fortunately, there is information about Angle of attack on the web so I figured out what to do. I have been flying it using only the most forward knot (i.e. closes to the leading edge) and the brake lines as long as possible. This allows the canopy to fly fairly horizontally and produces the least power but launches and flys the best. When there is a little more wind, I'll move the lines back towards the trailing edge and see how much more power is generated. The Busters all come ready to fly with 20m twisted lines and handles. People have complained about the lines but they seem OK for now if a little short. I fly on a beach so the wind is clean low down but the sand can cut up lines etc... I 'll change them when they snap. I have tried some higher aspect kites such as the Firebee, Radsail pro, Century and Rebble and although the Rebble is similarly well behaved, I prefer the Buster as the others produce that bit more power unexpectedly. People have told me the Buster is a better buggy kite than a landboard kite (due to the lack of lift) but I think that is the opinion of someone who has gone past the learning stages where a better behaved (i.e less peaky) kite is a bit more forgiving and prefered. Personally, I am so impressed (including the price) I am trying out a 5.5m for lower wind days. Great for beginers and good value for money. By : Gavin Crompton

From the number of reviews here it's obvious that these are popular kites and in my experience, with good reason. For a first kite I was seeking a number of things; something easy to fly, robust, not too expensive and yet of decent quality to last beyond the early learning stages. From reading reviews and seeking others opinions it seemed that the Buster filled these criteria and when one came up for sale on eBay I bid for and bought it. Buying secondhand is always a bit risky, especially when it's something that is likely to have been used or abused by someone at the bottom of the learning curve like yourself and the kite though sound and without damage had obviously seen some use. The 20m lines - an often criticised feature of the Buster felt and looked a bit vulnerable, being 'furred' at the point where they cross over when the kite has been looped. They are braided but uncoated and sometimes difficult to untangle when wet. The bridle is made of the same or similar material and being un-sleeved, looks a little grubby from contact with wet ground but seems well adjusted and firmly attached. I've since replaced the flying lines with some 25m flexifoil ones and there is a small but noticeable improvement in control, feel and range due to the extra length, tautness and smooth coated dyneema. These initial reservations aside I've been really pleased with the kite, a few heavy dumps onto the front edge in the first few flights made no impression, neither did a nasty tangle in the bridle when the grounded kite picked up some beach litter. A dunking in dirty, wet sand had me hosing the foil down and drying it and it looks and feels fine since. The adjustable bridle is both a boon and a drawback, until I found the right settings for flying in different winds it could be a bit frustrating having the kite luff or fail to launch. Now it is usually flown on the default knot 2&3 and seems stable and controllable in most winds. It will fly in very light breeze that won't lift my delta kite and can be looped, stalled and recovered with some positive flying. At the other end of the spectrum, the pull in a stronger wind is smooth and predictable with little lift when parked at the top of the window. Scuds in grass and sand are no problem and I look forward to trying this kite out with a landboard. I've had a couple of 'big gust' moments that meant releasing the handles and was very glad to have attached kite killers - a wise investment, as is a ground stake. Although the kite collapsed and stopped pulling when held only on the brake lines, it sat above the ground spinning and was a little tricky to recover singlehanded. When trying to land at the edge of the window I've also had the kite blow back across the ground into the powerzone and relaunch though I suspect this mostly due to shortcomings in my technique. In the air, the buster has a nice shape, simple colour and stays inflated well. Sharp turns in light wind at the edge of the window can sometimes cause the inside wingtip to collapse but I've since learned how to avoid and recover from this. If it luffs and starts drifting backwards there is some degree of control flying with the brake lines. Overall my experience flying the Buster has been very positive and I'm in no hurry to sell the kite on for something else. Lines aside, the construction is solid and the handles look and feel good quality. Although perhaps lesser in quality these kites look pretty good value compared to big brands like Flexi and Ozone with the saving perhaps reduced a little if you add on £30-40 for an upgraded set of lines. When (and it will be when) I look for my second larger kite I'll definitely consider another Buster. By : jomoj

i am new to power kite flying ..but a lot of experience in sailing and windsurfing.. so i thought i would have a go at the power kites and i bought the buster 3 mtr on ebay . firstly, i have never flown a 4 line kite before. i took it down to the beach and out in a calm wind (what i thought for here) ...10 knots!! as it draged me for 5 or so meters when i launched it.... i was starting to grin at the new power i had found!! so i gently pushed it in and out of the power zone and sliding across the sand each time and getting a bigger smile every time. since that day i have learnt that there is more to just flying a kite. i realise now the buster is a very robust kite and as it crashed to the ground on several occasions i would rush to see what damage i had caused , and thankful to see none . I have been flying it for 2 months now and have seen some things evolve out of my persistance with flying. firstly , the buster is very beginner friendly , it will fly fast or slow when it is told and has enough power for the person holding the strings to understand exactly what power kiting is all about. it is very robust and can take a hammerig with the ground(and inexperienced flyers) the handles are very easy to use and can be adjusted on the fly. i broke a de-power string ..but i was able to knot it up, adjust the handle adjuster (within 2 minutes) and back into flying for the rest of the day. this kite can get very powerfull in stronger winds!! i have recently purchased an ATB to cruise around the sand with. and the buster has been very friendly in learning this. it can fly very close to the wind without collapsing. it can generate enough power to travel upwind. it is not to "jerky" in gusty conditions. it can get the ATB moving when it is told!! the down side i have found .... when it gets wet..it is like trying to fly a tea towel!! not much chop in light winds (5 knots or less) in conclusion .. i am one very happy camper with my first "REAL" kite. it has taught me a great deal about flying and will come in handy in stronger winds. i think i will probably hang onto this one and use it to help others get addicted to this sport. By : baggsy

After much searching and saving I made my entry into power kiting and purchased the Buster. Firstly, what value for money! I shopped around and found the 3m version for £120 (www.powerkiteshop.com), which considering the amount of kite you get is great value for money! So, next day I find a big royal mail parcel waiting for me downstairs and later that day i'm up at the local playing field with a PKD bag in my hands and a grin on my face. The kite was easy to set up and I had it in the air very quickly. Having only stunt kited up untill now and gotten bored of that, i had no idea of the pull I would get! I was skudding around for hours and even got a couple of jumps. GREAT!!! Considering the power i got from it (even in the small amount of wind there was) it was easy to control; a few unexpected crashes and I had the beauty mastered. The only problem i encountered was the brake line system. The PKD handles have a brake line shortening device, consisting of a notch that the brake lines go through to attach to the handles. This would be a great idea if they didn't loosen so easily. The lines have to be pulled very hard to remain in place and this meant flying and re-ajusting them quite a few times to keep the kite in flight. But as soon as I had it just right, the lines re-ajusted themselves much to my annoyance. So once more a changed lengths and tightend the ajusters very tight and finnally the flight was perfect. From then on it's been a fairytale. I reccomend this kite thoroughly to anyone thinking of getting into kiting, and with the pull and lift i've been getting, i'm sure land boarding and buggying would be awesome! I 've just got to save up enough money for one or the other now. By : oli_the_duck

I look at the PKD Buster 5.5 metres squared. Firstly I try to explain how the kite works. The PKD Buster is unusual in that it has adjustment that no other fixed bridle kite has. Then I look at what I feel are the bad points. Following this, I look at its good points; this is definitely in the flying of the kite. Finally this I draw a conclusion. To begin I will try to explain how the kite works, this centres on the unusual knots on the bridle, which allow for the adjustment. I have been in contact with the UK rep for PKD and the information given was as follows in my own words and my understanding of how it works: There are a set of 4 knots on the bridle, which can be used to alter the angle of attack. There is a good explanation of angle of attack here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_attack Here is my explanation: If you have ever put your hand out of the window when you are driving, you will have a good idea of how this angle of attack works. I have done this mostly when driving through France in the Summer, as I have often found myself driving down long, even, steady, roads with little or other traffic – fantastic! What you do is face your thumb in the direction that you are travelling. The wind created, has quite a force, particularly at higher speeds. If you keep your hand level, it will, more or less cut through the air. You should be able to move it towards the car and away with relative ease. Now if you tilt your hand, thumb now moving upwards, you will immediately feel the drag of the air, your hand will try to slow, or move towards the back of the car. It will also try to rise. It also become more difficult to move your hand from side to side, towards the car and away, keeping your thumb facing forward. This is how aircraft get lift and this is how your kite gets lift. In a sense, you have to pay for the lift with drag and a slowing of movement. You get the drag because a larger surface area of your hand has been presented to the airflow. For a kiter, this drag is good in the right wind, because, just as your hand tried to move towards the back of the car and rise, so a kite will, giving the kiter pull and lift. For a kiter to be able to alter this angle of attack is useful, and this is how the more expensive depowerabel kites work. You can use this facility as you are flying a depowerabel to take advantage of both extremes of angle. The point about the buster is that you can alter this angle of attack to suit your needs. This is an unusual feature in a fixed bridal kite, but you have to set the angle of attack before you fly the kite, it is not like a depowerable, where you can alter it as you fly the kite. So which angle should you choose? If you have the kite facing into the wind relatively level at the Zenith, as your hand initially was, you can move it about relatively easily, just as you can with your hand. However, because the drag is at a minimum, then power and lift you get out of the kite is also at a minimum. You also have a bigger wind window than when the kite is at an angle, but as you move to the edge of this you will find that the power falls off. This is the kite in its "depowered" state, and this is what the depowerable kites derive their name from, as fixed bridle kites have to be ready angled to fly If you have the kite angled to the airflow, it is slower to move, but the power and lift is greater. The wind window that you have is smaller, but within this, the power will be greater than if the kite was in its depowered state. How do you alter this angle on the Buster? Imagine the Buster in the air, and you are looking at it from the side, in profile. Looking at the bridle, you should see about 4 knots with in a couple of centimetres from each other. Attaching the main lines to the knot closest to the leading edge of the kite, that is the edge that faces the wind, will put it in its "depowered" state, giving you less power, but making the kite easier to move and a larger wind window. At the other end of the spectrum the knot furthest from the leading edge, and towards the trailing edge, will set the kite up in its powered up mode. Which knots do you choose? Speaking for myself and from the people that I have spoken to the tendency is to go for a compromise and thread two of the knots, say 2 and 3, counting from the front to the back, through the Lark’s Head knot. However experimentation is a good way to find out how you like to fly. I have talked about lift and power. The buster is undoubtedly a very stable kite, and rarely does anything unexpected. It is slower to move about, and therefore relatively predictable. If you place it at the zenith, at the top of the wind window, it will pull, but it has not yet pulled me off my feet. Because of this I think that it is a good traction kite, I like predictability. You should always be aware of the pulling power it might develop as you launch the kite, or any kite for that matter, and when you bring it down. Don’t do what my son and I did with our 2.5 Bullet and launch it in the power range of the wind window in stronger winds. You will find that an ability to roll helps at this point! The buster definitely gives you a good upper body work out. The pull can be quite strong, bear in mind that I am talking about a Buster 5.5. I use it for boarding and in the right winds, Say 12 to 15 mph, it is fantastic. I can place it in a position in the sky and it just stays there. The disadvantages; Gripe 1 ARRRGGGG the lines and bridles often look like, and tangle like several balls of string. I have spent ages untangling the bridles and lines. The lines and bridles are the same colour – white. They are not of the same quality as for example, Flexifoil. You might not be aware of this, but good quality lines take a lot of the frustration out of kiting. If they have some body to them, they tend to stay in one place, and don’t have a habit of looking incredibly tangled, even when they are not. Lying the kite on the living room floor and holding the bridles up whilst untangling them has at least given me a good understanding of how the kite is rigged! I have invented ways of overcoming this problem, I have had to, otherwise my son and I were never going to fly it! Gripe 2 The lines tend to stretch, so after a few flights you have to get involved in an "evening the lines up session". Great! The way to do this is to undo the Double Overhand knot in the line sleeves at one end of the longest line, run the sleeve up the line to taste and redo the knot. If you have difficulty doing the knot again, a Figure of Eight knot is a good one to use. If the lines become uneven, it runes the flight. It will do all sorts of odd things, like after launching it will just slip back to the ground backwards. What ever you do there is no control over this. You just have to spend an hour or so and even the lines! From a reply to my question to the Buster dealers about the lines, the main lines are slightly longer than the break lines on some kites, so as long as the Main lines are both even and the Break lines are both even, you are ok. You should be flying the kite with the break lines slack, but not so slack that you cannot apply them. Having messed around with the line lengths though, I have found that, the main lines do seem to stretch, so I have now evened them up so all the lines are the same length. I did not note comparative line lengths when I first got the buster, so I don’t know how they came out of the factory. Nor did I note the position of the lines on the knots. This was because my son opened the kite when it first came. The postal worker knocked, and Jonny opened the door. I was a bit slow off the mark. The words "Its ok dad I have undone all the lines!" drifted up the stairs. Great, I thought I will never know how it was set-up. The good points: When it flies well, it flies well. The first time we had it out was in a low wind, not much more than 6mph. It seemed to me that all the other kites were having problems, but our buster flew like a huge and graceful bird. The first few sessions of static flying were great, they were mostly in low winds. It’s turning is not quick like a Flexifoil kite, but this is what I wanted. It felt slow and deliberate. Akin to the feeling of a depowerable kite. It did not deliver any surprises. As we took it out in stronger winds, it became apparent that the power delivery was pretty even. Again no surprises, if it felt too powerful, it pulled strongly, but evenly. All you had to do was to land it out of the wind window. There would be no sudden unexpected tugs. Any tugs were expected. It has quite a strong pull at the Zenith, so good upper body workout, but when you put it to the side of the wind window, it feels steady. We bought it for landboarding, and we have some good sessions with it. It is a bit powerful for Jonny, he weighs 6 stone, but is is fine for me, 12.5 stone. The site http://www.pkdkites.co.uk/docs/buster_windrange.pdf gives you the wind strength set against weight in Kg. I don’t like to fly it in winds much over 16mph. In a clean wind, it does everything you want it to do. It will just hang in the sky at the angle you want for boarding. This is not a lifty kite, but you can get some jumps with it, especially in stronger winds. It is great for scudding as well. Funny watching my son scud off down a football pitch. In conclusion, I would say frustrating lines but a great kite for static flying, scudding, boarding, and some jumping in the right conditions. It flies well within the wind range as suggested by http://www.pkdkites.co.uk and we get a lot of fun out of it, but the lines have to be set up properly. Definitely value for money. The expense has gone into the kite. The bag is just a white oversized cagoule bag, and the handles are fine, no frills. I find that the lines at the handles do rub your fingers a bit, but this can be overcome with something like cycling mittens. It is built well. We have accidentally dumped it down onto the ground several times, leading edge first, with no problem. I have actually seen one flying with a burst cell, where someone did this one too many times. It was flying well, despite two cells converging into one. I would say that this is a beginner to intermediate kite. If you want to start doing tricks and jumps to any competitive level, then you will have to move on, but personally, I am happy with what I can do with it. Author : gammajonnysdad

I am New to this whole Power kiting thing but have flown stunt kites for a few months prior to this. Starting out on my power kite journey I searched and with a little help from this site I managed to come to my Conclusion. I looked at the Beamers and Crossfires but did keep in mind that i was a beginer and didn't want to get overpowered....so......... i came to the conlusion with the help of Randal at Hawaiian Kiteworks here in Orlando Florida. On my first flight i had the help of Hawaiian Kiteworks and they started me out in their feild. The winds were proboly around 10-15 mph. Setting the kite up was a breeze with a little help. Unpacking the kite it looked to be in excelent condition, and very tightley seemed. The build quality for the money was excelent. For only paying $155 I thought that this was an excelent choice. Now remember that I am a complete beginer. Getting the kite up was a chalange at first but if u don't secceed the first time then try try again. The one thing that i have noticed about launching this kite is that it dosen't want to go up vertically, u have to get it going horozontally first. Once launched I Really didnt no what to expect but i tell you. be ready because this kite packs a punch. It seemed to have a nice constant stream of power. Very nice. I didn't notice very much lift but lots of horozontal pull. On my secont fkight the winds were 20-30 mph. This is a very powerfull kite in Strong winds. Being a beginer i was very nervous but decided to take it out anyways. WOW!!! I wasn't ready for this one. i was scudding before i new it. Thank God for the brakes! I did manage to get a few pendulem jumps and am gussing them 4-5 feet. I have flown this kite in many diffrent conditions and am very impressed. I would highley recomend this kite for anyone who wants to get into this fun sport. I have had this kite for 4 months now and it has stood up to the abuse of me and all the people that i have tought to fly it. I have had one hole but i guess that it was time from the continuous crashes of people. Very strong kite. Again i would recoment it for someboady new into kiting. Very fun By : manisi13

So... after getting into the sport quite early this year through a friend, i decided to get my own kite. At first i had seriously considered a 3.5 Bullet, although after advice from my local kite shop I went for a buster from them. First try was on the day we got it, it was about 15MPH and i hadnt ever tried a 4 line 3m before!!! Needless to say we brought it straight down. Thge wind stayed nasty for about 1 week until we decided to try it again. It was now about 5mph and was easy to hanlde the buster. Now 6 months after buying the buster i absolutly love it to bits! Its my baby! I can have so much fun with it its not real! Kites are a great thing, they let you tap into one of the elements- which i completey misunderstood until now. So, if your going for a new kite go for this one! It is great for buggying and landboarding- although it truely shines at static flying! The build quality is great- very solid construction (Been quite rough with it sometimes, never had to get it repaired). It is a very stable kite and harldy luffs, hardly. It is a traction kite mostly, making it a perfet buggy engine. Its low lift does take points off its static flying, but if your in a buggy and just beginning, you dont want any OOB experiances quickly! Good Points:- Very StableNot a great deal of liftKeeps ProfileHardly luffs Negative Points:- Not to great in winds below 5mphSometimes to much powerNeeds wind! I thin this was a great kite as my first proper kite, its got good, solid power; which is very predictable aswell. Trust me, if youve ever flown akite before, you will want one of these! Lizz By : hellknight2005

Well bought this kite for the girlfriend, as she wanted to get into kiting, but not to be draged about like a rag doll. Having read a few of the other buster reports, i knew what to expect like the draw string bag, but wasnt bothered really, so wont go into the quality of the bag, good enough for this little kite and price. Well straight down the park at last we got some wind, about 12 to 15mph winds, that would be perfect for a first time for the girlfriend, remember she has never flown a 4 line kite only my flexi foil 6ft, having got the kite out of the bag it was so easy to set up, just unfold kite, and walk back with the lines and presto read to go, hey this is so easy anybody and i mean anybody could set this kite up. looking at the kite and what everybody else said about the quality, yes ok bridles mabe not as good as say ozone but you know what they say you get what you pay for, but i think with this kite it is good enough, and what other people have said with there 3m on wards they are happy enough, but like i said with this kite no problems. Now this was intreasting, the kite sat there begging to go and normally with my sami, just whistle and up she went, but for some reason, this little kite had to be coaxed, just a little, but once she went she went, this took the girlfriend by surprize, must admit i was behind her and me too, straight to the zenith, she took contol, and she controled it straight away, after bringing it throught the power area, she drove straight into the ground, but no problem, i took over and was surprized how easy it was to relaunch upside down flicked the line and sraight up she went, having had flexin foils all sizes it brought it all back to me, what fun i had, it was sheer pleasure, in fact the girlfriend had to remind me who's kite it was, so she had it back, and the rest is history, the moral of this little story is if you want a fast and pure fun kite for all ages this is the one, yes i hear you say cheap, but tops on the cheerful side, would reconmend this kite just for the fun of it, go get one people. By : iceman

i bought this kite about 3 years ago because my flexifoil stacker 6 wasn't powerful enough so i kept nagging my mum for a bigger kite. we didn't have broudband so i couldn't study reviews on any kites i fancied buying so we went to our local retailer and he said we should get a buster 2m becausehe it was a begginer kite so we bought it for £100ish. the kite came in a fairly tidy stuff bag with everything attached. the kite came in red but i'm pretty sur u can get them in blue aswell. it was blowing around 17mph so me and my little bro went to a bigger feild. we set up eventualy after reading the intructions the other way round. anyways i grabbed my handles heart thumping and legs trembleing. my little bro through it up in the air. woooooosh straight up and smooth as anything you could emagine. me straight forward into my first scud then WOOOOSH a gust picked the kite up and through me 10ft into the air i felt like superman ending up ploughing the feild with my face streight into my bro. the kite had smashed down onto the wet muddy turth. i was petrefied of it for a couple of days then i took it out again haveing wrapped the lines differently to how it came. i shouldn't of thought i could handle that kite it was to big for meit flung me around the place ever since i first took it out. all i can say is don't under estimate the power of this kite.it may look inosent but really there is an angry beast waiting to be relesed and to pounce on it's victim but in light winds it's easy and i would suggest to any lightweight begginer to get this because it is only powerful from 15mph+ so it would be fine. all in all i think it is a top notch kite with loads of potential and deffenately worth the money By : andy 0012312

I was bought this kite for Christmas this year (to be honest I had to give Santa a little helping hand as there are simply so many kites to choose from). I/we decided having read reviews on this very site, that the PKD Buster 3.0 sounds like it would fulfil all my requirements for the time being. I am a self confessed novice in the traction kite world so I know I needed to learn the ropes with a forgiving kite that would have some lasting appeal. So the day came and as promised Santa....(well the girlfriend actually) placed my new kite under the tree. 1st impressions were 'blimey its quite a small package isn't it'! 2nd impression was 'hmmmm light as well isn't it!' I guess this must be the same for everyone when they get their first kite but I was genuinely staggered that this impressively large kite was indeed all stuffed in the nice little white bad PKD supplied. Anyway, having rolled it out in the living room among the numerous shower gel packs my in-laws insist on buying me every year I was again, as a beginner thinking 'oh my god I'm going to fly away with this thing'! An idea that scared and really excited me at the same time. I read the instructions.....hmmm that didn't take very long. They aren't exactly comprehensive. Something PKD could easily sort out given the price of the kite. Well as you can well imagine I was itching to get out and fly it but I had to wait till the wind was at a very conservative speed and I felt confident I could handle what power I was going to be treated too. So the day came and there was little more than a slight breeze. I did honestly think it might not get up, as the wind seemed so light. With girlfriend as chief helper we set it up at our local recreation ground and after a few tugs on the power lines we were away. Again, first impressions were.... what a great shape the kite makes in the sky and how balanced and stable it seemed. Even when I was playing with the brakes and getting used to things it really recovered from some amazing shapes. (I believe this is called luffing or some such phrase?) After about 30 minutes or so I called it a day and thought to myself (hmm that field was muddier than it looked and tried to remove about 4 inches of mud from my shoes!) Fantastic! First flight a major success in my opinion and didn't scare me in the slightest. Which was a distinct bonus. A day later we took the kite to a local park with slightly higher winds and again the kite was well behaved. The wind was gusting a little bit and I did start to feel the strength of the wind and how in a good wind this was going to be serious fun. I haven't been out again due to the wind speeds being too high (25+) so I'm praying the weekend will be perfect conditions. In conclusion though I'm chuffed to bits with the kite and how versatile I can now see it is. The quality of the materials and the manufacturing is excellent and the kite looks fabulous in the sky. Once my confidence is there I feel the kite will be able to grow with me rather than against me so I'm please we chose this kite. By : parrott

after (trying) to learn to kiteboard with a 2.1 LD i decided to go for something a bit bigger. I was a bit wary at first of buying a 'budget' kite since my kiter friends all ride frenzys and phantoms, but i went for it anyway. This kite is awesome: Build Quality For a cheap kite it is very well made; ive been pushing it very hard(20 mph+) and there are no problems with the kite after 6 months its still nice and crispy. The lines aren't as good, they seem to be just fibres twisted together, but they were fine for me untill about 4 months of flying, where i got a fray and decided to go ozone for lines. the handles are fine, pretty comfy with wierd clip things for brake adjusting on the fly (pun intended). Flying characteristics The kite rarely luffs, and gives a reasonable amount of pull in the lower wind ranges. Doesnt give much lift, but i don't mind about that (as a learner kiteboarder i didn't want much). The brake adjusters are useful so you can set the brake level quickly and easily. overall it is very stable in the air, easy to control, and because it doesn't stall often it is a great choice for beginners. After a while i rode it on a harness with a strop and the kite is geat for that; in the right winds you can use it like a sail which was just what i wanted... Durability exept for the lines the kite is in perfect condition, i rode it very hard for about 6 months, at which point i opted for a more lifty kite (13m peter lynn bomba ) but i think that for over 6 months the kite would do very well. Conclusion This kite is of excellent build quality, and flys very nicely. I think that for the price it is a very good buy, and having tried most other cheaper kites (beamer, firebee) i think that it is the best kite for that region of cost. overall a good beginner/intermediate kite for landboarding, great for buggying (so i am told by my buggying pals who borrowed it for a short while) and very, very good value for money. By : 300678

Having flown a friend's Blade II 2.0m, I was eager to get started power kiting and the Buster 2.0m seemed to be the most highly recommended as an introduction to traction kiting. The red'n'white Buster arrived from www.powerkiteshop.com ready to fly with its two flying and two brake lines already attached. Included were a quick guide on how to fly the kite and a free repair voucher. The kite itself appears to be built to a very high standard and is still without mark despite having been crashed at high speed into sand, bushes and rocks... Getting the kite ready to fly was reasonably easy - following the instructions in the guide was simple although the lines required a lot of untwisting due to their packing method. The first time I had the kite out the wind was very light but gusty and so not a lot could be gleaned until the second attempt in February (2005)... this time the wind was around 15mph (estimated) and the kite launched without any trouble. The Buster 2.0m is a very easy kite to fly - it doesn't pull very hard in moderate winds (obviously) and is pretty docile. This almost tardy behaviour, however, can land the adventurous user in a bit of trouble, however, as it turn as fast as one may like leading to unexpected crashes when showboating. This is not the fault of the kite, however. It does includes four (or is it five?) adjustable trim levels but no indication of what the adjustment will have on the attitude of the kite... I guess PKD believe that learning through experience is the way forward. I certainly think it's the most fun. In high winds (about 30mph), the kite still doesn't liven up too much; compared to the Blade II of similar size it isn't as fast or as agile, but pulls very hard (again, obviously). However, it's doesn't generate as much lift as the Blade II so being dangled by the kite is a less frequent occurrance than being dragged face-first down a beach or field. Still, my 5'2 sister-in-law could fly it (with lots of screaming and letting go twice) so that should speak volumes. It is very happy to reverse-launch, too. The kite is relatively stable in high winds but appears to have a narrow field of use - pretty much 45o each side of the user and it will stall or (more amusingly) 'strafe' sideways until it gets back into the power window. All in all, this kite is a fantastic introduction to the world of four-line traction kiting as it even impressed friends who think kiting involves their dad throwing the kite in the air and sprinting around the park trying to get the kite in the air with no success. I think I've sold a couple of kites off the back of this one. I've only used this kite for 'recreational' purposes and it is a fantastic laugh in both medium to high winds - drop me a line at nnh008@bham.ac.uk for videos and I'll see what I can do. At the price, this kite is an absolute blast and highly recommended from this user. By : mrthingyx

I've been flying power kites in various forms since '93 when I made friends with some guys from my Church who flew stacks of Flexifoils. I flew kites with friends during uni, but due to lack of money only ever owned one 8ft Pro Team to stack with my friends' kites. Now that I'm a teacher and get a bit of income, I have finally got round to buying a decent kite. Having read many reviews (nice one racekites.com!) [ ) Fanks!! ] of various kites I could afford (below £150) and with some very useful advice, I bought a PKD Buster 4m. Bought it from www.bilboquet.com in France for £130 ! Bargain. Free postage, and it arrived in 3 days! Got out yesterday to fly it for the first time and wow! Is this thing powerful! The wind was around 15mph and a little gusty. It came out the bag very nicely and was very well behaved on the ground. Just a little tug on the lines and it soared upwards to sit nicely above me. Just the slightest movement brought a HUGE pull, and a little swoop resulted in a jump of about 6ft. No lift? Seems like quite a lot of lift to me! Not to the extent of Blades, but a nice contollable amount of lift if you do like to do the odd bit of jumping. Happy with the way the kite was flying, I passed it over to a friend of mine with less kite experience than me. I warned him not to let go of both handles under any circumstance...at least if you're going to let go just let go of one. A little gust, he went flying and promptly let go of both handles. Doh! I spent three hours that evening sorting out the big ball of tangled lines. Never again... Little tip - if you ever get a huge tangle, don't try and sort it out in your living room with the lines disattached from the kite. Do it outside with the lines at full stretch. All in all, a great kite. I'm looking forward to replacing these lines, but there's no rush - they are adequate, just not brilliant. If you don't have one, get one. By : Tom Arnold