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What do you get for your money? Well, you get a well packaged, well made, simple to set up, easy to fly learner kite (L plates are not included). Not only that, but it’s readily stackable. This is a two line kite that is really ideal as an introduction to the sport. How does it fly? To get a decent flight out of the 1.45 you really need wind of at least 10 to 15 mph (minimum). Really the stronger the better. Once launched the kite responds well, being a small kite it is very quick to turn. This tends to result in a hyperactive, exciting and bloody enjoyable flight, with combinations of quick swoops and dives being easy to pull off. Stacking is the easiest thing in the world and provides a little additional pull and makes you’re manoeuvres look and feel even more spectacular. Stacking adds an extra element to the this kite and for very little outlay. The only problem I had with stacking was my inability to solo launch – which is most likely my own fault. The downside of performance occurs in gusty conditions. The light makeup of the kite frequently results in it collapsing in on itself. This tends to happen regardless of the strength of the wind. This is quite frustrating, especially when trying to launch solo and the kite is continually collapsing on itself. A minor remedy for this issue is to remove the black lines that run through the kite for stacking, although I am unsure if this really helped or if it was more of a placebo. Conclusion ? This is a great value for money entry kite, which is fun to fly and easy enough to learn with. I initially got this kite so that my wife could learn to fly without being scared out of her wits or be forced to eat sand. She has enjoyed using it and is becoming less fearful of some of our bigger beasts. The thing I really love about this kite is that due to it’s small size and packaging it is extremely portable and is so quick to set up that you can take it and use it almost anywhere. Would I recommend it – yes, for that price it’s hard to fault Author : squiball

First off, excellent review site. I have learned more about power and traction kites here than I have done in 12 years of flying. Last Tuesday (11/07/06) was the most eventful day I have ever experienced in flying stackers. After 2 hours of flying and scudding in a strong South Westerly wind off the East coast of Scotland I decided to have one more flight with my 6 and 8ft stack. Complacency or cockiness, call it what you will, got the better of me and half way between the top of the beach and the shoreline I got pulled forward and fell to my left and without thinking allowed the strap to fly off my left hand. As a result I was then pulled by the still taut right line which pulled me over to my right side and onto my front. Once again I lost my senses and to avoid being dragged let the right strap leave my wrist. This one pinged across the beach and landed in the water about a metre from the shoreline. What followed was a nightmare. The tide was going out, the kites were already across the water when they fell, there was a strong current pulling East and the wind was strong enough to pull 2 large unmanned kites a few metres through the air. The kites hit the water and in the time it took me to get up and run into the surf the nearest handle was a good few metres out. I waded in up to my waist which was about 10 metres from the shoreline but for every metre I moved the kites were being pulled by the current. At that point I realised I had lost them. I did think about swimming after them but I was well aware of the dangerous currents and stood and watched the kites disappear into the distance at a remarkable rate. Typically there wasn't a single boat to be seen 😞 Devastated! I had owned those kites from new since the early 90s and had had many many hours of fun with them. My rip-stop nylon friends were gone 😞 Concerned about the local wildlife (dolphins, seals, birds etc ...). I informed the coastguard as soon as I could who were very polite about my concerns (and probably deal with this sort of thing every other day, but they weren't about to launch an air-sea rescue for a couple of kites. Nevertheless I was straight onto the web the following day and spoke to the nice people at fivefortykitesports.co.uk who still (remarkably) had Flexifoil stackers in the rainbow colour scheme. Since I had wanted this colour scheme way back when I bought my old stackers, but couldn't get hold of them for love nor money, I jumped at the opportunity and pushed the boat out and bought the 10ft version too! Shopping therapy 🙂 All three (6ft Stacker, 8ft Pro-team and 10ft Super as they are called now) arrived on Friday and we went straight out Friday evening (but not to the same beach!) . This time the wind was North Easterly and nothing more than a light breeze. All three turned up in smart black nylon bags with a tough zipper at one end, a netted area just below the top for ventilation and the Flexifoil name and the kite model clearly printed down the front side. Very smart compared with the original bags which were of the same rip-stop nylon material and colour as the kites they contained with just a couple of strings at the top to tie a bow to keep the contents in. Inside the bag there are 2 compartments, the main full length one for the kite and spars and a smaller one for the line and straps. Flexifoils attention to detail and quality has not changed in all this time either - all three kites are superbly constructed and presented. Setup was easy on all three. Having done this for so many years instructions were not required, there were no suprises, it hasn't changed in all that time. Everything taken into consideration the only main difference I can recall is that my old stackers did not come supplied with lines or handles. Needless to say flying each kite by itself wasn't easy - even with the extra surface area of the 10ft there wasn't much wind to keep them aloft. I was able to get each one to take off but with so little to keep them in the sky the effort wasn't worth it. So out came the spare line and I quickly put together 4 stacker lines (without sleeves, but in such a light breeze I wasn't too concerned). When stacking different sizes the smallest ones go on top and are attached together using approximately 1.5metre stacker lines and attached to the spar ends with a larks head knot in the same manner you would attach the main lines to a single power kite, so the stacker line would go through the ring on the top kite but attach only to the spar on the lower kite. Also use the strongest lines you have ie. the lines supplied with the 10ft (300lbs) were sufficient in the light breeze and easily probably handle much stronger winds. All three took off with a little assistance by getting someone to hold up the 6ft. In a stack you want the kite at the top of the stack to take of first to ensure the stacking lines don't get wrapped around the kite above or below. With a gentle breeze blowing there was a pleasant pull from the stack and they moved slowly enough to allow time to swing them back and forth inches above the sand but in such a low wind it's not so easy to hold them at each edge of the window for more than a split second. Even so doing all the usual figures of eight and dropping vertically from the zenith were possible because there was enough canopy to produce suffficient pull but you always had to be prepared for the stack to lose power and have to start running backwards in seach of the breeze. But even the the low wind speed didn't spoil my fun, just the site of 3 rainbows stacked against a blue sky is beautiful to behold - although I'm still secretly hoping the coastguard/someone will recover my lost red 8ft and blue/green/pink 6ft Happy kiting By : devnull

I have just spent an amazing day flying my new stack of Rainbow Flexi's a Stacker 6 with a Proteam 8 and a Super 10. Flexifoils skysails are amazing and just great. I used Flexifoils stacking kits to connect the kites together, actually you don't connect the kites together but connect to the main line with a shorter lines so that each kite is connected to the line making sure that when you pull on one handle you turn all the kites. I used the longer stacking lines as suggestted by Flexifoil. I must say that they manoeuvre with a grace and beauty. I used uprated 110 Kg lines in a light wind 7mph, in a stong wind these might have snapped, but the light wind meant I had to reduce weight. The take off was hard work as the 6 took off first dragging up the 8 and finally the 10. once they were all up and rammed full of air they gave a great performance. I beleive that they all helped keep the stack up in the air, the 6 provided turning speed whille the 10 kept the stack in the air as the wind died. Stacking is great and provides quite a spectacle for the other field users. By : andrewwalker

I got the stacker 6 on my birthday a few years back, first not knowing what it was. Then mum said it was a 6 ft power kite. I then got really excited because I had seen people flying kites down the park. The first time I flew is was on holiday in Suffolk. The first 2 times when we launched it, it dived straight down instantly. So I was in bed lying still awake thinking why wont it fly? Then I suddenly came to me!! I was flying it upside down!! The next day I took it out (this time the right way up!!) still not knowing what to expect. We launched is in the middle of the wind window (there's me, never flown a kite before, on a windy day). We launched it and up it went then back it came again almost cracking its bar on the stones. Now then for the kite... Value: Personally I think the 6ft is a bit on the expensive side (at about £60) but is made of decent materials and has decent lines. Power: It isn't really that powerful but it's a good starter kite for your kids and the like so if they want to be like you get then the 6ft. Bag: The stacker 6 comes in a rather impractical rectangular bag and is not ideal to put into a suitcase or bag. Looks: The 6ft looks quite nice in the air so I quite like it. Add another stack and you've got a pretty cool looking kite. Score: I think the stacker 6 is ok value and has decent power for its size. I give it 7/10. By : stratojoe

This was my first kite, and not knowing a lot about kites, i asked and this is what they said would be a great starter, but like all things, they also said that this would not be enough, and they said once i got the bug i would buy loads more kites, well they were right, but thats another story. As at that time i was living near the coast, so got it out straight away, set up is so easy, and with a couple of tips, from other kiters, it was was up and away. Now a word of warning, i have found with all the old sizes that the spars when connected, and put inside the kite and flown, some times these spars would come apart, causing the foil to collapse, so word of advise here, when making up the spars, good idea to put them together with a bit of rubber electrical tape, works wonders After set up, really easy, the wind was perfect, it just launched by it self, and straight up no problems, then the fun began, what i noticed was the sheer speed of this kite, and the pull for such a small kite, but hey what great fun, so much ive now got another three, for stacking, with my flexi 8fts, its not so much the power, but how good they look, when they are up there, but beware there is power when needed. As a first kite, i think this a great kite really easy to set up and fly, if there is very little wind then you really neeed a bigger foil, but for good winds this a great fun kite, loads of fun. Another word of warning fly this kite you will be hooked on kiting for ever, trust me am there now. By : iceman