mahgnillig - 27-3-2013 at 08:38 PM
Hi all 
I'm looking for a small (under 2m) 4-line kite on handles for dinking around at the park in high, gusty winds. Any ideas?
A bit of background... Hubby and I took a couple of friends out on a windy afternoon for some flying fun at the park. We had 2 Prism Nexus stunt
kites and 2 Prism Snapshot 2.5 foils between us (the big de-powers didn't come out to play as it was gusting up to 30mph!). Well, Hubby crashed one
Nexus and broke a spar (oops!) after he ploughed it into the ground at high speed. I launched a Snapshot and did okay with it as long as I kept it at
the edges of the window, but if I even looked at the power zone the gusts would just yank the handles out of my grasp :o We pretty much gave up after
one of our friends tried to fly the Snapshot... she got pulled over, let go of the handles, the kite flew off on its own, handles got stuck in a tree,
kite powered itself up again and took off into a field of sagebrush. Spent a while chasing it and a while longer untangling the lines before we just
called the whole thing off!
Anyway, the long and short of it is that I'd like to get a 4-line kite (for easy relaunching - the Snapshots are a pain; and for kite killers, which
would have saved me a run through a field of sagebrush!) to play around with when it's too windy to do anything else. I figure flying in gusty, high
winds helps hone your skills, but I want to do it with as little risk to myself (and my friends) as possible, so I'd like something that doesn't have
enough oomph to launch me. Also, as a side benefit, if I get a really small kite I can take it backpacking and not regret loading my pack with a
bunch of extra weight. 
So, any ideas? Buster Soulfly 1.5m looks quite appealing at this point, but I'm open to suggestions...
arkay - 27-3-2013 at 09:04 PM
I love my flexifoil stings 1.8 & 1.2... they are super gently even in very high wind, rock stable, and well built so that they'll stand up to a
major beating.
indigo_wolf - 27-3-2013 at 09:32 PM
Cross Kites Quattro 1.5M
Flexifoil Sting 1.2M or 1.7M
HQ Beamer 1.8M (discontinued now, replaced with the 2.0M)
Ozone Quattro 1.6M or 2.0M (those are span measures, so the area is actually 1.0 and 1.5, respectively)
PKD Buster Soul 1.5M
PKD Nippair 1.0M or 1.5M (discontinued now)
Zebra Z1 1.5M (think of this in the advanced beginner category)
Zebra Checka 1.5M
ATB,
Sam
BigMikesKites - 27-3-2013 at 09:54 PM
Cross Kites Quattro 1.5 2nd motion. inexpensive and fun
abkayak - 28-3-2013 at 05:31 AM
sounds like an epic day, glad no one got hurt....sometimes when it is nuking out I launch just to experience flying extreme conditions..its usually a
bad idea but I do it anyway..u know just hanging on for dear life and then praying to God I can land this thing w/out injury...so I want the same
kite...that soulfly and little sting always seemed right for the job.......and hey, lets be careful out there..those are certain helmet and armor
conditions..and landing and launching/re is serious serious stuff
Mainekite - 28-3-2013 at 05:49 AM
+1 on the 1.7 sting, I even use it in the buggy when its blowing hard enough. Would recommend using beefier handles and lines in 30mph+ though
kitemaker4 - 28-3-2013 at 06:01 AM
A small nasa wing would work in strong gust winds. I fly in gusty winds all the time and that is why I fly nasa wings.
Susan (npw goddess)
mahgnillig - 28-3-2013 at 12:58 PM
Thanks for the suggestions all
Susan, I'm intrigued by the Nasa wings... is this something that people usually make themselves? I have a sewing machine and know enough to be
dangerous (I've made some pretty cool Halloween costumes with it, but I'm not an expert by any means). Is there a resource you'd recommend for plans?
Also, where do you source the materials from? I'd imagine that kite fabric and spectra line are not something Jo-Ann's usually has in stock...
kitemaker4 - 28-3-2013 at 02:40 PM
u2u sent.
Susan ( npw goddess )
kitemaker4 - 28-3-2013 at 02:44 PM
How far are you from Vegas. The reason I ask is that next week starting on Tues. there will be over 100 kite buggyers on Ivanpah dry lake which is
south of Vegas down I-15. You will be able to meet a bunch of people and learn a whole lot about what kites that do well in gusty winds.
Susan (npw goddess)
mahgnillig - 28-3-2013 at 11:33 PM
Thanks Susan
Unfortunately I'm about 8hrs drive from Vegas... Ivanpah is out for me this year due to work commitments, since it's too far just to pop down for a
day or weekend.
I think I'm going to have a go at making a small NPW though... sounds like fun!