Power Kite Forum

Hq Montana 3 9.5m Review

dgkid78 - 7-2-2009 at 05:36 PM

What a great kite. Purchased from Beamerbob about a month ago. Took her out for the first time now that the snow has melted a little. wind 14mph gusting to 21mph .Didn't think it was ideal for me but what the hay, i wanted to try.

Neutral knot (2nd one in) trimmed all the way, and Launch.....Right away I feel overpowered and a little discouraged. I park her down. and just keep telling myself., it's gusty it's gusty at 21mph thats why your overpowered LOL :rolleyes: I changed the knot to the closest to the bar to tame the beast a little. What a heck of a difference!!!!!!!!!! I just need to practice dialing her in . I am so use to dipping my 7m really low and taking off on my board. I was a little a scared lol to do that with this beast since it has so much more power. Also when jumping I need some practice there. since she is bigger and turns slightly slower than my 7m. but also could be because i had it on the third knot and lose a little of the steering there. NIce Floaty JUMPS!!!! nothing major just some small jumps. I didn't wanna hurt myself, just feeling her out. . I never felt that power before. always use to being dropped a little on my 7m cause i never really use her for high winds. Mainly 12mph-18mph. This is why i went for the 9.5 I feel comfortable in those winds.
All in all what a great kite and i am super excited to have her.
The only Issue i have with her is this, When i pull on the brake to bring her down, It requires an incredible amount of muscle and i have to yank all the way down to my feet to get her to finally park. With my 7m I just pull the brake and it doesn't require me to overly exhaust myself to get her down. I don't think it's cause i had her on the third knot cause thats only a minor adjustment. My arm doesn't feel long enough to pull the break. and at one point i got so tired and she was right in the power zone and i couldn't hold on no more, i just pulled the QR. hmmm not really a big deal i guess. I guess i can get a leash and just pull the release on the Chicken loop when i want her down. I think i would feel safer too? Since i have had the Chicken loop pop out alot on my 7m. I could hold on to her long enough to pull the QR , but i don't think i could hold onto the 9.5 if that happened. :singing: Maybe I am just getting ahead of myself and the wind conditions weren't ideal for a noob to play with a 9.5m kite.

GREAT KITE ON A MOUNTAIN BOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!! Effortless to jump. :wee:

BeamerBob - 7-2-2009 at 09:04 PM

I'm glad you had a decent first flight dg. On the landings, I don't remember heavy force but remember just having to finesse the brake handle to get it to land right side up. I wonder if the wind or one of the settings hampered you. I didn't get familiar enough with the kite to help you much but better minds than mine are sure to offer suggestions. Glad you have the power now.

dgkid78 - 7-2-2009 at 09:15 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BeamerBob
I'm glad you had a decent first flight dg. On the landings, I don't remember heavy force but remember just having to finesse the brake handle to get it to land right side up. I wonder if the wind or one of the settings hampered you. I didn't get familiar enough with the kite to help you much but better minds than mine are sure to offer suggestions. Glad you have the power now.



Ya the more i think about it. I think it was just my settings and the moderate to gusty wind. First i had her trimmed completly and then on my third knot, closest to the bar. Back lines very slack. :piggy: I think that was the issue.

BeamerBob - 7-2-2009 at 09:19 PM

I asked Wexler and he also noticed heavy pressure on that brake line like you. I never flew it in winds like you did today but didn't have the same experience.

dgkid78 - 7-2-2009 at 09:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by BeamerBob
I asked Wexler and he also noticed heavy pressure on that brake line like you. I never flew it in winds like you did today but didn't have the same experience.


I will look over all my settings next time out and try different scenarios , and check and see if i see a difference. When i got the kite from you, i noticed that the lines were also on the knot closest to the bar. So Wexler had the same effect as me. I'll report back once i get more fly time. :wee:

acampbell - 8-2-2009 at 12:59 AM

you started to get it right before when you mentioned slack brake lines when sheeted in all the way and trimmed in on the closest knot. That would require a lot of throw on the brakes. Sheet the center strap out when over head and ready to land. When moving, this is the powered up setting but here it also makes it easy to back stall the kite and you will not work so hard on the brakes. The gusts don't help either and no shame hitting the QR if you vulnerable or tired.

dgkid78 - 8-2-2009 at 11:14 AM

Thanks for advice Campbell! had her out today in 13mph winds for about 1hr until what felt like a blast of wind from nowhere and the wind was 28mph gusting to 36 (according to accuweather). So my bridal is a nightmare all tangled up, trying to fold her back up into her bag. LOL what a beast!!! I will have a project on my hands next time i go out. I tried to fix it at home. but i ain't got the room to fix her. :frog: can't wait till spring and the winds are a little more predictable here

B-Roc - 8-2-2009 at 11:54 AM

how does the II series compare to the III series. I know you are flying different sizes but I wondering about bar and performance and sail / depower range - specifically I'm interested in your thoughts on the II series.

acampbell - 8-2-2009 at 03:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by dgkid78
Thanks for advice Campbell! had her out today in 13mph winds for about 1hr until what felt like a blast of wind from nowhere and the wind was 28mph gusting to 36 (according to accuweather). So my bridal is a nightmare all tangled up, trying to fold her back up into her bag. LOL what a beast!!! I will have a project on my hands next time i go out. I tried to fix it at home. but i ain't got the room to fix her. :frog: can't wait till spring and the winds are a little more predictable here


Yeah sometimes there is no graceful way to pack up in bad winds. One thing I like about the HQ bags is that they are oversized enough to wad the kit in unceremoniously if conditions are like that or if chased off the field or beach by a squall. Then at home in the comfort of a sheltered yard wit a beer in my hand I can un-tangle clean up, refold and re-pack at my leisure. If you don't have your own yard, maybe a local park or common area.

DAKITEZ - 8-2-2009 at 03:43 PM

I wanted to throw my 2 cents in on the brakes issue. When I was landing this type of set up I would reach out and grab with one hand. This caused me some trouble a few times, especially if I grabbed more to one side than the other because the kite would loop on the way down. Now I let go of the bar completely and reach out to grab the brake line with both hands. This gives me steering control as it comes down and with both hands I have plenty of strength to bring it down.

dgkid78 - 8-2-2009 at 05:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by B-Roc
how does the II series compare to the III series. I know you are flying different sizes but I wondering about bar and performance and sail / depower range - specifically I'm interested in your thoughts on the II series.



Hey B-Roc I have only flown the 9.5 twice so far and in those 2 times I noticed an incredible difference in depower. Saturday the winds were 14mph gusting to 21mph . Of course I had her trimmed to the max LOL but i felt safe. Even with the gusts.
The M2 IMO doesn't like gusts very much and I always stayed home if weather was too gusty. Don't get me wrong I still think it's an incredible kite. This kite made me a fast learner. I just noticed more depower in my 9.5 than i did in 7m. It kicked my butt a few times and maybe thats why I never pushed her. meaning taking her out in crazy wind like saturday. To Some those winds might be heaven, but I admit it. I get scared when i see 20mph winds. Also the usual, lighter fabric and the bridle was simpler on the M2. I got a hot mess of a bridal to figure out LOL next time i take my M3 out. I think the Montana 4 went back to that bridle. I dunno I thought i read that somewhere i might be mistaken. Being New to this big 9.5 all i can say is I need to respect this kite. :wee:

Oh the and bar I beleive is the same bar. just bigger for sizes 9.5 and 12m