I have owned my Tensor 5.0 for a little over two years now, and am very comfortable static flying it while hooked in. I just bought an Atom 95x and am also looking to buy a buggy later this year. I am trying to decide between a PL Reactor II and a HQ Toxic for my next kite for buggy and board. Anyone that owns or has flown both mind sharing their opinions? I am a bigger fellow 200+ lbs. I am considering the 8.0 for the Toxic, and the 6.9 for the RII.

both are good kites. i favor the reactor but have nothing bad to say about the Toxic. You will like either.

both are good kites. i favor the reactor but have nothing bad to say about the Toxic. You will like either.

Welcome to PKF.
I just picked up a Reactor II 6.9 last week. Have not had a buggy run with it yet. Only static. I am 6'2" 210 lbs. I can tell you in 5 mph that thing pulls like a beast flying static. It pulled me all over the place LOL. Never flew a Toxic. Others will chime in on that as well as a lot of Reactor opinions. I have an Ozone Flow 5m that is very similar to the 5m Tensor in flight. That Reactor will take your breath away LOL. In a good way though. Keep in mind the 6.9 is a lower wind engine. Say 10 mph or less IMHO. More experienced pilots will dance in the teens with it I've seen. I bought this kite just to buggy for the days my 5m leaves me hangin'. I am new to the Reactor and can only share my first impressions. Great kite so far though. Posted a brief word or two and a pic over in the Cracker Box thread in the buggy forum.

Lots of neighbors and Reactors around. Where do you fly?

I just moved to chicago. I live just north of the downtown area so I get to fly every weekend at the big buggy beach by montrose point. I hear tons of good things about the reactors but almost nothing good or bad about the toxic. I am looking for a low wind kite, which is why I am looking at the 6.9 and 8.0

I take it that the general consensus is the 6.9 Reactor II over the 8.0 Toxic for light wind(<10mph) board and buggy? That is too bad because I definitely prefer the looks of the 8.0 Toxic over the reactor, but I am more concerned with flight characteristics between the two. I have done some boarding on my 5.0 Tensor, and I can work it slowly around in sub 10mph, but it does not have enough oomph to go back up wind on the beach I like to fly at.

Both the Toxic and the Reactor are excellent kites. The Toxic is newer than the Reactor which is probably why you are able to find more info on the Reactor than the Toxic. I have used both and they are awesome. Both of these kites perform fairly close to each other with the Reactor II having a bit more overall speed. Both are very stable and easy to control. Both have excellent light wind performance.

Because these kites are very similar, I would say purchase the one that looks best to you. I don't think you would regret owning either one.

I have a few years experience with power kiting static, but I have very little experience with kiting on wheels so far as I just got my first ATB and have not yet tried a buggy, but I know I am purchasing one later this year. I am not looking for all out speed, but something that can park and ride, and won't drop me too hard if I happen to get airborne sometimes. You say the Toxic is newer, but the Toxic is 2011 and the Reactor II has a new 2013 version with some slight revisions I think. Big Mike seems to be pushing me more towards the Reactor that he has for sale over the Toxic. Even in spite of this I am still personally leaning towards the Toxic, since nobody can say that the Reactor spanks it, and I like the looks of the Toxic much more than the Reactor.

The original Reactor was released around 2007, the Reactor II was released late 2009. Both of these models are different from the brand new Reactor 2013 which is just now being released.

Thanks for clearing that up awindofchange. I was mistakenly calling the 2013 Reactor II. Just know that when I say Reactor, I am talking about the latest 2013 version

Just buy both (jk)
That also happens a lot around here :evil:

I like the Toxic but I like HQ kites in general

Yeah, SFKITER I just can't get over how damn good the Toxic looks. From what I have read and heard so far, more people recommend the Reactor but mostly because it is a little faster than the Toxic. I think I can do with a little less speed as I am still new to kiting on wheels.

Keep in mind that both of these kites will pack more power for size than the tensor, so jumping up to an 8m kite is going to be a big step. I have an 8.6m Reactor II which is a bit of a beast, it is only good to fly in very light winds, otherwise it takes a lot of holding down (i.e. a race buggy and harness), a 6m kite would get a lot more use. The toxic has good feedback, I suspect that it would be slightly more stable than a reactor.

I fly my Tensor hooked in with handles and a strop static and ATB. I have flown in very high winds with it. I have been having the problem lately that there has not been enough wind in my area to keep it in the air without a lot of flying and footwork, hence a low wind kite. I know better than to put an 8m kite up in 12+ mph wind. I would like to keep my flawless record of no broken bones.

Just wanted to let everyone know that I bought the 8.0m Toxic from BigMike. Hopefully I get to put it up in the air over the weekend Extremely excited about this one...

Quote: Originally posted by Demoknight

Just wanted to let everyone know that I bought the 8.0m Toxic from BigMike. Hopefully I get to put it up in the air over the weekend Extremely excited about this one...

Oh man! That sexy black one? I love the black and grey colors on that Toxic 8m. Nice!

Yeah, I basically fell in love the first time I set eyes on it and had to have it. I pick it up from shipping facility Friday! Eventually I will have the whole set, I'm sure. As you guys know, the red and the yellow ones look really great as well! Honestly they all do. Some of the best looking foils I have ever seen.

Please post up some pics of that badboy!!

I will do a few pictures for sure. Hopefully I can get my girlfriend to do a few videos of me flying with it, too. I have only found maybe two or three videos online that show the 8.0m in the air.

yes pictures please.

I have a half day at work, heading straight to the UPS office to pick it up. With some luck, I can get her in the air this afternoon! I will take many pictures. Forecast for my area shows 4-6 mph of wind with gusts to 7. I think that should be enough to at least put her up in the air and fly static for a bit. I might even give it a go on the ATB!

Not much wind at all when I got to the park, but with a nice big 8.0 that did not matter at all! Going to start a new topic just to rant and rave about how awesome the Toxic is and post pictures!

http://i.imgur.com/MRiAbCA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3JmwZZ9.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sv3x7RO.jpg

In case you guys missed my post in kite reviews

Dude. You need at least one depower before you buy any more kites. I rode my board on FB for a while and now I can't imagine going back. Absolutely no comparison. I buggy with depowers, too, but that one is a toss up. buggying on handles is pretty sweet.

That being said, that toxic looks badass.

Man that is a sexy bird!!!
Just don't see too many 8m

Quote: Originally posted by Proletariat

Dude. You need at least one depower before you buy any more kites. I rode my board on FB for a while and now I can't imagine going back. Absolutely no comparison. I buggy with depowers, too, but that one is a toss up. buggying on handles is pretty sweet. That being said, that toxic looks badass.

Well, I barely ever ATB, and all I do is cruise at that. I would most likely want a waist harness instead of my PL Divine for a depower + ATB setup. What I am working up to is saving a bit to pick up a deal on a buggy. With the 8.0 I can ride a buggy out almost any day I want, except the high wind days. I have the Tensor if the wind picks up. My plan is to start buying the smaller Toxics after I get the buggy, though. I think I might skip the 6.5 and go straight to the 5 and 3 though.

I can respect that. I've used both FB and depower in a bug and I gotta say they're both really great, in totally different ways. I plan on doing a little more high-wind buggying on handles, so I look forward to exploring it a little more. The cool thing about the depower is having instant access to power at any given moment, being able to trim on the fly and you often don't have to be hyper vigilant in order to be safe at speed. To me it feels more like sailing than FB. Handles, in my opinion, offer more flying by "feel", more freedom of movement and a smaller power-depower range. I also personally think they take more attention, but I could be wrong. I practiced flying my ace while not looking for many hours, but I'd still be hesitant to bug with her in high winds... Too squirrelly... I'm certain there are other benefits of flying FB in a bug, but those are just the ones I noticed.

Anyway, I think your toxic looks amazing. Talk to Van about a bug...he makes great stuff!

Yeah, the smaller quads under 3.0 are all pretty squirrely and require lots of input no matter what you do, but you can still fly them without looking by feeling the lines in your hands. Honestly, I have not even flown a depower before. I have a local dealer here in Chicago trying to get me to demo one, but hes a kite surfer before buggier, and I have literally zero interest in surfing. I want wheels only. Also, my budget only allows for FB at the moment. I would have to spend over a grand on a depower that pulls like my Toxic. I just don't see the need for that kind of cheese unless I was wanting to do mostly ATB or kite surf and looking for air time. As it is now, I barely do any jumping because I am a big guy and gravity sucks(get it?)

Although, the more I think about it, the more I would like to check out a Montana or another depower foil.

Demo, Check out Kober's 8m Yeti for sale. That is one hell of a deal on a RTF beginner friendly depower.