Maven454 - 22-8-2009 at 07:20 AM
Here are my initial thoughts on it.
Kite: It flew really well considering that I didn’t think there was enough wind to get it into the air. I could only manage to determine the wind
direction by walking in different directions, adding my speed to the wind speed so that it could be felt. When laying the kite out you have to watch
to make sure that the bridle lines end up on top of the kite instead of wrapped around the back. In spite of the light wind, the kite flew nicely as
long as I was walking backward to add a little extra breeze. It's designed (bar layout) to be steered with brakes, rather than with power, but in
spite of that it still did well in the light wind. I’ll post again when I have a chance to use it in higher winds.
Equipment: The kite seems reasonably well made, although I've seen better stitching and the bar/handle set up may be worrisome in higher winds, not
sure about the connection in the middle. I am slightly disappointed that unlike the nice metal stakes PKD provides with the Brooza, the stake with
the Nippair is a cheap orange plastic tent stake. The usual PKD sandbags are a nice touch, but unfortunately useless at my normal kiting location. I
found the font used in the manual to be less than ideal for ease of readability and it appears to have been written by someone for whom English was
not a native language, definitely not Engrish, but approaching it :ticking:. The bag is, in my opinion, sub optimal, the zipper opens the middle of
the long bag, which means that you have to crumple/fold the end of the folded/rolled up kite in order to get it through the opening and then
straighten it out again in the bag.
I should add though, that you shouldn't let my ridiculous search for perfection in all details make you think that I wouldn't recommend the kite.
It's a nice kite, I like it, I'm just... picky 
.
bigkid - 22-8-2009 at 08:45 PM
I would be interested in how the kite would fair in some strong winds, say 25 to 40? Kind of tough to buggy with no way to hook in. Don't want to just
hold on with your hands you could break a rib or 2
Do you think the bar would hold up to some good winds?
Maven454 - 23-8-2009 at 03:04 PM
I'm a little worried about how it would hold up, but once I get a chance to try it in higher winds, I'll certainly let people know. Since the power
lines are hooked to the center of the bar, if you hold it towards the outside where you can get some leverage, there would be a lot of force on the
center join. And as can be seen in the picture, there is no good way to attach a strop to use it in handle mode.
jaymzmn - 25-8-2009 at 04:07 PM
isn't it a purely recreational kite (ie kids) ?
bigkid - 25-8-2009 at 05:56 PM
Its listed as TOY on the invoice and the size is little and the plastic feel to the fabric, 150.00 for the kite..... do I feel another pass the kite
coming on? Any thoughts?
Maven454 - 1-9-2009 at 09:20 AM
Further thoughts and observations. I didn't notice a whole lot of difference between the feel of the Nippair fabric and the feel of my Brooza III
fabric. The lines that come with the Nippair seem lighter than what I'd want to use if I were going to use it as a high wind buggy kite.
I'd probably have to say that if I wanted to use it for high wind buggying, I'd probably swap out both the lines and the bar... At which point, I'm
sure it'd make more sense to get a different kite.
None the less, I like the kite.
P.S. I'm still planning on updating the review once I get a chance to fly it in good wind.
Maven454 - 28-9-2009 at 06:17 AM
I'm contemplating doing a pass the kite with the PKD Nippair, though maybe I'll just pass it around at Wildwood. See what people there think. Would
people be interested in trying it?
I think for a high wind buggy engine, I'd be more likely to go with a Ozone Imp Quattro, which is the same price.
cheezycheese - 28-9-2009 at 07:40 AM
i'd like to try...:wee:
bigkid - 28-9-2009 at 08:51 AM
The kite has not done as well as expected and PKD has lowered the price to $95.00 for the 1.0m and $115.00 USD for the 1.5m, should be able to move
the kite now.
Maven454 - 28-9-2009 at 08:55 AM
I think that sounds like a more reasonable price for it. Too bad I paid more than that 
.
Maven454 - 29-9-2009 at 01:09 PM
I finally got a chance to try this in some nice wind. It was 15 gusting to 25mph today and I was out there with the Nippair. It flies wonderfully,
though when using the handles it feels odd (to me) to only be able to turn with the brakes. The bar didn't seem to have any issues with the pull from
the kite, it felt quite solid even at the join. The Nippair seems a little slower (still fast though) than the 1.5m Prism Snapshot 1.9 (dual-line),
but I suspect that's because the Snapshot had less bridle to create drag and came with much slicker lines. In spite being fairly speedy it never
tried to overfly zenith. It handled the rare lull reasonably well, though it does not have quite as easy a revers launch as on some kites that I've
tried.
I have to say that at the new lower price point I think this is an excellent kite. At the previous price point there would have been better kites.
For a buggy engine in high winds... I think it would work ok.
bigkid - 29-9-2009 at 02:20 PM
Nice review of the kite M454, I agree with your findings about the kite. It is a great little nuke wind kite for the buggy (20 to 35 today). I found
the reverse launch strap works quite well, able to reverse the kite almost to the zenith, then power dive and turn up for some unbelievable scudding.
The fact that the kite doesn't turn and fly as fast as the Snapshot is due to the brakes are on so very slightly and your right the lines are smaller
on the Snapshot, (broke the originals and put on stronger ones). For the price and performance it is part of my quiver from now on.
Maven454 - 6-10-2009 at 08:08 AM
I did some buggying with the kite at Wildwood in about 20 mph. The bar was rock solid. I think the previous problem that I had with reverse launch
was that I wasn't pulling the strap far enough in, so that was my fault, not the fault of the kite.
cheezycheese - 6-10-2009 at 08:19 AM
dude, i forgot to ask you to fly this kite at WW guess i was havin too much fun
Maven454 - 6-10-2009 at 09:03 AM
I had it out on Friday before you were there... I kept asking people if they wanted to try the Reflex, but forgot about the Nippair.