Power Kite Forum

ready for 2nd kite...need help

zx6rman96 - 12-9-2006 at 05:40 AM

So i've been kiting for about 4months now. I found out that it is more fun than I thought. I find myself watching flags and streamers or whatnots while driving down the road...just checking the wind to see if i'm able to fly. Yesterday we had 10-15mph steady...and that was awesome...rarely ever get that..so it was a treat. I have a Prism Stylus p2 right now..i got it from intothewind. I found my self wanting more..and kind of got interested in jumping around a little bit..or just want the power there incase i want too. The prism's are stackable kites..so i was wondering if I should buy there bigggest power kite..the p4 and stack it on my p2..or buy a different brand of kite, maybe a quad line too. Open to suggestions, but want something able to provide nice lift, dual or quad doesn't matter...and would like to stay under $300 if possible. Appreciate all help provided. Happy kiting!!

Yoggy - 12-9-2006 at 09:16 AM

I would go with a beamer II, it is a affordable kite is a quad line and will work you in good winds.

http://www.kitesonline.com/kites/quad/beamer.html

get the 3.6 or 5.0

zx6rman96 - 12-9-2006 at 09:59 AM

i've heard good things and bad things about the beamers. I've actually been looking at the 5. Do you think it would provide enough lift to do a little jumping around?

awindofchange - 12-9-2006 at 10:02 AM

The Prism P3 and P4 will stack to your P2 but you will probably find that flying the P3 and P4 by themselves will provide you with enough power without being stacked. When stacking multiple kites of different sizes, you run into the problem of the kites fighting each other. Smaller kites want to fly faster, larger kites tend to hang back in the window more. It can be done but it is a pain trying to get the stack lines all adjusted properly so that the kites fly in unison.

Stacking kites does not actually double the power and is average to only 50% of an increase in power per kite stacked. This of course is for kites stacked of the same size. Stacking two P2's together will give you the power output of 1.5 times the power of a single P2 where as going from a P2 to a P3 will give you close to double the power of a single P2.

Another thing to consider is that the P3 and P4 can both be converted over to quad line very easily whereas the P2 is a dedicated dual line kite. The P3 and P4 both produce much more usable power when set up for quad line instead of dual.

On power kites, increases in the surface area of the kite increases the power output exponentionally. What I mean by this is that going from a 2 meter kite to a 3 meter kite will usually double the power output for a given wind speed (this is a very vague statement, actual power increase/decrease between a 2 and 3 meter kite will depend on the style of kite used, wind conditions, pilot's skill, kite use, etc....). As you are looking for more power than your P2, the P3 or P4 will give you that without stacking. Power output from the P2 to the P4 is not just double the power of the P2 but actually closer to 3.5 to 4 times the power output of the P2.

The P3 and P4 have the brake bridle lines of the kite attached to the main flying lines of the kite and to convert them over to quad lines all you need to do is purchase an extra set of brake lines that are the same length of your flying lines and a set of handles. Just un-attach the brake lines from the main lines and attach them to the new set of brake lines, run all four lines to your handles and you have a quad line kite.

Once you get the P3 or P4 set up for quad line you will discover that the cost is about the same as other power kites of the same size that already come set up as quad line.

The Stylus is a great kite that looks good and flies very well. If you are getting very serious about power kiting and eventually want to get a board or buggy then you may be better off with some of the other brands on the market such as Ozone, HQ, Flexifoil, etc... These kites will give you a little better performance on a buggy or board than the Stylus will.

Just some food for thought.

zx6rman96 - 12-9-2006 at 10:50 AM

I appreciate your response. That info was very helpful. I dont think i will be doing much boarding or anything like that..not unless I move..there just isn't really any area's around to do it. I love my stylus p2..its soo fast..it can really scream arcross the sky on a windy day. So i guess its a toss up really. The skudding and jumping really interest me, thats why I want a bigger kite, but also a kite that provides lift. Would the P4 be sufficient for that, or the Beamer II kites? I got my friend hooked on kiting so he went out and bought the P3, still waiting for it to arrive. I just dont know which would be the better bang for my buck. $200 P4 or $300 Beamer II 5.0 or maybe the 3.6 I just want one that has the ability to provide lift. I know this can be done in certain conditions with almost any 4.0 or bigger...maybe, Corect me if i'm wrong..still a newb. But learning all the time. Gosh I love this stuff.

zx6rman96 - 12-9-2006 at 11:13 AM

also the radsail 5.0 looks nice for 225$ thats like a good deal. There is just sooo much stuff out there...I want them all.

gumby - 12-9-2006 at 02:46 PM

Look on ebay they have great deals on kites everyonce in a while, i've see a few beamer 5's on there for great prices and some flexifoil blades on there as well. I just picked up a Flexifoil 7m bullet (not a lift kite) off ebay for $250 brand new so there are good deals out there to grab. My brother got about 7 ft of air off a beamer 3.6 the other day, and i got about 3ft of air out of it (im 210#, he's 150#) so the beamer can give some decent air. but if you have a kite shop around I suggest you go and try some out if they will let you.
Hope this helps,
G man

awindofchange - 13-9-2006 at 11:08 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by zx6rman96
Would the P4 be sufficient for that, or the Beamer II kites? I got my friend hooked on kiting so he went out and bought the P3, still waiting for it to arrive. I just dont know which would be the better bang for my buck. $200 P4 or $300 Beamer II 5.0 or maybe the 3.6 I just want one that has the ability to provide lift.


Bang for the buck, the Beamer II would be a much better deal. For the extra 100 on the Beamer you get a nice set of quad handles, a very nice backpack instead of a stuff sack bag, and a matched quad line set. The Beamer 5.0 will also have a lot more lift and more power than the P4. As has been mentioned there are also quite a few other great deals that are fairly inexpensive such as the Radsails and some used kites. Be careful moving up to the 5.0, it is quite a large jump in power from your P2. Get a helmet & body pads and learn to control the kite in light winds first, then as your experience improves you can move into more stronger situations.

Sthrasher38 - 10-5-2007 at 09:47 PM

Dude just went through the same long ordeal. I was told that stacking at time can be a pain as it takes more wind to fly 2 or more and being new did not want the hassel of all the lines. So after endless ntghts on the computer and e-bay I finally got a bullet 4.5 I have flown one before and I know thats all I will need. I chose it over the 5.0 beamer and I want one of those too.

Pablo - 11-5-2007 at 08:24 AM

Beamers, Radsails, and Busters. The three main starter kites for quad line, all come set up and ready to go, all are perfect for noobies and will provide lift if you get them in enough wind. From a P2, I'd be looking at a 4m kite.

One thing to remember, the Prism kites are a lot of fun, and look cool in a stack, they don't tend to match the power output of the Beamer or other kites when compared meter to meter. A 2m Buster or Beamer will out pull/lift a P2. So the jump from a P2 to a 5m kite would be a pretty big one.

Bullets and Blades are fun and powerful, but they're power output can be a bit abrupt. This is wicked when you know how to handle it, but not ideal for learning.