Flyingpinoy - 8-3-2007 at 02:26 PM
Howdy all, Brad here, brand new to the forum and to power kiting. I've flown a beamer 3m and acrossfire 3.2m (or 3.1 I don't remember exactly what
the point was) anyways, I've been looking around for my own for traction land. I'd eventually like to get a land board, but I'd really like some
thing with good strong pull. I've been watching ebay and came across a company selling Prism power kites and I'm interested in the P4 and was
wondering if any one has flown any of their power kites. I've got a couple of their stunt kites and have been fairly happy with those, anyways, any
feed back regarding them is appreciated.
Thanks, Brad
STACKflyer - 8-3-2007 at 02:52 PM
I have used the Prism's before. I would not use them for anything serious. I fI were you I would go for the Flexifoil Blades. They are awesome, but
a little pricey! Good luck!
code - 8-3-2007 at 07:46 PM
Prism does make some pretty nice stunt kites. Had thought about getting a p4 myself, however, the reviews were not up to what they are for their
stunts. Probably better off to go with HQ, Ozone, PL, Flexi or even Radsail if you want a kite with some serious traction amongst other things.
Stack..sent ya a pm
~Joe
awindofchange - 9-3-2007 at 05:13 PM
The Prism P3 and P4 are sold as dual line kites but are pre-bridled for conversion to quad line. In the dual line mode they perform ok and have some
pretty good power but are no comparison to kites such as the Beamer or Fury in the same size. To get the most out of these kites you need to
seriously consider converting them to quad line. Once you add in the cost of an additional pair of lines (and then matching those lines to your
existing lines) and a set of quad handles, you are at the same or even higher price than the cost of a Beamer or Ozone Fury, which in my opinion are
more powerful per size than the P3 and P4 of the same sizes. The benefit is that the Beamer and Fury are already set up for quad line right out of
the bag, nothing else needs to be purchased. The Beamer takes this one step further by including kite killers, instructional CD, nicer backpack and
a ground stake.
If you don't plan on converting to quad line or are not going to get serious into the power kiting or buggying then the Prism P3 & P4 are awesome
kites which are a total blast to fly around. If you want to get into power kiting seriously then I would suggest going straight to a quad line kite
like the Beamer or Fury.
There are also other quad line kites as well as the two I have listed above. Our store sells the Prism's, Beamers, and Ozone kites so that is the
ones I have listed.
As I have stated in many of my posts, talk with your local shop, make them let you demo the kites - fly before you buy. Try out as many kites as you
can before you purchase so you know exactly what you are looking for and how each model performs. Each kite has its own personality and what works
good for one pilot may not work good for you. Your local shop should also know what size kites work best for your area and where the best places are
to fly. They should be able to point you to those areas and tell you who you can meet up with to fly with and possibly try out their kites. Here in
Vegas our most common size is the 3.0 to 4.0 meter. In the midwest the most common sizes seem to be a size or two bigger because of the wind
conditions. Your local shop (or other local riders) will know what sizes work best for your area.
If your local shop can't help you out and you have more questions, post em on up here. There are a ton of very talented pilots on here that will help
you out.
Hope this helps.
Flyingpinoy - 9-3-2007 at 07:28 PM
Wow! thanks kent for all that awesome info. I am actually part of a hawaiian Kite flying team here in Orlando and they were the only local shop
around ( they recently closed the store down and do a little online biz) buit we still fly together, I've been flying quads (spirit and revs) and also
dual line stunt kites for years and am wanting to get into power kiting, I've flown a 3.0 beamer and also a 3.1 cross fire. I actually liked the
beamer more because it is a lot more stable and doesn't fold on the outside window but none of the guys here have tried the Prism "power" kites so I
was just wondering if any one else has and their opinions, thank you very much for all the info, it's very helpful!
PrairieWind - 9-3-2007 at 09:21 PM
Someone had told me that a P3 was a great trainer kite. Like what was said previously - once you buy handles and another line set - you'll realize
that you should have bought a proper 4 line kite to begin with. In defence of the p3 I will say that it has been good for introducing friends and
family to the world of the power kite. My wife can fly it and feel like she is "kiting" - today I took a friend out on the ice/snow I was on a flexi
blade 3.3 - and he static flew the P3. He had a lot of fun. It does have an application, but not as a true traction kite.
Pablo - 9-3-2007 at 11:14 PM
We've put the P3 up against a 4m first gen radsail and the 3m Buster II, guy's since sold his P3 and bought a new kite.
While they're a good intro to flying foils, they're just not made to fly the same as the serious power kites, I'd go with a Buster II, Radsail, PL or
Beamer myself if you're on a budget. All of them are stable yet powerful enough to give you a ride in some good winds.