This is going to be a long read, but worth it if you are considering buying a Blaze II kite.
Ok guys, after playing with several different sizes of Blaze kites, both the non-depower Blaze and the depowerable Blaze II here are my findings…..
Physical kite
The overall build of the Pansh kites is more than acceptable for the kite’s intended use, sail material is light, strong and not very porous, decent
stitching on all kites tested with good edge distance and nice straight seam runs, the reinforced seams are done properly i.e. industry standard, sewn
bridles, and the bridle/rib attachment points properly executed. All in all, just like the high end manufactures do it.
Bridles
I have noticed a difference in the bridle materials but this seems to be kite size related more than anything. The larger test kites, 7m, 12m had
finer bridle material than the smaller 3m Blaze. This had no effect on the flight performance so I don’t think it is anything to bother worrying
about. The sewn ends were well done on all kites and no problems were ever encountered in tangling of the bridles once set up on the line sets.
Handles and Lines
Quality lines these are not, but they do the job. I wouldn’t jump with these lines but they are fine for sport flying. I actually liked the older
lines with the knotted ends because they are easier to adjust for the inevitable length differences, but the newer sewn ends are definitely cleaner in
appearance.
The lines are not consistent in matched lengths, on several of the kites, the lines were found to be all over the place in length and bang on some
other kites. Kite size doesn’t seem to matter in this area, as one of the 7m kites had perfect line lengths and one of the 5m kites was also supplied
with a perfectly matched set of lines. Where as one of the 3m kites had a difference of over 3” in two of the lines!
I found the handles to be perfectly acceptable, but these tend to be more of a user’s personal preference, either you like them or you don’t. From
what I can see, the Pansh handles mimic the Radsail handles. Some people complain about the handle padding to be too hard, again personal preference,
as I find them to be fine.
Overall I wouldn’t say getting these handles and lines detract from the kite’s purchase appeal, especially for a newbie.
Trimming the kites to fly
The handled kites, Blaze were obviously easier to get flying properly than the Blaze 11 depowerables. I didn’t find any angle of attack problems
with any of the Blaze kites, just brake line lengths had to be adjusted, but this is true for most other four line kites. All kites flew right up to
the zenith and went right out to the edge of the wind window. One good trait that all the Blazes( Blazii?) exhibited was the ability to avoid tip
tangles when really pushed to the side of the windwindow. When the tip would tuck under because of the way the bridle is constructed, it creates a
“wall” that prevents the folded portion of the kite tips from laying flat on the underside of the kite. When the kites regained speed, the tips popped
back open with no tangles at all, every time.
Depowerable Blazes
First things first…. at the time of this test, I still had to adjust the front power attachment point knots on the bridle to bring down the leading
edge of the kites. This change brings the camber line of the airfoil more inline to what it should have been in the first place. Without this change,
when flying the kite you will see that the underside of the kite has a “bump” at approx 25% aft of the leading edge. This fix (when combined with
lengthening of the brake lines) lowers the angle of attack (AoA), which is the main problem the Blaze II kites. I hope that Pansh has been proactive
and made a running change in the production of new kites? The control bar used was a 60cm Radsail EVO bar which is a copy of the Ozone Frenzy bar.
Total depower travel available on this bar is 9.5” or 24cm’s, stop to stop. This bar has a trimmer strap, a quick release “tophat” on the front lines
and a “parking brake handle” between the two outer lines. This is exactly the type of bar you need for flying depowerable foils, works perfectly.
Lines were 25m and of equal length and strength, 250kg’s.
3m Blaze converted to depower
I had to adjust the depower bridle to fit the 3m Blaze by moving the front attach point up 2.5 “ closer to the A-B cascade. The brake lines(black
lines) had to be lengthened by approx 2” as well. After an initial flight in lower winds and not finding the kite to perform with the depower bridle
installed, I had to think for a minute then realized that you would not be flying such a small foil on a bar in light winds. When I flew the 3m in
much higher winds 30km-40+ the kite came alive, and exhibited the performance and handling I was looking for. Lots of depower available and easy
handling right out to the edge of the wind window. Bar pressure was extremely light (to be expected for such a small kite on a bar) with very little
feedback. Because the kite is so small and quick, it was a handful keeping track of it during the test flights. No tip tuck at all, and amazingly
quick response, easy to park on the ground with the brake line pulled in and reverse launching off the snow was no problem at all.
5m Blaze converted to depower
The depower bridle was installed on a Blaze model, thus converting it to a Blaze II depowerable configuration. The conversion took only a few
minutes and with no adjustment needed the kite flew perfectly, right from the first launch. Wind speed was 20km’s during the first series of flights
and the 5m was solid throughout all aspects of the flight tests. Available depower was even more pronounced than that available on the 3m Blaze 11
test. Turning speed was very quick with no tendency to tip tuck at all. Later tests in higher winds 30-40km’s revealed a kite that was well behaved
and didn’t dart all over the place. Speed through out the wind window was very high and the depower available was very pronounced. One problem was
encountered with this kite during the testing period. During a high wind session the kite hit he ground quite hard causing two of the rib/bridle tabs
to be torn from the kite. A quick sew job and all is well again. During a subsequent detailed investigation, it was noted that there was a difference
in the construction of the kites between the Blaze non-depowerable and the Blaze II. Namely the bridle rib tabs are not as robust on the Blaze when
compared to those found on the Blaze II. Please keep this in mind if you are considering converting a Blaze into a depowerable Blaze II.
7m Blaze II report
Once the bridle adjustment was made, the kite was flown in light winds of approx 15km’s. The 7m flew perfectly, straight up to the zenith with no
tendency to over fly and luff. Flown over to the edge of the wind window, the kite turned perfectly and had PLENTY of depower available. The kite
never back stalled once from over sheeting the bar, the bar travel was a perfect match for the kite with no adjustments at all. In higher winds
30-40+km’s the trimmer was tried and found to effectively reduce the amount of power available. Nice smooth power delivery throughout the envelope and
even when it settled back into the power zone from mishandling there was no explosive power burst, just a controlled delivery of manageable power
through the bar. Bar pressure was found to be nice and light with enough feedback to let you know where the kite was at all times. Reverse launch off
the snow was no problem and can be easily done by novice flyers.
12m Blaze II as set up from the factory
Disregarding anything else I have read about this kite, I proceeded to set this kite up and fly it stock, as from the factory without changing
anything in the bridle. This would give me a benchmark to work from if any other adjustments were needed?
Again set up with the Radsail EVO bar and lineset., stock bridle setting from the factory.
Flying the 12m in this configuration resulted in a kite that would only fly with bar fully depowered, when the bar was pulled in (more power) the kite
stalled and fell to the ground. Typical over sheeting response as the kite is flying at too high AoA (angle of attack) Again by moving the front
attach point up 2.5 “ closer to the A-B cascade the kite flew properly and responded to normal bar positioning i.e. pull bar in for more power and
push it away for less power. I played with the black brake line to achieve the best
possible turning response/depower setting. Flights in light winds of approx. 15km’s demonstrated a kite that would fly comfortably at the edge of the
powerzone and still be controllable. The kite flew right up to the zenith with no hesitation at all and didn’t luff when the bar was released. Flying
from the edge of the wind through to the centre of the powerzone revealed a steady linear increase of pull with no sudden burst of power, very
controllable. Flights in higher winds showed that the depower available was more than adequate, which is a good thing, as trying to fly statically
with such a large kite is quite a challenge!
Overall, I found the 12m Blaze II to be a good kite when set up properly on the right bar system and the bridle adjustment implemented. A great kite
for buggying and Snow kiting.
Conclusions
All of the test kites flew well, some needed tuning and some didn’t, and that my friend is the main problem with Pansh. It has been said before on
this forum, Pansh needs to sell a complete package i.e. kite, bar, lines and INSTRUCTIONS!
The market that Pansh was/is targeting with some of their models and their aggressive pricing is the newcomer to the sport. This is the kind of
things I see on the forums, new kiters that have purchased Pansh kites looking for help for the kites that won’t fly properly. You can’t expect a
newcomer to the sport to be able to trim out a kite to fly well, if he/she has no previous experience! Sometimes things are great and sometimes things
are not so great.
Presently there is a video on You Tube that was posted by a gentleman who demonstrates a “reverse” depower Blaze II, I think he just needs to adjust
the bridle as I have described above, to get a normally behaving depower response from his kite, a five minute fix.
The 7m Blaze II is in my opinion, the “sweet size” of the depowerable Blaze II range of kites. It just works properly, in that it has lots of power,
very nice handling, is extremely stable, and has plenty of available depower range.
I ended up using this kite a fair bit more than I thought I would for snowkiting all last winter. It turned into my “go to” kite for just about all
conditions.
Final Conclusion
I like the kites when properly set up, they rock, look cool, and I can afford them!
Enough said……..I will now step down from my soapbox.
Just to let you know…I paid retail for all of the kites used in the test, and I am not affiliated with Pansh in any way at all.
If any readers want more info/photos/measurements or have any questions not answered above, feel free to PM me, and I will help in any way I can.
Thanks for your time
Blake Moran
Campbellford, Ontario
Canada
Reviewers Kiting experience…..I have been involved in power kiting for about 7 years now, starting with small stunt kits, then moving onto small
foils, leading up to larger four line foils, into buggies, onto the snow(snowboard), and ending up on the water (kiteboarding). Kite brands owned and
flown over the years are; Flexifoil, Naish, Cabrinha, HQ, Ozone, Radsail, Ocean Rodeo, Best, and Pansh.
Reviewers Professional experience…..Presently employed as a Mechanical Engineering Technologist with the Canadian military, 24 years of Aircraft
design and manufacturing experience, certified ultralight flight instructor 20+ years both three axis and weight shift, 30+ years soaring/gliding
experience.DAKITEZ - 21-8-2008 at 10:09 PM
Great review ... thanks for your time in putting together such indepth review.
I also have been flying a 7m blaze II and just love it. I just received some 5m and 10m blaze II's that I hope to get some time on this weekend.SCREWYFITS - 21-8-2008 at 10:16 PM
Great review, Blake
I couldn't agree more with your conclusion...
Thanx for giving the review and the tips-n-tricks for these kites...
Dang DAKITEZ you beat me to the punch... I must of been writing when you posted... I think I'm gonna heve to take one home and do the 2.5" mod he
gives...
Blake, welcome to the forum, you'll make a great member with your experience and knowledge...
sorry... looks as though you've been here for a while....f0rgiv3n - 22-8-2008 at 08:32 AM
Dang dude that is one awesome review! I am a prospective Blaze II flyer and it's really cool to hear a review from an experienced flyer as yourself!
Well written and a great contribution to the community! Thanks Blake!Custheyder - 26-8-2008 at 06:36 AM
Was indeed such an excellent review that we added your pictures and put it as a sticky at the top of the Blaze II section over at PanshForum. As
someone who never rated the Blaze II I'm now miffed I sent on my 5m. Might have to get another to have a go tuning it as per your instructions....
Well done, definate worth the praise your getting.NPWfever - 13-9-2008 at 12:21 PM
With the snowkite season approaching I'm thinking about putting aside some $ for one or two of these. I love my closed cells, but you gotta love the
ease of an open cell. I did convert the Ace for depower, but I need to trim that before I know for sure, but I really did like the feel of the Access,
less lifty. I snowkited with the 8m Ace in like 10mph wind, and it was REALLY lifty, and almost impossible to get upwind. I could probably also use
the Blaze II in the buggy. Is it worth getting a 7m and 5m? I could probably fly the 7m in 10mph wind, and the 5m in 20mph wind.Blake - 13-9-2008 at 06:28 PM
NPW
I still think the 7m is the best of them all, if you need a smaller kite for higher winds in the buggy, just set up the 7m on a set of 15m lines.
The Blaze 11 is an excellent buggy kite.
BlakeDAKITEZ - 13-9-2008 at 06:34 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by Blake
NPW
I still think the 7m is the best of them all, if you need a smaller kite for higher winds in the buggy, just set up the 7m on a set of 15m lines.
The Blaze 11 is an excellent buggy kite.
Blake
Second that !!
I love the blaze II in the buggy.
And I will admit it on this anti Pansh forumNPWfever - 13-9-2008 at 08:11 PM
Yeah, I think I'm gonna go ahead and get the 7m, see how I like it, and if I like it get the 5m, I love the white and red 5m color though!!!Blake - 14-9-2008 at 06:34 AM
NPW
If you need any help setting the 7m up, or have any questions feel free to PM me and I will help in any way I can.
Blake
Quiver of Blaze(s) IINPWfever - 14-9-2008 at 10:28 AM
Will do, will it work on my PL bar?Blake - 14-9-2008 at 01:37 PM
NPW
All you need for depower travel is approx. 10" I think the PL bars have a bit more than that don't they?
When I did my big performance test on the Blaze II, I tried several different bar systems including one of my Waroo bars that has an extended depower
range, I found it had too much depower range. The best bar is something like the Radsail EVO bar or an Ozone bar.
So as long as you don't have excessive depower range I think it will work.
