accpk - 17-9-2008 at 02:00 PM
I have never flown a quad kite before and really want a Power Blast 2-4. I am interested in both tricks and buggying, and have a few questions:
1) Am I making a mistake by getting the Power Blast 2-4 as my first quad, or is this a good kite to learn on?
2) How durable is the Power Blast 2-4?
3) Are there other kites (by other manufacturers) that are equivalent to a 2-4, or is Revolution the only manufacturer that makes power kites that
aren't the parafoil type?
awindofchange - 17-9-2008 at 04:57 PM
First, welcome to the forum.
The Revolution Powerblast 2-4 is not like the traditional power kites most people use but that is not to say that it isn't a good choice. The
Powerblast is an awesome kite that will do exactly what you are looking for. You can trick it in the lighter winds which is very fun and as the wind
picks up a bit it will challenge your skills with incredible power.
The numbers on the kite basically say what the kite is. The 2-4 means that the kite is actually a 2 meter flat area kite that has the equivalent
power of a 4 meter foil....and they are not exaggerating on that either! This kite can produce some incredible power. The best thing about the Rev
is that you can dump the power almost instantly at any time just by rotating your wrists and dropping the lower lines out of the kite. You can go
from full on-arm ripping power to nearly nothing in a blink of an eye, something is is nearly impossible to do on other foils with the depowerable
foils coming close to the same. Just as easy as you can drop the power you can power the kite up nearly as fast. Because of this the Revolution will
take a bit more to learn and require much more attention to the kite when flying. It can get away from you quick if you don't monitor it regularly.
The kite is very durable and can take some pretty serious abuse but it is a framed kite so any major contact with the ground or other objects could
result in a broken spar or rod that will need to be replaced. The same damage can be had on other foil kites as well if they are flown into fences or
trees but they have less chance of sustaining damage than the Revolution does. It is very easy to replace the rods tho and most reputable shops will
have them in stock for you no problem. Rods for the 2-4 cost appx. 15 to 25 bucks each depending on which rod it is and are a snap to replace. Just
slide the broken one out, slide the new one in and your set.
The only other manufacturer that makes a kite similar to the Revolution would be the Peter Lynn C-Quad (no longer in production). The C-Quad is very
similar in flight and power delivery but not quite as controllable as the Revolution is. Both of these kites produce extreme amounts of power in the
right winds.
You should be ok with the Rev as your first kite as long as you fly it in the lighter winds and take some serious time to learn the controls and how
to power/depower it. Once you get very familiar with it you can start in stronger winds and start rockin! 
I use the Revolution power kites often in the buggy and they are awesome.
Hope this helps.