Beamer II 3.0

I'm fairly new to power kiting, but I've been flying lots of 2 lines for years and have a fair about of quad line flying on Revolution kites. While trying to decide what kites to get started with I read almost all of the the posts here and want to thank the collective wisdom contained in these forums. I hope I can add to it in some small way.

I've been flying a Snapshot1.9 for a few years and knew I wanted something bigger. Eventually I'd like to get into snow/land boarding, but for now its static flying with some moderate jumps. I weight about 200lbs and have a very dense 5'7" frame. (Never broken a bone and not for lack of trying...) I've flown the small Snapshot 1.9 (really 1.5m2) in some very heavy 30mph winds and really enjoyed it. That kite gave me the bug. I've even modified the bridle to fly the Snapshot on my Revolution handles. I'll save that for another post however.

So for the reasons above, and the collected wisdom here, I chose the HQ Beamer III 3.0m and CrossFire II 6.5. The Beamer was selected to make sure my skills were as good as I thought and it would become my high wind kite. The CrossFire was selected to give me a light wind kite and some margin for jumping and traction fun. Their DTS system seemed to offer some flexibility without complex de-power systems.

Both kites were purchased from Cobra Kite. I chose them for their competitive prices (not the lowest, but close enough) and because of their informative website. I'd order from them again. Perhaps soon too as I'm starting to look into de-power systems.

So much for the reasoning, now for the reviews.

Beamer III - 3.0m2
Bag: Well made and a fine size for the kite. I could keep both the Beamer and my Snapshot in it. The big zipper has got to go. It's unusable and silly looking. I'd have preferred to have that little pocket for the stakes or other small tools, but with that zipper it's hard to get open. As it is, its just decoration. I'd recommend they keep the pocket, but put a normal zipper on it. Honestly, I don't use this bag. I keep all three of my foil kites in the CrossFire bag.

Handles: Strong, light weight with a small amount of foam (2-3mm) to ease the grip. Loops for staking and power line attachments for a strop to off load the pull if you're using a harness or back strap.

Line: high quality 65ft spectra 485/220 lb

Misc: Ground stake and kite killers included. A good total package for a beginner.

Kite: The kite was very well made and I found NO flaws on any of the stitches. All the edges were seamed with heavy nylon tape that gave me the feeling the kite is built to last. The bridle attachment points are double sewn into the foil surface and internal bracing, again a very solid feel. The break and power lines are color coded and are sewn/sheathed. There is a small Velcro strip at the nose to keep the bridles organized when packing it. No complaints anywhere on the materials and build of this kite.

Flying: This was very easy to fly on the provided handles. As a transition kite from a two line foil, this kite was perfect. The 3:1 aspect ratio was very similar to the little Snapshot and flew so similar albeit a bit slower. As a static flier in light winds this kite is fun. It's fast enough to keep your interest and has enough pull to give you some workout. The inland winds we have here are sloppy with lots of gusts and lulls. This kite is very stable in the corners and deals well with the funky winds. Not much lift when flying at the top of the window either. I think the 3.0m may be undersized for boarding when I progress to that point, but as a fall back for static flying in heavy winds this kite rocks!

One of the first things I noticed while learning to fly this kite, is the breaks don't quite behave like they do on the Revolution style of kites. For basic control, the breaks aren't used. Turning is accomplished with a differential pull on the power lines (top lines), just like a 2 line kite. Turns may be augmented with a little break input on the heavy pull line to reduce the turning radius. The break input greatly helps the kite's turning radius and this is something to practice when making the transition from 2-line foils. The next thing I realized is that this kite flies best without any break line tension. Again, this is very different from the Revolution quad lines where you need bottom line tension. You really don't have the same finesse or speed as the Rev kites. It doesn't fly backwards well like the Revs, but you can reverse launch just fine.

Lately, if the wind is under 15mph or so, I find this kite stays in the bag in favor of the Crossfire II 6.5. Since this has gotten a bit long, I'll post that review in another thread.

Thanks again to all the posts recommending this kite as a starting point. I don't fly it as much as the Crossfire these days, but when the winds kick up and the Crossfire scares me, I break this one out.

Cheers,

Quantum