Power Kite Forum

Another Blaze II Review (10M)

f0rgiv3n - 10-11-2008 at 09:06 AM

So I had the opportunity this weekend to pull out my newest addition... the Pansh Blaze II 10 meters. It was quite exciting as well. I had just got back home from the ski swap and it was overcast with a wee bit of rain. I didn't know if I should fly in the rain but thoguht "Ehhh what the heck". So my brother and I went out there and pulled it out, first thing. Hooked it all up, hooked the chickenloop and man... the lift off was great, no pull necessary to get this off the ground! It just floated up by itself, that's new to me!

Second It flew right to zenith and sat there, not a bit of tweaking needed so far! I then tried to turn the beast, I noticed the lines were too loose to turn with so I brought it down and tightened the outer lines... back up and turned with no problems! The wind couldn't have been any worse, it was going from NOTHING to like 10mph. What i was completely amazed with was the stability of this kite. If the wind died on me it sat there, floating, where my other kites i've flown would have bowtied or collapsed.

Stability compared to my past experience (not a whole lot) is a 10!

I also tried a few things, i attempted a jump by just bringing it straight up the window (i know, not recommended... but the wind wasn't too bad :) ) and it lifted me nice and smooth and smooth landing as well. BEAUTIFUL.

Next I hopped on the ATB and started moving on this bad boy, i noticed with this wind I had to work the kite a bit, if I wanted the power i sacrificed turning ability, if I wanted turning ability and movement in the window I had to sacrifice some power. Quite fun :D . I EASILY got moving on the board and I didn't have to fight with the thing to stay alive, other times I had to keep going downwind a bit for speed, then back upwind to keep the kite inflated. I needed a lot less of this because of how stable the kite was.

Anyways, the material it was made of felt a bit different than my ace. Especially when it got wet, the ace is more crisp/crunchy... the only way I can describe this one is when it was a bit wet it felt like sleeping bag material? lol

To sum it up, and say what I really feel about the kite I Dreamt about it the night after :o LOVE the kite, and I can't wait to get it up in some better winds, or the snow this year. Thanks Dakitez AWESOME kite.

kiteNH - 10-11-2008 at 01:59 PM

Nice review. But what's missing...........PICTURES! Come on man let's see that thing in action.

I'm glad it's working out for you. What kind of bar are you flying it on? I'd love to see a few pics of the bar setup as well.

f0rgiv3n - 10-11-2008 at 02:12 PM

Yeah, no problem! i have some pics but I'll have to upload 'em a bit later :D . I'm actually using an HQ depower bar. It's really nice man. I LOVE IT. I'll take some pics of that too :D

Blaze II from bar

Blake - 10-11-2008 at 07:41 PM

Here is a shot of one of my Blaze II kites on a bar.
These are sweet kites, they are the most under-rated depower kites out there! And they are inexpensive!!!

Blake

Blaze flying from bar 13.jpg - 70kB

Blaze II depower bar

Blake - 10-11-2008 at 07:58 PM

This is the bar I use on my Blaze II kites.

It is a Radsail 60cm depower bar, and it works perfectly on all the Blaze II kites, right from the 5m up to the 12m monster that I have.

EVO Bar 60cm.jpg - 131kB

NPWfever - 10-11-2008 at 11:24 PM

Gotta say, I love all the color schemes of those kites, I would love a 5m in the red/white, 7m in the red/black and a 10m in the blue/white

Blaze II on a bar

Blake - 11-11-2008 at 04:12 PM

Here is my 10m Blaze II doing it's thing.

10m Blaze II on bar.jpg - 68kB

Blaze II on a bar

Blake - 11-11-2008 at 04:15 PM

Here is a photo of my fantastic 7m Blaze II at rest.
I used this kite all last winter on the snow and it was my "go to" kite over and over again!

7m Blaze II at rest.jpg - 246kB

f0rgiv3n - 13-11-2008 at 08:28 AM

Yeah!! I am so stoked for this winter!!! :thumbup:

tridude - 19-11-2008 at 06:18 PM

nice pics and quiv Blake....................so youve got the winter/snow season covered it seems?

PHREERIDER - 19-11-2008 at 06:32 PM

sounds like a nice set,

stock bridle on these kites?

how much do you weigh?

what conditions are you using the 7m?

got lift?

what's the bridle like, easy to tune with a bar?

what range have you used the 12m and your experience with that?

Blake - 22-11-2008 at 05:26 PM

Hi guys

Yes, totally covered for snowkiting...

The bridles are all stock, but I do "adjust" them by moving one knot in the depower line.

I weigh 170 lbs all suited up for the snow.
I use my 7m in winds from 20-45km's.

Yes, they have lots of lift, not quite as much as a Frenzy, but way more than the ACCESS.

The bridle is very easy to "tune" and only takes about 5 minutes to incorporate the change.

I use the 12m Blaze II in winds from 10-25 km's, it has lots of depower and turns extremely well for such a large kite.

PM me and I can set you up with the "mod".

Blake

f0rgiv3n - 23-11-2008 at 05:50 PM

Hey Blake,

I took my blaze II out today and started messing with it. It did what a lot of 'em have done before, in other words when powered it fell out of the sky. So i went up to do the mod and i was like "what the heck! I must not be doing the mod right". I came back and i realize that the knot that I adjusted was the brake line knot and not the one that goes through the pulley! hahaha. Next time I get this bad boy out i'll make that adjustment and put the other one back where it's supposed to be!

I'm stoked to see how well it'll perform :) .

dgkid78 - 23-11-2008 at 07:36 PM

I would of went with one of these long time ago since money is tight, only reason i havn't is cause they have reduced lift. :barf: anyways.....how does the 12m perform and wind range? I weigh 145 lbs

Blaze II 10m

Blake - 24-11-2008 at 10:58 AM

Hi guys

f0rgiv3n

PM me and I will set you straight on "the mod".
You want to move the knot on the "front" of the depower bridle, not the "back".


dgkid78 and others

The 12m Blaze II has all sorts of lift, in fact all of the Blaze II kites have fantastic lifting abilities. At your weight, you might want to think about the 10m, but then again it all depends on your local winds, your ability and what your indended use is? I was setting up a new 5m Blaze II for a friend of mine the other day and the little bugger lifted me off the ground twice!
These are great kites for snowkiting and buggying as they handle so sweetly. I have no concerns about the quality of the kites either, as I don't treat my kites harshly, somone who is tough on their equipment might complain, but that's their problem. I have approx. 6 pansh kites and they are all holding up quite well.

Blake

T-Bone - 8-12-2008 at 07:33 PM

i had the chance to fly with f0rgi3n tonight. he took out his 10m blaze and had tweaked just perfect. and finally the wind was perfect, 14mph not gusty at all.

while he was flying it, i asked him to let go of the bar to see how stable the kite is. The kite sat perfectly still in the air, seemed to be quite stable. Then he started pulling off jumps. This kite did have good lift. One right after another. Then, he hopped on his landboard

and started cruising down the feild in the moonlight. All the way down to the end, and turned around and came right back to where he started.

Pretty sweet if i say so myself, especially for the price.;-)

DAKITEZ - 8-12-2008 at 08:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by T-Bone

Pretty sweet if i say so myself, especially for the price.;-)


sweet indeed ... i sure enjoy mine. With that said I doubt I will sell any more. Just too much hassle on my part to get bars and instructions. I guess maybe I'm just lazy.

f0rgiv3n - 8-12-2008 at 09:19 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by T-Bone
i had the chance to fly with f0rgi3n tonight. he took out his 10m blaze and had tweaked just perfect. and finally the wind was perfect, 14mph not gusty at all.

while he was flying it, i asked him to let go of the bar to see how stable the kite is. The kite sat perfectly still in the air, seemed to be quite stable. Then he started pulling off jumps. This kite did have good lift. One right after another. Then, he hopped on his landboard

and started cruising down the feild in the moonlight. All the way down to the end, and turned around and came right back to where he started.

Pretty sweet if i say so myself, especially for the price.;-)


WELL said :D!!! Man i was gonna say somethin about that too but you said it just right. After modding it a bit this thing is BEAUTIFUL. Insanely stable in winds like that, the pendulum jumps were the easiest i've ever had. Plus it was slow to let me down.


AWESOME session tonight t-bone :P Hopefully Saturday will kick up some wind for us and we might be flyin' in the snow :)

PS. sad that these don't sell so well dakitez... they are such amazing kites for their price. Hopefully i'll be able to find a 7m when the budget allows :spin:

Blake - 10-12-2008 at 10:49 AM

T-Bone and others

Do anything you can to get a hold of all the Blaze II kites you can find, as you found out, they are excellent kites (when set up properly) and I don't think Pansh is going to make anymore of the larger sizes.

f0rgiv3n

By all means possible, get yourself a 7m Blaze II; it is by far the sweetest kite I have ever flown!
You will absolutely love the way it handles both low and high winds. Lots of depower and it turns on a dime! FUN, FUN, FUN at an affordable price.

Blake

Lucky owner of a full quiver of Blaze II's, all properly tuned to near perfection!

5m white/orange
7m black/yellow
10m blue/blue
12m blue/blue

soccerflyer - 27-10-2009 at 10:52 AM

fOrgiv3n,

What rating would you give this kite after having it for a while and now flying your Syn?

f0rgiv3n - 27-10-2009 at 12:40 PM

Hey dude... for a second I thought someone had changed the subject of my synergy review lol... I guess i didn't realize i put both as "Another _______ Review" hahaha.

Well... It's hard because it's been awhile since I flew the blaze II but the one thing I do miss is the launch. It was so cool to just stand there and push the bar out and the kite would just climb up. Launching with the Blaze II was great. I do know that it is definitely not as fast as the synergy but it's not like the 10m was a slow beast it's just the synergy is crazy fast for its size.

To me I'd have to say the synergy and the Blaze II are two different levels of kites. Blaze II would be a more of a fun kite to get into the sport and a person who isn't striving to become a huge air/trick boarder. The Synergy IMHO is a more robust, lifty, and faster kite. Personally, I don't think I could have progressed as fast with the Blaze as I did with the PL Arcs because the Blaze II didn't have enough lift in some of the winds that I was flying in.

I would say it's a good kite but looking back at it from now having a synergy at 10/10 i'd give the blaze II a 6.70142 out of 10. Again, the saying that Pansh always gets "GREAT kite for the money". That should be their motto, lol. cuz that's what it ends up being :)

Jovver - 27-10-2009 at 01:05 PM

Quote:

"Blaze II would be a more of a fun kite to get into the sport and a person who isn't striving to become a huge air/trick boarder."


I would have to agree 100% with this comment, it really is an entry level depower, but it is a good one at that.


Quote:

"It was so cool to just stand there and push the bar out and the kite would just climb up."


That is actually one of my favorite features about this kite. It is amazingly simple to launch. Bringing this review back alive is almost tempting me to break mine out and fly it again! Too bad there's no wind today and it's nicely packed and ready to go in a moments notice if someone decides they want it.


Quote:

"the Blaze II didn't have enough lift in some of the winds that I was flying in."


What was the most you have flown the Blaze II in? In 15+ mph wind it does produce some pretty good lift, not crazy, but enough to get some good jumps in if you knew how to jump. It's also surprisingly quick on its feet for such a big kite in these winds too.

f0rgiv3n - 27-10-2009 at 01:09 PM

It's not necessarily a problem with the kite it's just the winds I fly in are terrible so it wasn't ideal for my conditions. I know it definitely provides some lift but this is in relation to really gusty conditions, sorry for not clarifying that part.

herc - 4-11-2009 at 06:10 AM

@f0rgiv3n: what would you say: does the blaze II flys in lower winds than the synergy? or do they both are on the same level regarding "low end" performance?
and - if you wouldnt mind: could you maybe weight your synergy and your blaze II on a kitchen scale or person scale (difference method: first weigh yourself, after that weigh yourself plus kite)? kite only, no lines, no bar, no bag. i am asking because i have that thread running that compares the weight of kites per projected square meter: http://www.kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2360753
it would be really nice to have a pansh kite in that list too, just to show that one does not necessarily need to spend lots of money to get a good low wind kite. and the synergy would be great too, to see the evolution in arc kites.
thanks in advance, and nice review! i am now considering buying a pansh kite, again. winter is coming soon!

Houston AirHead - 4-11-2009 at 07:42 AM

so you can use a regular 4 line depower bar on this kite?

i want to use my LF Havoc bar 4 line depower, Im thinking of getting a blazeII

f0rgiv3n - 4-11-2009 at 07:53 PM

hey herc, I don't actually own the blaze II anymore :( . I ended up selling that thing. I will weigh the kite for you when I get a moment or two. Houston... yes a regular 4 line depower bar :)

Oh and low end... well, since the blaze II is an open cell foil it definitely will fly in less wind than the synergy. I haven't tried to fly my 15m synergy in anything less than 12mph because of previous arc experience. So since the blazeII could definitely fly in less than 12mph it has better low end :D

DAKITEZ - 4-11-2009 at 08:45 PM

A blaze II can be compared to a HQ Apex or Ozone Access because of their flying characteristics, but to compare it to an arc is apples and oranges

Houston AirHead - 5-11-2009 at 01:34 PM

im sorry i forgot to ask, will i have to mod line lengths or anything. does the blaze II come ready to fly? does it depower wih pullys? Ive just heard so many mixed reviews on this kite im still weery?

Blaze II

Blake - 20-11-2009 at 08:54 PM

Houston AirHead and others

Get a Blaze II, they're a great kite!

I have an entire quiver of them and they all fly extremely well. The low end on the 12m is nothing short of amazing, it will basically fly in no wind at all. Just a gentle tug on the front lines and it climbs right to the top of the wind window every time. Another great feature about these kites that no one has talked about before is the relaunch from a leading edge down position. My 12m Blaze II relaunches so easily by just pulling on one of the rear lines, it's really far better than even my old Ozone Access in this maneuver. And it does it every time! No messing with the bar or anything, just pull on one of the rear lines and it just rolls over so sweetly!

These kites handle really nicely as well, right from the 5m through to the 12m , rock sold stability, nice turning, depower on demand, easy relaunch, affordable, the list goes on....

One other thing, these are not just for "beginners just getting into the sport", I have been kiting for 8 years and have owned a lot of different brands and I still feel the Blaze II is a great kite regardless of the $$$ involved.

If you have any questions regarding these kites, just pm me and I will answer what I can.

Blake

Blaze II's
5m,7m, 10m. and 12m

Houston AirHead - 20-11-2009 at 09:14 PM

thanks blake, i think i am going to get the 5 meter, winds are starting to pick up here allot in south texas and you have to pay an extra $70 bucks for the 7 meter. im going to be flying it on 25 meter lines with a 4-line liquid force depower bar( below the bar - depower).

Blake - 21-11-2009 at 10:09 AM

Houston AirHead

Good choice with the 5m.
One thing though, the 5m is the kite that Pansh really messed up with the A-B dimension on the front line attachment point. I have found that you need to move the front knot approx 5-6 inches to get the kite to fly properly. Send me a PM with your home email and I will forward you the instructions and photos of how to adjust the bridle. It only takes about 10 minutes to make the mod.

Blake

Houston AirHead - 21-11-2009 at 11:35 AM

right after i replyed last night i changed my mind to the 7 meter, its only 60 extra and since you said they messed up the bridal that really makes me want to just get the 7. So yeah im just going to go with the 7 afterall.

Blaze II bridle adjustment

Blake - 25-11-2009 at 06:18 AM

HH

Just sent you the required info and photos on how to set up your kite properly.

Blake

truman - 23-12-2010 at 04:32 PM

what is the deal with reverse depower is that not confusing with other brands being the other way forgive my newness but I have been wondering this for a while.

thanks

Blaze II photos

Blake - 23-12-2010 at 05:26 PM

Hi guys

I was out today on my new 7m Blaze II , great conditions and a fun ride!
More photos in the snowkite section.

Blake

IMG_1054.JPG - 65kB

Reverse depower myth

Blake - 23-12-2010 at 05:32 PM

Truman

The reverse depower was just a gentleman's interpretation of flying a kite that wasn't set up properly.
Once the bridle is adjusted to lower the angle that the kite flies at, it flies perfectly. The adjustment is a 5 minute job!

If you have anymore questions regarding the Blaze II kites, just PM me and I will help you out.

Blake
Campbellford, Ontario

IMG_1038.JPG - 75kB

DAKITEZ - 23-12-2010 at 05:53 PM

just curious .... do the new blaze II's you are getting still need the adjustment or has pansh made the fix?

Blaze II

Blake - 23-12-2010 at 05:59 PM

Dino

Unfortunatly they still need tweaking a bit, but the bridle material is alot nicer! Felt good to get out again!
Works perfect on the HQ depower bar, first time using one and it was nice!

Blake

IMG_1070.JPG - 76kB