After a long wait and much anticipation I finally have my Hydra 300 depower kite from Powerzone. I am very excited to try it but I am dealing with the no wind curse. My kids are really excited to fly it as well. After I get to test how well it works they get to try. :wee:

They can fly my symphony 1.4 that I converted to a 3 line and connected to a ozone bar and when the winds are light they can fly my pansh legend. Of course they only fly with safety gear. I am trying to hook them early.

Once I get some wind I will report on how it flies.

Unless you have modified the kite, the HQ Hydra 300 is not a depower kite.

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Originally posted by awindofchange Unless you have modified the kite, the HQ Hydra 300 is not a depower kite.

yeah I am curious to hear how this mod works out... not many have tried depowering the smaller sizes.

I didn't mod it. I have good intentions but not that good of results. Powerzone did.:bouncing: and it looks like quality work to me. My son gets overpowered too soon on the legend. I am hoping this will get him flying more.

Gab, how's that Neo workin out?

yeah, i got the bit about powerzone, and I'm sure he wouldn't have taken your money if he wasn't sure he could deliver good value!

:frog:

do let us know how you / your son get on with it!

good on you for getting your kids hooked!:evil:

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Originally posted by csa_deadon Gabe, how's that Neo workin out?

uh the Neo works great. I tried it on water once so far. I got a little overpowered :o and left my board on the shore so I body dragged for a while. I was going to try a knee board cause I am too poor to afford a kite and board. It would lift me out of the water almost to my knees without too much effort. I was able to relaunch from the water several times too. The last time I waited too long and couldn't get the kite back up because it took on some water. My only complaint is it seems to turn slow but it is a big kite too and I am still learning how to fly a depower. That is also part of why I want a depower trainer. CSA enjoy all your days off, and thanks for the kite.

I was going to take this kite to SOBB but I think I am not going to be able to go now.:sniff:

This is kind of an old thread but I finally got my son out today with the depower Hydra 300 on a mountain board. He and his cousin had a great time doing downwinders on the board in grass. The wind was actually about 13 to 20 and they were able to do a pretty good job controlling the kite. My son weighs about 50 lbs and my nephew about 80 lbs. I was impressed at how much wind they could handle because it was depowerable.

i would like to see what was done to mod this kite and make it depower, I have one too and a 45 lbs son.

any way to show a pic or 2 of the bridle setup?. I know i can do my hydra 350, I would like to see how yours was done. My 90 lb daughter most of the time can man handle it but it would be a lot safer if it was a depower + would be some training for kite boarding for her.

I'd like to see this myself. Maybe someone has some pics.

So, I need the ok from powerzone. This is his intellectual property and not mine. He developed it and if it is ok with him I will post pics. He told me I could send him one and he would do it. I think he would mod yours if you are interested. You might contact him.

it takes alot of time and effort to adapt a kite successfully which can be offered again as a tested real product .....if any of you out there have "invented" something i'm sure you can understand this concern i propose.

I have to mention i really appreciate the integrity of Gabe (stetson) here.... good on him for his honesty in steering the thread in the right direction. we go through alot of research and trouble of creating these mods then have to battle to maintain the design for as long as possible before it gets ripped off/pirated. if this were to happen on PKF , the forum that I really respect and enjoy.... i would most likely leave the forum.

now i know this is the Internet and there are no patents on the MODS or upgrades we do, so technically it could be seen as 'open source' ......but we have a niche market and this stuff is how & why Powerzone Kitesports exists.... i would implore to the brethren here to help keep it in the family, so small/fellow businesses can continue.

if any of you have ever called or emailed me with questions or tips about kites/tuning/repairs/etc... i'm sure you will agree that i have always been very helpful and as forthcoming as possible, i strongly believe in supporting folks with information.... however in closing, I will not be posting any designs or plans or endorsing any pictures of such.

You know, I don't remember how much it cost but if you figure the materials and then the time it take to mod it, paying is worth it. How many have replaced bridle lines? I have tried a little and I can never seem to get the lengths right. How many hours do you think it would take to do a depower mod. for me, I think 3-4 is pretty optimistic. My wife would say longer. How much is your time worth? I say if you want one, send it to someone who does it all the time.

I don't want anyone to feel like I am attacking them but when someone posts they want specific measurments of a production kite or production buggy they get a lot of resistance. I like my hydra and think it was totaly worth paying powerzone to mod it.

I just saw this kite mod on his site, while there for another reason, then I saw this thread. I was thinking it would sure be a fun kite for the kids. Right now I've got two 35 lbs'er, so I'll probably stick with the two line sting then move them to something like this in the future. Very cool mod for sure and a good price!

What do you do for such a small harness? A small rock climbing one I guess. I've seen a few kid-sized harnesses but they are sized for the "bigger" kids. Nylon strapping, water knott, carabiner

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Originally posted by arkay I just saw this kite mod on his site, while there for another reason, then I saw this thread. I was thinking it would sure be a fun kite for the kids. Right now I've got two 35 lbs'er, so I'll probably stick with the two line sting then move them to something like this in the future. Very cool mod for sure and a good price! What do you do for such a small harness? A small rock climbing one I guess. I've seen a few kid-sized harnesses but they are sized for the "bigger" kids. Nylon strapping, water knott, carabiner

I got the harness with it. It works pretty good and the quick release is easy for my son to work. I have even let some of my skinny friends try it. It isn't very big, but way bigger than he would need. BTW the pic on the bottom of the site is my son in the newspaper
http://www.powerzonekitesports.com/pztrainer.html

and no, I am not getting any kick backs I just like the kite and the pic of my son.

Soo.. whats the top end?:wee: This looks like it might be the ultimate high wind machine.:D
And how well does it do in the rain? It seems the only time we get good onshore wind is with a healthy serving of rain on the side.

I am a pretty conservative kiter and I don't think I have flown it in over 20mph. I also don't get much rain here so I don't know about rain. It does pull pretty good at 20 or more and it buzzes around pretty fast. Because it moves pretty quick when depowered it can still generate quite a bit of pull. It when my son pulls in on the bar it does provide more pull according to him and ( weigh 4 times as much as him and it takes way more force to pull me). It can oversheet and I think that provides the best controll in higher winds. He often oversheets then allows a little power until he is comfortable. I think a lot of people actually do that when they find the sweet spot and that isn't always bar all the way in. I am still pretty inexperienced in depower so if that doesn't make sense, sorry