I've recently met up with a very nice local guy who let me have a go with a couple of his kites! (Thanks Nick)

The wind was about 10-15mph and i had a go with a 2.5m Rage and a 3.0m Radsail

I went on the rage first and then the Radsail felt like.. well, a bit of a binbag on strings, but the Rage, oh the rage was utterly mental.

I went down there thinking I'd have a bit of practice on the 2.5 then jump on the 4m he had, after about 30 minutes of fun on the Rage I'm afraid I bottled in for the 4m. The Rage had me scudding on dry grass and running across the field trying desperately to get a bit of tension in the brake lines!

Now, onto the question. I previously thought I wanted a 4 or 5m kite to get some good power. Not so much now, i'm looking at the 2.5 - 4m territory. Ideally i'd like something with a similar power to the Rage.

However, as i have no experience with other kites I thought I'd ask the question.

Ideally i'd like to spend less than £100 on my first kite - although after having a go on the Radsail i think i need to get something with a bit of quality to it.

After spending a lot of time on E-Bay looking at second hand Bullets that seem to be going for about £150 (a bit too much) and some beamer IIIs (3 and 4m) that go for about £80 (more like it)

I also like the look of the 3.3 Sting, which I could buy New at £138

Krikey, I've been waffling....

Anyway would the 3.3 Sting make similar power to the Rage 2.5 and can anyone suggest other kites that I could buy new or second hand for no more than £140 - Ideally less than £100 (I think that's about $200 and $160)

Oh yea, and what sort of power do Ozone Imp Quattro's make (3.5) I saw a vid of a small kid flying one on a windy beach (not sure what size tho), didn't think it would be that pully...

All suggestions welcome.. Thanks

Tom

I have a 1.7 sting and am really impressed with it, although it likes to be flown on the powers and can be a bit funny when using the brakes, especially to land. I don't have any rage experience, but from what I have seen it is a bit more refined than the sting. The beamer is a fine kite that many on this forum will swear by (again no personal experience with beamers but nice kites for the money so I understand.) Ozone always builds top notch equipment, and the imp quattro is a great kite for the money as well (a friend of mine has one and loves it.) Flexi, HQ, even something like a Peter Lynn hornet or PKD brooza III would suit well for a first kite. Just remember to respect the power that even smaller kites can produce, and get yourself some safety gear. Welcome to your new addiction, and PKF:wee:

The rage was a bit funny on the brakes, wing tips folded and there was a general bit of flapping, that was only when landing tho.

With a tweak of brake in flight it turned on a wing tip :karate:

hey Tom ,the sting is a mellowed out rage.It was meant as a entry level kite with super easy flyability.(That is why I bought one for my wife) The Rage is a low aspect traction engine,made for pulling buggies and land boarders. It does not have alot of lift,in fact you gotta tryreal good to get any real jump out of it. But if you get on something that moves ,it comes alive. You should get a AAA kit for it , it helps adjust the power a bit.
http://www.coastalwindsports.com/servlet/the-Accessories-cln...

Rages periodically come up for sale on the KiteCrowd (formerly Flexifoil) forum. Since it is UK based, you would not get burned on shipping from the US. There is currently a Bullet 2.5 (predecessor to the Rage) for auction on "that UK auction site" . The Rage is a bit more refined and has nicer inlet mesh material, but the Bullet would probably still put a lot of grins on your face.

ATB,
Sam