Simples question, but I'm guessing that it may be a bit more complicated than that.

Do people keep them stored in their little bags, or hang them loose somewhere to let the air circulate around them?

keep in bag and store in a cool dry place.

I know for sure that PKD recommends that you put them in the bag they came in,(bags that seem way to big), and store them in a cool dry place. They should not be compressed into as small of space as possible, and stored that way. Make sure the kite and lines are clean, and dry.
Transporting them from one place to another it is OK to pack them as tight as you can, but not for storage. Role the kite up, not folded.

I would guess the other kite manufacturers will say the same.

Funny I am opposite of Big Kid. I pack them all tight and fold them. I even use the compression strap that most of the kites I offer come with. When I get them all from the factory the kites are folded and cinched up with the compression strap. So when I pack the kite away it looks the same as it did from the factory. The only kite I roll up is the neo (and acrs if I flew them more often) and that is simply for convenience of getting the air out of the kite.

Fold or roll I don't think is much a difference, but you do not want to just wad it all up and stuff it in the bag.

As much as I would love to bring them all home and open them up to "let the air circulate around them" I think my wife may be pissed when her whole house was covered in rip stop. Bet I might make the local news though as either .... local home covered in kites OR wife shoots husband

I store the same as Dino, and +1 on making the news if I hung them out in the air. It's bad enough if I get a kite wet by accident or to rinse them off and they hang there till they are dry. The neighbor thought I was making some sort of slide from an upstairs balcony when I had my Phantom drying. I tied one end to the upper balcony and anchored the other end at ground level and it did look like a big slide. I blew it up with the leaf blower to let air circulate inside. One thing, I don't hardly ever use the straps that come with the kites. Just seems like an unnecessary step since my folded kites don't move around any in the bag. I guess you need that strap while you go to all that trouble parapacking. :bouncing:

I do the same but I don't really try to compress the kites as they fit in the bags just fine as is.

If I get the kite really, really wet and sandy then I'll wind the lines up around the handles and lay the kite on my garage floor or from a wood pole I have hanging from the wall and put a fan on it then shake the sand off.

But as of late, I havent' been getting my kites much beyond slightly damp so I just parapack them and leave them in the bag. I then hang the bags from my wall on hooks and unzip the top a little so that fresh air get in there. All my kites are still clean, crisp, and smell like nylon not funk. Well the NABX kites got some playa dust that I'm working out

To pack, I fold the kites tip to center then fold again 2 or 3 more times, then I fold the two sides on themself to get a nice thin shape that's about the width of the handle thength. If I wound the lines then I place then handles/bar on the trailing edge side and toll the kite then roll the kite from bottom to around the control gear. If I'm parapacking, I push the air out of the kite from bottom to top but then roll from top to bottom so that the lines are just hanging out the bottom of the kite untwisted.



the oh crap super wet and dripping drying rack... mostly use fan + floor these days

Got my kite a bit wet today, was dry until I needed to land it.. damn you high tide! Figured I'd hang it Folded the kite over the bar then tied string to the pigtails and looped the line onto the rack so that the kite would be off the floor. Left the lines on the kite and just put the chicken loop on the rack to hang dry.

So basically, if they are wet... let dry with fan, hung or laid out flat. If still dry, it doesn't really matter how you pack it unless it's somewhat orderly and you have a good way to store it. Most people put them back in the original bag. I know I roll mine, Jim folds his, but we both don't spend much time taking down, packing, unpacking setting up etc. and so long as I don't store them wet, they don't stink.

As long as they are dry when you put them away, they should be good. If not let us know about the problem or problems that pop up.
You have to think, that the 60 gallon stuff sack the 2m kite came in was for a reason or did they have a lot of material to get rid of and they knew you would put the extra large stuff sack to good use.:D
Just my 2 cents..