Speed 3 – 15m Deluxe

Some background:
This was my second fly at a FS kite; the first one was last weekend trying out Ken #2 (Bladerunner) Pulse 7m. That was a fun kite in the sub conditions as well but still not my style of kite.

First off the FS kite is very nice to look at, with the color schemes in the deluxe version. I had a choice to do custom colors or go with the pure white color. Since I’m not a fan of white I went with the standard gold / black.

Bag:
I have no clue what the standard bag looks like, but the deluxe bag didn’t jump out like it was better than if I went and bought a standard version Speed 3. Who knows, I’m not one for accessories, and would rather see the money / R&D go into the kite than the backpack.

Bar:
To me it’s just a standard bar, no great different than the rest, other than the spinning chicken loop. However I’ve seen failed versions of this on the Core Kites as well and maybe I’m old school too much and like to spin the bar. I do like how I can reach the trim system easier than compared to a Twinskin / Zero 7 bar and its pretty straightforward, black trim out / red trim in.

Kite:
Typical German craftsmanship here, its quality does say a lot about the kite, and very well thought out kite design. The tear away tab(s) is a different idea however how often will these ever come into play. I noticed that the heavy tabs are on the A line, so I would assume its likes to fly off the A line more equaling to why its dubbed the Speed. Jet flaps was a cool idea, but didn’t see how this really changed up the characteristic of flight or what its designed for.
Lots of Velcro, for the LE intake for performance, but I kept my open based on the instructions for more power. Do most close the Velcro pocket for kitesurfing?
I see how cool the dirt-outs / drain system is very well thought out. The only other time I’ve seen a true working system like this similar to how the U-Turn kites work.

Bridles is complex but easily understood after you read the instructions. Hehehe. I had to read it twice to figure out how to tune the kite to my liking. However the adjustments use tiny rings to hold the setting in place. I found it odd for someone who knew less about bridles would have issues with settings. The movement is a lot like the Zebra Z2, Libre Spirit, and I figured using knots would probably save weight than the metal rings. Maybe because I like weight saving ideas, and use to just bridle material or maybe a simple slide to next knot if you want this or that.
Attachments also had this metal circular rings too for line connect, just curious why not just have spliced Amsteel pigtails?

Material:
Having gone with the deluxe material, I do not see the extra money, from their so-called Silverarrow material is just some fantasy name for lighter ripstop. How much lower end would be gained from the material, sure the material would make it fly sooner maybe by 1 Knot but wouldn’t start traction sooner. Maybe something in Icarex would be cool but doesn’t have stretch so there is more wear on the bridle tabs. I did notice that the water does bleed off the material when flying in light shower conditions, but only time will tell if the coating will remain from land flying all the time.

In-flight:
Flying in sub 5 knots is no fun to begin with however getting the kite started was a breeze with little inflation time. I see where this excels over the Synergy / Charger or LEI, its just a simple setup and go. However if you’re a land based only flier than the Outlaw or the Frenzy / Manta or Montana might to better buy.
If you’re not thinking of freestyle but freeride than it’s a great kite to move you around in less than 5 knots. We had light days all day but did manage a few low jumps in. In cruising mode it doesn’t require a lot of input, you just move and never have to loop the kite to build power.

Turn speed was quick but not what I was expecting when you call something Speed. Granted for a depower kite on bar its does turn and for the size it can do a full rotation. I was wondering why the tips turn in when turning but I assumed it was sub conditions but also if you’re turning too close to the ground, it makes for a nice float over the ground. This also comes in handy when on the water, as it wouldn’t catch the surface of the water and just pillows over it.

Bar pressure was my issue here, so if you guys/gals have ideas or know the correct adjustment, send me a message. I found the bar pressure too light for my liking and it didn’t feel like I was holding a kite, this would be great of wave riding but I want to boost and need to know than I’m under something and can feel the power feed back to the bar. Again my old school ways and probably a lot to with my fixed bridle race kites. I like the bar pressure of the Synergy and Charger, and I just know its there and when I pull in for the jump you can feel the surge at that moment.

Gusty conditions were not a problem, and it’s so stable too, so it doesn’t have the auto zenith but it still sits and parks in one place. When the wind drops to zero and the kite tumbles around, so how it never twists into itself and finds a way to come out unfold and zero bridle wraps / bowties, etc. Obviously that’s all in bridle engineering so good on FS for building a sweet design.

Relaunching LE down was quick in wind, just pull both brake / outside leaders until it raises and let go one side and it just cartwheels over to TE. The whole process took less than 20 seconds to do on land, doing so on water would be the same.

Finally when the wind hit good, guys said around 8 knots and a bit more. I really need to bring out the wind meter more for review reasons. I’m not that technical with equipment like if it goes over the suggest wind range I would need to size up or down. I just setup kites and go with it, and normally I’m always overpowered and like it that way. WOW is all I can say about boosting, simple jumping with just a quick right to left and a pull of the bar. I truly think this would be a totally fun at 10 knots and up and the amount of airtime I can get in. I need to start nailing down some spins and old school tricks to be ahead of the pack locally. =)
Landing is butter soft; you float down under control since you have a large canopy under you. When you push the bar out and in you actually develop an extra little boost.
Being a light asian guy, I get away with riding kites that probably don’t normally work for the average person.

In closing if you have money to spend and want to be riding in sub 5 knots on a mountainboard and possible kite boarding with a light wind specific board its totally worth the money. How much you’re willing to pay to cheat wind depends on you and your style. In those conditions for myself, I see a Peter Lynn Vapor at 35% less and buggying around at faster speeds.

Does the FS Speed 3 – 15m Deluxe fit in my quiver, probably not. I would see myself with a Speed 3 19m, Charger 15m and Charger 10m as my crossover (land to water boarding) quiver for boosting in the different wind range. In my opinion and you wanted a Speed series, the 12m and the 19m would the two-kite quiver and if you could only buy one than the 15m would fit the bill better.

Next on my list is the Psycho but I’ll go with the larger size.

Nice review Rip'. Sounds like I liked the bar more than you.
I'm going to enjoy this kite for sure. I'm just glad it's on your coin !
:bigok: