I was placing an order with HQ and they had advertised these little babies on a bar (they usually come with straps). I figured what the heck. I first leared to fly on a 1.5 meter kite (back in the day) but hadn't returned to my roots for quite some time. In fact, the smallest kite I have is a Rush III Pro 350. Anyway, I digress.

This is a fairly inexpensive kite (it retails in the $75.00 range) so I wasn't expecting much. I was impressed.

The packaging for the kite can best be described as a pouch. It isn't as cool as the "Big Zipper" bags and it isn't the easiest thing to carry around, but it does the job.

Looking inside the pouch is the kite, the lines on a winder, a bar that doesn't fit in the bag (remember this kite is usually used with straps), and a very nice little card explaining how to set it up, how to fly it, and the basics of the wind window.

The kite itself is the standard HQ quality. Even though the pricepoint is low, the quality is high. The stitching is well done and will hold up to the promises made on the packaging. There is nothing fancy about the bridle. I couldn't begin to guess at the breaking strengh of the line used for the bridle, but you can be sure that it is well above the power that the kite can generate.

The lineset included with the kite is nice. The lines are 25 meters of 150 lb test. One thing that should be mentioned is that I'm pretty picky about the lines that I use. With every kite that I've purchased, one of the first things that I do is lay out the lines and make sure they are exactly the same. True to their reputation, the lines provided by HQ are perfect. They come on a nice winder that keeps them clean and tangle free.

For controls, this setup included a bar rather than the traditional staps on the rest of the Symphony Beach line. The bar is light and easy to hold. The foam around the bar has the perfect mix of give and support for those long flying sessions in high winds. One drawback of the bar is that there are no fingers that stick up above the bar to keep the stringers off of the user's fingers. If your hands get too close to the edges of the bar, the stringers pinch your fingers during sharp turns. The bar is also a little on the short side for my taste, but for the size of the kite the bar is fine. Also, by sliding a couple pieces of plastic tubing down the stringers, the piching problem is solved for the most part. Another drawback of the bar is that since there are no fingers for the stringers, the lines can't be wound on the bar. It's a minor peeve really.

Now onto the kite itself: The stats for the kite are a flat width of 165cm and a height of 64cm. The kite is made of Nylon and is rated for winds of 2-6Bft (5-31mph). HQ says that the kite is for people 12 years and older. It is a nice rainbow color and as I said before, the stitching that holds the kite together is well done.

Getting the kite in the air was no problem. I was flying solo so I laid out the kite and weighed down the trailing edge with a small stone. The lines strung out straight and tangleless (is that a word?). The winds were blowing between 15-20mph with gusts in the 30mph range. A single, simple tug on the bar and the kite was in the air. The kite zipped right up to the zenith and sat there quite happily. I was really suprised at the speed of the kite. It was extremely fast to respond to the slightest command. Not only did it do exactly what it was told to do, but it did it with speed that would keep Danaka Patrick on her toes. I really wished that I had a speed gun so that I could clock this baby.

While the specifics of a kite review are are important to know, what it really comes down to is: How was it to fly? The answer to this question is, of course, AWESOME! It was so much fun that what was inteded to be a short "give it a try" flight turned into 45 minutes of intense pull and speed. I weigh 210 pounds. It takes a bit to get me moving. I won't lie. I was moved by this kite. I didn't get any skudding in or anything like that, but I was definitely pulled forward. I had a blast flying this thing.

The end of the line. It comes down to this:

Design 7/10. The design of this kite is great. It lost points for the fact that if you crash the kite, it is not relaunchable.

Quality 8/10. The kite and the lines worth 10/10. The bag is a little on the "ok" side so there is a point there. The bar is the weakest link in this system, but remember that the bar is an add-on. This kite was designed to be flown with straps. Replace the bar with any other bar you have laying around and the score would be 9.5/10.

Fun 10/10. Remember that this kite is an entry level sport kite. You aren't going to boost any air. You might get pulled along on the asphalt with rollerblades, but I wouldn't expect more than that. This baby is perfect for high wind days when you just want to play.

Overall, I'm giving this kite an 8/10. It's fun to fly. It's fast and very controlable. It has a little power in reserve for when you want it but is tame and responsive. For younger kids, it might be a little on the fast side if the winds are too strong. Twelve is a good starting point for this kite although an 8 year old could probably handle it with a little practice.

Shameless plug:

You can purchase this kite here:

shop.thekiteline.com

Just search for "Symphony Beach 1.7"