The Blade IV definitely came in 4m; I have a 4m in Midnight :frog:

I think the transmission comparison is overly complicating the issue

What I meant by the analogy and 'at the mercy of the kite' is that the control YOU have over an F.B. is pretty much limited to direction and how aggressive you are with it ... you send the kite for a jump but you don't have the option of feathering the clutch if you're surprised by it - you're going up with the kite and you have little say about matters after that ...
With a depower, you can sheet our or in to control the jump - without stalling the kite, unlike the brakes on handles.

Having jumped with both, it just seems to me like total folly to jump with the F.B.s any more :D just MHO for the reasons I've stated

... and don't you believe a 3m isn't powerful - I've jumped my 280lbs ass over-head height with the Cult 3.5. The landings were bone shaking but it was fun - at the time compare that to bigger jumps with feather soft landings from a depower :o I'll never do it again

I understand what you are saying. I just think you are far enough on the skill/experience arc that you are discounting some things and your experience skews your perspective by already having a certain number of "aha" moments.

Feathering the clutch is actually a fine motor skill. When you first see someone learning the drive a clutch there a lot of grinding, over-revving, lurching, and stalling.

The monkey-brain innate response to fear/an emergency situtation is to clutch/go to fetal position.... the second response is to overcompensate.

The wind gusts and Homer clutches the control bar with a deathgrip close to his bosom like his long lost teddy bear, because Teddy will make the bad things stop . What happens? Realizing that this isn't the soup that he ordered and that Teddy has been replaced by an evil doppelganger, Homer pushes the control bar away from him.... while he's 20-30 feet in the air.

Everything you say about depower and jumping makes a lot of sense if you are talking about doing it in a teacher-student setting in suitable (smooth) winds. The second set of gray matter will make a lot of difference between when someone decides to call it a day and when they'll take one more run, whether they park the kite at 3:00 or 12:00, whether they are happy progressing through bunny jumps or if the day just isn't complete without some sirens and flashing lights.

I don't see a whole lot of grasshopper/mentor relationships in these videos. It's mostly bystanders and friends pissing themselves laughing until they realize someone has to dial 911.

Factor in the whole sticker shock/going to do it in nn days/"whatta ya mean I need more than one kite" thing. How many times have people decided to go for 5 meter kite because they were going to end up there anyway and I really didn't want to buy two kites (in case I didn't like it)? How about I want to do "x" but I don't want to spend more than "y".... generally x is fairly ambitious and y is a number so low that "I'll get a helmet and padding in a down the road" is a fairly common scenario.

If you only recommend depower kites for people learning to jump, I see a lot of people bargain hunting for older kites with sub-par safeties.

ATB,
Sam

@DAKITEZ
That's definitely true what you said about the Blade V and the adjustable AoA. I haven't flown one, but what I had in mind with this whole Blade thing, is many people have the conundrum that iWolf pointed out:

"Factor in the whole sticker shock/going to do it in nn days/"whatta ya mean I need more than one kite" thing. How many times have people decided to go for 5 meter kite because they were going to end up there anyway and I really didn't want to buy two kites (in case I didn't like it)? How about I want to do "x" but I don't want to spend more than "y".... generally x is fairly ambitious and y is a number so low that "I'll get a helmet and padding in a down the road" is a fairly common scenario."

They want a Blade but don't want to pay for it. I'd guess they'd try to find a Blade III? Definitly a lot less versatile than the Blade V from what I have heard.

I think the guy at the shop was using the general rule of thumb that you need 5m or more of canopy to be able to float out a jump.
The Blade 4.9 gained the name " the widdow maker " due to it's huge amount of lift . In the wrong hands that lift and minimal float can come on unexpectedly.
If jumping is the goal then bigger is better.

It's a catch 22. You need a small kite to learn to fly. You need a large kite to learn to jump. Starting with a large kite because you want to jump leaves you out or protecting yourself from the kite rather than learning to fly !

We need more than 1 kite and once addicted proper buying that next one becomes a whole lot more important than you can understand from the other side. Just go with a good 3 -4 m at 1st. It's ALL about fly time at 1st and this is the size that will get you the most of that ! PROMISE !