Wind was light; 5 - 10mph most of the time; with gusts up to 20mph. So I got out the trainer kites. Never flown all three on the same day. I got them all out. Been a while since I've flown any of them and it was the difference between flying today(flying anything) and not flying at all(didn't have anything else with me).

Kites used:

1m Ozone Imp Quattro (4 line)
1.2m Direct Power Squirt (2 line handles)
2m SlingShot B2 Trainer (2 line on a bar)

Strategy was this: While the wind was up; I could fly the Squirt. It really needs some wind, it's challenging to fly in light wind. If you stop moving it; it falls out of the sky. If the wind slacked off; I could fly either of the other two. I'd fly the B2 till I got bored with it; then switch to the Imp. The Imp is by far the most fun because of the 4 lines. In this wind; the kite is easy to propeller. The 1m Imp also feels like it has more pull. Could be the handles or that the kite really is more powerful. The B2 is no slouch in power though either. You can really lean back when it goes through the power window.

If I was in the market today for a trainer kite; I would absolutely spend the money on the Sensei trainer. Watch the relaunch video of it on the video page and decide. Maybe cause the wind was nuking in the video it made it shine and it would relaunch just like most kites in lesser winds?

http://www.kiteboarding.com/proddetail.asp?prod=sensei_train...

The B2 is nearly(it seems like it everytime) impossible to relaunch. Except in nuking winds and it just continues to launch itself all the time. So for lighter wind; it's a real challenge for one person to relaunch.

I bought the 1m Imp a long time ago when my smallest kite was a 2m. That 1m Imp has taught a lot of people how to fly.

I only got the B2 because it was on sale. It really needs the 3rd line relaunch kit; but it's like $30. I wonder how easy 3 line kites are to relaunch?

I got the $35 Squirt on sale just as a toy kite to keep in the car. It would be an absolute deal if it was a 4 line kite. 2 line is just too boring for me and too limiting(landing/launching, no brakes). It's really hard to relaunch in light wind. I have to wonder how much better or easier the 1.5m would fly? It seems(I should have measured them) my 1m imp is bigger than the 1.2m Squirt.

A young child could hold onto the Squirt kite. It's really a toy kite(minimal pull). But the kite is so fast and darty and the relaunch is difficult; the kid would have to already be able to fly and then just fly this without crashing it. I see this kite being more of a "beach kite". Small, portable, would fly real nice in a steady wind. It would be a hot seller in a tourist area because of the price(that allowed kite flying on the beach!). It may even sell well at kite festivals.

The B2 has pretty much no upwind at all for buggy use. But for a long board on pavement; I think it would work. The B2 comes with really long lines though. Something around 25m I would guess.

I have found the 3m Quattro kite to be an epic high wind kite. If your wind is too trashy and gusty for your usual 3m kite of choice; this is the kite for those winds(the reason I bought it). I had some of the worst winds I've ever kited in earlier this year. Supremely gusty "storm front" winds. Wind was all over the place. My 3m Octane was annihilating me. Not the 3m Quattro though. It's one of my favorite kites.

Nice reviews. Surprised the SS B2 didn't perform so well. It was on my shopping list for my 5yr old nephew. The easy relaunch of the sensie sounds perfect for what I need as does 2 lines on a bar. Thanks!

I'll send you the B2 so you can try it out if you'll send it back. I've found it's easier for first time fliers to fly on a bar initially before going to handles.

For the initial launch; one can set a couple water bottles on the trailing edge to hold the kite in place and they roll off on take off; or have someone help launch it. I don't know of any other easy way to launch it.

And in high winds; the B2 does need quite a bit of grip strength as it can have a surprising amount of pull. No lift at all though.