I've been looking for a 4 m Access for a while, to use as my high wind kite. I normally fly a a 6 or 10 meter Access with my buggy. The other day on Ebay I picked up a 5m Pulse, thinking that I could use that instead.

I don't know much about Flysurfers and didn't have much time to do any research. I was thinking that a 5m Pulse might have more depower than a 4m Access even though it's a bit bigger.

What do you guys think? Was the first Pulse any good as a buggy kite? Will it be considerably more lifty than the Access?

Flysurfers in general are lifty kites im pretty sure it will have more lift than an access and more power . So not a good choice. Also a closed cell kite behaves a little different to an open cell. They are more stable but also have a spongy feel to them. ground handling can also be a problem if u dont have a helper in powered conditions.

pulses are less lifty than the speed. They are more stable. A pulse 5m would have been designed to be a high wind kite. They are older kites and may have less depower as newer kites seem to have been getting more depower out of thier designs. I would love to have a 5m pulse but I would probably use it as a high wind water kite or use it for my kids. Bladerunner had a 7m pulse I thhink he loved as a buggy kite. You might just have to try it.

I'm not trying to be offensive but it really doesn't matter what others think at this point since you bought it. Fly it and decide if you like it and keep it or sell it from there.

I had a 6m Pulse II and I landboard at the beach. It had phenomenal low end performance but I did not appreciate its high wind performance at all as its rigid nature (closed cell) and tendency to backstall meant it would fall back in the powerzone and then explode with power through the window and it build speed like a race kite which I didn't want on a landboard. Because of its closed cell nature and tendency to stay inflated, its the only kite I owned that routinely popped ground stakes which made it a hazard on the ground in higher winds. It was lifty but required a bit more technique to jump than the other kites I fly. It was a dream to hot launch because it is slower to inflate than a traditional ram air foil. The 5m Gen 1 would be considered less refined. I was prepared to love my Pulse based on all that was written about FS at the time. It was prone to mixer line stretching and required too much fiddling of A/B/C lines and mixers and I did not like its flight characteristics so I sold it to Tridude (RIP) and he and his son loved it (on the water). At 145#, I did not consider it a high wind kite (though I bought it for that reason). My 4m Access 1 was waaaaay more forgiving which made it way more enjoyable in high winds even if I needed to milk it. My guess is you will find a lot of overlap between a 5m Pulse and a 6m Access though the Access will be more forgiving which would make it better for higher winds, IMO.

What's my point? Like any kite, its not for everyone but if you love it then its right for you and since you bought it with little research just fly it and decide for yourself. You may love it or you may hate it but either way you now own it so disregard everyone's opinion as they are irrelevant at this point. None of this is said to disrespect you or your purchase.

I love my 7m Pulse. Had no idea they made a 5m.

It doesn't seem to have the stall issue to the degree the Pulse 2's did but it happens. The good news is the closed cells hold the shape. However when it does catch wind again it hits HARD.
The old school oval shaped sail makes it very stable and as mentioned you need to actively send it for lift. It is an ideal kite for learning depower. It responds to being aggressive and you can spank an amazing low end out of it.

Now the negative stuff. It is my high wind kite. NOT my survival kite. The closed cell means it still holds too much power even sitting on the ground. I have been dragged long distances down wind with it already on the ground. Ice is the worst. Trying to stake it in soft sand is always iffy. Being so small the closed cells aren't a big issue with set up and pack down.

I have a strong feeling that if I had a 5m Pulse and 4m Access in my bag i would go to the Access most often?

Please give us feedback once you have tried it. You are sure to like some things and dislike others.

OK, no discussion of this sort is complete IMHO without a venerable weigh in from a bed-sheet groupie. That would be me. I am particularly fond of my 3.5m Born-Kite LongStar2, a dandy of a single-skin DP. Its single largest downside lies in its abundance of bridling, both in terms of sheer number of bridle lines as well as their length. As others will testify to such as Bladerunner, these bridle lines can be a bit of a, err, "management issue" on the ground in the sorts of winds when you are pulling out this postage stamp of a kite.

The upsides of this kite far outweigh this singular downside IMHO. Fantastic DP, crisp in-flight mechanics, really predictable and smooth force curve both through the wind window as well as through the DP range, nice bar feel, and when used with the Born adjustable width control bar, can be damped down to great feel and control in the air. Many tiny, wheeny, high wind kites scream around in the air like wasps on a string, or as I like to say in a good mood, scalded cats, or in a pissy mood, raped apes. The 3.5m LS2 zips around but not like that.

I used the 3.5m LS2 in my buggy on Lake Ivanpah at this Spring's IBX. There was a fateful day when things got truly busy and we experienced full Brown-Out conditions. The event tent got completely destroyed that day. There comes a point where the winds become so strong on Ivanpah that the sand kicks up and you are completely blinded. This sort of "brown out" (a self made expression depicting the simultaneous visual field disturbance and that distinct load-in-your-pants feeling) becomes sort of self limiting for buggying on the Playa and it sort of becomes impossible to ride at about 45-50 mph sustained winds, not to mention the gusts. The point here is that my LS2 and I came in from the playa because of my lack of being able to see much more more so than because of the load-in-my-pants feel. Folks that know me know that I'm no dare-devil out there so this is a strong endorsement coming from me. I may be a big, strong, hunk of a man (did I mention handsome as well?), but I'm surely no speed freak. Our good friend (utah) Tami weighs half of me but rides twice as fast!

So, long story short, I'm throwing in the 3.5m LS2 into the mix. I used to own and like the 4.0m Peak 2 but I put the 3.5m LS2 as a nose above the P2. I've not flown the 4.0m Peak 3 but read that it was the most refined of the series in terms of changes from V2 to V3, so maybe take a look there too.

Good luck!

I stuck to the 2 kites mentioned but agree with Steve. I will be buying a 3.5 LS2 as my next high wind kite.

You could possibly sell both the Access and Pulse to fund one? They are a reasonable price.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I don't why I can't post anything here, this is infuriating. something about cut and past is broken

B-Roc, I found one of your old posts on Kite crowd from 2011 or something, telling me the same thing.

Windstruck, I'll keep the Lone Star in mind and add it to the list.

Quote: Originally posted by jimbocz

B-Roc, I found one of your old posts on Kite crowd from 2011 or something, telling me the same thing.

That's funny. The Pulse was a kite I really wanted to like. I loved the colors, the material itself, the safety deployed if you dropped the bar or just let go... It had so many nice qualities but whenever I flew it really powered, as I wanted, I could never relax with it. But, the guy I sold it to loved it and his son spent a ton of time on it and completely loved it. In fact, his dad approached me and just asked if he could buy it from me before it was even for sale because he knew my feelings and really wanted a 6m P2. Its characteristics may be ideal for you so don't let my experience or anyone's sway you. You probably got it for a good deal so just enjoy now or sell it.