I think I caught a nasty kite-flying bug during last month's trip to Wales... ;-) ...Good news is I have another sandy beach trip coming up in May (soft sand though), and I am thinking of getting a couple of small(er) kites for static flying for myself and the family. I'll also take along the new 8.6m Reactor, but only if there is space (on the beach) and winds are light. I doubt I'll have space to pack the CQuad(s) in the car with our other stuff.

So...I am still intrigued by the Peter Lynn Uniq. I am thinking of either the 1m or 1.5m Play to try out single skin (at low cost), and also to have a small/robust kite that my kids and their cousins may be able to try out. Prices are around GBP45-60 in UK with lines. Kids range from 6-10 years old.

In addition, I am tempted by either a 2.5m or 4.7m Flexi Rage. From some searching reviews on here, it sounds like the Rage is a nicely made/handling foil, with strong pull - but which can be trimmed with the adjustable bridle depending on wind speed/pilot. I like the idea of trying this out. It could be a step towards understanding the benefits of a future move to depower.

I also like the fact that the Rage can be bought kite only. Most kites in this size range force handles/lines. I can get the 2.5 for GBP100, or the 4.7m for GBP120. Which is all I can really justify spending at the moment (and I think both prices are an incredibly good deal).

Any thoughts/comments on the above selections?

I'm basically asking: 1) Play or no Play?
2) If yes: 1m or 1.5m? (I think 1.5m)
3) 2.5m or 4.7m Rage?

I personally think the 2.5m Rage is a great kite. My first has many many large pieces of tape on it. So, now I have a second as backup when the first finally dies. It is extremely well used.

It is a sweet spot for most anywhere. It flies well, it does not bow tie, it keeps inflated, it does not pull very hard...but can if pushed.

I have heard nothing but bad things on the Uniq. But, one of our guys seems to love it. Weird, eh?

Also...Flexifoil is in a weird spot now and the 2.5m Rage can be had for cheap. Awesome!

Thanks JJ. What is the deal with Flexifoil? Are they in financial trouble?
I am pretty sold on getting the 2.5m Rage...but am tempted by the 4.7m for only 20GBP extra - that is a very good deal indeed!

The idea of the Uniq Play is an experiment...I can handle wasting 50 quid on it if it turns out rubbish (which I kind of doubt - Peter Lynn know their stuff normally). But even if relatively poor performance, it has to be better than the cheap rainbow two-liner foil we took to the beach the other day for the kids to play with. It was like a sack of sand.

Do you recall which member is the Uniq fan?

Well, what the heck...I just ordered the 2.5m Rage :-)

I was one of the folks that had a negative reaction to the UNIQ Quad when it first came out and wrote about it on this forum. I had wanted it as a buggy engine and had not been thrilled with the size of its wind window which is comparably smaller than some other kites I was familiar with at the time such as the PL Hornet and Born-Kite NASA Star-3. As Jeeper noted one of our friends used this exact kite extensively at IBX earlier this month in the buggy and really liked it, so go figure.

I actually think that the UNIQ Play, probably in the 1.5m size, sounds ideal for your stated application. If I were starting my daughter out with a traction kite (and I didn't own the right sort of NS3s already) then I'd likely go with exactly this kite.

It sounds like we are on the same page Windstruck. The only thing I (currently) have against the Play is that it is two-line.

Any thoughts that I may be able to fix a third/fourth line to the rear edge of the bridle for easier reversing/relaunching?

If the Quad came as kite only I would prefer to buy the 1.5m Uniq Quad. But with the included handles and lines it comes in at 3x the price of the 1.5m Play.

Quote: Originally posted by 48K

It sounds like we are on the same page Windstruck. The only thing I (currently) have against the Play is that it is two-line. Any thoughts that I may be able to fix a third/fourth line to the rear edge of the bridle for easier reversing/relaunching? If the Quad came as line only I would prefer to buy the 1.5m Uniq Quad. But with the included handles and lines it comes in at 3x the price of the 1.5m Play.

It has been far too long since I've studied the bridling of the UNIQ series to properly answer your questions. I have made modifications to my NS3s by installing so-called z-bridles that allow me to fly them from handles with both power and brake lines or from a bar with only left and right lines. The NS3s have a central nose bridle system as well that can scrunch the nose for a form of depowering (not really DP in the traditional sense as there is no change in AOA; rather, just less efficient flying resulting in less pull). The NS3 central third line is also used as a safety line and can flag out the kite.

It may be possible to split out a couple of lower bridles and rig a UNIQ Play with z-bridles for a similar rigging as my NS3s, but I'm not sure how the bridles come together in their terminal pigtails which is sort of the important question. I suspect it would work.

I am less convinced you'd be able to get a third central line built in after the fact. The UNIQ trainer likely has specific bridling for its third line. Again, not sure, and I've never had eyes on a UNIQ Trainer (or Play for that matter).

Good luck!

PL Uniq Play 1.5m ordered...let's see...

Here's the best photos I can find of the Uniq Play bridle compared to the 4-line Uniq Quad.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fh9fuvkfe0cnqse/PL%20Uniq%20Play%2...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eegat6pmrc2itnh/PL%20Uniq%20Play%2...

It looks like there are 4 rows of bridle attachment points (front to back), with four lines per side per row, which come together in one major group per side, attaching to the power line. So 16 main bridle lines per side. Unpicking where the rearmost row attaches to the bundle, to make a brake line attachment point looks possible...in principle.

However, the tips also have a separate group of four lines (1 per row front to back). I'm guessing that at least the rearmost of these would also need to attach to the brake line? Which means I'll need at least one extra piece of bridle-line on each side. What do you think?

The Uniq Quad is best shown here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2z807114bkc9pfi/Pl%20Uniq%20Quad%2...

Actually...looking carefully at the Quad, it looks like the tip bridles are all directed to the power lines. Would you agree? That would make modifying the Play much simpler. Assuming it would still fly...

It's difficult to tell from those photos. I suspect the brake line bridle is going to the trailing edge of the kite.

Here's a couple links that might help:

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=32720&g...

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=26213&g...

Randy and riffclown can probably give you the best advice regarding modification of a dual line foil into a quad.

On this image of the 1.5m Quad, it seems pretty clear that all the tip bridles (A-D) connect to power, bridles A-C connect to power, and as you say the brake lines only connect the the rear (D) row of bridles. The D bridle seems to connect all along the back edge (but not to the tip itself):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8q5ikk1ixl08c1d/Pl%201.5m%20Uniq%2...

on this underside view of the 2.5 quad, it is possible to make out the brake lines connecting to the D bridle (bottom of photo, the curved edge of the kite is the rear) with 5 D-bridles per side - but not to the tips.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/e4pgsxhjsljt7jf/Pl%202.5m%20Uniq%2...

I'll also check out that other thread - thanks!

I agree with my good Hungarian friend; it's hard to tell from the photos. My eyes kept playing tricks on my as I tried to follow the bridle lines on the Play. In a few of the shots I could have sworn the bridling was grouped vertically from leading edge to trailing edge but then in other shots the bridle groupings looked more traditional, viz, grouped horizontally when seen from the perspective of a kite sitting upright with leading edge (top) on top and trailing edge on the bottom.

If you are just trying to jury rig the Play for reverse launching you could rig a bar with a single set of trailing edge bridles (both sides) coming into left and right lines that come back to the bar. I suspect they could terminate in the center or the bar ends. You could then string a brake line strap across them and us that to reverse launch. Get the lines at such a length that the trailing edge stays tensioned along with the rest of the kite and it should fly pretty much the same as the Play rigged just to two lines. It's all just experimentation. Good luck!

Haha...I'm now really intrigued by the possibilities of bridle tweaking...
Very interested to see what the adjustable bridle looks like when it arrives on the Rage, and whether there is something similar I can fashion to the Reactor (to make it flexible for use in higher winds. Or indeed the Cquads or Uniq Play...

From reviews of the the Uniq quad it sounds as if it may be designed with a relatively high angle of attack - hence narrow window, low zenith, relatively slow to move, with grunty power only across the middle of the window. Would that make sense? I wonder if it would be possible to tweak one to have a shallower AoA? Or maybe it would become unstable?

---

Re. Uniq bridles: I also was getting confused looking at the bridle on the Play, but I am 99% sure it is a traditional (?) setup in rows A, B, C etc. With only the tips being arranged perpendicular to the rest.

All I can say is: Peter Lynn, you rock!
My seven year old, on her first evening kite flying.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/aypx0km408jjg6q/2018-05-03%2018.19...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ev65k7k7hxbpw7b/2018-05-03%2018.25...

The Rage 2.5 also seems pretty smart...reviews to follow.

Quote: Originally posted by 48K

All I can say is: Peter Lynn, you rock! My seven year old, on her first evening kite flying. https://www.dropbox.com/s/aypx0km408jjg6q/2018-05-03%2018.19... https://www.dropbox.com/s/ev65k7k7hxbpw7b/2018-05-03%2018.25... The Rage 2.5 also seems pretty smart...reviews to follow.

Hey, that's great! Just what that kite was designed for. Beautiful daughter, beautiful location for her to be enjoying what brings us all so much joy.

Thanks for the very kind words Windstruck. I even got a nice couple of videos of her flying. Also of my wife Oh to have a hard sandy beach somewhere nearby... Astonishingly, I've lived here for 7 years and this is the first time I have ever taken a kite to the beach (because it is shingle not sand)...what have I been thinking!?!? :o

https://www.dropbox.com/s/130gw9tuqkv8627/2018-05-03%2018.24...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2w99do5t3qebd2/2018-05-03%2018.30...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k48hvpwthrpqjst/2018-05-03%2018.08...

First impressions. Very nicely made...but incredibly small compared to what I am used to. I'll write up a proper review in the Review section soon.