Hi all,

I'm just getting back into power kiting after about 4 years as I have just moved to the coast. I have two 8 foot Flexifoil 2 line power kites, and am back to the standard I was flying at before....I guess I would say I am pretty proficient, and can happily stack the two together in reasonable winds; enough to scud a little on the beach.

I want to try 4 line flying with a view to having a bit more fun scudding and hopefully get into jumping (early efforts with the two 8 footers were sketchy to say the least!).

I need some help as to what size to buy so I do not end up with something which is the same as what I already have, nor way too much kite to enjoy. I'm leaning towards a 3.3 meter Flexifoil Sting. Does this sound right, or should I be considering something else size-wise (I suppose I want something that is going to give me the same or a little more pull than my two 8 footers).

Thanks, and apologies for the long post.

Sting is a nice first-time 4-line but not built for lift. The Flexi Rage has more pull than the Sting and is still not built for lift. It's a great buggy engine.

Flexi Blades are considered by many to be the kings of lift for fixed bridle open cell foils, but they must be approached with care, as they power up with alarming intensity.

Jumping with less than 5.0 sq. meters will get you dropped faster than you were lifted. Generally depending on weight, conditions, skill, 5 meters & up has a better chance of a safer let-down (but not guaranteed).

Nice combination of speed, lift and flyability is the HQ Crossfire series.

Hi Fop,

Being a fellow newbie on here I defer entirely to what acampbell says with regards to jumping kites.

Looking at the Flexi site it seems you're flying about 2.6 - 3 sq. m. with the two 8fts together. If you want more but manageable power and the odd smallish jump (4-5ft) I've found the Beamer II 3.6 (it'd be a Beamer III 4m now) a great first kite.

I certainly have no problem getting 250ft+ scuds out of it on wet grass without the power being utterly terrifying for a little guy like me.

That being said if I was doing it again I'd probably go for a 3.5 Rage as my first kite based purely on flying a mates Flexi. They just pull and turn that bit harder.

Hope I've helped without stepping on anyone's toes.

Thanks folks. Just taken delivery of a Beamer II 3.6, so looking forward to giving it a go when the wind comes....currently not a breath of it!

Quote:

Originally posted by Fop Thanks folks. Just taken delivery of a Beamer II 3.6, so looking forward to giving it a go when the wind comes....currently not a breath of it!

Lesson #1 NEVER expect wind on the 1st day a new kite arrives ! :ticking: It's all about breaking you down and turning you into a patient person. ( or a raving loonatic jumping from your chair everytime a leaf flutters ! )

Ahh, now we know who to blame for the lack of wind.

The Beamer's a great kite, you should see lots of use out of it and it'll be a long time before you outgrow it. Even when you get into the bigger massive lift kites, it's nice to have something safe to go back to when the winds are up and cranking and you want to survive.