I never flown one and am thinking about buying one. Anyone care to give me your impression? I looking at one to have as a smaller beach kite to do a little static jumping / casual flying. Say 4 or 5 m.

Based on your description of what you want I'd say a beamer. How much do you weigh?

I weigh 170-175. On the water I'm using a 17m PL Bomba and it gets the job done as long as the wind is above say, 13-14kts.

If you know how to kite already and are using a bomba, do you want a kite with handles or are you sticking with a bar? For just recreationaly flying I'd say handles but if you are a confident kiter already and think you want to do some jumping I'd say you should be looking more at the Crossfire. I assumed you had no experience.

If you want to jump and already know how to fly I suggest the 5m. The 4m will lift you but not give you the float you need to land proper.

Crossfire is probably the model you want.

I see HQ as the " every man's kite ". The kind of kite a rich guy uses as a daily runner and a poor kid dreams of. They are well made and safe. Standing the test of time and backed by good service. When I discovered HQ they had lowest spot in the pecking order of quality kites. Many of the competition came from paragliding so already had a lot of foil experience. HQ came from the Delta kite world and so had some catching up to do. Each year they have gotten better and better while keeping the consumer cost as low as possible. Now they have gear that is well worth the money.

Thanks for the advice. I've been at it a few years; self taught with the scars to prove it.

What Bladerunner says makes sense. I only began seeing HQ in people's list of kites in the last few years. Never heard anything bad about them but until recently, never anything good. I'm a flysurfer/flexi/ozone/pl kind of guy in the first place but the local retailer started carrying HQ this year and I am looking to get a demo flight in soon. I'll take a peak at the crossfire for sure.

HQ makes an awesome product that can hold its own against many of the top names on the market. HQ has been producing kites for many years and are one of the best selling power kites of 2008.

Their quality is exceptional - really top notch, the kites produce excellent power and are super stable. The Crossfire II is an awesome kite that has an adjustable bridle system so you can set it for more lift and power (for mountain boarding & snow kiting) or more overall speed (for buggying). The Montana is right up there with the Frenzy's on performance and depower, the Beamer is an awesome introductory to intermediate kite, the new Scout features an innovative cross-over control bar system that works excellent for land boarding & snow kiting.

All of the HQ kites feature high strength dyneema bridles that have sewn in loops to eliminate snags & tangles, internal bracing, dacron reinforced leading edges and double stitched seams. All flying lines are 100% dyneema for strength and minimal stretch. Backpacks are very high quality and very durable. Most models come complete, ready to fly including handles or control bars (depending on model), lines, safety systems (depending on model), instructional manual and even a kite stake.

The new HQ Neo is getting raving reviews and is proving to be a top model for the water. The new HQ Hyrdra is the very first and only water relaunchable closed cell trainer kite.

We have many people here who are using the HQ power kites and absolutely love them. They make a good product at a very reasonable price. HQ's customer support is also top-notch. Tim (HQ representative) is also a member of this forum and others. You can contact HQ directly through him and he will get you whatever you need.

I am not sure who you have talked to that was sour towards the HQ products but I am pretty sure they have been mislead in some way. HQ does make a very good power kite line and has quality product & excellent customer support.

Hope that helps.

Nice review of the Crossfire II here:

http://www.extremekites.com.au/kite-reviews/ram-air-foil-kit...

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Originally posted by awindofchange I am not sure who you have talked to that was sour towards the HQ products but I am pretty sure they have been mislead in some way. HQ does make a very good power kite line and has quality product & excellent customer support. Hope that helps.

I hope what I said didn't sound like I had ever met anyone who was sour about buying an HQ kite !

We have had very few HQ kites around here to judge. The 1st time HQ came on to my radar was when they had all sorts of Stickers + swag at the Montana Snowkite Rodeo 2006. That was the 1st and last Montana I saw. At that point and even today I think that because they keep their price down HQ is mis-judged and there name High Quality stands !

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Originally posted by jknight_706 I'm a flysurfer/flexi/ozone/pl kind of guy in the first place but the local retailer started carrying HQ this year and I am looking to get a demo flight in soon. I'll take a peak at the crossfire for sure.

Id say stick with the other stuff... but if you want a crossfire, i have a 7.7m that im tryin to sell. Shoot me a u2u if you are interested.

I may be a touch biased, however......My entire power kite experience has been with HQ kites until 2 weeks ago.
I started with a 3m Scout which I still love to fly. My son was riding 17mph in the bug with the 3m parked in 15mph winds last week.
My jump to de-powers was with the 8m and 11m Neo. The quality of the build on the kites is superb. My son and I have had our share of shall we say "less than perfect landings" but both kites are still solid after many flying hours.
As with any kite, there is a learning curve involved. The more you fly, the more you learn about how to get what you need from the kite. The HQ's will not disapoint.
Dollar for dollar you will be hard pressed to find a better built, better performing sail.
Good luck.

I am sort of moving the other way. 1st flying Flysurfers and now getting very interested in HQ. The beamer and TSR always had appreciation. Now with the Neo and Hydra I am truly impressed. All good companies have been improving a lot each year and HQ is no acception. Even a leader in many ways.

Flysurfer does go the extra yard. Little things like tear aways on the bridle and blow out holes to protect your kite. Jet flaps for improved flight. Flysurfer also charges big time for these extras. To me they fit in the luxury dept. and need to go if you want a cost competetive product.

(My 1st full fixed bridle quiver was Flexi.)

I am very much a cost conscious buyer. A new flysurfer is just a bit out of my reach $$ so I have been buying used. Now HQ has come around with a kite I can buy new at a Pulse's used price . I need something in the 10m range and am torn about how to go. If I had never owned a Flysurfer I would think HQ was all of that . Now somehow I am having a hard time stepping down ?

I intend to give the newer arcs a go before I put money down on my next kite. Thank goodness the Canadian dollar is weak. Holding of is that much easier.

I've always had a special place in my heart for HQ. I started out with a 2.2 symphony which I flew for years before I got my Beamer III 3m. They've replaced the Beamer III with a kite I've yet to get my hands on.

My 3rd kite was a Crossfire I 5m. Serious kite with lift. I really enjoyed that one till I replaced it with the Crossfire II when it came out. Lots of improvements with the new model. The colored bridles make it a snap to check for any twists or tangles in the bridle.

The Montana is a work of kite art. It has lift but its very controllable. Give it some wind and it keeps a tight sail no matter where the kite is in the window.

Constant improvements in the safety and control gear since I've been buying HQ products as well. The new kite killers are second to none, and I have Ozone, Peter Lynn, and Flexifoil kite killers in the bag. Add in quality lines, handles/bars, kite bag and then the kite stake and you have a total package that in unmatched. Every other company has one of these things you have to add on after you get the ready to fly package. HQ offers great kites at a price that will fool you if you base assumption of quality on how much something costs.