I can only afford 1 big buggy engine w/ my tax refund this year. If you were in my shoes ,which would you choose? I have got it down to 3. I don't want a arc ,lei ,bow or c-kite just a FB big a$$ ram air parafoil. If you have any specific info on one of my choices, let me know . (good or bad) I'm on a hunt, and I want to make sure that it is the one I want. There is no way for me to try em first , so I'm gonna count on my kiting "family " to lead the way. Thanks alot
WG

I vote for the 8M Reflex, especially if you get the one Tonka was offering, it seemed like a sweet deal, I don't remember if it sold. I havent flow any of those kites, but I did fly Scudley's 4M Reflex, and if the 8 is any thing like it, you should be flying in 4mph!

it is the one Tonka has. And it would look sweet w/ my yellow buggy! I just can't find alot of info on it.

I think you narrowed it down to 3 great kites. My guess is that you'll end up loving any of them. Of course you know where my vote went:wink2:

yeah , I KNEW where you fly/stand.

d@mn dude... tough list...

I voted for the blade simply because, in my shoes... thats the one i'd have more fun with and get the most use out of... but then again i dont buggy, i static jump and atb :puzzled:
I've heard very good things about the reactor from angus, as far as buggys go...

in the end whichever you go with i think you'll be happy, all are good kites

I've already put my money where my vote is on this one. I had the Blade and sold it because I started to buggy. It magnifies gusts and lift in the buggy where most kites would give you an upward tug, the Blade is picking you up. Since I don't jump in the buggy and don't ride hills, the Blade just didn't fit me anymore. It is a blast to static fly and jump with and I imagine it would be fun on a landboard if you have some skills. Another way to look at it is that the Reactors are made to do what you do. You'd be forcing the Blade to work at your task........... And it will be pushing back. :o

I'm with Bobby on this. Blades are too punchy for my style. The Reactors need the right tension on the brakes, but the look of the bottom skin will give you all the clues you need. When you get it right, it surges like a Toyota with a stuck gas pedal.

The 8.6 is more versatile than you would think for the size... esp if you hook in for upwind legs.

Man the 8.6 reactor 2 is only 665.00 with line and handles?! That seems like a great deal. I didn't know they were so inexpensive. Maybe thats the route to go if you want a crispy new one WG. Blades are reserved for us crazy people.

I too love my Reactor 4.9, great kite all around.

Reactor is the only choice I see for Buggying.

Blade: to much lift/Pull

Sky Country: when you get it up to speed you get very little feedback from the kite, it will start to pump and then just fall out of the sky . I tested them against the Reactor 2 and they lost big time. I was in contact with them about this problem but they didn't seem to want to change anything on the kite.

Reactor II: best choice from your list. If you open up the brakes you can use this kite in windranges you never thought possible. Very stable, easy to control, turn speed is acceptable for an intermediate. top speed is not the best, if you want to get it going faster than 55kmh you really need to work it. But for 1 hand cruise control riding a great kite.
thats my opinion.

Reactor I or II ???

The Reactor I has more punch on the start but the Reactor II has more speed and reduced lift ... its a speed machine.
Dunno your riding location but if you have long beach, I'd go RII, since the its faster than the Reflex.
The RII comes standard with 20m lines, but if you wanted to increase the Low End, buying a set of 30m - 35m lines would do the trick.

If you're a freestyle guy than my pick would be the Blade 8.5m

thanks for the info Krohn, It is those little pieces of info that are the most helpful. I can see by your sig ,that you are a knowledgable kiter w/ plenty of experience.( or you are loaded w/ cash)

Rip, I was looking at the RII,thanks for the info.

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD thanks for the info Krohn, It is those little pieces of info that are the most helpful. I can see by your sig ,that you are a knowledgable kiter w/ plenty of experience.( or you are loaded w/ cash)

no just a kite shop.

I do have to dissagree with Rip thou
8.3 Reactor 1 was a tracktor that would not get out of its own way. We tried many things to change this without any luck. the 6.4 would pass it in almost any wind.

on the 8.6 I use max 18m lines(normally 15m) on the beach and 20m inland. If you need more than that on length the wind is too low and you should be grabbing your 10.8m instead.

Every rider needs to decide for themselves what works best for them, use the experiences that you read hear and find your best setup. one thing is for sure you will not regret buying a Reactor II

I voted Reactor II, to me this would be the best choice for the buggy. Incredible speed, power, upwind ability and super stable for a high aspect ratio kite. As said above, if you are looking for freestyle then the Blade may be a good choice but the Reactor II works great for that as well. IMO, the Blade just doesn't have the performance of the other kites in the buggy. The Blade however does work excellent for boarding and jumps as it has great pop and explosive power on the bottom end. I find in the buggy that the Blade doesn't keep up and just wears you out with a ton of side drag and not as much forward bite. It is like comparing the power of a Ferrari to that of a semi truck. If you are in the sand or hilly areas then the extra grunt of the Blade may help you plow through things that may slow you down but if you are on hard pack and are looking for performance and speed, the Reactor II will deliver more.

Just my opinion, hope it helps.

sounds like a blade is alot like my Pansh sprints,fast but w/ a ton of side pull that just wears you out. I fly mine hooked in or hotwired cause I can only "hang on" for so long. Sure looks like my "family " wants me to go nuclear.

I have a Reactor I 8.3 and I think the RII will be better... I can hang on to the RII 10.8 in about the same wind as my older RI 8.3... Have not tried the 8.6 but it should be a keeper.

Ron

I would have to vote for the Reactor II or the Vapor. The Vapor is really fast and really expensive. The Reactor II is ... just impressive. Great Quality and fantastic flying.

Got my big arse going 18mph in a 5 mph wind. That was with a 5.5m Reactor II.

You can't go wrong.

reactor (or blurr), don't have either, but that's what I'd go for for a fixed kite. Personally, I'd go depower cause I'm lazy

Getting my 1st RII in a couple of weeks.

what size Heli? let us know how ya like it.

Quote:

Originally posted by Krohn1999 Reactor is the only choice I see for Buggying. Blade: to much lift/Pull Sky Country: when you get it up to speed you get very little feedback from the kite, it will start to pump and then just fall out of the sky . I tested them against the Reactor 2 and they lost big time. I was in contact with them about this problem but they didn't seem to want to change anything on the kite.

I will say the Blade has too much lift.
I have to disagree with Krohn on the Reflex. I have never had mine drop from the sky. If you like to park and ride, it is not the kite for you. Start moving the kite about the window and you will find you were not up to speed yet. throw in a loop and watch out.
I have not flown a Reactor.
S

Quote:

Originally posted by WELDNGOD what size Heli? let us know how ya like it.

450 SE and rappy .50 titan, but going EP 700 soon. Will do on the
RII- maiden flight may be at NABX.

Quote:

Originally posted by Scudley Quote: Originally posted by Krohn1999 Reactor is the only choice I see for Buggying. Blade: to much lift/Pull Sky Country: when you get it up to speed you get very little feedback from the kite, it will start to pump and then just fall out of the sky . I tested them against the Reactor 2 and they lost big time. I was in contact with them about this problem but they didn't seem to want to change anything on the kite. I will say the Blade has too much lift. I have to disagree with Krohn on the Reflex. I have never had mine drop from the sky. If you like to park and ride, it is not the kite for you. Start moving the kite about the window and you will find you were not up to speed yet. throw in a loop and watch out. I have not flown a Reactor. S

how does it do at speed, it should park, and maintain its position ... it would be pretty dangerous going 50+ mph and thinking you still needed to apply control over it.
maybe the "drop of out the sky" means more with more speed it likes to back into the middle of the wind window or with improper tuning the LE folds inwards.

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites Quote: Originally posted by Scudley Quote: Originally posted by Krohn1999 Reactor is the only choice I see for Buggying. Blade: to much lift/Pull Sky Country: when you get it up to speed you get very little feedback from the kite, it will start to pump and then just fall out of the sky . I tested them against the Reactor 2 and they lost big time. I was in contact with them about this problem but they didn't seem to want to change anything on the kite. I will say the Blade has too much lift. I have to disagree with Krohn on the Reflex. I have never had mine drop from the sky. If you like to park and ride, it is not the kite for you. Start moving the kite about the window and you will find you were not up to speed yet. throw in a loop and watch out. I have not flown a Reactor. S how does it do at speed, it should park, and maintain its position ... it would be pretty dangerous going 50+ mph and thinking you still needed to apply control over it. maybe the "drop of out the sky" means more with more speed it likes to back into the middle of the wind window or with improper tuning the LE folds inwards.

we had 2 sky country's here for testing (8. somthing and a 6. somthing) and have to say our experience with them was not great. They are built very good except for the bridle and it is not set up correctly. We took about 50 cm out of the brake bridle just to get the thing to even react to brake input. Looping? yea it will loop fast but we felt no real power explosion, they would loop good but it didn't really seem to like it. Maybe your Reflex has a diffrent bridle as the two that we had,, both of the ones we had would just drop out of the sky without any real warning when they hit there max speed. How do you have yours set up (which knot do you use) we had it set up as flat as we could get it otherwise it wouldn't run forward at all. on the other setting you could get it to fly in almost no wind but you could not buggy with it in these settings as soon as you got a little speed going it would just rip you out the side of the buggy
Have you ever felt yours start to pump? if not you may not have had it going fast enough yet. I don't remember the exact speed but it should be between 55-60Kmh buggy speed. It is not a good feeling to be running down the beach with a pack of buggyiers right on your tail and your kite just falls out of the sky. I must say it does give everyone in the pack a chance to check there buggy/kite emergency brake abilitys though.

is this what your talking about Krohn : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyV-mbI9jEQ

see how it drops and maintain height or forward speed?

SEE YOU @ World Cup - De Panne.

@Rip

no I'm talking about a total stall of the foil, it folds up and falls to the ground. It has somthing to do with the angle of attack, it is almost like the wind gets sucked out of the kite and it just folds up. I think due to the flat adjustment needed to get the kite to run forward, the line length between A,B, and C ar not in the right proportion and the leading edge starts to dig into the wind. The form itself is more like a bump instead of a wing.
or
one of the lines used in the bridle(a,b,orc) is streching so much that it is changing the AOA during flight.
either way it was happening to everyone that was flying the kite. and we all know what we are doing.
as far as the pumping goes the kite would start to run forward and then stop dead in its tracks. it never would really make it forward like a normal kite does it would just stay in the middle and pump without you changing a thing on the brakes.
I had a 3.0 Brooza II that started pumping like that in 7Bft winds, I found out later that the dirtouts were open, After closing them problem was gone.
I think the Reflex could be a great kite but it needs more work on the bridle adjustment and material.
BTW: Iwas in Les Hemmes on the weekende training for the 150km race in holland at the end of the month. Maybe you should come over for that instead.

Thanks everybody, it looks like I'm gonna get a ReactorII. I'm goin nuke!!
I'm not gonna race so I don't need a high maintenance , needs tweaking kind of kite . I want it to be like all my flexis have been ,Take em out of the bag, put on lines and go! The blade I want is just more than I can spend now, so it looks like 'ol Pete wins this round.:saint:

You'll love how the speed builds when it doesn't feel like you have enough wind to buggy. Don't go miles from home with it though. It will keep you going with almost no wind once you are rolling. You will turn and the kite will fall out of the sky if the wind died while you were making tracks, unless you have uber talents.