Which one to choose? The winner would be a 3mt kite for a 15 stone newbie ,static to start and get to grips with then on to become my first buggie engine to learn with, will be flying on beach mainly at Greatstone, Camber..... help...
the top contenders are, Come on down........
PDK Buster Soulfly,
HQ Beamer 4,
Ozone Flow,
Peter Lynn Hornet,
or the wild card, HQ Hydra 3 ?
any advice would be of much help many thanks Richard :puzzled:

Lovely to have you here, welcome.

what are you wanting to do with your kite? You want to head towards buggying, eh? Have you decided if you want handles or a bar?

Making the right choice early is a great way to save money down the line, you've got good choices so far. Personally, I go for the depower kites and a control bar, so I would recommend the HQ Apex2 or the Ozone Access 4m, but ANY of the kites you have listed would be a great first step.

Also, we're a bit USA-laden here, so items you buy here may have healthy shipping costs, have you tried any of the other forums? http://forum.kitecrowd.com/ is just about the best UK-Based board...


Do you know any local riders? Always the best way is to try before you buy! Best of luck!

hi yes handles and deff head towards buggying, tried wind surfing years ago and spent 2 days climbing back on the board so water and ballance aint me thing, and will leave the boarding to the under 30's, 40+ on a board no thanks did that in the late 70's still have the dodgy knees...

If you are heading towards the buggy, consider the Peter Lynn Viper great fast, low-lift buggy engine.

well first off scratch of the hq hydra that is on a bar, however personally I like the HQ brand has always been good for me although peter lynn has some great kites I tried the core and the hornet and really liked both. I dont buggy (yet) but if i were to start in all honesty i would probably go peter lynn all the way. so plus one for the hornet, just stick with your list that you got now (minus hydra) try a few and see which one FEELS right tou YOU.

Ryan

Personal preference, go with the Flow.

Agree with Maven... the Flow is a nice, non-lifty and predictable kite. Nothing against HQ but I much preferred the flying characteristics of the Flow over the HQ Scout and the Access over the Apex.

Just my two cents though ;-)

Out of the list you started with, my question is why those kites?
You have done some investigating on a few kites, is cost a concern?

You can't go wrong with a Flexifoil Rage 3.5! Low lift, great for static flying and later for buggying. I think off the bat, flying a fixed bridle foil would be a much better option and make you a better kiter than jumping straight into depowers. It's also a lot less expensive. FBF kites are great fun and really teach you the power of the wind.

Another great, fun kite is a Twister II from Peter Lynn, I have a 4.1m and 7.7, but there are other sizes as well. They are however much more lifty than a Rage and most of the other kites you have listed here, so keep that in mind as you WILL have to wrestle with it, especially when static flying

Of the ones you have posted, an HQ Beamer is a great all around beginners' kite (but you can't limit it to only beginners; it can suit you nicely in a buggy when the winds pick up, for sure).

Good luck, and welcome to the PKF!!

Cheers,
Seanny

Odds are pretty good that you are buying what will become your high wind buggy engine as you progress.
For this reason I suggest you invest in something that will serve you down the road. 3m is kind of an odd size. 3m will serve you as a high wind kite better. The Oz Flow, Pl Viper or Core are a couple of suggestions.
Have you ever thought about Cooper Kites? They are a very friendly race inspired kite. The most friendly race kite I have ever flown! If you want to progress to race they are worth a look.

Ken (Bladerunner) always gives good info.

Most people start with a trainer kite of like 2.5m or 3.5m...personally, I don't think this is completely necessary...you could handle something a bit bigger, like a 4m. It'd be more fun to fly than a 3.5m or smaller, and you'd learn just as quickly. It would also be of more use down the road. No, the slightly bigger kite would not be as forgiving as a small trainer kite, BUT you'd have to do something that you obviously shouldn't be doing in order to see this difference. (E.g., static flying and trying to crank out kiteloops in strong gusty winds as a beginner...)
It'll save you a few hundred bucks, also.

Cheers,
Seanny

Go with the Flow. Awesome build quality, great performance and super stable, very easy to fly. Ozone makes some of the best kites on the market today.

That being said, you can't really go wrong with any of the suggestions that have been given to you above. All of them are awesome kites. The Peter Lynn Hornet & Core - excellent buggy engines. HQ Beamer is also perfect and many of the riders on this forum have them and are using them.

I too would stay away from the HQ Hydra. Although it is a awesome trainer kite for kite boarding and it would work in the buggy, it really isn't designed as a buggy kite.

Hope that helps.

Quote:

Originally posted by awindofchange Go with the Flow. Awesome build quality, great performance and super stable, very easy to fly. Ozone makes some of the best kites on the market today.

I concur! :D

Cheers,
Seanny

Now to be a contrarian: any PKD Brooza III's still around for sale? I think the Buster Soulfly is supposed to take place of both the Buster and the Brooza, so I'm not sure how it comapres to a Brooza III. More detuned than a Brooza III maybe, but hotter than the old Buster? (BigKid, you sell 'em in US, whadya say?) Anyway, a 3 m Brooza III would be a great higher wind buggy engine or even fun static flier with more gust tolerance than a race kite, and I don't think too much harder to learn on than a Beamer or old Buster. Good construction quality, for sure.

krumly

Quote:

Originally posted by krumly Now to be a contrarian: any PKD Brooza III's still around for sale? I think the Buster Soulfly is supposed to take place of both the Buster and the Brooza, so I'm not sure how it comapres to a Brooza III. More detuned than a Brooza III maybe, but hotter than the old Buster? (BigKid, you sell 'em in US, whadya say?) Anyway, a 3 m Brooza III would be a great higher wind buggy engine or even fun static flier with more gust tolerance than a race kite, and I don't think too much harder to learn on than a Beamer or old Buster. Good construction quality, for sure. krumly

Good question krumly.
I have finally got out in some high winds with the bug and the new Buster Soulfly. Sorry Beamer, you are not even in the same league as the new Buster. I will stop selling the Brooza III as soon as they are gone. The Brooza III (2m and 3m) was the high wind kite for a lot of Combat users because they ate up the gusty high winds better than some of the race kites. The new Buster Soulfly is less money than the Beamer and will out perform it by a mile as it has done to the old Buster and the Brooza, IMHO. Very easy kite to fly and is a tank when you get in the bug. Not a lifty kite at all, just an awesome buggy engine.
25 to 30mph gusting to 40mph wind the other day at the park with the 2.2m Buster Soulfly and I was able to buggy directly into the wind. I wish I would have had more room to play than the baseball field.
I can't comment on the 3.3m because they sell out so fast I haven't had a chance to fly it yet.
But hey, the other kites are OK to use.

Thanks for explaining the PKD line I have kind of lost track of what is what since Buster / Brooza / combat .
A good PKD will also take you from beginer to advanced high wind kite.

Hey cheers guys on the feed back. now you have realy thrown the spanner in the works, I assumed I had it down to four but looks like a bit more hunting around could be in order im not buying untill after xmas any way so there is still time please keep the sugestions comming though ps any one flown the dp power 3.5 yet??? Thanks Richard