I'm looking for advice on a foil kite I can use as a buggy intro. kite for friends and family. The trainer must use a bar because most of the riders are or will be kite boarders. I have a 5M Apex III but would like a smaller kite for the newbies. Are there 3.5M/4M kites that will fly in light wind, use a bar and be a good choice to introduce the needed kite skills? Is a two line kite a good way to go or would a four line better choice? Are there bars for kites that come with handles like the Beamer - and how well do the bars work? The Ozone Access 4M would fit the requirements but I have been told it does not fly well in light winds. Thanks

I don't think any smaller depowers would fly in lighter winds than your 5m.

I have the ApexIII 3m, but 18mph + before I can get really rolling...

Does it need to be depower or just on a bar. The ozone flows fly nice on a bar. They don't depower. Also I hear the Ozone methods work more or less like a depower on the turbo bar.

Ozone Imp trainer comes as a 3-lines on a bar, the brake line attaches to a wrist strap, and comes in 3.5M, HQ's Rush Pro4 is also 3-line/bar, with wrist strap brake line, I think the 350 is about 3.5M. I have flown the Imp and the Rush4 Pro 300(about 3M,a good newbie size) and both will fly in about 6-8mph, but develop best pull over 12. I saw a guy snowkiting on skis with a 300 Pro in 25+mph wind.

Your 5m Apex will fly in lighter winds than the 4m Access. I've static flown the 4m Access in relatively light winds.....it flys ok.



I think a fixed bridle 3.5-4m kite is going to have at least as much, if not more pull than the 5m Apex.

2.5m Imp Quattro is the kite I hand to friends and family - it's a good kite for that purpose and does fly well on the turbo bar. A 3.5m Quattro would be nice but it would be pretty similar to the Apex 5m.

If most of the people you hand the kite to are kiteboarders, then I would suggest your Apex 5m will be perfect. To a complete beginner, I'd hand them an Imp Quattro 2.5m. Or a 3.5m if the wind is light....

PL impulse TR 2.0 or 3.0

Soon to launch the 4.0 trainer too

Scout IIs work great in light wind and make an excellent traction trainer. Third line for safety, adjustable bridle, it also includes a fixed loop for use with a harness. Available in 3m, 4m & 5m.

http://youtu.be/q8q4GTt9GbA

PKD Buster soulfly 3.3m w/ buster bar very easy flying rig ,or the 4.4. They are four line kites on a spider type bar w/ a reverse launch strap. Very good for beginners. But then I might be brand biased :D

HQ Hydra is a kite that comes with a bar. It is a closed cell foil and can be used on water. It takes a little to get it inflated in <10mph winds but I would say it will fly when working it at about 6-7mph. Because it is closed cell it will keep it's shape in low winds better than an open cell once it is inflated. You can also talk to Powerzone and get it converted to a depower kite.

The Rush IV Pro is looking like it might do the job at the right price point. The HQ Hydra looks good as we kiteboard but I have concerns that the closed cell construction would not take the hard impacts on dry land as well as the open foil.

+1 on the HQ Rush Pro, I really liked the 250 for newbies

Avoid 2 line .

You want at least a 3rd line for relaunch + controled landing. Without it you will spend a lot of time setting up after crashes.

While the method gives depower like response I understand they take a bit more wind to fly. Similar to depower.

Small depower kites are designed to perform in high winds. If you want a small kite to fly in low winds you are better off with an open cell fixed bridle.

It is me experience that kites don't slow down and pull like their bigger brothers until about 3m . Smaller than that and the turning is unreasonably fast and the power comes on in little snaps. A different style of flying completely ?

I just got ahold of a couple Peter Lynn Impulse trainers. We have a couple of Ozone Sammys and I figure a trainer is a trainer.

I was wrong. The Impulse is so much nicer to fly! I never would have imagined I would like flying them so much. They turn a little slower than the Ozones we have but not too slow. They don't generate a ton of power through the window but the generate enough that you feel it. The Ozones really get fast and nasty in high winds while the Impulses tend to play a lot nicer.

When we were starting out we flew those Ozones as trainers and later as high wind speed run kites. They generate a ton of power for thier size. The Impulse is definately more up to date and better suited for trainer use. It's a 3 line kite and relaunch is a snap. I prefer the 3 line reverser relaunch over 4 line.

The only thing that I didn't like about the 3 line is that when you are reverse landing I had trouble landing it smooth in high wind with heavy braking. The Ozones had a bit finer control in reverse landing with 4 lines. Maybe I just nee more practice.

I've hit the HQ hydra 350 hard a number of times and nothing happened to it. You can always open the deflate zipper a little just in case. If the wind is really light don't leave it open but if it's light you wont hit the ground hard either. If the wind is strong you can leave the zipper open a bit and it wont deflate and if it hits, the air will have an exit point without forcing a tear.

That's on land though, I wouldn't leave the zipper open on water. I've actually never used it on water.

Quote:

Originally posted by southpadreburt The Rush IV Pro is looking like it might do the job at the right price point. The HQ Hydra looks good as we kiteboard but I have concerns that the closed cell construction would not take the hard impacts on dry land as well as the open foil.

Hydra.
Like said before, you can leave the back zipper open a little to help prevent cells blowing out. It also has velcro sealed dirt outs at the points on both sides of the trailing edge that can help prevent blow outs. I have seen a couple of kites blow out cells. They were open cell kites. One made poorly and one made by one of the best. If the wind is on the high end and the kite is headed straight toward the ground the best thing is to go to let go of the bar and go to safety.

You will get plenty of advise and experience here. Go with what suits you the best.

A short video of my son flying the kite in low winds

Purchased a Rush IV Pro 3.5 and it is a great trainer. The third line is great to protect the learner.