So, got my hands on a 3m and 5.5m brooza today as well, got out to the gusty feild by my house for an initial flight on both.

Build quality is top notch, bridal is solid, comes with kite and shoulder stuff sack, same as the Century's. I went with a set of PKD lines and handles as well. Lines are top knotch, braded, coated, colour coded, handles(30cm) are solid as well, they do come with the quick adjuster cleats on the brake lines.

Set kite up, staked it out, the kite behaves nicely sitting on the ground. The second you launch the kite though, the work that went into it shows, the kite only has 4 small vents in the front of the kite, so when you launch, it'll take a few seconds to really fill up. The result is a kite that you can hot launch fairly easy in the middle of the window and you won't get dragged off, you have time to climb and the kite seems to start powering up as it hits the top of the window. Same goes for recovering from a luff, if the kite falls into the power zone, you have time to recover before it yanks your arms off.

The kite is fairly agressive, responds great to brake input, turns nice and smooth, good at absorbing gusts. It does however take a little more pilot imput than the Busters to fly, they move faster, like brake turns, actually fly better when you whip the kite around the window. Somehow the kite fits in somewhere between the Busters and a race kite, It's got a blend of qualities from both. The 3m seemed to be perfect on the 30cm handles and 25m lines, the 5.5m was ok on the 25m lines, but really needed longer handles to get the most out of the brakes.

The 3m is quick through the turns, the 5.5m is a bit slower, you can still throw it around, but it is a larger kite and takes more time to do stuff.

I hope to get the kites out again tomorrow in cleaner wind with room to buggy, I'm pretty sure the kite will do well. Hopefully if the wind and weather co-operates I'll have more to add to this tomorrow.

K, I've finally gotten some quality time in with the Brooza's, Our local feild is about the size of the average high school ball feild, but with really choppy, sandy ground, I managed 20mph(gps) on it in about 10-12mph winds and the 5.5m kite, still lots of speed left, but no where near enough room or traction with the bumpy, sandy grass. The kite seems really solid, absolutely great responce with the brakes, more like the race kites that I'm used to. Most of my time was with the 5.5m though, I found it handles nice, even when overpowered, smooth and quick.

One of our locals got his hands on it and I spent the rest of the day trying to get it back, He's getting close to 250+ lbs and was getting along fine on the board, no huge jumps in that wind, but he loved it.

Not much more to say about them, If your looking for a solid all around kite, It's worth bagging a go on one of them.

Paul

Pablo,

I respect your fair balance of opinions you share on this forum and appreciate your expertise in evaluating these kites in regard to build quality and flying style.

I am going to add a 3.0m kite to my growing collection this week. My decision of what kite I want changes each day, hopefully you can help me.

I look at the Brooza I vs the Brooza II. There is a significant difference in price. Besides the bottom skin differences (B-I has a white skin? vs. B-2 has colored pattern on it?), the end zip outs on the B-2, are there any other significant differences between the two Brooza models? Are the flying charactoristics the same? Is the B-2 worth the price difference? Does TKD have a real backpack option instead of the stuff sack? And, how does the Brooza I & II compare to the inexpensive Beamer III in terms of performance and build quality?

You help and guidance is appreciated. Looking forward to meeting up with you soon. Will be in Bellingham tonight.

The differences between the Brooza I and the Brooza II are minimal, the Brooza II has an adjustable bridal so you can go from more lift/grunt to more speed, the Brooza I is fixed on one setting. Personally I've never had a problem with the one fixed setting on the Brooza I's. Most of my Brooza's are the first generation, having flown the new ones I haven't found the need to upgrade yet. The Brooza II's are set up a bit more aggressive from the factory, so they tend to overfly a little more similar to a race kite, they've got a little more upwind ability with the bridal adjusted the right way as well. So in general a little more towards race kite handling. As for a backpack, the stuff sack is the only option offered by PKD. It seems that not many people fly the backpack, so it's not that cost effective to provide a nice one. With the stuff sacks I can cram 5-10 kites into one larger bag.

As for comparing to the Beamer III, I haven't flown one of them yet, but by what I understand they're built good and well suited for beginner to intermediate pilots. Very comparable to the Buster II's. For freestyle or ATB's they're great kites, but lack the speed that I like in the buggy. Down at NABX, I hit 45.6mph on a 2m Brooza I. That was a little underpowered as well. Most entry level foils I've seen tend to start to drop back around 30mph.

The Brooza was originally built for the race scene, for when the wind was too poor to fly full on race kites, so they built it stable and fast, good at absorbing gusts. They've limited the vents on the kite so that they respond smoothly on launching, recovering from luffs and to avoid surging badly on huge gusts. What they've ended up with is a good all around freeride kite that can crank up the speed ok. On the down side, they handle well when powered right up and are quite predictable in the gusty stuff, but they don't exactly like running around underpowered. In low winds they can take a bit of practice to get off the ground and inflated. This shouldn't be a problem in the 3m size that you're looking for though. Lots of guys have tried the 3m and now fly them for their high wind survival kite.

Are you going to be in Bellingham for a while. I'm just over the boarder in Vancouver BC. We may be able to hook up and get you a go on some of the kites, always better to try before you buy. I believe Jake from Windflow is down in your area as well. He's a great guy to deal with and I know he's got some Broozas in stock.

We really need to get our hands on some HQ kites in Vancouver. We have a pretty good representation of most other brands but none of these infamous Beamers and Crossfires, Montana's and so on.
I can speak about the 3m Brooza 1. I think it's a great kite. I tried it one day in gusty, nuking wind and bought one right away. It's a 3m you'll never grow out of. When the wind is very low ( like 4 or so kts ) below it's usefull wind range, it takes a bit to launch. The only way this is a problem is teaching others to fly in low wind. You will get it down. I sort of pop it up and then try to send it fast accross the window to fill .
Those two small vents pay off BIG TIME in the high gusty's. The kite holds it's shape much better and if it does lose air doesn't snap back full .
I love the graphics ( a lot like my avatar ) and don't mind the white bottom at all.
At 3m I don't think the adjustable bridle would be as important as with a large kite you want for low wind + jumping. I think the # 1 is a great deal. I haven't flown the 2 in 3m size.

Snowbird:

Which dealer is in your area? I am willing to send a bunch of demos down (Beamer, Apex, MontanaII) and you guys can try them out.
Everybody that liked the Beamer II will love the Beamer III even more. It sets standards in its class.

You can also email me at t.baxmeyer@hq-kites-usa.com

Cheers
Tim
HQ-Powerkites USA

Thank you Pablo and Snowbird,

Yes, Jake is my local dealer (drug reference is warranted, these kites are addictive). He has ordered several 3.0m kites for me to try but I dont have much time before I go to Ocean Shores, WA for 5 days of flying on the beach. And, I dont want to be calling him every day with questions, comments, etc.... would rather be an easy client who just buys lots of kites.

I am leaning towards the Brooza I, although I do like the idea of graphics towards me, the white bottom skin is a bit boring to look at.

While I have been flying 2 line stunt kites for years, I just purchased my first traction kite 2 months ago, a PL Reactor 4.9m. On first flight down at the ocean, in 14-16 mph wind, I just about sh*t myself. I know, everyone says to first learn in 10 mph or lower, but I was eager to try my new toy, and 14 mph sounds close to 10 mph, right? Lesson learned. Just 2 hours later, I had a 1.8m HQ Beamer II, purchased from the local shop, and learned to fly it, got real exciting in winds of 25+mph later in the day. Later in the week, after flying the 1.8 quite a bit, I tamed the 4.9m beast in winds of 12 mph and am no longer afraid of it. Personal victory. So, this new 3.0m I am going to buy will fill the gap and allow my to fly in most winds. Later, I will bug you guys with questions about ATB's as I skateboarded as a kid. Wanted to buggy, but with so few areas where they are legal, whats the point.

Thanks again for your willingness to help, this is all quite new to me.

No, Bellingham just over night, doing some work in the cathlab at St. Joe's, no time to fly this trip up. Will give you more notice next time, lets plan to get together for some flying. Thanks again, take care-
DrewP

Hey Tim, check your pm's

Tim,
Pablo is probably your man around here. He is well set up to demo / test HQ with us + gets out on land more than anyone I know. Some folks have started up another company with U-turn as their major brand. I would expect that you would get an honest review with them but I know from personal experience that Pablo will not hesitate to stand by the good qualities in anyones product + has had his hands on more models than most of us. We have a local shop called Airtime boardsports but they mostly serve the water folks. I think Vancouver and Squamish are on the map for water so have TONS of representation. The land group is smaller but growing fast. Usually a nubie or two around to see how they like them as well.
Most other major brands are pretty well represented around here. It will be cool to throw HQ into the mix ! Then do a write up on our local forum !!!
I hope you can work that out ! :cool2:

P.S. Is there any link between the Montana and Keith Kalio ( R.I.P. ) of Montana Snowkite Rodeo fame ? Or the Rodeo ?

Hey Snowbird,

No link between Montana kite and Keith.

I will get in touch with Pablo.

Thanks
Tim
HQ-Powerkites USA

I forgot one thing.

Airtime Boardsports does have our Beamer TSR kite as demos (comes with safety bar).

Tim

Hmmm, I'll have to go and ask Phillipe for a blast then. So can he get anything in from HQ then?

Pablo,

Yes he can!

Tim

Interesting. I thought Airtime had JoJo and North. Didn't know about HQ. Didn't know about Demo's either. Are you sure you aren't confusing Airtime Boardsports with Airtime at the Gorge ?
I'll be swinging by the shop for it's annual swap meet this weekend. I'll talk to Phillipe and see what he has going !
Thanks !!!

Quote:

Some folks have started up another company with U-turn as their major brand. I

Those folks would be us. Not really a start up. However we've been in the sport for 12 years, and in the industry for 8 years ... we started off in Vancouver and moved to the USA for a few years but now we're back. Moving into our new warehouse by mid summer. We've distributed other brands before, stayed with AireA until they went under and now with U-Turn (same designer). We only distribute to shops, and support shops, only used gear is sold direct.

If you need someone to demo your kites, I have the perfect person for you, and he's an traction kite instructor. Not to mention his backyard is one of our local kite parks.

Send your demos to Airtime, that way people can go there and see them and/or test them. I'd like to try out a Montana, since we have some GIN Eskimos coming and put them beside a SPS Butan.

I was at NABX but didnt know where HQ was setup to come by your camp to see the kites.

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites If you need someone to demo your kites, I have the perfect person for you, and he's an traction kite instructor. Not to mention his backyard is one of our local kite parks.

I'ld be very interested in getting certified as an instructor in traction kiting! Can you tell me where I can get certification ??? Does an IKO or PASA certification allow for teaching on land ??

How does one go about getting insurance to teach ????

www.ikosnow.com

Thanks,
They don't show any training planned on their calender.
How and where did your instructor get his ? Was it in Canada ? Is it IKO that is insuring / certifying him ???

It will be good to have a certified instructor to send folks to locally. Presently we have some kites donated by our local forum that we use to give free lessons / loaners. Great for getting folks started but if we have an IKO land course to send them to after getting them hooked it will be better for all. Until now I have had to suggest they take water lessons since that's all we had.

Interesting, I know of only 2 certified and insured kite schools in the lower mainland, Skypilot and Colin. Hopefully we don't have someone instructing without the proper tickets, insurance and the proper land use permit from the parks board. I know what's involved here both time and cost wise. I'd be surprised to see someone making enough to cover the insurance let alone make a profit. Without the proper insurance someone could lose their house if there's an accident.

I'd hate to see anyone promoting something that's not up to par.

Having a certified instructor will do a lot for the sport around here. I have had 7 lessons and feel qualified to teach folks for free then set them up with the loaner kites but without teaching things in a formal lesson plan I don't feel I give them the best possible training. I love to get folks hooked now hopefully I can send them off to get lessons relating to land kiting.
I've never heard much about lessons for traction kiting. Are there many cities that have instructors ???

Quote:

I'd hate to see anyone promoting something that's not up to par.

I'm sure he has the proper tickets, and he teaches paraglidering as well. Lives in whistler.

Does this mean we cant teach our friends or wife to buggy? Do I have to send them to a land kite school?
Who is going to regulate this? Skypilot Dirt Team, LOL.

I suppose it all depends whether or not you're paying for the service.

If I am paying I want it done right!

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites Quote: I'd hate to see anyone promoting something that's not up to par. I'm sure he has the proper tickets, and he teaches paraglidering as well. Lives in whistler. Does this mean we cant teach our friends or wife to buggy? Do I have to send them to a land kite school? Who is going to regulate this? Skypilot Dirt Team, LOL.

Please don't get me wrong here. As mentioned I am and we all are interested in getting folks interested in the sport. A QUALIFIED instructor is just what we need ! Regulation shouldn't be needed if things are above board !

You seem a bit defensive on this issue. ( re-read the silly/ contradictory / inflamitory answer you gave ) If this guy who lives in Whistler is offering traction kite lessons to the public I would have thought I'ld heard of it. I know a fellow used to offer lessons on water but IKOsnow makes it clear you need a different ( not paragliders ) ticket for land. I also don't know of a local traction kite park in Whistler he could call his back yard. Is this the same traction instructor guy you refer to in your original post ???? What help would he be to HQ in the lower mainland ?
No one is saying you can't teach your wife or Grandkids for that matter. You can even charge them for it if you like. It's when someone is charging BIG money for public lessons and they aren't properly set up we could have a BIG problem for ALL of us locally.
There are folks offering Traction kite lessons properly. Jake at Windflowsports is the only one I know of close to us and he's in Seattle. I think the Nyguards in the Gorge as well.

Are folks forming schools and offering Traction kite lessons for money in other cities in North America, or is this a local thing ? ?

Quote:

Originally posted by ripsessionkites Quote: I'd hate to see anyone promoting something that's not up to par. I'm sure he has the proper tickets, and he teaches paraglidering as well. Lives in whistler. Does this mean we cant teach our friends or wife to buggy? Do I have to send them to a land kite school? Who is going to regulate this? Skypilot Dirt Team, LOL.

Whistler is a 2 hr drive away, hardly the Vancouver lower mainland. I have no idea what goes on up there. I do however know that your team rider is instructing in a local park(our own back yard). Sorry, I'd just assumed that this was the fellow you were talking about. I also know that he's not certified or insured yet. If your guy from Whistler is coming down to give lessons then I apologize for the mistake.

And YES, as a matter of fact, it's up to groups like Skypilot to look after the scene. We take great pride in having a nice friendly environment, safe for people to learn. People come to groups like us looking for help, assistance, possibly some guidance. They don't know what's involved in learning to kite properly, they'll follow whatever advice they're told. I feel that it's up to the experienced kiters in an area to make sure that the advice noobs get is good solid advice. First and foremost, I'm a Skypilot, and I'll do my best to make sure that I do my part to make sure that the community is a safe place, where people can come to learn and have fun without incident.

Ricardo, you've got the same option to contribute to the local scene as I do. It's simply up to you where you go with that opportunity.

Well, I flew the 5,5m Brooza for the first time yesterday, on loan from the "Pass the Brooza Program" and I was impressed. The wind was about 10-15mph and had just died down a touch too much for my 4m Bego to get good traction in the buggy. Launching was a bit different with only 4 open cells, but once I got the hang of it I liked it. I flew it static for only a few minutes before jumping back in to the buggy. It handles much different than the Bego, but that was to be expected since it has a lower aspect ratio. The flying characteristics seemed closer to my 6m Little Devil- but a bit more refined. In the buggy this kite rocked! I am a beginning buggyier and I felt like I had some of my best runs ever with this kite. The closed cells really helped in the turns especially when the lines got just a bit slack for a second. The kite just kinda floated at then recovered smoothly.

Nice kite- thanks for letting me try it out Pablo. :tumble: I'd like to hang onto it and give it one more go before I pass it on.

Stace

Not a problem, I've got more than enough kites in the bag to fill the gap for the time being. The filling with air thing does take a little getting used to, most common mistake is to pump the handles to try and fill the kite, it doesn't work with the broozas, best bet is to simply turn it to a side and let it fill, then fly it up the side of the window, this is the same feature that makes for a fast kite though while still being stable in the gusts and lulls.

10-15mph should be about perfect for that size as well. I'm a bigger guy and love being powered, I usually run in 15-20mph.