Its about time i replace my old, and trashed 3m kite. (money being the limiting factor.)

There's a PKD buster III on the bay at the moment that I'm looking at. Looks like a nice kite, but a little old now i think, and i don't know much about PKD / the buster.

I primarily buggy, i'd like to do some flatland stuff at some point, but for now i just enjoy cruising.

Could someone in the know give me a low down on the kite please ?

Thanks,
Tim

The Buster III was the last model of the Buster with the adjustable AOA. It is a very stable, gust eating, (high wind machine when you get there), buggy engine.
They are not made anymore and have been replaced by the Buster Soulfly. The Buster is a great beginner kite with the ability to become a high wind monster. As the kite is with the stock AOA, a very solid buggy kite, and with a bit of adjustment of the AOA it becomes a great intermediate to advance kite.
I wish I had more than the 2m and 10m of that kite, they come up for sale from time to time which makes them hard to find. Most people who have one or 2 of the Busters keep them.
Sounds like you found a great replacement kite.

Happy days, thanks for the info Jeff, they sound better than I initially thought!

I'll let you know how bidding goes.

Tim

Ooh, and what would a reasonable price for a VGC 3m model ?

Thanks

brand new the 3m was about $245.00 USD and it was RTF.

Excelent, thanks, youve helped a lot !

Tim

Good luck Tim, I hope it works out for you- sounds like a perfect fit!

Thanks Annie! I think it will be a nice addition so long as I get it for the right price

When I've got enough money I would like to get a full quiver of a particular kite, I like the idea of the continuity, but for now I'm making do with what I can get a hold of cheaply.

Tim

PKD make very good kites. The Buster used to be named right next to the Beamer as a top notch intro kite. It is a nice stable kite with no big flaws. Reasonable lift and speed but not too fast or too lifty.

The previous distributer lost interest and the brands exposure suffered. BigKid now has PKD and it is well represented again.

Fly PKD!!!!!!

Weldngod, are you a team rider, or just a fan ?

Cheers for your input guys

One thing I worry about is getting a kite that I would quickly outgrow,
I like stability and low lift kites, but a lot of kites advertised with those qualities are 'beginer' kites, which i'm weary of, as I wouldn't class myself as a beginer, and I don't want to get bored of a kite quickly.

That along with a tighter budget that I would like Is making finding a decent kite or two difficult! Having said that this buster seems like a good option, and the triple A adviser would be useful

Tim

In that vintage you had the Buster - friendly , Brooza - lifty, and Century ( Combat ? ) - race kites

While the Buster was the best behaved it also had a good aggresive nature if you push it. This makes the small ones good high wind engines . The large ones were a little slow but still very enjoyable kite.

I am not involved with PKD . Just live in the same town as the previous distrubuter so had lots of exposure back in " the day " .

Ah, okay sounds good.

How does it compare to a 3.5 bullet ? I've been wondering about a bullet for a while, but have been put off a bit by their age. Someone has one for sale though for a fairly reasonable price..

Tim

@ elfasa
I'm a team rider for Big Kid Kites, the North American Dist. of PKD. I'm such a fan of PKD kites ,I have a 10'' "soulfly" tattooed on my calf! LOL
A "soulfly" is the tribal design on the PKD Century and Buster Soulfly.

A Flexifoil Bullet is the predecessor of the flexi "Rage", they are OK, but overpriced IMHO.

You won't outgrow them,you just fly em' in higher winds.:wee:

Tim, I have a 2.5 Bullet and wish in a way I also had it in a 3.5 size. WELDNGOD is right though, Flexifoils are going to be more expensive and you won't be getting a better kite when compared with the Buster III. I enjoy my Bullet because it has crazy power, but with that said, it is easily the least stable kite in my quiver. I think when the Bullet was replaced by the Rage, Flexifoil intentionally wanted the Rage to have better manners and stability than the Bullet series had. My Rages are way more tame and also lack the brute power of the Bullet. The Bullets are a ton of fun but you constantly have to keep track of them in the air, and when you hit the sweet spot of the powerzone you had better be prepared. Apples to apples if I had the choice between a 3.5 Buster III or the Bullet 3.5, I'd go for the Buster III as it would be more versatile, less expensive, and less likely to get you hurt. Don't get me wrong though, I'd still really like to have a 3.5 Bullet in nice shape if I could find one. Given the age of the Bullet line that may be the tricky part. In the end your decision may just come down to the price alone and the Buster III's pricepoint will likely be hard to beat.

You guys are great, thanks

Ha, WG, you have a soulfly tattoo ?? Ive been thinking about a tattoo for a while, perhaps i should get a kite based one !

Awesome, cheers Annie! Really good info/advice. Ill try and get the Buster on ebay i think, and if i don't ill have a rethink / consider the bullet again. Thing is my 3m is getting worryingly close to being not worth flying. It was a cheap, second hand kite when i brought it 4-5 odd years ago. And it has been leant out, crashed, dunked in the sea, all sorts since then !

I agree that Flexi kit is overpriced IMO. I am of the opinion that cause they are one of the top brands (for good reason), and i would guess the most well known, a lot of people, mainly beginners, will only really know if their kit and so even older kites sell for more than they are worth.

I was watching a 3.5 bullet on ebay recently and it sold for over £120 (195usd). That's crazy money for a kite like that! And surely people with a bit more knowledge (or who have friends on forums with a bit more knowledge :p ) would know of better alternatives!

Tim

@ elfasa
Yeah, I got it bad...

Ha, that's pretty cool

I won the auction for the Buster III

Payed £65 (105USD) including shipping. Should be getting it in the next few days.
Im looking forward to having a play.

Thanks again for all of your advice !

Tim