An interesting aside:

I don't know if it's me being cheap, or just the price based on principle. Remember that 50% off sale a while back Flexifoil had? I looked at the Rage/Blurr, and lines/handles. I felt the price was still too much for me at the time. Even at 50% off! It was just too much money to spend on a totally unknown kite. Plus those half sizes really threw a wrench in the works. Maybe prices have came down some since; but the shipping these days is a total deal breaker.

Say for example; a 2m kite works great for me in my buggy in 20-30 mph wind. Do I need to use the 1.8 Rage? Will it be enough? Or will the 2.5m Rage be too much or a good fit? Same with the Blurr being 2.5m.

I have a 2.4m Sting that I have been out in too much and too little wind with. If I recall correctly; I think I wound up using a 2m Flow both those times. I still haven't found the ideal wind range for the 2.4 Sting(what wind range do you buggy in with it?).

I want to try and experience the Rage/Blurr just because I never have. But which size?

I have a 2.7 Yakuza that I never fly. When the wind is "light enough" that I would feel comfortable getting it out in; I never feel the wind is "good enough". You know the wind is trashy when there is not a single kiteboarder out on the water. The problem is the extreme range in the lulls and gusts. If it lulls down to 7 or 8 mph, but the wind is "averaging" 12-15mph; it's also occasionally gusting to 20mph and there might even be that occasional freak gust of 22 or 24 mph in it!

Who owns a 1.8m Rage? What wind range do you buggy with it in? What about the 2.5m Rage and Blurr? What range do you use it in?

I'm totally indecisive on the bigger sizes since the wind here gets pretty bad when it get's "light".

Unless the Rage/Blurr handle gusts well and/or have a large wind range? Do these two kites have any bad habits or bad manners?

Maybe if there is another 50% off sale and shipping is not a million or two...


(bonus story)

I was out on the buggy one day in some really subpar wind. I saw one lone kiteboarder venture out. From the distance I was at; I couldn't tell if it was a 7m or a 9m. Either way; it was either stuck downwind underpowered(7m), or downwind being overpowered(9m). It stayed close to shore either trying to just survive(9m) or trying to just get around and keep going(7m). It didn't stay out long.

Would an 8m have saved the day if the kite in question really was a 7 or 9?

That's the nice thing about having the buggy; if the wind is too light or too junky; it can still be buggied in. Sitting in the middle of a field is way better than being stranded out in the water.

I'm particular about sizes too. I can't answer your question, but I can tell you that I have a similar situation with my quiver. I have a 2.6m Viper S and a 4m Core, I often find myself feeling like the 2.6m is not enough, but the 4m might be too much. I thought about getting a 3.5m Blurr for that minor void in my quiver, but I thought 3.5m might be too close to 4m and make one or the other pointless. I used to have a 3m Beamer which I feel like I used to pull out more than 2.6m, so I'm planning on picking up a 3m Toxic for that spot.

I'm currently trying to sell a 5.1m Core to fund the 3m purchase. But I also have a void to fill between my 5.5m RII and my 8.6m RII, but that will likely have to wait a long while... Cuz I'm sooooper broke right now.

My personal opinion would be to go for a Blurr if you're intent on a Rage or Blurr. Blurr is manufactured and marketed as a buggy kite. Rages might be awesome kites, but I've read that they don't go upwind as well as Blurrs. I have flown Pokite's 5m Blurr in crappy wind and liked it. I've been told they are "the optimal mix of speed and stability" and that "they have a great smooth power build up." But I agree that the .5m size thing throws a wrench into working out a quiver. Have you thought about HQ Toxic?

I think you may be over thinking the size issue and are being a bit granular about the half-sizes. The practice of keeping kites in you quiver 2-3 m apart, give or take a half-meter, will provide you with a good wind range.

It's fine if you have kites in you quiver so close in size if it is because they are of such different nature and meant for different applications, but that is a great luxury not all can afford.

If you have a 2m kite then there is no need for the 1.8m Rage. I have the 1.8 Rage and I use it for demos for kids and beginners if the wind is up a bit. I had a 3.5 m Rage as my high wind Buggy kite for years, I feel that if I needed something smaller than that, then the winds are so high that it is too much work and no fun (for my taste). At that point the sands are smoking, getting into things and the wind is knocking stuff over. I'd rather go have a beer. ;-)

But I live in predictable and relatively consistent coastal conditions where I can afford to be a wind snob and pick Goldilocks winds.

Spencer is right and the Rage is a great kite. It replaced the classic Bullet years ago and remains a classic itself. But yeah, the Blurr will blow it away upwind. The other thing about the Blurr is that it is a high performance buggy engine that I can confidently hand to a relative beginner, unlike say, a PL Reactor II, that requires experience managing brake tensions.

The high price of shipping is why I stopped selling Flexifoil. They used to ship to the US from the UK fedEx overnight (!!) which was great for me and my customers but silly from a business standpoint. When they realized they were losing their shirt, they over reacted and started charging full rack rate for 1 week shipping. A more reasonable model is like that of Vliegerop/ Peter Lynn, where they would establish a minimum order amount at which point they subsidize the the shipping or pay for all of it, depending on the amount. Shame, because Flexifoil is a good product.

Good luck and watch those high winds.

I've thought about a 2m HQ Toxic. If it's high aspect though and similar to the Method I had; it might not have the low end power I need.

Maybe the Toxic's have good low end? How about the Blurr?

Quote: Originally posted by rtz

Maybe the Toxic's have good low end? How about the Blurr?

I can't speak to the low end for either kite. The limited exposure I had to a Blurr didn't give me the opportunity to experience its low end, and I've never flown a Toxic, but I do want to get a 3m if I can sell my Core. Looking over the Stats for the Toxic, it has an AR of 4.5 which is comparable to a Reactor (II & 2013), which I KNOW has a good low end (esp in the bigger sizes). Though I understand Toxic to be more lifty than Reactor.

BTW PL Core is a GREAT buggy kite, wanna buy a 5.1m? :D

As you guys shape your quivers, remember that a meter isn't a meter isn't a meter. A 2m Toxic might actually be more powerful than a 3m Beamer. You might never be overpowered with a 2m Beamer, but I've been overpowered with a 2m Toxic. A 3.5 Blurr which is a wonderful kite might be exactly like your 4m Core, or maybe even a bit more powerful.

I made the mistake one time of picking up a PKD Combat in 4.2m to fill in below my 5.5 Reactor II. If I had too much with the Reactor, I was also overpowered with the Combat because it's a race kite and has significantly more power per meter. Unless you ride on a dry lakebed, you probably don't need a quiver so tightly packed below 4m. I have 5 kites at or below 4m and probably need 2 more. Riding on grass and beaches, that isn't the case.

Welcome back Angus!

Quote: Originally posted by BeamerBob

I made the mistake one time of picking up a PKD Combat in 4.2m to fill in below my 5.5 Reactor II. If I had too much with the Reactor, I was also overpowered with the Combat because it's a race kite and has significantly more power per meter.

With a considerably steeper power ramp.

ATB,
Sam

Good advice BB,... But there's also the "I want one of those" factor too :D

You know... I don't actually need it, but I REALLY want it.

My short experience with the HQ Toxic 2M was it tucked in "performance-wise" between my Crossfire and the Beamer. The Crossfire is a faster flying kite than the Toxic but it does have a smaller window of stability and does not like to hover when flown statically. The Beamer is slower but more stable across the Wind Window than the Toxic. All three are very good kites and while they are the same "size" their flying characteristics make for some very individual choices.

Right now my quiver sizes are pretty tightly spaced but I still need something in the 3.2-3.5 range to satisfy my skewed sense of balance. I'd love to find a 3M Crossfire and a 3.5 Bullet but hose are geting harder and harder to find I guess.

Current lineup:
Symphony 2.2.4 (More like a 1.5M)
Crossfire 2M
Bullet 2.5
Skydog SDT 2.8
Crossfire 4.0
Bullet 4.5

A bit late to the party but here we go. I have a 4.7M rage and 5M Blurr. The Rage is a hoot to fly static and let some of those who I have taught to progress on to flying bigger kites. The Blurr is one of my buggy engines, period. I'm not a a real fan of the Blurr in static mode but it sure does shine when it is allowed to actually pull something. I find my Blurr is not the best at eating gusts so I do have to be on my toes a bit on a gusty day. The Blurr is fine to fly static but it does generate a lot of pull and I'm a small person.

Back to the Rage. I like what Angus mentioned about the kite and it's designed application. I honestly believe that if I lost my 4.7 Rage my 3.9 Viper S would fill the void no problem. Even as a smaller kite than the Rage, I feel it is a better performer and more efficient in certain areas. So yes, I would say kite characteristics are far more important than the kite size when we are talking .5 to even up to a 1M size difference in kites.

I have almost the full range of Blurrs, except the 2 or 2.5 or whatever it is, and I have the 2.5 Rage. I have never been disappointed by the Blurrs and they are in my opinion very stable and predictable. You can launch a Blurr directly in the center of the wind window (Not a recommendation for any kite) and the power builds smoothly and controllably. It also has unbelievable up wind performance reaching waaay up wind and flying and pulling well past most kites I've flown. If you can get a deal on them, grab them. You wont be dissapointed. The Rage is also a great kite.