Hello,

I am thinking about buying a Prism Tensor 5.0. I can get a new one for a good price. This is for a friend of mine. She will be using it for skates,skateboarding and snowboarding. She is a big girl, 145 to 155 pounds. What do you think about this kite, have anyone flew this kite?
Thank you for your help
renny
:puzzled:

first be careful calling a girl big at 145-155 pounds- thats just a real woman not a little play thing . As for the tensor it is a decent kite but not really designed as a power kite- she would be much better on a 3m beamer or the like. i am sure others will post with some ideas as well
scott

Thank you Flyguy0101

if this is her first kite....3m max
tensors are really ugly...find something girly

No, she been flying my 4.5 NPW 5 a lot.

cool...still one kite isnt gonna cover the spectrum..you need more kite to pull that snowboard than needed on skates/board
we wont even talk about what the wind is blowing...she cant go wrong w/ a 3m where a 5m should only be broken out in a lot narrower conditions...imo

Hey Renny,

You should look at a 4m Flysurfer Peak2.

Call me if you want any info..or if you guys want to come up and try it you are welcome.

Scott, let me just stop you right there. The Tensor is ABSOLUTELY a power kite. I own the Prism Tensor 5.0m and it was my first power kite. I still own it, and still fly it on occasion. The fit and finish on this kite is phenomenal, and the performance is really great, for an entry-level power kite. I learned how to buggy on my Tensor a couple sessions before I was able to easily keep rolling with my Toxic 8.0m. The convertible handles are awesome, but are a bit big for some people's hands. It doesn't have amazing upwind, but it is a mid/low aspect wing. It still flies great and pulls hard in 10+mph winds. You can scud on sand in 5mph+ with this, and you can do some small floaty jumps with 18mph+(not recommended).

That being said, I would not recommend the Tensor to a beginner because it is overpriced. You can get comparable kites for less money. Now, if you are willing to buy a used kite, the Tensor is on the same level as an HQ Beamer if you ask most people. This is one of the worlds easiest kites to buggy with. You put it up in the air, sit in the seat and just keep one hand on a handle and push or pull as needed if you have a roller bar on a harness. It steers decently with only power line input, but if you know how to brake turn, it is actually quite a snappy little kite. When I put the Tensor up after having flown my 12m Charger or my 8.6m Reactor, it feels like a little souped up Cooper Mini.

For what it's worth, my girlfriend flies my 5.0m Tensor and she is about the same size as your friend. It spanked her the first time she flew, but it was literally her first time flying a kite with any pull whatsoever and she wasn't mentally prepared. Now she throws it around with ease and loves it. Be mindful of conditions not to take it out in winds above the skills of the pilot and it is a wonderful kite. Since your friend already has flown power kites, I would say snag it up if you can get one for less than $225 or so.

Sadsack, my wife is chewing up the learning curve with the incredibly stable PL Hornet! These are great to learn with and then keep to use in high gusty conditions which there is a lot of where we are. JR

Forgive me if this is a stupid question...I ride boards on the water, mostly strapless, and skis on the snow. I cannot imagine any benefit to havig a "non-depowerable" kite for either application. Maybe for buggying it's different (?)...I realize a sheetable fil is going to cost more, but it will have a lot more range, so you are sort of getting 2 kites for the higher price...sort of a wash?

And if you want constant power you can use a stopper ball ride unhooked....

just sayin'

So Renny - if she is flying your 4.5 NPW why not just make her one?

She want a airfoil wing, I am going in time make her a single skin foil wing.

She thinks that the NPW looks to war like, she is just a old hippy from the 60 and 70

Sounds really cool. Where do you get plans for a single skin airfoil? I guess @bigE123 is making one too.

Don't know, I been looking.:o
here is a program that helps you design then:saint:





that is where all the new kites will be some day
single skin is the way to go.:alien:

Edit:
here the web site you can read about it.

http://www.laboratoridenvol.com/projects/singleskin/sk-nr.ht...

I hope you had a good and safe new year.

here is a kite I played around with

Wow! Thanks. That is impressive and interesting.

There's a good deal on a 5M Beamer right now if that would interest you.

yes where is it?

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=29619

Thanks just sent him PM.

Skates and skateboarding are both super low friction rides. I really think 5m will be way too much kite for her and those rides in anything above about 7kts.
( I learned to kite with a 3m 3 line kite and rollerblades on tarmac. It remained my go to kite for those conditions. My 4.5 Bullet was too much in any real wind )

Comparing NPW and foils is about like comparing apples and apple sauce. Sort of the same but one is not exactly like the other. Each takes a bit different handle control and delivers power differently. FB have no ability to cut power like the NPW does.

Too often getting started with too much kite turns people off the sport. Far better somebody starts smaller than 5m and then says I am ready for more power. A 3m - ish will deliver plenty of power once in motion with skates or skateboard. 5m will deliver up face plants.

If your friend is looking new and wants groovy graphics in a good starter kite I suggest they look at the 3.3m PKD Buster Soul Fly . Very good bang for buck.

Thanks Bladerunner, I will see what she want to do.:alien:

I use 3m Tensor as my trainer kite and introduce few people to the sport using that kite ... I love fact that you get kit that let you change handles to the bar set up in a minute. 5m would be a way too big kite for 150lbs person to learn on . My 3m when kite looped drag my 260lbs friend on a beach with no problem in stronger winds... When on skates and on solid surface 3m will be a powerful engine and I would not try this until you have master kite control and understand how much power you get from kite when there is not much resistance on a pavement when rolling along ...

thanks Kober :o

Sadsack

I'd definitely recommend something smalled 3m Beamer / 2.2m Buster Soulfly / etc... It'll be a kite she'll have to high winds if she decides to go that route down the road. Either will be plenty of pull for her, unless your winds are always sub 10mph, then they might be underpowered when on softer ground. The other thing is I love my tensor as a more powerful/low wind kite for new people, it's a little slow which is perfect for most, but, and this is a big one, it has no upwind performance really. It's fit and finish are great, it does well in gusts (especially with the sand out trick), and the bar/handle conversion is useful, especially for explaining the benefit to handles that many don't get. As it seems she'll stick with kiting I'd definitely consider something a bit smaller and maybe a bit more performance. All that said, there is a 5m Beamer for sale currently, which if you're sold on the size, might be a great route

I had someone who had minimal kite experience fly my 5m Tensor in 12-15mph winds and all he did was get dragged around, even when trying not to... Switch him to my 3m Beamer (which is the super old and less awesome Beamer II) and he had a blast and couldn't eat it up enough, and that was on sand (a dragged horse arena to be exact). Hard surface and a 3M will be a bit over powered at points.

volock, I only been flying(kites) for just about 6 months. But I know last summer the wind was av. about 5 to 8 MPH. I did not fly any power kites untill I made my first NPW 5. Now That I made about 20 of them I find that the 5.5M2 I made is the one I use the most. I only flew my first 4 line kite about 3 months ago, so I am just a newbe too. The biggest kite I have flown is my 25 foot wide 4 line delta that I made. She been flying my golden girl alot the last 3 weeks and that is 4.5M2.



I think she will do fine with the beamer.:puzzled:

Ditto on the beamer. I got a 2.5m 8 or 9 years ago as a newbie and while I've moved on quite a bit, I flew that kite last week in snotty wind and had a great time. Better to start small and get to fly in a wide variety of wind to get experience than to have a kite that is too large and will temp you to use it in conditions that you are not prepared for.
It's about having a good time, not just surviving!