Hello everyone!

It's been quite a while since I've been on here. I'm hoping there are some people on here that have some experience with these kites. I'm looking to get a new kite after selling my kites and taking a break for a couple years.

I would like to get new water relaunchable foil kites. I'm wondering how these 2 kites handle. I know the Speed series have been around for quite some time, and they seem to have a good reputation. It seems though that they have changed their concept slightly in the Speed4 Lotus series. It looks to maybe hit a a broader market the way it's designed. I'm not sure. The HQ also looks to be a great kite for what I'm looking for, with a slightly lower AR than the Speed4. My use will be on sand and/or water depending on the weekend. Just looking for some all-around kiting. I have experience with foil and LEI, but I'd certainly consider myself in the beginner category.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

We've done side by side comparisons of the Speed Lotus and Matrixx 2. Both as you can imagine are great kites and both do what they do very well. Historically HQ has been known for producing a good but less refined product in comparison to a brand like Flysurfer. The benefit was you get a product that does what you want and is more in the price range of what most can afford. This is still sort of the case with the Matrixx 2 vs. the Speed but to our surprise the Matrixx 2 from a flight quality and performance perspective is really close in overall performance to the Flysurfer offerings. They really upped their game with the Matrixx 2 and we have yet to find anyone who hasn't loved flying our demos.

It seems HQ has essentially made their own version of the Psycho 4. It is nearly identical in shape, AR and flight quality but IMO maybe even a little better. We had a 19m Psycho 4 SA DLX and loved that kite. My feeling is as the Speed evolved into a lower AR, more freestyle than race style kite there was too much overlap and too little demand for a kite like the Psycho so it was dumped. The Matrixx 2 is more nimble, more grunty, and less work to fly than the Lotus IMO. The Lotus turns faster than previous Speeds, flies further in the window that the Matrixx, has better upwind and has a little bit better lower end in light winds. Depower on both kites seems about equal many riders prefer the Matrixx 2 clam cleat vs. the Lotus with strap trim. Lift and glide of both are very close and unbelievably good.

In terms of stability though I would say the Matrixx 2 is more predictable than the Lotus. Everyone has noted how stabile it is. Almost Arc like. It has a similar feel to an Ozone Access in terms of ease of use and stability but with an added benefit of being able to huck to the moon or throw around aggressively.

Size for size they seem pretty evenly matched. Whereas the 18m Matrixx 2 pulls more like a 15m Chrono (not to compare apples to oranges.)

The Lotus, launch and pack down are much longer. The thing holds air for days. The Matrixx holds air very well but not like the Lotus. One thing that we found, and this may be cold related, is the Matrixx vents can be "sticky" and not open at launch making it a lot harder to get airborne. We just make sure we ruffle the vents a bit to loosen them up when unpacking.

I would say that the Matrixx 2 is more beginner friendly than the Lotus. Both are great kites. For $700 less the 7m Matrixx 2 in compared to the Lotus 8m it's a a lot of performance for a bit less. But you will get a better return on a Flysurfer if you decide to sell it and get something else.

We did a review on the Matrixx 2 if interested.

http://www.hardwaterkiter.com/kite-and-gear-reviews/hardwate...

Thanks a ton, Chris. I really appreciate it. That's a huge price difference between the two kites. I've got some time to check things out further. I'm sure you won't mind me getting in touch with you in the future for more info/opinions/ideas. Thanks again!

Damon

I currently have a 9m HQ Matrixx 2. I love it for getting up and going very quickly in the field for static flying or land boarding. One thing I have noticed is that when the kite is at the edge of the wind window, with gusty winds, I need to keep the kite partly powered in order to prevent it from surging forward and then collapsing and falling out of the sky. Does the Flysurfer Speed 4 Lotus do the same thing? Or is it more stable when at the edge of the wind window?

Also, how does the flysurfer and HQ Matrixx 2 compare in high winds? I had my Matrixx out a while back and the wind went from 15 mph to about 30 mph for 10 minutes or so. I never felt overpowered (I was on the water at the time). Though 15 mph definitely seemed a little under powered. Looking at the charts for the 10m Speed 4 Lotus, it has a range from 9-29 knots. Comparing that to the Matrixx 2 9m, which supposedly has a range of 15-24 knots. From practical experience, I would say that the lower end on the Matrixx 2 charts is realistic for having a good time, while the upper end is definitely underrated. Is Flysurfer a little to optimistic on their wind range ratings? Also, the wind range on the 12m Flysurfer Speed 4 is from 9-26 knots. Is the low end of the 12m really the same as the 10m? It looks like the 10m Speed 4 Lotus is the perfect 1 kite quiver! I'm just wondering how realistic that is.

I'm thinking about filling out my quiver with a 15m HQ Matrixx 2 or a 10 or 12m Flysurfer Speed 4 Lotus. The kite will need to handle the lower end of the wind range, say from 10 mph for mowing the lawn or small load and pop jumps, up to 25 mph or so. And it needs to be stable in the air. When out on the water, the last thing I want is the kite folding up on me when I'm putting the board on my feet, or when I wipe out and am disoriented and have let go of the bar for a couple seconds.

Don't worry too much about the wind ranges. The low end is basically the 130lb rider on a nice big efficient board. Of course water is where this mainly matters. Land gives you a lot more flexibility in the low end. The lighter lotus fabric may fly properly at 9 knots and generate reasonable power whereas the matrixx may need a little bit more oomph to get it flying stable and reliably. Far too many variables to condense down into only two numbers and the manufacturers all take different amounts of liberty when listing the wind ranges.

Based on my limited experience with some of the foil kites out there, using a 10m speed 4 on land at 9 knots should be totally reasonable depending on your altitude, humidity, surface and so on. Let's assume averages for all of the above. For the Matrixx, 15-24 knots is probably a reasonable range for water riding, but I bet with a light person and a big board (at sea level - hey who bothers with lakes anyway?) less than 15 knots might work too.

Listed wind ranges for kites are pretty useless in my opinion. Getting rider feedback is the most helpful.