Hi
Has anybody tried either the pansh ace 8m or the pansh blaze 8.5m? If you have could you give a little review.

I'm not an experienced kiter (I started this year) so take my review for what is worth.
I bought this about a month ago for $133 delivered and in my opinion is a good kite for the money.
The Pansh lines look junky but I still use them since I don’t have another set and after tuning the front lines it went up ok. It likes loose brake lines to fly well. After few good sessions the lines do not seem to stretch much. So far so good but I have a set of flexifoil lines on order.
I fly it with a modified Wipika bar based on Pablo's and Snowbird's design http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=3107#pid170...
I like the feel of the bar and the kite turns well.
I have been out in very low wind 3-4mph and it goes up very slow and it does not like to turn. It comes alive on 6mph and higher. With higher wind it turns a lot better and it pulls like a truck. I found out the hard way that it also has some lift in some 10-12mph wind and I was not ready to jump with the board yet. Occasionally will over fly but it stayed in the sky
If windy, it flies ok at the edge of the window and it will go upwind.
It does not like any slack in the front lines as it folds in very quickly. In bad wind conditions (gusty with a lot of tree obstructions) it goes up, pulls and it dies out crumbling.
It seems to delay the kicks in gusty conditions to give you time to get ready (not quick enough on my feet yet so it gave me a good slamming to the ground) but eventually will deliver them.
Overall a good enough kite to learn on. With few adjustments it works well for my mountainboard adventures.

thanx for the review
i know pansh are seeling some of its stock at low prices and a 8m ace might be the next kite in my range

I was pretty sure Archkiter did a write up on the 8m Ace. I can't seem to find it easily but it was on here in the past month or 2. Hopefully she'll see this soon and help link to it or you can search for it.
I'm actually starting to enjoy my 5m. It will fold in and catch on the bridle in lower winds. If your a lousy flyer like me. I found that in 20 to 25 mph winds that problem goes away and this kite starts to really fly nice with all the lift I'm looking for right now :o :tumble:!

Quote:

Originally posted by snowbird I was pretty sure Archkiter did a write up on the 8m Ace. I can't seem to find it easily but it was on here in the past month or 2. Hopefully she'll see this soon and help link to it or you can search for it.

Here is my mini review that I posted after my first flight...

Okay peeps, I took a risk and bought a 8m Ace in hopes of a cheap low wind buggy engine (two things that don't often if ever go together). Today I took it out for its maiden flight . Let me start by saying that I am not going to say that this kite is so amazing and better than any other kite blah blah blah. Instead I hope that I can share an objective view of how the kite flew an my initial impressions.

To begin with winds were about 4-7mph and slightly variable (inland site). I had to lengthen the brakes by 6+ inches before the kite would fly properly. I was using flexifoil lines and ozone handles BTW- I'm not even going to mess around with the P*** ones. Once in the air the kite felt solid and had good steady pull through the window and I was skudding 8-10 ft. easily. At the zenith the kite was very stable, but I was not overly impressed with how the kite handled at the edge of the window. It seemed to lose power and turn as slow as a truck. I like using the brakes to make tighter turns and I was frustrated that the tips would frequently deflate and curl in when I did this because brake turns should have really helped. After flying for a bit and adapting my flying style the turning improved a bit, but I think that this comes down to the Brake configuration. When the kite is in the sky it seems like the brake lines that connect at the tips need to be lengthened and the ones towards the center of the kite shortened (yes this will probable be mod number one- despite needing a bedding in period I think this part is just "off").

Later the wind picked up to 10-11mph this is probably the upper end of my comfort level with this kite. The kite was more responsive and skuds were huge. I got one small jump Smile (I'm not really a jumper). I put the Ace away pretty quickly after that and set up the Bego as the wind was picking up rapidly.

Here is a pic of the Ace
http://www.flickr.com/photos/archkiter/873077302/

So what do I think? I do believe that this kite will fill a temporary hole in my quiver for a low wind kite. The canopy appears well made, but the bridle lines could be improved both in terms of material and placement. Overall I am satisfied especially for the price.

Next test we'll see how it performs in the bug.


Second/ Third Impressions:

This past weekend I was able to try the Ace with the buggy. The wind was a couple of miles and hour stronger and that made all the difference in the world. I haven't done any mods to the bridle yet, bu the kite was much more stable with a bit more wind. For me a newbie buggier, and an average size woman, the kite has a pretty narrow wind range in the buggy for me. A 5+ mile an hour difference can be the difference between the kite collasping and falling out of the sky vs. being overpowered.

When the wind is low 5 mph or less the kite will sometimes fold rapidly and bowtie. Often times falling in a big mess as the bridles get hung up on the kite. I've decided that when this happens, trying to buggy with it is too frustrating.

With more wind the kite has some serious pull. This is the largest fixed bridle that I've owned and the power it produces around 10mph is awesome (more wind then that I need to pack it up).

It's not the greatest kite, but hey it was cheap, it flies and produces more pull than my 6m in low winds, so I am :tumble:

edit: I also have a short vid of Sunset-Jim flying the Ace in the bug:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAW6P3e_UBc
hope you don't mind me sharing Jim...

ok.
Thanks, the review is really good and a ace is probably the next kite to go for because its so damn cheap!

I think that the present prices will increase just like the 5m did. From a business standpoint those blow out prices worked in getting attention / free advertising. I expect they are hoping for the same with the new sizes.

Yep, I believe that you are right. The 8m is now $40 more than when I bought it. Still very cheap for an 8m kite :o.