I had the opportunity to fly the 7m Montana 2 earlier this summer and thought it time to review the kite.

Overall, the sail, bridles, lines, pulleys, bar, and safety systems are top drawer. Factor in the price vs other depower foils out there and this kite def deserves a test flight and consideration for your quiver!

The Bag

Very functional and plenty of room for easy upacking and pack out! Its vented allowing the kite to dry if it gets wet. Extra compartments for all your personal items. Again, the bag doesnt fly but its nice.

The Sail

Nice crispy ripstop, stitched nicely, beefed up at the air inlets and wingtips but overall it feels very light! The shape and color scheme give the kite that serious sporty look. The trailing edge resembles that of the Air Evolution minus the mylar flaps. Overall a nice build and look!

The Bridles

Color coded, pre stretched dyneema bridles are excellent quality. Stitched loops and connections to the sail are of high quality. The color scheme will help you detect any twists or tangles you may experience due to unpacking or packing out. After 10 plus flights I can say I never once had any tangles or twists. The bridle config really makes the kite feel solid thru the window. Lastly, the pulleys are very smooth and facilitate light to medium tension on the bar, even when powered up.

The Lines

Again, color coded, pre stretched dyneema that provide alot of feedback and pop while flying. If you're on the snow, no problems sorting out your lines.

The Trimmer

Straight forward and easy to power up or depower. Easily accessible when your hooked in and need to reach up for an adjustment. There are 3 knots where the front lines connect to the trimmer. This allows the pilot to set the kite up for current wind conditions or skill level. The last knot on the leader (closest to the sail) provides the most lift but stalling can be an issue. The first knot (closest to the bar) allows the kite to fly faster thru the window, and stalling becomes less of an issue. The middle knot is a combo of speed, lift, and minimal stalling. I found the middle knot best for me unless the winds were near the bottom of the windrange. At this point, I moved to the knot closest to the bar.

The Bar

Nice quality, works well up and down the depower/trimmer line. More than enough clearance not to chaffe or snag. Bars ends come with elastic hoops to hold your lines in place after wrapping them, and lock out of the way while flying. Chicken loop is strong and beefy but the donkey dong seems a bit flimsy. I never had it pop out but HQ def needs to take a look at this. I feel it should be beefier and a larger circumferance. If your uncomfy with the dong, duct tape it--not pretty but functional! Keep in mind Im from South Carolina, home of NASCAR and duct tape! Bar is color coded to match the color scheme of the main and rear lines. All in all a nice set up!

Depower Effect

With the bar pushed away from you, in 20 mph winds it feels like a 3 meter kite with the trimmer set 20 percent depowered. Easliy controllable in the wind ranges published by HQ. When the kite is flown in 20+ mph winds and you pull the bar in, power really comes on quickly and has a nice feel in the bar. Feel a gust coming, let the bar out and the sail holds its shape and handles gust well. The primary and secondary safety systems are easy to find, deploy, and re rig to get you back in the air quickly.

Flying Characteristics

When powered up, very fast thru the window and provides alot of pop and lift. Pulls very well upwind and you can park and ride in higher winds. Very stable at the edge of the window but I would say this kite is for an experienced depower pilot. You can get her to tip curl, and bow tie if you not familiar with how to fly a depower, especially as you work nearer the edge of the window but this is true for all depower foils with the FS Pulse possibly being the exception. The speed of the kite and the higher A/R seemed geared more to the experinced flyer but if you're patient and learn the kite you will def be pleased! I found the kite flew the best on the middle knot on the trimmer, and in winds from 15 to 25 mph. I had it out once in 30 mph winds and it was hairy. The kite perfromed fine, the rider was lacking so I called it a day! All in all a great kit. Quality and performance are superb. Factor in the price like I said earlier and it def requires a demo. This would make a nice high wind depower foil to anyones quiver!

Fly hard and safe!

Tri

great review (y)
few questions

How are the pendulum jumps?
Turning speed compared to fixed bridles, lets say crossfire 6.3?
What fixed briddle range do you think this kite represents?
What use able wind range does the kite have?

Thank you!

Bloah,

The pends are very good, 6 to 8 footers no problem in 15+mph winds. The kite is fast but you have to be careful not to over cook it or it can collapse. This kite does have a learning curve and you need to spend some time with it and get to know how she likes to fly. Once you have that dialed, its very nice. Never flown a 6.3 but its very fast thru the window, and quick into and out of the turns. FB range--good question, A Campbell would be more qualified to answer that question. Useable range for boarding at my weight (185lbs) Id say 14/15 up to about 28 mph on grass. You really need to demo the Montana 3 series. More stable, faster, more grunt and depower, def more pop and lift! I had no probelms going upwind on the board in 12/13 mph winds and a very narrow tack. It was extremely upwind. ACampbell navigated the same upwind line in his buggy!