So I have been looking at the pansh ace's and I am getting the 8 meter but I am also looking to replace my NPW 5.5 with a 5 meter foil. Now the 8 meter = $210 but the 5 meter is $180. I can't justify spending $30 less for a 5 meter. The 4 meter is $100 would a 4 meter be enough of a difference from my 3? I was planing on a 3 meter for high a 5 for medium and an 8 for low and snowkiting. Should i bite the bullet and get the 5 or go with a 4? AAHHHHHHAAHHHH!!!! help!!

Edit: K so i just looked and the legend 5.5 meter is only $130 what kinda review does the legend get?

K 1 more edit: What about getting the ace 6 meter? it is the same $ as the 5, but 6 meters seems, idk cooler cuz its bigger i guess? Ahh human nature, ooh look a cool kite! wow whats that you say it will pick me up? Cool! i want a really big one! lol!

I have a 5.5 and its ok...very slow turning...like a bus...but it definitely pulls hard..I am considering getting the ace 4m....I have flown a four meter blade and that thing was cool...this ace..is being compared to the blade...plus the new 4m ace is on for 99 bucks...very worth the price...

DQ

Be aware that Pansh have used very aggressive pricing in the past (I got the first Ace 5 at $99). The Ace 2.5 and 4m (and possibly 3.5m) WILL rocket up in price VERY soon. You snooze, you lose!

If I we're you I'd buy the 2.5 and 4m now, a great winter quiver for $190. Don't know your 3m, but the Ace 4m (and probably the 2.5m) will way out perform it.

Then look out for a nice second hand 5-6 m to replace the 5.5m Nasa latter.


PS - nowt wrong with Nasa - I've got nine of the beasts in the range 0.6m to 15m. love em!

Yeah i like the nasas but foils are soooo much faster and you can loop them for power

3, 5.5m and a 7-9m kite is a very common setup for your kite quiver. You'll rarely go smaller than 3m exept for the really crazy days. I think a jump from a 3m to a 6m, or a 4m to a 8m would be too big and leave you with a huge dead spot in the middle of your quiver.

yeah ill prob get the 5.5

It is a general rule that jumping with a kite smaller than 5m is not a good idea. You can jump O.K. but there isn't enough canopy to float you . I agree that the 3, 5 (5.5 ) and 8 will make a pretty good quiver.
Time is on your side. Don't rush things and you'll find a good deal on a 5 or 5.5 !

Im getting the 8 today cuz i have no high wind kite but i do have a mid range (NPW 5.5) even though it kinda sucks, it works for now. And my gflak 3 meter tore on one of the profiles so i have to send that back to replace it, but the company is picking up shipping and everything YAY!! Yeah i would love an 8 meter for snowkiting! Can i get good 15 foot jumps in like 12mph? That would be intense!! Oh yeah i weigh 130 lbs, What is the whole stone thing???? IM so confused! It would be cool to go up a hill and then glide back down like 15 feet up LOL! its like......uhhh parakiting? Oh is towing behind a snowmobile a really bad idea? Yeha in case you cant tell i wanna fly REAALYY bad!!!

How would you hold the handles if you were going forward down a hill trying to get lift from your kite? A paraglider's cells face the same direction you do. A kites cells face toward you. I guess you could just switch the handles from hand to hand. I'd have to sort that out in my head first.

Well i am going to use a bar so i can go 1 handed and harness in (easier). And going down hill i would start (on skis) with the bar infront of me like normal but with the lines twisted. So u r ontop of the hill "ground handling" facing away from the hill then you turn around but leave the kite the same way. Also with a bar you could spin it and the lines would untwist. then start going for it.

1 stone = 14 lbs

K so 130lbs=about 12 stone?

130 / 14 = 9.28 stone

anything over a 3m and you should fly away like a bird.

what my calculator is busted then...oh no wait i hit/11. Nvr mind. No way about the 3 meter i was out in 30mph wind with it and i could hardly jump?!

Ah, I was just messing with you ...

YAY!! Kite shipped today!! (8 meter ace) And i now have enough $ to get the legend 5.5 but i want to get and fly my 8 meter first to make sure I am happy with pansh. Anyone had any issues with the legend other than lines stretching? I intend to get a good set for all of them. I find it easier, and cheaper, to get one set of lines and a bar for all my kites. And pack the kites up and the lines separate. That way when i show up i evaluate the wind take out the kite I need and hook it up. Then if the wind changes, instead of winding it all up I can just pack the kite and get the new one out. (with the exception of my 3 meter which is a 2 line on handles with its own lines) I had my 3 on a bar and there was a huge gust of wind which flipped my buggy over pulled me out and dragged me a good ten feet on my stomach before i could let go, and when I did it flew a good 500 feet (it happened to me twice in one day, the other time i was going to hit a tree) But i put it on handles so if that happens again i can just let go of one. How much is a second hand bar and a set of new spectra lines going to run me, About? Also anyone here in colorado? More specifically Highlands Ranch/Littleton? I need someone to kite with. Would it be cheaper to buy a reel and cut my own lines or to buy a set? And can you use a climbing harness for land based kiting?

a lineset is going to cost anywhere from $70 - $110 I was just looking. I don't know how much bars are, but handles were anywhere from $15 - $90. Ozone was always the highest, but I hear they are the best.

Yeah but for a set of lines i can trust in a jump for like $70 is worth it. I would never buy used lines nor will i use the pansh ones for very long. And i can make a bar fairly easily but again for like another $100 i have a bar i can trust and is built correctly. Not like my current one which is a wind chime with PVC pipe inside and a bic pen tube as the sleeve for the brake line and some parachute cord as leaders. LOL! :D

Oh also I was wondering, I have heard this sport be called both powerkiting and traction kiting. Which is correct? Or are both and they are synonomys? (cant spell) Like is it a power kite and its traction kiting or is it a traction kite and it is power kiting or power kite and power kiting or traction kite and traction kiting? AHHHHHHHHHHH!! I am so confused?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??

NPWfever -

powerkiting, traction kiting, whatever - it's the same.

Airrush makes nice bars, and you can get a sweet new '06 bar with QR chickenloop, front line swivel, depower strap, leaders, handle floats, and QR safety leash for $59.95 + shipping direct from them:

http://store.airushkiteboarding.com/product-653.html

If you pop for just one bar, I recommend a 55 cm with the 5.9 m leaders (you can make up a short set of leaders to give you a shorter line set). You won't regret having a good bar, and that price rocks.

krumly

Yeah i see that bar alot. Or maybe I'm thinking of the blue/red one.... Unless thats it and its a bad pic. I dont see a 55 with 5.9 meter leaders. I do see a 65 with 5.7 meter leaders would that suit me okay? A longer bar will give you better/faster turning correct?

I bought a couple of used 4-line bars complete with lines. Both were under $100. About the same as a new set of lines.

Carefull jumping and flying in big winds with home mades stuff. Those folks you see doing the big jumps don't trust their lives to PVC and Bic pens

Hey Krumly,

Great price on that airush bar...but I'm a little confused on how to use a depower bar on a fixed bridle kite???

You are probably better off looking for a bar designed for fixed bridle foils vs. depower. The loading on the bar is different as with a fixed bridle the power lines attach to the ends of the bar and this is where most of the load is placed. With a depower, the main lines attach to the depower rope that runs through to the chicken loop while the rear lines take much less of the loading- mostly when the rider pulls the bar in and powers up or when turning. There have been a few cases of depower bars splitting when used on a fixed bridle. I think you are better off getting a bar designed for the job. Ozone and Flexi both make bars for fixed bridles.

Good point Archkiter !
All my bars are x-4line :o. I think I'll stick with them for now.
They HAVE to be a bit safer than PVC and bic pens ?

In trying to justify the choice to myself I'll note the following. When hooked in I'm using the D-loop strop that is designed to work on a bar, when unhooked my hands are very near the end of the bar reducing ( torque ) force :?: I'm only about 140lbs ( 10 stone :wink2: ) and think that if enough force was being applied to my name brand bar that it snapped I'ld be glad it did before that force was applied to my body :duh:

If a person can afford one, A proper bar from Flexi or Ozone would be best. NPW and others are working on a strict budget and need to find a safe affordable minimum budget option. I still think picking up used 4-line bars complete with lines is super cheap and a pretty safe way to go.


Lunch Box,
To put a 4line bar on a fixed bridle you put the ( front ) fly line to the outside of the bar. You join the brakes together and bring them through the center. With pulleys you can either have very minimal brake when flying but full safety or 2/1 brake action as you turn + full safety.

I want a bar i just have a homemade bar to get the feel and to buggy, no jumping with an NPW anyways. I will fly my Ace on handles till I get a good bar. So i am lost... what is the difference between fixed and depower bridles? Is a depower kite the same as a sheetable kite? I thought depower=a kite with brakes
ie a 4 line.

nope, 4 line = quad line, you can get a 4 line fixed bridal that'll fly just off the front lines with no brake line tension.

Depowerable, instead of the power going through the main only, all 4 lines are used, the front stays fixed and you control the back edge of the kite, you can steer and adjust the sheeting on the kite via the bar and sheeting adjustment,

sheetable kite = depowerable kite

Archkiter -

Good to be cautious aboiut overloading bar ends and possibly collapsing bar. But what particular depower bars are you talking about that failed on a fixed bridlal kite?

Most water kites use 450 -700 lb test lines both front and rear, so you figure manufacturers would have safety factors on top of that, but maybe not. Do you know of published specs that show higher bending strength for Flexi's or Ozones fixed bridal bars vs. their depower bars?

krumly

I know someone here in Portland who used a Best bar on a slingshot B-series kite and it snapped.

I too would have thought that strength with a depower bar wouldn't be an issue. And maybe many times its not, but I know of one incident and have read about others. Makes you think that its pretty important to use gear for what it was designed for.

I got it in the mail today!!!! And OMG!! that thing is huge. I couldnt even open it in my house, i had to step out back. The bridles were actually not tangled and the handles didn't have the PANSH name on them but the padding seems OK. But i will still wrap in hockey tape. The lines are the new ones, i have yet to unwind them but thats later today, i just wanted to post this. YYYYYYYAAAYYAYYYYAAYYYYYY!! i am soooo happy. I might even try a glide down the hill with the handles on the kite today. Even though everyone on the PG forum told me not to. LOL! Hey anyone here in colorado? Also the lines on the Ace, most people say shorten the brakes to make it fly right, what should i do?