Quick review on my 3.5 Profoil.

Build quality is great. Hand tied knots and quality materials. The only thing I disliked was the bridle material. I find it too thin for my liking and tangles easily. If the strings were courser [?] this would probably be solved.

I have had it for about 3 weeks now and have only been able to fly it twice so far. It did make the trip to Punta Cana 2 weeks ago but the playa was too crowed to fly. Both times I flew in crappy lumpy winds. The first time it was blowing a good 15-20mph and for the 5 minutes I flew before the famous bowtie that happens with these kites at the edge it had great pull and was lifty too! I like to work the edge of the window and this kite does not like that.

Today was the second time and the winds were dull and flat. gave a chance to try spins, dives and work the paces. All went well except for the lower outer edge likes to collapse easily resulting in a bridle snafu. I am not sure if i can trust this kite for jumps as I will be thinking about the collapse issue.

Overall, ted makes a great kite. This is my 2nd and the bowtie and edge collapse happens on both. If this could be solved this would be an awesome kite. I know I need to adjust my flying style and work with the kite rather than against it and i can see alot of potential.

Oh and the pink color. . I am over it and proudly fly it!

Did you find that this kite is subject to pinwheeling?

I have the 1.5 which may be a bit less stable, but my girlfriend has mastered the art of death pinwheels with it. By the time I take over, land it it's usually done at least 10 full spins. Fun times. The fact that my girlfriend is very new to flying and that it takes pretty strong winds to get the 1.5 up probably didn't help anything.

How is your head?

I have a Profoil 1.0 that can spin with the best of them! I tried today to spin the 3.5 kite in multiple amounts and found I could stop at will. My bullet can spin faster but is harder to stop then this kite.

Ironically, my worst death spin was with a beamer 1.8 which is usually a very stable kite! I must have racked up an easy 50 revs before I gave up and walked it into a lifeguard station to stop the spins. It was about 10 feet from the ocean with an offshore breeze. I felt if I let it go it was going to England!

My head is just fine. Nice and hard thankfully. I'll be back at it this weekend.

I don't think we got to 50 spins with the Profoil but boy once it starts it goes like crazy. I should have counted. It seemed to stretch out the lines pretty well, which was the only drag (other than unwinding it of course). It probably didn't help that they were soaked from the melting snow.

I bet that the pink actually looks pretty cool in the sky. Mine is purple and I think it looks great.

Cool!

I also got one and am probably the only kiter that flies a pink kite on Nahant Beach (near Boston).

I've had edge foldings in some wind conditions but the kite recovered. Otherwise, it's a very well behaved. I have a 1.5 Profoil too and it did a pin wheel on me after one of the bridal knots came loose. Ted emailed me how to re-knot the end of the bridal -- manufacturer's fault. Any how, after I had re-tied the loose bridal end, I flew the kite again and it did a pin wheel. I don't know what led to that pin wheel; maybe lines stretched unexpectedly. The wind was very strong that day, upwards of 20 mph.

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Originally posted by beachrights Quick review on my 3.5 Profoil. Build quality is great. Hand tied knots and quality materials. The only thing I disliked was the bridle material. I find it too thin for my liking and tangles easily. If the strings were courser [?] this would probably be solved. I have had it for about 3 weeks now and have only been able to fly it twice so far. It did make the trip to Punta Cana 2 weeks ago but the playa was too crowed to fly. Both times I flew in crappy lumpy winds. The first time it was blowing a good 15-20mph and for the 5 minutes I flew before the famous bowtie that happens with these kites at the edge it had great pull and was lifty too! I like to work the edge of the window and this kite does not like that. Today was the second time and the winds were dull and flat. gave a chance to try spins, dives and work the paces. All went well except for the lower outer edge likes to collapse easily resulting in a bridle snafu. I am not sure if i can trust this kite for jumps as I will be thinking about the collapse issue. Overall, ted makes a great kite. This is my 2nd and the bowtie and edge collapse happens on both. If this could be solved this would be an awesome kite. I know I need to adjust my flying style and work with the kite rather than against it and i can see alot of potential. Oh and the pink color. . I am over it and proudly fly it!

Kiteproject: I have to make the trip up route 3 to see Nahant beach. When I fly on the Cape where I live I am the only person I EVER see flying power kites. Yes, there are kiteboarders but I find it interesting that a beach resort area does not have more flyers.

During the summer time I usually attract quite a crowd and have to factor in a "question and answer time period" with the gawkers. I guess its my "3 minutes of fame"!

Please don't give away your location. :D I intend to do some very loooooonnnnngggggg runs with my newly acquired quiver of amazing kites and my GI Flight Lite-100 ATB.

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Originally posted by beachrights Kiteproject: I have to make the trip up route 3 to see Nahant beach. When I fly on the Cape where I live I am the only person I EVER see flying power kites. Yes, there are kiteboarders but I find it interesting that a beach resort area does not have more flyers. During the summer time I usually attract quite a crowd and have to factor in a "question and answer time period" with the gawkers. I guess its my "3 minutes of fame"!

Ok it's a deal! I think you know my "perfect beach" and I will see you in the spring down here!

I still want to see Nahant though and actually talk to other kiters!

Pdx: are you still out there? I thought you of all people would chime in about my latest purchase! I am starting to see the power of this kite!

Today in 20-25mph winds I was jumping and I keep having the kite collapse AFTER I land. I tried redirecting but it does not seem to help. The problem is not the landing but the powering up that is happening after the collapse! I did my first Superman today and my hip still hurts from it. About a good 10 feet before I let go. After that I let the killers take control and land the kite then I would start over. The winds were cranking and in the 2 hours I was there went from 10-12 to 40! It got to the point where I could not land the kite even on full brakes. The lift is compareable to my Ace! I know this is going to be great on the buggy but want to use it for static jumps too. Any ideas?

Ohhhhh I do and I can't wait to get there. I got a little busy with some personal stuff so kiting took a back seat but I am re-engaging.

I'll U2U you when I am headed out there. It could happen before the spring.

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Originally posted by beachrights Ok it's a deal! I think you know my "perfect beach" and I will see you in the spring down here! I still want to see Nahant though and actually talk to other kiters!

Beach,

Try tightening your brakes so that you have a small/slight crease in your trailing edge. That should help. PDX has my old 3.5 and he really enjoys it. It is a sweet kite---nice purchase. Good luck and watch those supermans!

Its funny you should suggest that. When I got the kite it had that profile and I felt it had TOO much brake. I made another knot in the power leader to lenghten the brakes. I will give it a try tomorrow.

My Superman cape is out being cleaned. My a*s is killing me today from yesterdays digger!