ive found a good deal on a flexifoil blade III 8.5... im wanting a good kite for static flying/jumping in winds that are around 6-10mph on average where i live. will i be underpowered if im looking to jump/scud? ive never flown a blade and dont know anybody whos got one so im outa luck there. all i can go on is reviews but i just want some of your opinions before i spend all my money on a kite thats underpowered for my application.

thanks to all
sam

Hey Sam,

On my blade 6.5 and 200pounds the starts of fun are in the 12-15 region. of course, then once you get used to the kite the winds fun region gets a little bit higher

always good to let folks know how much you weigh, there are folks here from 100 lbs up to 300 or so, and simple physics will make one fella's dream kite another fella's kitemare....

If you are on the lighter end of that scale you'll begin to have fun with that size kite in 6-8, at 200 + you'll need at least 8 mph possibly 10 before you can think of getting air i reckon.

the bigger kites can be really slow turning in light winds which can make it difficult to redirect the kite back into the window after you get the initial yank.

unless you're extremely fit it can be really hard to fly the big kites for long -- even trying to rest with the kite to the side of the window it will still be pulling hard -- so you may want to figure some kind of harness. I don't pull moves with a harness yet, still to scared and not confident enough in my skills as i am new to the sport myself. But i use it to rest and scud, makes a big difference.

The B III 10.5 depower mod in the for sale thread is also worth thinking about... esp. if you are a more than usually effective kite anchor.

sorry for not listing weight. i weigh 115lbs but am very fit. i fly in winds with the same kite that my 200lb friend does...hes getting worked and lofted 3 feet up. im getting whipped around. thats what i like. so to ask once more..would a 115lb man be able to be worked and lofted by a blade III 8.5 in 10mph or less?

thank you guys for your replies
sam

If you are experienced then I'd say ... should be a handfull... Very lifty and floaty kite... I'd say you could do alright with the 6.4m also but I think 8-10 would be min with a 6m...

I'll assume that you do, but because I don't know you yet, I'm gonna throw out there to always wear protective gear and fly within your ability... :wee:

115 lbs in 10 mph with a BIII 8.5?

yep, you'll get worked. lofted? sometimes. jumping with float and hang? definitely.

pay heed to screwyfits, he's been hurt by kites b4 and knows from experience about the protective gear!

i would consider myself fairly experienced...but i also skateboard and ride dirtbikes so im no stranger to eating it hard. i have yet to get more than cuts and bruises kiting, hopefully it will stay that way im fairly stoked that this kite is a good fit...and yes i will invest in some safety gear before going too big. thanks for the help guys...ill post air pics in a few weeks:wee:

Oh yeah you'll get worked with that kite at 115 pounds for sure. Hope you've got some really good kite flying skills. I kite surf pretty hardcore with an 8.5 meter Quadrifoil XXXL (very similar-almost identical to the Blade 8.5) in less than 15 mph and I'm 200 pounds.

Here is a picture of me with my Blade 10.5 kitesurfing in less than 15mph.

I was flying my Blade 10.5 in 2 mph wind this past weekend. Pulled pretty good but not enough to really do anything with. I just attached some long tails to the wing tips and enjoyed the show!

Scott

sounds awesome im excited...hows kitesurfing with a blade? not afraid your gonna sink it? from what ive experienced, when it comes to fixed bridle the difference between 5-10mph and 10-15 mph is pretty pronounced. sometimes if 10mph is flyable, 15mph would be overpowering. i would not consider flying this kite in a wind thats 15mph...

with my weight i get can get lofted 5-8 feet in a 15mph wind with my 4m ace i dont want to think about a kite twice its size in the same wind! the ace is fast through the window though and the ability to create apparent wind is pretty immense. being light has its advantages...my strength for weight is pretty good. having the strength to keep a kite under control yet being light enough to fly makes for a fun time.

I don't crash my kites therefore no reason to worry about flying on the water.

Good luck with the 8.5. I think it's gonna be a bit big for you in your anticipated wind.

Scott

the good thing is larger kites are slower so when you "goof" up you have a little extra time to correct the "goof". You should have a lot of fun at your weight with the 8.5, Id say your wind range would be 6 to 12/13 mph which isnt bad at all. Ive owned an 8.5, great kites.

Strength certainly helps control a big kite but it won't help you hold down more kite. If a well powered kite puts 120 lb of vertical force on you, you are going up whether you are 115 lb of solid muscle or 115 lb of blubber.

I'm not saying you can't handle the kite. Just don't let your fitness level lead to overconfidence.

I weigh 145 pounds, consider myself fit and a pretty good kite flier and own an 8.5 BIII. For me, when riding (skis or board at the beach) the sweetspot for that kite is 7-9 mph. if the kite will fly, then it will lift. At 10mph, you will not only get lifted, but if the winds are not clean you will also get lofted and while the descents can be slow, if lofted you aren't often in control so your landing may not be hard but it likely won't be pretty either.

i've boarded with it on grass in winds as low as 6 mph and was caught out with skis on it in 18 mph winds.

Because of its power and the conditions I fly in, it is my least flown kite It will definately do what you want it to do but it may be a bit much in anything over 10 mph, especially if the winds aren't clean.

If you buy it, start out in real light winds. If there is enough wind to get the kite in the air, I have found that you can jump with it. Don't be foolish and make your maiden flight one where the winds are pushing 10+ until you have a good feel for how lifty it is and you know your handles are set up right.

so should i use kite killers?;-) hehe just kidding guys. honestly, in tuscaloosa alabama 10mph is a windy day. anything above 10mph is a special event. a majority of days that there is wind if any its more like 3-8 mph...this is going to be my super low wind and still have fun jumping kite. if you guys are saying it starts to come on at 6 im happy because thats a decent wind in tuscaloosa. i think i might go for it. i envy you beach guys...inland where i am ill maybe get 1/8 of the days in the month that are even flyable...maybe 1 day a month that can produce jumps/scuds with my 4m. i am into being "extreme" but im also very cautious and have healthy respect for forces of nature. hopefully you wont see this in the for sale forum next month due to a broken leg...

thanks to all for the many replies
sam

I fractured a wrist with a 2m ace before, it was extremely violent winds and had flown several kites before it and just hit a 3 pack of gusts... was able to suck up the first 2 and got yanked on the 3rd, it wasn't a horrible crash or anything just landed wrong... hence the fracture, and some grass stains...

The Blade III... Defiantly fly her in lower winds if possible and prey they are clean... This kite is a phenomenal kite, but can be nasty in dirty winds, it is a much better kite than an ace but the BIII's where a lil snatchy compared to the BIV's... You should have good times with this kite if you take the slow learning rout...

Good luck and keep us informed on you progress with it and some pics when you can... we love pics...

ill steer clear of those "extremely violent winds" haha. i already do and will always pack up once i feel like im not in control. i like to start slow, my logic is that if i can fly my ace 4m in 20mph, i can eventually have the ability to fly a kite twice its size in 10mph...somebody slap me if im wrong. however, getting to 10mph will be a relatively slow process. i honestly dont see myself flying this thing in much more than a breeze for a while.

Id recommend KKs.............I fly them with my Quads (most of the time). My son is a senior at Ole Miss (Oxford, MS) and yeah you dont get many wind days at all over there. I flew my Bego 600/CF 5 at Ole Miss. The CF struggled in low winds but the Bego did well. The 8.5 should be perfect for your conditions, just watch the gusts. Add a board or buggy in the future, make some apparent wind, and youll have a blast....................

So is this BRocs 8.5 your buying? If so, long time forum member, and super dude. Im sure this kite is in damn good shape.........

Lastly,

Hotty Toddy beat Texas Tech
Roll Tide (hope your not an Auburn fan)
Geaux LSU
and Go Gators (cant believe I said that)

Just respect the fact that this is a lifty kite and ALWAYS be aware of gusts / storm fronts !!!

It can be the best and at the same time , most dangerous kite in Your conditions ! One You will NEVER grow out of . That is for sure.

PLEASE ! Do Yourself + the whole kiting community a favour and NEVER fly this kite without a helmet ( preferably full gear ) !
NEVER EVER let your friends try it without experience + helmet !!!!!

This is pretty much the opposite of a beginers kite !!!!!

Invest in a harness !!!! It is the only way I can fly my 9m Blade II for any length of time !

Like folks have mentioned. This kite will fly much different than anything smaller that You have flown ! It won't respond as fast to input. Then will put out power differently. It is a must that You get the feel for that in low ( ? 6-ish mph ? ) winds. Taking it out in too high wind at 1st will be less fun and a lot more dangerous than you think !!!

Like Tridude says : One of this kites strong points is creating " apperent wind " when moving ! So ..... GET MOVING !!!! :singing:

just posted in a new thread but for those subscribed to this one these are my city's stats...the average windspeed by month pretty cool.

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC ANNUAL
8.1 8.7 9.1 8.3 6.8 6.1 5.7 5.4 6.3 6.2 7.3 7.8 7.2

here the link to check out your own city...

http://www.met.utah.edu/jhorel/html/wx/climate/windavg.html

Hey Sam, is your 4m Ace the one that I sold you? I forgot your username but when I read Alabama it clicked. If so, I'm glad its working out for you!

Good luck with the new kite. And +1 on the helmet recommendation. Honestly for the type of jumping/flying you're talking about I think that you shouldn't pick up a kite without a brain bucket on.

hell yeah hahah im looking at it right now. that thing has served my so well and its still going strong after taking a beating, lines are almost shot but i got a flexifoil lineset for Christmas. i was meaning to send you a U2U to thank you for a effectively getting me in to kiting...ive also used it to teach a few other guys...and girls to kite! ive gotten a confirmed 6-8ft of air with that thing a few times too after a few 20mph days with that thing im ready for something bigger in low wind.

anybody have a good recommendation for a harness? i dont know if want to fly on a bar though, never done it but id assume id lose a lot of control over the kite.

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i dont know if want to fly on a bar though, never done it but id assume id lose a lot of control over the kite.

Don't need to if you don't want to...use handles and a strop...easier on the arms and no lose of control....

harness and strop good idea once you learn the kite. It will increase your session times for sure.

YES, You can add a " strop " ( length of climbing rope )to the back, top of Your handles to hook in.

At 1st You only want to hook in to take a load off and rest. Also to assist walking upwind. When you are hooked in leaving the kite overhead is very dangerous !!!!!!!!!!!!
Always keep the kite at about 2 or 10 when resting or walking back upwind hooked in ! Lower is even better ! You will be picked up and taken for a ride FOR SURE if you stand around or walk upwind with this kite overhead ! Not a good place to be when hooked in at 1st :smug:

Practice everything hooked in with your 4m before the 8.5 !


Harnesses are very personal. It seems like Mystic seem to please the most riders . Of course they cost the most ! Even then You need to decide if a seat or waist harness is best for You !

Tridude - it's not my blade. I'm considering redoing my whole quiver after yesterday's session and going the depower route. If I do that I'll be keeping the 8.5. If I sell the 8.5 I'll hit the locals up first, you 2nd and PKF 3rd.

Piku - I have a bar and handles for my 8.5. I spent one year skiing with it on a bar (46 mph was my top speed on that kite) and that was OK when fully powered but a mixed blessing (because its fully powered and no brake control). I way prefer it on handles with a strop so you can tweak the brakes or crank on them to turn the kite faster.

If you are interested in flying it for strictly jumping purposes and inland in the low winds your averages posted out as, I'd be thinking handles all the way. The bar adds no value and its easier to redirect and work the kite with handles in the conditions you'll be flying. Bars are for depowers. Stick with handles for what you want to do.

For the average winds you posted, I think the 8.5 will be a good kite. You'll be jumping no problem just watch for luffing. If you jump when the wind is up, you'll still get dropped when the winds die (and you could get dropped from on high with this kite).

This is going to be an enormous jump in power from your 4m so be smart and be safe and you'll be OK. Oh, and don't launch it right in the center of the window or you'll wind up on your face. Launch it and immediately turn it so it inflates slower and works its way to the zenith. If you go full on from ground to zenith you'll be on your face in moderate winds. I would recommend killers. I've never had to use them with handles but I dropped the kite on the killer 2 or 3 times when I was on the bar as its power can be relentless.

Hold off on the harness until you are comfortable with the kite. Its not necessary. I like my dakine fusion seat harness for boarding and skiing and static flying but I wouldn't static jump with it as the tow point is low.

about the harness... For static flying the harness is more for resting, walking back up wind, and such. You'll want a harness that you can easily hook the strop into, and just as easily unhook. So when you are jumping you're unhooked, and when you're walking back up wind or just taking a breather you're hooked in and using your arms for control only. It really extends the length of your session, but it will be far safer to do your jumps unhooked.

You mention being very comfortable with your 4m Ace. I know the feeling, I'm very comfy with my 5m, and feel like I can fly the thing for hours without a harness. In the same wind, however, I'm only good for about twenty minutes or so with my blade. You're taking a MUCH bigger jump!

About "snatchy" -- I've not flown the BIII's but my understanding is that they are set so the AoA is closest to the max power knots on the BIV, and the slightest variation in wind speed, the feeblest excuse for a gust, will instantly translate into power in a way that the Aces don't. My 8m Ace is way smoother on power delivery than my B IV 6.5 on max power setting!

Last thing: think twice about using kite killers. They save the kite, protect bystanders, and greatly reduce de-tangle time if you have to let go your handles. But they actually put the kite flyer at greater risk, and the bigger the kite the more the added risk. And you're flying inland, so you're always going to have the occasional gust that seems to come out of nowhere. IF you have lots of room downwind and no bystanders, consider flying without KS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s. If you do use KKs, make sure you test them thoroughly. Not all kites come down quickly when let go to KKs, and some actually stay up for quite a while! A big gust followed by another bigger one when you're already at the edge of control will continue to pull quite hard on a kite gone to KKs. Also, a number of KS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s have broken in the past, and they break one at a time, in which case you're looking at a spiraling kite that may take quite a while to come down, pulling at 50% power the whole time.

I'm pretty new to this, so take my words with a grain of salt! But at 115 lbs and 8.5 q meters of one of the most extreme bits of ripstop nylon yet built, you're right on the bleeding edge of what's possible to do safely with big kites! (which is why this thread is getting so many replies!) You're in for some exciting times!

yeah i had planned on keeping handles to maintain control for static. as for the harness/strop with handles, i dont think im gonna do that until i fly it a while in very low wind. i want to be proficient with the kite before i fly in wind that needs a harness and strop just to have a decently long session. anyhow the idea of being strapped in at any time with this thing scares me. id rather let go and have the kite go flying than be unable to unhook and be pulled along like a rag doll. for the record i dont use kite killers with my ace...im light enough to where my 4m ace creates enough pull when braking down the center of the window to scud me(in high winds). deploying kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s in some situations would just guarantee im gonna get dragged by a fully braked kite and have no control. my plan is to not fly in a situation with the blade that would ever need kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s...ie 5-8mph winds til im pro with this thing.

ive gotten to the point where dropping my butt down to the ground in preparation to get yanked forward a half second later is instinctual. this is far more safe, and fun imo than letting go with kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s. im confident that i only have another ten years in my life where i can be this dumb so i want to capitalize on it:wee:

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Last thing: think twice about using kite killers.

Man, I remember that topic...seems like the general consensus was about 50/50 or slightly more in favor of killers. Just do a search here and check it out...highly charged topic that made for interesting reading.

EOHJ....

B-Roc makes a very important point !

You have probably been getting away with " hot " launching straight downwind with the 4m. This is now a NO - NO in all but the lightest of winds.

If possible always launch from the side of the window !!!!

Do a little searching for the correct method at www.kitesurfingschool.org and practice it with the 4m.

If you MUST hot launch do as B-Roc says , turn it so it runs to the side + add some brakes to slow it down !

As I mentioned, flying this kite is going to be very different !

I agree that the harness is not essential but used properly it will extend your fly time. Common sense tells You that You only want to use it to rest at 1st. I hope ! Then comes flying hooked in. Jumping hooked in is way down the road !