The Montanna 4 is one of the greatest kites I have ever ever flown, my 9.5 is great for land boarding it has great handling and has many improvements from the montanna 3,I recommend this kite for any beginner or expert depower flier.

short and sweet .... well said

thanks:bigok:

Quote:

Originally posted by DAKITEZ short and sweet ....

He didn't get that from me obviously. ;-)

youve got a nice depower sail Wex................I had a few nice speed runs and jumps on your kite at Beech Island.........................with the flakey winds that day the HQ kites flying (Neos/Montanas) performed very well................upset I didnt try Hardrives 12.5..............:duh::duh:

I'm still loving the 12.5m Montana. I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon, so I'm sure you'll have a chance to give it a try in the future tridude.

I still haven't gotten up the nerve to try it on a buggy yet though. The wind range I'm comfortable with, is pretty narrow right now, but it's still growing on the upper end. Being my first depower, it's like relearning a lot of the kiting style all over again. Works on the same principle as handles, but learning how to harness and handle the power has been my biggest handicap. I actually pulled my biggest jump this past week on it, as I started experimenting with the motions of popping the kite (but I wasn't on a board or anything). I found myself going up and not noticing the harness tighten until I got just about to the climax of the jump. Enjoyed that style of static jumping more than having to pendulum jump or get truly lofted.

The big difference I just discovered between FB kites and depower is that a FB kite is basically "on" all the time. Yes you can control the power with position in the window and brake pressure, but that's about it. With the depower (in its happy wind speed) its only on when you pull the bar in and you still have the window position options just like with a FB. The fantastic depower of the montana IV (like many other modern depower kites I'm sure) gives you a wide range of power between "bar in" and "bar out". I've yet to get in the buggy with the MIV too but thats just because I haven't flown it in winds that weren't dropping to under 4 mph from time to time since I saw the light with it that day. I have 2 beach opportunities in the next 5 weeks that I'm hoping for a park and ride while feathering the bar on the MIV.

I only have depower experience with Montanas and I absolutly love these kites. I find huge differences in the M3 over the M2,, I can't even imagine how the M4 would be. I'm an HQ fan cause thats what i started with, my first kite the Crossfire. I think my next kite will be a Neo. I want one i want one i want one!!! :bouncing: I have no idea what to do with my M2 7m it's totally irrelavent in my quiver, and I can't really sell it, it has had so many repairs and so much ripstop tape LOL (Franken-kite) still flies lke a dream though, but i wouldn't feel comfortable selling it to someone, even the leader lines on the bar are really frayed. oh well, i guess it could be backup for parts one day but for time being it's just in the closet.
DEPOWER ROCKS!!!! it's the only way I fly

I would be much more invested in depower if I had clean winds that didn't drop to nothing every few minutes. I frequently have sessions with winds from 2-15. The depower is fine taking in the higher winds but doesn't like losing its wind.

depower is 10 times more fun for me than FB:roll:

Quote:

Originally posted by wexler depower is 10 times more fun for me than FB:roll:

as long as you remember to activate the safety release...........................:o

I've had a few heart to heart talks with him about big kites and safety releases, and when you should activate them. Certainly if you aren't slowing down after scudding on your knees more than 30 feet, and after that, any time in the next 300 feet is a good time as well. Tough combo hitching a 90 lb boy to a 12.5m kite in what turned out to be gusty conditions.