TractionKiting.co.uk

A Guides Unlimited production

First flights:
These were in low winds initially and with kite killers fitted. I had some great fun doing small static jumps and big scuds. Initial thoughts – very happy. After a couple of weeks just static flying the kite, I got the opportunity to try it on my board. It worked so much better than my beamers ever did. For the first time I could concentrate on the board, rather than having worry about trying to wrench more power out of the kite every second.

http://www.racekites.com/images/reviews/blade2_01.jpg [/img]

General flying characteristics:
Compared to the later Blades (Blade III’s in particular) this kite needs to be flown a lot less actively. It also has masses of grunt – the power it generates is all there all the time. If you let it, it will hover over your head all day and still pull like a train. The upside of this is that you don’t have to look at the kite to know what it is doing, but the downside is that you get tired very quickly flying it. To prevent it overflying and to aid with turning, this is a kite that benefits from tight brakes.

Turning speed and maneuverability:
Poor. The only kite I’ve ever flown that turns slower is the 9.7 Oxigen pro – and that has the excuse of being 2.5m bigger. This kite is known amongst my friends as “the whaleâ€