Dual Line Sport Kites

Part 1 : My Kite bag
( Updated July 2005 )

Contents ( in order of purchase ) : with my rating

Benson : Reflex : 7/10 - Super entry level. Simple and pure.
Spirit of Air : Omega XS : 4/10 - Does the tricks (like a brick.)
Benson : Phantom Ultra-light : 7/10 - A classic.. large, light floater. 4th prize.
Kite Kitchen : Phaser : 3½/10 - Not much better than a toy.
Prism : Illusion 2000 : 9½/10 - Desert Island kite. Yummie. 1st prize.
Spirit of Air : Paradox : 2½/10 - Avoid this one.
L'Atelier : Vented Nitro : 5/10 - Small but versatile kite when the wind is up.
Benson : Outer Space : 7½/10 - All rounder.. very balanced. A keeper. 3rd prize.
Prism : Ozone : 7/10 - Okay if the wind drops. A poor man's Vapor.
Prism : Flashback : 3½/10 - If bricks could fly..
Prism : Prophecy : 6½/10 - Crazy huge kite.. not the norm ! Extravagant.
Prism : Elixir : 6½/10 - Meant to be the top trick kite... only for experts.
Flexifoil : Super Vented Matrix : 5½/10 - Super kite really... in it's field.
L'Atelier : Lithium : 8/10 - Extreme luxury - deluxe high performer. 2nd prize.
PBSK : Bad Boy : 6/10 - Not mainstream but has its moments.

Keepers : Illusion, Lithium, Outerspace
Additional : Ozone, Reflex, Elixir, Nitro, Phantom
Non essential : Bad Boy, Matrix, Prophecy, Omega
Losers : Phaser, Paradox, Flashback

Wish list : Prism E2, Fury

My First kite : Benson Reflex.

Dimensions : 214 x 94 cm - Weight : 214 g - My Aspect 2.28 - my rating 8½/10

Above : The Reflex : A great all round kite. My colour choice must have been limited at the time of purchase, because I can't work out why I have a purple kite. Oh well. The design of this kite looks very simple and does away with lots of extras that weigh down so many other kites ; 1 standoff each side. Not a large sail area, which makes it nippy and all the classic tricks can be performed. I would like to point out that getting into a turtle position ( on the kite's back ) and flipping out again is extremely easy with this kite ; it takes very little energy to do that trick. I features the original non active bridle, with fairly good precision. I broke a lower spreader once, which the Bristol Kite shop in Cotham immediately replaced ( 5.5mm Structil carbon is £3.50 per rod if you're wondering how much ). The reason I broke it is that I inserted the wrong end ( i.e. the non plugged or reinforced end ) into the centre T joint, and pulled hard on that side. Another break has also been the plastic wing tip end splitting in two. Replacement wingtips are 20p each. I got a spare one too.

Update : July 2005 ; A good kite for beginners getting into tricks. No fuss, basic, pure, light and simple. Excellent first kite I'll never forget.

Spirit of Air : Omega XS

Wingspan : 206 cm ( 6 feet 9 inches ) - Weight 270 g - my rating 8/10

Above : Omega XS made in association with Dodd Gross : Grey, I was told by the maker of this kite, is more popular in the US than the UK. Funnily enough, this gray kite looks more in place on a gray, cloudy day. It's also a welcome change from all those bright pinks and purples. This needs a little more wind than the reflex to get it up and running. It's quite different from the Reflex ; it's very precise, and does really tight turns. 3 standoffs keep it very taught and stable in the sky. Tricks extremely well, and is very enjoyable when the wind is right for it. One great thing about Spirit of Air ; I broke the centre spine and had two sail rips... they repaired it and replaced the spine free of charge ! The crash that caused the damage was due to wet lines having too much friction between them, which made the kite do a circle on take off and crash nose first on takeoff in a very strong wind. So be careful of wet lines !

Update : Nah, this is a heavy beast.. not the finesse of Benson kites. It works.. but there's better stuff out there (at a price !)

Benson : Phantom UltraLight

Wingspan : 249 cm ( 8 feet 2 inches ) - Weight : 230 g - my rating 9/10

Above : My Phantom UL made to order. The orange and gray / black colour scheme is very successful and striking to the eye. I wanted a kite that would fly in low wind... when most kites can't stay up. After trying the Prism 3D, which I found a bit small, flimsy and hard to get used to, I decided on the Phantom UL. Like the Reflex, it shows a clean, minimal design with 1 standoff on each side, and a non active bridle. It will fly in a 1 mph wind, has a high tech Skyshark frame and tricks very gracefully. I am now quite used to flying this gentle giant, and have executed slow axels, pancake launches and effortless 360 s with great satisfaction. It feels as if a great kite is able to teach you how to fly well. One minor problem has been then plastic clip ring collars that stop the upper spreader from moving towards the lower ones - they came unglued and I lost one, but my local kite store gave me 3, including a spare, and I'm just about to super-glue then onto the frame. I believe this kite is a true classic, with a great name in precision flying, and one day I would like the normal and vented version of this kite. This kite performs the fade very well indeed. Walking towards the wind turns it into a rising fade which is easy to hold.... I also think this is a great kite for precision flying on 125 ft of 80lb. spectra. I also fly it on as little as 60 ft. especially in light winds.

Update : Super light big beast with a great subtle feel to any trick which performs like a gentle giant.

Kite Kitchen : Phaser

Dimensions : 203 x 88 cm - Weight : 246 g - Aspect ratio = 2.31 - my rating 5½/10

Above : A super kite for just £50, though the colours look a bit harsh. This made in UK kite features an active bridle ( which does cause me a lot of over steer in light winds ) but in medium winds really smoothens out performance, and I believe adds to its trickability. I have flown it in very strong winds too, probably possible because of its slightly smaller size. I bought it because I wanted to try out the active bridle, and wanted a cheaper kite I wouldn't mind breaking.... but no breaks yet ! It's a good kite to let your friends have a go with - if it breaks I'll replace it with a Prism Flashback. The active bridle on this kite is different to the one on my outer space, mainly because there is a short extra line linking the two halves of the bridle near the front. I think it's this extra line which is responsible for the over steer.

Update : Whoops, some kinda beginner's model.. though more satisfying than the small sail suggests, I don't like the active bridle. Kite flying like a drunkard.

Prism : Illusion 2000 (i2k)

Wingspan 223 cm ( 7 feet 4 inches ) - Weight : 284 g - my rating 8½/10

Above : My ( now upgraded / the upgrade consisting of a new bridle and longer standoffs which Prism kindly posted to me for only the cost of postage ) Illusion is number 23 of 34 from series 1 ( Nov. 2000 ) and features the same colours as the i2k pictures on the Prism site taken by Ron Kramer. Blue kites are cool ! This kite is meant to represent Prism's flagship, one of the top trick kites in the world. That it may be, I'm not qualified to judge it, but it's certainly a different beast from the rest of my kites ! It's hard not to do a trick with this kite ! If you give it slack the kite will slip backwards and flatten all on its own, ready to axel ( I can pull off axels more easily with this kite than any other . . even if I consider this a non-beginner's kite ). My i2k does have a little bit of over steer in light wind ( though not nearly as much as the phaser ), and so in light winds I cannot fly square rectangles at all. I believe maximizing the height of the outer standoffs is meant to correct this to some degree.... and I can now confirm it helps a lot ( see also the update kit report below ). I think I will enjoy this kite more when I'm more experienced, as it doesn't have a trick line, and the walk of shame happens a little too often. I did add a trick line however, but now I have taken it off again because I don't believe there are significant advantages of learning tricks with a trick line... in fact it is better to learn without a trick line everyone tells me, and as I am no longer fouling my lines 90% of the time, I feel confident without a trick line...plus, the kite was designed not to have one ! After taking it up half a dozen times, I can definitely say I am enjoying it. This kite is a trick machine. Robin Smith, who I met here on the Downs, took it for a spin and commented on the rigid frame and how that suits the American style of flying rather than the European one. Snap stalls with this kite are meant to leave it stapled to the sky !

Update kit ( Oct. 2001 ) : The update really improved the over steer problem - this kite is now very enjoyable, and I am much more comfortable with it, which is why I have also decided to do away with the trick line, and this does help with turtle recovery. I am aware that this kite is actually quite large, and there's a great feeling to flying a full sized kite after a 3/4 size kite. The kit contained a new Reverse Tri-Axis bridle. The update lengthened the outer standoffs and shortened the inner standoffs ; tracking and general precision are excellent now. Prism even say that this is their "desert island" kite !

Update : Hmmm, this is a special kite... big enough sail to give you that chunky feeling, yet agile and tense frame make this very sensitive and responsive. Super 1st class equipment to own !

Spirit of Air : Paradox

Wingspan : about 7 feet - my rating 6½/10

Initial disappointment : This machine required quite a fair bit of wind to get up and running, probably because of the heavy frame, but is rated at 3 mph which is 1 less than mile an hour than the omega XS. Once or twice I have been frustrated with not being able to get it up and keep it up. However, once you do, it has a lot of pull but also has a lot of over steer in light winds ( it seems like 180 degrees at times !! ), probably because of the turbo / active bridle. So basically, turns are very difficult, because you come out of them far too late, so that I am inclined to think that there's a possibility something must be wrong with the bridle settings - but the kite tricks well. Basically this kite just needs a ton of wind to get flying. Stalls and axels happen almost on their own ( especially if you're good at tricks ) and the kite tricks very well and easily indeed. The heavy frame adds momentum to the various axels and spins one tries. It is an excellent kite for learning tricks, because it is very hard to foul the lines in any way. So no wingtip wraps that make you walk to the kite, and it will dead launch on grass with good ground wind.

Merits : Though I have marked this kite down, it is an interesting and different kite to fly, and I'm sure some tweaking might help with the low winds. Remember that the frame is heavy and the kite smallish (3/4 size) , which means it has momentum during tricks, and also stalls easily. Another more recent quality I have noticed is that this kite will perform the snap stall very well. You can hear the "ch...ch.." sound that Dodd Gross describes as the sail shakes out wind. I have been trying Dodd's Pull-Push snap stall, and this kite seems to do well with this technique, though I must say a very short sharp almost sudden movement is needed. Also, like the Omega XS this kite can spin really tightly. Overall, a slightly odd kite, possibly not to everyone's taste especially because of its turning characteristics - maybe I need more time with it, but I do feel it has its own particular merits even if I gave a low rating.

Update : Nah... not for me.. anyone want to buy ?

L'Atelier : Vented Nitro

Dimensions 191 x 96 cm - Weight 240 g - My Aspect = 1.99 - My rating 8/10

I bought the vented version of the Nitro so I could have something to fly in heavy wind. The vented material ( picture on right ) lets the wind right through the sail, so that even in a strong wind the kite flies steadily, and is very willing to pull tricks ; it's a delightful kite to fly, and will enable you to trick when you would have thought there was too much wind. The frame is quite light, though the stitches do not seem as well sewn as some of my other kites, but people who have looked at it tell me it's well made and more importantly, everyone likes flying it. The kite flies very well and precisely, and is equipped with a bright yellow and orange turbo bridle. There seems to be no leech line, but the two standoffs on each side keep the sail taught and silent in flight ( and I have now tested the kite in strong wind ). I found turtles / back flips need masses of slack and a good lunge forward and are difficult in high winds and still not easy in lower winds. The kite must be strong because nothing is yet broken after some heavy wind nose crashes. After many flights I have increased my rating from 7 to 8 / 10. This kite is small and light, and it sure tricks ! It's ideal for conditions that might snap a spreader on my Benson Reflex ! A fantastic, nippy 6 foot kite for high winds. It came with no trick line, so I put one on, and after a few people's impressions have been convinced to take it off, which I have done. I think one has also to consider learning without trick lines better practise in the long run.

Super little kite if you have a high wind. Does lots of tricks. Not what I normally fly... only if I have to.

Benson : Outer Space

Dimensions : 105 x 220 cm. Weight 236 gr. My Rating = 8½/10

First impression : This is the first kite I bought having tried it. "A conglomerate of all Benson kites" is a good description of it which I recently came across. I also read that Benson designed this kite in order to learn the "snap stall". I met a fellow kite flier with an Outer Space, and thoroughly enjoyed my little go with it. It's not a kite that copes with different wind conditions, it's just the ideal all round kite that performs tricks as cleanly and easily as one can hope for. This kite features the Andy Wardley active bridle developed specifically for this kite. Unlike the Phaser I get no over steer even in light winds, and this might be explained by the fact that there is a chord linking the halves of the bridle in the Phaser but not in the Outer space. There's another thing this kite does well ; it doesn't need a lot of wind to fly in... something like 2 mph will do. Obviously my Phantom Ultra light will cope with even less, say 1 mph, but there's not much difference. Anyway, I was flying my reflex in formation with an Outer space, and the speeds of the 2 kites were identical. The Outer space has more sail which gave it that little extra lift to rise slightly higher in the wind window than my reflex. Tricks are very smooth, and as easy as you could hope for with this kite.

More impressions : I hear this kite is nose heavy and I know one person who has put a lighter Skyshark 3p upper spreader to counter this. I have left the frame as it is, and can certainly learn to live with this nose heavy characteristic ; in fact I like it and am now used to it on certain tricks. It's only when I fly a Prism kite straight after that I notice how different the two kites are. The spreaders, rods and frame are perhaps not the strongest, but at least they are cheap to replace, but to be picky, one must appreciate this is a weakness. But on the whole this kite is one outstanding all-round performer. I learnt the 540 with it too. The trick line has a nice bit of elastic in the middle, and the general construction work is very meticulous and top notch....as in all Benson kites ! There is just one standoff on each side. I think, as with many Outer space owners this will become my most used kite. It has won an award "The 1998 Kite of the Year", awarded by Kite Passion magazine. Probably my best all-round kite, costing half the price of the Prism Illusion 2000. Super stuff.

Prism : Ozone

Dimensions : 3/4 size kite . Weight 162 grams approx. My rating = 7/10

My first indoor / no wind kite arrived with the lower spreaders too tight a fit into the centre T. My local kite shop helped me out though - otherwise I wouldn't have been even able to assemble this kite. The colours resemble my Illusion 2000. I haven't yet tried this kite out ; I'm searching for a gymnasium because there's far too much wind for any of my kites right now. The frame flexes a lot, and it's surprising how the whole thing holds together ; but it does, and I can't wait to fly it, especially when I get some light 50lb breaking strength spectra. The kite came with a CD Rom ( which is basically the Prism website ) and the usual field card. I have flown it in 0-1 mph winds now, and must admit that I have hardly pulled off any tricks with it yet... that's because all my efforts have been just keeping it flying in the air. It glides well, and 360 s are possible almost walking... the only problem is going faster than the wind when you get to the opposite side of your 360. I wish I had somewhere indoors for this kite, though I must say it has saved the day when the wind has dropped right down almost to nothing, and no other kite would stay up in the air. I suspect indoor flying would be quite hard... but I already notice that the smoothness required for such flying is a great help and a great skill to work on. This kite is a fair to good all round performer with little to no wind... I suspect if you want the best and can afford one go for a Prism Vapor. The Ozone is the poor man's version of the Vapor.

Prism : Flashback

Dimensions : 3/4 size kite . Weight 302 grams approx. My rating = 6½/10

This is meant to be a beginner's kite, but good enough for experts not to get bored with. It's also got an Avia hemp-cored carbon frame, which Prism say is virtually indestructible ( that's what they say ) , so I bought this for friends and family to fly knowing it would stay in one piece ( which it very nearly did ). Well, firstly, the kite weighs a ton, but seemed to fly very well with a 2/3 mph wind. The specs. said 4-25 mph of wind. Well I'd say careful with anything over 20 mph because the next day one of the lower spreaders splintered into bits. However, we gave it a good beating the day before, with at least 4 or 5 nose crashes - some very fierce indeed. The Velcro came unstuck and the centre spar popped out - but nothing broke on the first day. I must say the kite is a pleasure to fly on the beginner's bridle setting, with remarkably little pull for its weight. Dead launches were easy and I'm sure the kite will do all the tricks in the book on the advanced bridle setting... unfortunately that's when the right spreader snapped. Oh well, back to the shop to get an Avia 220 rod, and a spare, in case this happens again. The sail is tight and the frame has a lovely springy tension to it. No leech line nor trick line, which didn't cause me a problem. Nah, a few things are a bit limited on this kite. Bulky and erratic.. and busts more easily than you might be lead to believe.

Prism : Prophecy

A big fat kite ! My rating = 8/10 - Bridle diagram -

This is a huge precision kite designed to be flown on long lines. Long being 100 - 150 ft. I have tried it on 130ft and 150ft lines ( 150 lb. breaking strength ) in light wind, which is a very pleasant experience. Gusty, and stronger winds wasn't such a nice feeling - so I got out my new super-vented Matrix ( see below ) for that !

My upper stop collars came unglued, which terminated my first flight after just half an hour so I super glued them back on once I got home. Also on ,my first flight the bridle knot kept coming out of the centre T. This didn't happen on the second flight, so maybe the know wasn't properly inserted. I must say my first flight was extremely exciting - the kite tracking and smoothness of flight was impressive. Also, this kite keeps its speed quite constant, and turns and tricks are smooth and gradual. The overall feeling is of flying a goliath i2k. I was encouraged to buy this kite on learning about a special offer at the GWTW kite shop. It's not the most essential kite, especially in the tricks department, however, I can say that owning this kite is a luxury ; a joy to fly. Massive thing that you wont usually want to fly. Some gentle giant that will do the tricks, but more massive than the Pantom.

Prism : Elixir

My rating = 7½/10 - Download bridle diagram
I forgot ; Yellow attachment leg ending in pigtail = 123mm

Another special offer, this time with Windthings in Scotland. Less than 24 hours after my online order this kite arrived at the door, special delivery ( only £5 ). Well the kite arrived in perfect condition, but there was a nasty sharp blob of superglue on the lower spreader which I found hard to remove, so I covered it up with electrical insulating tape, so it wouldn't rip any sail it came into contact with putting it away. The only other snag was a sagging sail ( possibly due to inner standoff and bending centre spine ) - and this may or may not be common to all Elixirs. Oh yes... the wear patch was sewn on too !! I thought they were meant to be replaceable ?

Anyway, flight characteristics are meant to be good, as this is Prism's number 1 trick kite. No doubt they are, but I have a whole lot of adjusting to do before I feel comfortable with this kite, after having flown mostly Benson kites. So far, I can't do a belly launch nor a back-flip takeoff to save my life. Fades and back-flips are easy peasy. Dead launches are not too hard, though not as easy as the i2k because of the shorter sail. Many people complain about breaking lower spreaders during dead launches with the Elixir, but I have dead launched 20-40 times and have had no problems. This kite feels like a truncated i2k, and the aspect ratio must be quite high. Cartwheels sometimes get stuck half way through, as the kite is so wide - but with practise it becomes easier .... just give lots of slack so the wing that flips around is quite low and to the back ! The frame is strong, but not that light really, especially with all that mylar on it. It needs 1 mph more than the i2k to fly, and I must say a short 65 ft line is what really makes this kite fun for me. A good kite, especially if you are a pro needing to do the latest tricks... but bear in mind that many have reservations about one thing or another ( such as the rubber O ring sail tensioners ).

Here's an outer stand-off tip which may also apply to other kites. In low winds, move the outer stand-off positions in to about 2 inches from the leading edge to maximize lift all you can, but make sure there's a little tension there... and it's not slack, just a flatter sail. On the other hand, to maximize precision, minimize over-steer, and increase tracking ( once you've got a normal 8-10 mph wind, ) you can try moving the outer stand-off position closer to the edge until it's about one inch from the leading edge.

Nasty kite for beginners... you can chuck it all over the place of you know how... I'm not an expert with it... and don't find it satisfying at my level. I hera it can spin on its back easily though (if you know how )

Flexifoil : Super Vented Matrix ( built by Carl Robertshaw )

My Rating : 8½/10 Weight : Approx 320 gr. Bridle measurements

The high wind kite to have ! This is the new improved Matrix built by Carl Robertshaw ( Dec.2001 ) with new generation Skyshark. I wanted something to fly in very high winds... and the Matrix met my specs. What I didn't realize was that I was going to get a totally amazing kite ! And no way does this thing need 15 mph wind to get it off the ground... I was flying in 6 -7 mph. on 130 ft lines. ( Well we all know there is often a whole lot more wind 50 ft up in the sky than on the ground sometimes.) This kite is not at all heavy. I like the colours, in that they are all Earth colours, but somehow the layout and positioning of them seems quite a mess ! Luckily the kite performs so well, that one looks completely past its rugged exterior looks.

You can spot 3 vented gauze panels on each side, and in addition you can take off patches on another two panels on each side if the wind is really high... and it's rated to fly in winds of 55 mph ! Precision and tricks are really satisfying with this kite. Fades are easy, and on the whole I felt I was flying a slightly heavier Benson kite. The Skyshark new generation frame and spreaders are literally unbreakable and very light indeed. Some tricks are meant to require combination inputs with both hands to get the kite to axel, but I really found no trouble at all... fades were very easy even for me.

L'Atelier : Lithium standard

My rating 9/10 ; Weight 306 gr. - bridle diagram

Background : "Lithium" : an element who's name is taken from the Latin word for charcoal. "Lithium carbonate" : A salt which came to be regularly used to control manic depression / schizophrenia in the 1960's. Dizziness and hand tremors have been reported as being common side effects !

A full sized kite with a very rigid frame with a big pull. This kite side slides easily with excellent control. Pancake to fades are easy, though turtles are not as easy as high aspect kites. Axels are not super flat, but snap stalls are easy to achieve. The vast majority of tricks are easily pulled off, including dead launches. The bridle is not as complicated as would seem at first. There are 2 things to adjust ; the tow point, and the length of the 4th leg. A longer 4th leg aids precision, whereas a shorter 4th leg is more suited to freestyle and trick flying. One can attain a huge repertoire of all-round tricks with this kite. In competition l'Atelier won first and second place in the 2 line individuals at the championship of France 1999, with the Lithium.

Update ; a complex kite, but it's a super one to fly... big but not massive... clever design.. a great deal of satisfaction. It's heavy in terms of absolute weight.. and this gives it some momentum... One kite I will keep forever.

PBSK : Bad Boy

A welcome change - Weight 220 gr. - Rating 9/10 - Bridle Diagram

Assembly was straight forward if you've had some experience with previous kites. Apparently you can get an assembly guide on the PBSK site in the FAQ section. There's no mylar on this kite ; and maybe that's a plus, hearing how much mylar cracks with wear after constant folding. The sail is stretched well, and has a nice spring to it . . that's as I assembled it, applying just a slight - medium camber on the leading edges. Checking the PBSK site photos confirm the leading edges should curve nicely. The lower Spreader to leading edge APA fittings were very tight, and it took me a while to figure out how to jiggle the connector from side to side so I could position it optimally for the sail to stretch just right. A full half / three quarter hour is needed for the first time to set everything ( including leech line ) up.... but that's what I like spending my time on anyway. The frame is a top class Skyshark 3pt ; the kite is not a typical PBSK ultralight, but slightly more sturdy, which is probably why I like it... I am used to heavier frames which often give good momentum in sailing through tricks.

Flight : Firstly, I spent half an hour flying this machine with the lower bridle leg wrapped around a standoff.... sure it felt a bit odd, but I thought it was a characteristic of the kite... in the meantime I pulled off axel to turtles, easy snap stalls, pancake to fades and a dozen other tricks, until I discovered the wrap. Sure enough the kite was even better then, and the low aspect has some refreshing differences from my other kites. Side slides were easy, and axels very complete and super flat on its belly. Some tricks that I have never done also emerged, and all I can say is that this is a first class kite which requires a certain finesse in flying style. Turtles are hard to get out of... rocking the kite nose back and away does not always guarantee you'll pull out. This kite zips along at fast speed, tracking very well indeed with only a slight pull ..... my flying looks good with this kite because it's great kite for tricks ; try it !

Update ; a bit light... though it's graceful and tricks well. I know other PBSK s are even lighter... so it's a good entry one in their rage, and nothing wrong with it. However, it's not mainstream & whether or not that's good will depend on personal taste. I like something more bulky, personally. Maybe not a desert Island kite.

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