Traction Kites Review

New Flexifoil Products: Blade II 4.0m & Viper 3.0m

June 2001

Aeolian managed to get hold of two of Flexifoil's new products to test; the Blade II and the Viper. Both kites are aimed at the traction market.

We brought in two guest reviewers to take the kites through their paces at Stopsley Leisure Centre, Luton. Gary Tyrrell and Stacey Lewis are experienced kite buggiers and have flown a wide range of traction kites between them. Here we find out what they think about the new offerings from Flexifoil...

First, the packaging. Both kites come with lines, handles, an instruction booklet and a backpack which contains the kite.

The glossy A4 instruction booklet contains comprehensive details on everything from choosing a safe flying location, to setting up your lines and learning to fly. The booklet has lots of explanatory photographs which is great for beginners. In addition, the Blade II booklet also shows you how to adapt the kite for use with two lines instead of four.

The backpack has a main compartment where you can pack the kite in, plus smaller pockets for all those essential bits and pieces that you need to take with you... and it's easy to carry with you even when you're buggying.

Guest Reviewer 1: Gary Tyrrell	Guest Reviewer 2: Stacey Lewis	Putting the Blade through its paces

Video Review

Shows both kites in flight, instruction manual and buggy action.

Progressive Download: Save to your computer and view anytime (right click - 'save as' )
MPEG-1 (1MB) - 22 seconds	blade2-viper.mpg

Blade II 4.0m

Gary was pleasantly surprised with the Blade II. "It has good pull and it does not luff at the edge of the wind window. The tips don't fold under and it doesn't bowtie itself, which the original Blade tended to do."

Gary adds, "I think that Flexifoil have made a really good package with good instructions and a well made kite that is easy to fly for the novice & professional alike."

Stacey agreed, "The Blade II has good, all round wind window performance and lots of power. It would make learning to buggy a lot easier."

Viper 3.0m

The Viper was designed by Peter Mirkovic of Predator fame. The Viper is very similar in its looks and performance to the original Predator I kite, but has been reworked.

Gary, who owns a Predator I, 3.0m, liked the Viper. "It benefits from some good instructions and new gauze to help the removal of sand and other stuff. It flies faultlessly and just a slight touch on the brakes brings in the turbo. Well done, Flexifoil."

Stacey commented, "The Viper is a very 'user friendly' kite, and the instruction manual is very helpful, which is good for beginners."

Conclusions:

The Blade II has benefited from its design changes and is a good improvement on the original. It is more suitable for kite surfing and jumping, as well as recreational buggying.

The Viper is suitable for traction kiters who liked the feel of the original Predators, it has plenty of power low in the wind window and would be an effective buggy race engine.

Visit the Flexifoil web site for further details.