I’ve been following blade kites for a while now and they’ve been consistently good, but this year they’re something really special. Momi, who designs for Epic and Nobile also, designed the whole range and I have to say it’s the best range from a manufacturer I’ve ever tried. If you ride hard, unhooked and throw a lot of tricks there’s a kite for you, if you take it easy and just blast fast there’s a kite for you. If you’re heavy, light, short or tall, there’s a kite for you. That’s quite an achievement Mr Momi!!

(Click on any photo to see it full size)

Prime 11m

Fast and light, the prime is designed for tricks. Shaped more like a C kite, the high aspect canopy with 5 struts turns on the outside edge for power through the turns. The bridle means it works on 4 lines but launches as easily as if it had a 5th line.

Col – As soon as you launch you feel the power – and that becomes addictive! You get smooth pull in a straight line and through the turns also. Unhooked it’s beautifully balanced and easy to steer while in the air – it gave me the best unhooked raleys i’ve ever done. It’s fun to go in a straight line but it’s a lot more fun in tricks!

Manu – It’s smooth! And powerful – it can hold my 80kg fully powered in 15kts. It flys very fast and i love just blasting along.

Gum – It flys very fast and turns very quick – i like to move it a lot. When jumping it just waits at 12 o’clock and when i want to come down i turn it – i like that also! I think this kite will improve my kitesurfing a lot.

Conclusion
Not for the faint hearted! It’s a full on tricks machine that will fly as hard as you fly. If you’re bored with cruising along – this could be the kite for you. It’ll put some heart back into your kiting!

Vertigo 7m,9m,10m

Delta shaped but not too deep on the profile, the vertigo is made to fly fast and turn easily. It’s very light to pick up and light in the air with 3 carefully placed struts. The one pump system pumps it up really quickly and the clips are cleverly sewn on to the struts so it’s easy to check they’re on. Medium low aspect ratio and turning about the center of the kite means it’s smooth and really easy to fly.

Maria – Very responsive and fast turning. The power comes on very smoothly and is easy to control. I love the 9 and the 7, the 7 I’ve used in 16kts! I think my ideal kite quiver would be 7m, 9m and 10m. I’ll never need more than 10m and that’s fantastic as i hate big kites!

Marith – My favourite so far – I loved the 9m! It’s really smooth and has plenty of power.

Gum – The feeling is very good – very smooth. It turns fast so it’s easy to control. If you are good you can turn quick and boom!! the power is strong! If compared with age, the vertigo is about 21. The vegas is a teenager and cabrinha 30+. I like 21!!

Col – Being quite light I have a problem in stronger gusty wind, so i like a kite that can depower easily but i don’t want it to be slow. This kite is really fast and super easy to control so I can have fun but when it all pulls too much I can easily let out. The 10m has me going in 11kts and pulls well, the 9m is an awsome kite – quick in loops and easy for jumping. The 7m gets me out in 18+kts and is a lot of fun in loops! The power difference between the sizes is what you’d expect – the 9 is 2m more powerful than the 7, the 10 is 1m more powerful than the 9. I can’t wait to try the 12 and 14!

Ruth – It’s very easy to fly isn’t it? The sort of kite you can just sit back and relax. I may get one in addition to my Cabrinhas – it’s just so easy!

Conclusion
A really special kite this one – easy to fly, fast, great low end, easy to set up. Good for cruising along, good for tricks. It does it all! Unless you’re over 80kg – then maybe you’ll like the full-on power of the Trigger.

Trigger 10m,12m,14m

A deeper profile and medium low aspect ratio gives this kite lots of power on tap. It still turns smoothly and easily but when you pull the bar in it pulls hard!! 3 well placed struts and one pump make it easy to get set up and out. It turns not at the edge, nor the center, but somewhere in between, making it a really easy park and go type kite.

Charles – Seems a very powerful kite for a 10m! I prefer it to the 10m Vertigo – both are very smooth but personally I like the extra power. Riding a surfboard on waves I expect to have to work the kite a little up and down but it just didn’t move! A very very easy kite to use.

Andrew – Lot more power than my vegas, quick turning, very smooth. Less of a bull than the cabrinha, but quicker so you can get the same power.

Rob – Being nearly 100kg I need a kite with power, so I took the 14m and was pleasantly surprised! It’s very smooth and easy to ride, pulls well through the turns and very quick in the jumps. That caught me out a few times as I’m more used to the slower Cabrinhas. Ouch!!

Col – What an easy kite to fly! Dive it, park it, and go fast! Personally I like a lighter kite that I can work up and down but I reckon the bigger guys will appreciate the easy power on tap. For me I can’t use bigger than 10m, but hey there’s nothing wrong with having my biggest kite a 10m!

Marith – Turns well but not quite as quick as the vegas, nice and powerful, but i prefer the vertigo – it just seems smoother for me.

Gum – Very powerful!! I like to go upwind very far – it’s very easy. I didn’t try jumping yet. Colin says it’s very good – good!!!

Ruth – I loved it from the start!! I was having so much fun! And then i got tired so i had to come in. It pulls you hard, so you have to be in control. For an easier ride I’ll go with the Vertigo I think.

Conclusion
If you like full on power, or you are taller or heavier than average, you’ll like the Trigger. And if jumping is your thing – this is the easiest kite in the range to jump high. Massive hangtime, massive float, but if you need to turn quick to get control it, it’s there. Nice!!

Disclaimer – We stock blade kites – so don’t believe everything we say – come and test them out for yourself!

Wow what a month! perfect blue skies and perfect SE thermal winds. Starts around midday, gets really good around 3, comes down after sunset. Last year was not great in feb but this year it’s totally different!
Everybody’s sore, needing days off from all the kiting. but we can’t stop!

A lot of success stories this month, including 10 year old Hugo:

(Click to see the album on picasa)

And the girls Pat, and Ammo:

The boys look on…

Click to see the March 2010 pictures>>

A good question! The world is your oyster these days – there are kite schools everywhere. But like any watersport, it’s nicer to learn in warm water with less people around. The ideal spot would have small or no waves and shallow rock free water, would be near your accommodation and would have good winds. To help you choose, here are some facts about learning to Kiteboard in Thailand:

1. The wind is great in Thailand – but not everywhere all the time!
   You have to choose where to go depending on which month we’re in. And if you want to kite in sunshine and clear water, don’t come here in rainy season – mid-June until mid-October.
2. The sea temperature is 20-30 in winter and 25-30 in summer. It’s pretty warm all year round!
3. Winter gets clouds and strong winds, summer clear skies and hot sunshine
   In November the North Easterlies switch on and run steady until mid January. Regular 15kts and often 20+ but all in the morning. February to June the South Westerly thermal winds create an almost perfect spot – 15-20kts, sunshine, wind in the afternoon so you can get up late!
4. It’s cheap to learn here, and cheap to buy equipment.
   But don’t choose your instructor based on price – talk to him/her first! A bad instructor will take twice as long to get you riding so ends up being twice the price. And cheap equipment will not be as good – so it will take you longer to learn and when you sell it you won’t get as much back for it. If you’re scared you might not like kitesurfing – don’t worry!
5. Thai food – mmmmmmm!!!!
6. Accommodation is cheap in Thailand.
   As everywhere, rooms overlooking the beach are expensive, those set back a bit are cheaper. Thailand has a massive tourist industry – there’s always plenty of choice!
7. You can be up and riding comfortably in a week.
   The Full Beginner’s course takes 3 days, and if you keep practising the rest of the week you’ll have it cracked.
8. Thailand is a hub for world flights – it’s easy to get here.
   Pranburi is 3hours from the airport – you could be on the water in 3hrs20mins!
9. There are plenty of no wind activities:
   Kayaks, Jetskis, Banana boat, ATV Tours, Mountain Biking, Sightseeing Tours, Shopping in Hua Hin. Or just relaxing on the beach!
10. Thailand is very much discovered – but Kiteboarding is not – yet!
    So instead of 300 kitesurfers crowding onto a beach we have 30. Perfect…

www.airstylerskiteschool.com

ok ok the website is not quite done yet – i’m making a ‘super duper hero’ of a website. Well trying to…
But we have wind, and sun, and clear water, and still nobody on the beach!

So I got to play a little yesterday…

this week has seen plenty of anger on land, so i’ve decided to set up my own kite school. it’s for the best really – i can teach the way i want to teach – the best way. the quickest way. the best value way for my students. that’s got to be for the best!

stay tuned to this space – i’ll let you know when we’re up and running!!

that’s the title and here it is again. beautiful days with light winds for practicing on the big kite late morning, a break for lunch, then on to the smaller kite (9/10m for me) early afternoon.
is it usually like this?
YES!!
every day…

sorry i didn’t tell anyone – was having a bit too much fun!
it’s the start of the thermal season – but as it’s just starting the wind only comes in about 4pm. it’s fine for teaching at 3, and then riding is good at 4, and then if you stay out until 6 you get some great cold gusts coming at you! it’s quite eerie kiting with the sun behind the mountains – the water goes all grey and you get half the light of daytime. i like it!!