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Flexifoil Blade II 6.4
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A Flexifoil Blade II 6.4 review by tttonyyy:
My first introduction to the Blade II 6.4 was when I was walking one back to a peg for a mate that was learning how to landboard. I was holding it at zenith
and the wind gusted, giving me some unexpected big air! At the time I'd only flown smaller Bullets and Blades, so I was quite shaken by the height I got
and the amount of time I was off the ground (even though in hindsight it was only about 6ft).
Many months later I'd grown in confidence and gained experience landboarding myself, and was slowly progressing myself up kite sizes. I was convinced I
wanted a nice large kite with little lift, just for cruising on the board. And I did get a 6m of unknown brand, which was very stable and had no lift. But it was
also very boring. I kept borrowing this Blade II 6.4 and really grew to love it, despite also trying a 5.5 Firebee and 5.5 and 7.0 Bullets. But, for me, nothing
compared against the Blade for sheer excitement. I ended up buying it off him. :)
So how does it fly?
Well, it pulls steadily with plenty of force. It turns fast enough to dive up and down the window vertically when the wind is so low that it needs working. It
can be hard to get upwind in the lower end of the kite's wind range. But, once moving on a board this kite pulls and pulls. Even in about 10mph winds a
powerslide won't stop it on grass, it just pulls the board along sideways. I imagine jumping would be very easy with this kite, though I've not had the courage
yet to try it on the board. Stopping requires some careful attention to not end up airbourne! No problems boarding inland with this kite either. I can lean back
with confidence, turning the kite upwards in lulls to take my weight. I don't think you could do this as easily on the smaller Blades.
Static flying it's also very lifty. Turning requires some forward planning at the edge of the window or the cells can deflate. And it can overfly, however this is
easily controlled with the brakes or recovered by turning the kite. It takes a little bit of skill to keep it fully inflated, but after the 5.5 Firebee it's a piece of cake. This
kite is stable for it's size (though the 7.0 Bullet has the edge for stability here).
As many others observe though, Blades bite. Every now and again in gusty winds the kite will suddenly generate an unstoppable amount of power, regardless
of whether you're boarding or static flying or whether the kite is low in the window or at zenith. It's a case of hanging on and controlling it. This is why I wouldn't
recommend this kite for use by a beginner. It could hurt someone.
In summary: fairly stable, produces lots of steady pull and definitely has plenty of "excitement factor". I can't see this kite ever getting boring. It is by far my favourite. :)
tttonyyy, 14/12/2004
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I've been flying a 6.4 blade II for 3 years with a landboard. This is my favorite kite. I use it in winds from 12 mph to 25 mph. It pulls and pulls and pulls. I fly with a bar in a 2 line setup and it turns quick enough for me. It turns slow in comparison to the 2006 flat LEI's.
The 6.4 blade generates plenty of lift to get my 230 pound frame up into the air...and it does so in winds as low as 13 mph.
The kites in my quiver are:
4.0 JoJo instinct
6.4 blade II
10.5 blade III
north rhino 18M
naish 12M
Blade II's are great buggy and landboarding kites and a real value if you can find them used!
Jeff G., 08/10/2006
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