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Flysurfer Psycho2 13.0
High performance, high lift, water-relaunchable, self-inflated, bridled foil with 'JetFlap' technology. See the manual link for full details.
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Reviews
A Flysurfer Psycho2 13.0 review by Jamie Johnson:
The ultimate kite. I have been riding this kite all season and could not be more satisfied. The average wind where I ride is 10 to 25 with some heavy
gusting on bad days so the 13m is used 95% of the time. It is hard to tell how bad the gusts are with these kites they just eat the wind like cake. I
would say an aggressive kiter can deal with 30+ gusts with some experience. Just keep the kite really low. I have not moved the power strap all
season, just put it about half way and leave it. The important thing is to get used to turn vs power strap setting length and realize that the kite
de-powers just as much without pulling the strap all the way. If the de-power is pulled too much it will compromise the steering response. I feel it
is better to have consistency in handling. I launch and land at the same setting. Also with a half strap the kite can be hovered during relaunches
and high speed drags avoided all together. If the kite is nose down grab the two knots and use the steering lines to lift the kite 10 to 20 feet off
the water and 180 the kite in the air. This is the sweet part, let go of the steering lines and grab the handle and pull it all the way back. The kite
will just sit there on the water, if it does not then the power strap is pulled too far and should be set at half + so the kite can be stalled into the
power window. From there the kite can be completely controlled and flown slowly to the edge of the window. If your board is on then you are on
your way in 20 seconds or less. Just remember do not let the bar out or the kite will accelerate like mad and we have all been there. The point is,
no other kite is so easy to control in any circumstance and nothing relaunches better. Plus the safety system is simple and totally effective
I tried every combination of WAC+ and Steering mutation and if you want the kite to work the best go Full WAC+ right to the flag and I like one knot off the full break
steering. This set up gives the most control over the power and speed of the kite = easy steering and huge air. After some time on the kite it becomes a throttle,
just pick your speed by lightly pulling on the bar. Carry your speed and nothing will go upwind like it.
Jumping the PS2 is easy and different than LEI's. When flown in 15 knots or in wind that you can just barely stand on ground with, the pattern is the same. When
you have to keep the kite low like right on the water that is when the big air happens. Fly at good speed, the faster, the bigger the jump, then fly the kite from 5-ft
off the water to the zenith by turning it fairly quickly and edge hard. Try to fly the kite up to the zenith as fast as you can by holding the edge as long as possible.
Holding the edge is the most important item for the big jump, the more edge the faster the kite will fly, the faster the kite fly's the more air you get. The reason the
kite can be sent from so low is the de-power effect the kite has. If you hold the edge I promise it will not pick you up until it is almost straight up. If you do a down
wind jump then you have to edge more aggressively There is quick acceleration on the rider when the kite is directed up, that is when the most edge will accelerate the kite.
The faster the kite goes the less time it pulls in the down wind direction so pull the kite up as fast as you dare. It should pick you up at about 10 to 30 degrees
before top center. With the speed it is going you get pulled straight up. Pull on the bar after you top out from the first pop and another 10-ft minimum can be had.
If the bar is pulled to soon it just slows the kite down too early and makes smaller jumps. In 20-25 knot wind done correctly 40+ ft jumps can be done, if thrown in
to gusts just make sure there is lots of water down wind because I have gone more than 100 meters down wind and very high. If you fly the kite cross wind just
right it is a fast landing, but 100 yard+ flights are possible. Remember the biggest jumps happen when the kite is over powering when flown high aka skipping
down wind slightly, but flyable with the kite very low. This kite has the ability to control that power and move that 13m of wing above for super high hang time
jumps that LEI kites can only dream of.
I am still surprised that more kiters have not gone for the PS2. That is fine because I just think it is funny listening to all the guessing on what size kite to fly.
I only wonder how high I get to jump that day. If it is howling, I fly the 7m. Otherwise grab the 13m and go. Any lighter wind than 10 knots is very casual and might
as well grab the 25m and out last everyone.
Jamie Johnson, 29/09/2004
A Flysurfer Psycho2 13.0 review by Kitefan (aka jeffsnox):
Based on a HUGE amount of hype a couple of months ago, and a distinct lack of wind, I bought myself one of these
puppies from Oceanside in Hunstanton (thanks Sven). I had a Peter Lynn Guerilla II 13 and 9 and was really struggling
to have fun in winds below about 14mph. Airtime is my thing and it sounded like the Flysurfer Psycho2 13 was exactly
what I was looking for! People said I could get going in 5mph and start jumping at 8mph!!! How excited was I!!!!
What it came with: They arrive ready to fly. Everything connected. Kite, bar, lines. Comes in a large simple bag
complete with a nice little repair kit (in a plastic bag). I got no instructions with mine as it had only just been
released, but I assume that's noonger the case. Make sure you get the manual with the WAC setting information in it.
Construction: Second to none I reckon. Perhaps on a par with Ozone but probably a little better. Some thread ends
showed through on the surface of the kite and at first I thought they were loose stitches, but it was just ends. The lines
and bar are lovely. The lines are braided where loops are needed. They look and feel of an excellent quality. Similar to
Ozone's Edelrids.
Initial Impression: Having owned Guerilla IIs and Frenzy 04s I was used to a super over specced rucksack. And as
I'd just spent the best part of £1000 on a kite I expected something really special. I was quite surprised to find that
the bag is very basic indeed! It's just a large holdall made of a really light fabric. But I figured, what the hell, that
means 99% of my money has been spent on the kite this time, and not 30% on the bag!
My opinion changed when I took it out of its bag! Beautifully packed with lots of lovely ripstop ribbons around everything!
Not sure why that makes a difference, but it was a nicely packaged thing and it was obvious a lot of care had gone into this
which has to be a good sign. Anyway, I unwrapped the lines, staked the safety, returned to the kite and began to unfold it. Wow!
The thing was BIG!
Inflation time! I was a bit dubious about this. I'd read a bit here and there on the different techniques possible to get
enough air in to get it launched but actually it's a complete doddle. I found that by standing downwind of the kite and
reaching over it I could grab the tape that goes across the inlets and pump the kite up and forwards. I could get enough
air in it to launch within about a minute, even in very light winds. It will actually launch in next to nothing, with very
little pre-inflation at all.
So, I get to have a proper look at this thing now. It's parked really nicely and isn't doing the dance of death that the
Ozone Frenzy is infamous for. It has a very thick wing and holes (officially 'JetFlaps') all across the trailing edge. I was expecting to see these
as I'd read about them, but it's still a weird thing. They're supposed to enable the kite to keep flying without stalling
with less airspeed over the wing. (Interestingly, they supposedly work in the same way that airoplane's flaps do. When a plane
comes in to land they lower the back section of their wing in order to come in to land nice and slowly. BUT this decreases
the efficiency of the wing and gives it somewhat more drag... so why do this to a kite I wonder)
Flying: My first few flights with it were great. I loved it. Very different from the Peter Lynns I was used to but
it felt good. The depower range on the bar seemed massive. It's quoted as 1:4 and I can believe it; and the range is very
smooth. You can feel the power building (until the kite stalls) for every cm you pull in on the bar. The bar pressure is
very low. This was odd at first but I got used to it. Turns seemed fast, especially considering the size of the thing, and they
were quite possible with the bar all the way out.
My first negative point about this kite. I'd gathered it was rather like the Guerilla in that it inflated and then remained
inflated and so wouldn't be prone to folding at all. This was not the case. Maybe it was my inability to fly the thing
properly, but it did fold in a few times. Fortunately the bridles almost always got in the way and it would unfold without
an issue. Sometimes, however, it would get in a right mess with the kite passing through some of the bridling! Judicious
disconnection of certain line connection points always made it possible to disentangle though. This kite was made to move
really, not to be static flown and hovered at the edge of the window.
I noticed that I could really feel the gusts! It has 5" of rubber tube at the top of the powerline called a 'gust absorber'. I
flew without this for a while (to increase the depower range even further) and found it felt like someone was kicking me
in the back from time to time! I put it back in!
Getting going on the board was great. The kite was pretty stable so it was park and ride time. Nose downwind a little and
you get this turbo boost thing going on which feels a little daunting at first; unlike any other kite I've flown. Things were
looking pretty good.
Landing it: It can be reversed by pulling in all the way on the bar, then unhooked and staked to the safety. This works fine
in lower wind speeds. Alternatively pull the safety release and have it rapidly descend to earth (sometimes with a bit of a dance,
but mostly ok). BUT in high winds, even when released to safety, it pulls like a train!!! On the water this might be a serious problem!
Jumping with it: Immediately I did my first static jump I was excited by the potential of this kite. It felt great. It was
with this kite that I learned to sheet fully out while in the air and then pull in again just before landing. This yielded the
floatiest jumps I've ever experienced. I've since found myself doing the same with my Guerillas and it works well with them too,
but not as well as with this kite. You could just manually jump in the air and then gently float back to earth! Very excited
I started to do jumps with it on my landboard....
I sent the kite back, went into the air, pulled the bar to redirect the kite... and it died. I lost all my forward speed and came
down vertically to a standstill. Again and again and again. After some advice I started making sure I was fully sheeting out once
I reached crusing altitude and only then redirecting the kite; not much better. Then I tried sending the kite UP rather than back at all.
Perhaps a little better, but I was nolonger getting the height I wanted. I tried pulling one side of the bar with the bar fully out and then
cranking the bar all the way in with it at max steer... still not much joy. I did get it right a couple of times and that spurred me
on to keep trying for the elusive perfect jumps - but even then I ended up travelling almost directly downwind on landing. Something
I'd never had to do with my Guerillas. Throughout this period I was constantly trying everything I could with the WAC settings which
did sometimes make it feel a bit better, but I never got it right. I guess I should have tried transitions, perhaps this would have been
where this kite most excelled.
After about 3 or 4 months of constantly failing to get it sussed, and really putting in the hours, I realised that I wasn't enjoying
my kiting any more. It felt more like a job. I didn't want to be constantly working at sussing the kite, I wanted to be getting big
long floaty airs where I'd land and carry on travelling in the direction I started off in! After a long period of not using my Guerilla 13 I
got it out and after a few minutes re-found my love for this sport. The Psycho2 stayed in the cupboard. After a while I realised I couldn't even be arsed
to take it to my local venue. So I swapped it for a Peter Lynn Bomba 17m.
I should mention that my local venue is renowned for pretty crap wind... though I'm honestly not sure that it made a difference.
In summary: Beautifully put together piece of kit. Looks great. Flies great. De-powers great. When dropped to safety it could do with
having a lot less pull, especially in higher winds. BUT!!! It's hard or impossible to repeatedly get jumps out of it where you finish off with
forward speed in the same direction as when you took off... which is my favourite thing to do; so the kite had to go. (NB. I know a number of experienced flyers
who fly this kite and absolutely swear by it as the best kite EVER... so maybe have a go on one before you decide to get one or not.)
Kitefan (aka jeffsnox), 29/10/2004
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