HQ Symphony Beach III 1.3

Verdict:Very good kite for the money. Far beyond the chinese no-name kites. Just go buy it.

After having had mixed experiences with the chinese kites, and a son that was not too happy about going kiting with dad, I decided to get a brand name kite in a smaller size, such that I had something that would fly good, and not pull him across the field.

Some research on the Internet kept showing the HQ Symphony series as good beginners kites, and the Beach series was considered very good value for money.  I knew that a 2m was way too big, so the 1.8m was out of the question, and I went for the 1.3m thinking it might be a bit on the smallish side, mostly for low wind capabilities. Went for the Mango colors. Price is around $25.

The kite is listed with a range of 6-21 mph = 10-49 km/h aka 2.7 - 13.6 m/s, and age 8+. It comes with 100 lbs polyester lines, but they work fine. It is in a flat pack bag, and comes with hand straps that are already mounted on the lines on the winder. So it is easy to unpack, attach lines, and move backwards until all line has been wound off, and then start flying, with one person launching the kite.

On my first flight with my son, we had the usual unstable wind. 3 m/s gusting to 6 m/s, and occasionally dropping to about 2 m/s. So on the light side for this kite. We had no trouble launching the kite, but it was moving maybe a bit too fast for my sons almost first-time experience.

So I added a 10m x 8 cm tail from eBay (<$3), which slowed the kite enough that my son felt more confident. On top of that, it adds lots to the experience and the fun to have a tail that shows where you have just been. Those $3 are well worth it with any stunt kite that can carry a tail. The HQ Symphony kites do have a loop on the center back meant for a tail.

On some launches, the kite would hover with the tail just off the ground. Not enough wind for more.So we did some slower moves. When the kite picked up speed, we knew we had better wind, and could have the kite fly higher. And when we had it higher, I started to introduce the faster maneuvers, and loops even double loops, and unwinding the lines moving back. All the time with my son holding the lines, and me guiding his arms.

Sometimes the kite just lost air in the weaker winds, and fell slowly to the ground, but at the specified 6 mph, it was doing OK.

But all in all the kite flies at way lower wind than the 2m Flame Foil, it flies faster, makes tigther turns, and is very good fun with the tail. Great kite with little pull. Good value for the money. Highly recommended.

2m Flame Parafoil

Verdict. Good kite for the money. But not the best materials. Dynema line replacement recommended.

This 2m x 0.7m = 1.4m2 kite is widely available on the Internet. Both in local online stores and directly from China on eBay and AliExpress.

Price goes from $12.50 to $25 for the same kite. 

I bought mine from BangGood.com for $12.52

The kite needs at least 5 m/s = 10 mph = Beaufort 4 to fly good. Will fly with a bit lower wind, but the end cells is then likely to collapse when turning.

The kite I got was made of plain nylon, no ripstop. Bridle lines also does not look the best. But at least it came with a CE label sewed in one side, and there are loops on the trailing edge to stow the bridles.

I think the included cheap nylon lines lasted 4-5 sessions before breaking. A colleague bought the same kite, and his lines broke on the first launch due to a gust.

My 7 y.o. son likes it a lot. But in stronger wind, he let go of the handles quite a few times before he felt he was ready to handle it.

As always, with a steerable kite, replacing the elastic nylon with Dynema aka Kevlar lines makes a huge difference, So that is what I did. The diffence is huge. Now I can have it fly straight towards the ground, and have it turn around 180 degrees almost hitting the ground, the controls are pretty precise. Now it is very fun to fly. And doing hard turns, it generates significant pull in good wind. Had it tear a 100 lbs dynema fishing line at the larks head knot (knots are the weakest point). But with softer turns, larger children can handle it.

Here is a video of me flying it in fair wind, and Dynema lines. I am not very experienced, yet it is fairly easy to fly with the replaced lines.

Sometimes when it collapses, after letting go of the handles, it might take some time to untangle the bridles again. Decided one time to bring it home, as it was too difficult in the wind. But took lesas than 2 minutes at home.

For the money ($12.50), it is a good kite (as long as it will last. Not sure how durable the non-ripstop nylon and bridles are). For $25 is is too expensive. This is about the largest size I will trust my 7 y.o. son in decent wind. I can fly it so I will have to lean back in the tight turns.

You really should get a set of good lines at $15 from China (2x25m Dynema kite line on winder). And if the kite generates pull like here, around $10 for some soft padded straps. But that adds $25 to the $12.50 investment. So a HQ Symphony Beach 1.8 from Amazon might be a better buy at just over $50. It is ripstop nylon, 150 lbs blend-line, and straps (not the padded ones).

But if/when you have the lines and straps, this kite is good fun for the money, as an extra kite for the bag.

2.8m Fantasy Rainbow Tulips Single Line Delta Kite

Verdict: Good SLK (Single Line Kite) for the money. Recommend to get one or more tails.

I bought this kite for having something larger I could attach tails to. I bought it as a nice looking 3m kite, despite it being 2.8 meters. It is available from Emmakites, eBay, and AliExpress in price range from $30-35.

I have borrowed the kite photo from http://emmakites.com which is a seller I can highly recommend. Very good service.

The kite I got included 25-30 meter of line, which really is too short for such a large kite. So I bought 250 meters of good 250 lbs kiteline, the yellowish type on a spool, from Emmakites to get it higher up. This line handles better than the fishing line of the same strength, which can be used as well with same flight performance.

One problem with kites, nobody can really see how large it is when it gets up in the air. Everybody that walked up to me to talk was surprised the hear it is close to 3 meters wide.

The kite I got had 2 small cuts in the material, and I applied some ripstop kite patches to them. Got a little refund for the issue from the AliExpress seller.

The kite will fly in relatively low wind, and generate a good pull. Deltas are kites often used for Kite Aerial Photography, as the can easily lift some weight, without generating too much pull. I use a screw-shaped dog-stake to hold the kite.

I have had it go into death-dives a few times, which is normal for most delta kites. But relaunching it was easy, just go to it, turn it the right way, and throw it in the air. After I started flying with tails, they add enough drag to avoid most of these dives. I have 3 tails I use depending on wind conditions. In stronger wind, I use 2x 10 meter + 1x 30 meter tail. Weaker wind just the 2x 10 meter.

In strong wind the composite tubes bend quite a lot, and I was afraid they would break, but they are holding up surprisingly good.

The weakest point of the kite is the strap sewn on the backside, which you use to tie the rods together in the cross. It is starting to flail on the sides. Should have been sewn/heat treated at the edges. Still, it will last for a long time before it needs to be replaced. Apart from this workmanship is good, and the tubes in the edge is inside a pocket closed with velcro, and stays there when packing up. One minor issue is, that tubes are different length, and not marked. So remember to mark them on first use as vertical or horizontal.

Packs down in a pretty small bag, 85 cm long, and probably 5-7cm in diameter.

I really like this kite. I usually put it up and park it at the dog stake when I fly my other steerable kites.

1.4m Dual Line Rainbow Parafoil

Verdict: Not recommnended, but flyable with better lines.

The 1.4m Rainbow Parafoil is probably the most announced kite on EBay / AliExpress. It is pretty cheap, at prices from $7-$15 typical.

The kite's bridle design is a bit special. Some call this design a cross-bridle design. Each steering line is connected to all bridles, except the outermost in the other side. This gives slow turns, and as a result the kite is easy to fly for beginners. There is not much power in this kite, and it can easily be used by younger children.

The included lines are the typical cheap nylon lines, and they are pretty stretchy. When I was flying this kite in wind that might have been a little too strong, the lines almost worked as rubber bands, causing the kite to oscillate. It was close to being unflyable.

I replaced the lines with some cheap ($0.01 per foot) 100 lbs Dynema fishing line. And that made a huge difference, and it was flyable. But as I wrote above, it was slow, and not much fun.

This kite is not recommended, but is flyable with better lines.