Re: Anyone using ParaskiFlex??
I've been kite skiing on a Paraski-flex F 5-30 series for a few years. The kite is supposed to handle 5 to 30 kilometers per hour wind but I'm out in about 7 MPH to 25MPH.
They are nothing like a Nasa Wing; what is?
They are shaped like a half circle like a Peter Lynn C-quad with a rigid carbon fiber rod that slides in and gives it the shape.
They are made in Canada and there are about 40 schools from Montreal through the Gaspe. The schools are really inexpensive and you can even rent a kite for the day.
http://www.paraskiflex.ca/They had a US distributor but no more so you will not find many in here in the US or even outside Canada.
Do a search in Youtube for paraskiflex and you'll find some great videos.
Here's what's good and what's not:
1) Fast set up- I can set the kite up in under 5 minutes even in gusty wind. That's throwing the kite on the snow, putting in the leading edge rod, cliping in and taking off. The kite just lies on the snow or ice until you launch; it has no lift until you launch. Inflatables and Peter Lynn (which I also have) will want to flap around and need a lot of attention when setting up. You can't just lay them down and take your hands off.
2) Fast take down- only need about 5 minutes.
3) Lines are only about 20 feet long. I can play in a soccer field since I don't need room for 100 foot lines. When the kite is on the ground I can throw the lines on top of the kite so they don't get cut ( I use it on ice with skates a lot and people are always skating up to talk)
4) No tubes to puncture. I'm always out early in the year in corn fields that will put a hole in anything. If I get a hole, all I need to do is put on some sail tape. Its been years and while there are pin holes I have not patched anything.
5) Safe for going out by yourself. No problem launching or landing. If you throw the safety it drops straight down. The lines are only 20 feet long so it's not flopping around a hundred feet away. It's sitting there 20 feet away. Hitch in, launch it and off you go.
6) All kites can get tangled lines. Even my Peter Lynn Venoms which have only 4 lines can get tangled. But the Paraski flex has only 3 lines! I can detangle anything in under a few minutes.
7) I've taught lots of my friends how to kite ski using my Paraski flex. It takes about 5 minutes for people who can ski and are used to the wind (sailors) to about 20 to 30 for others. Then I let them go.
These things handle gusts better than anything. If there's a problem like a mega gust, release the safety and it falls straight down. Or you can steer it into the snow leading edge first, when it hits just let it stay there till the gust passes. It will not move until you rotate the leading edge up and launch.
9) Mine is about 5 years old and has 4 modes which allow me to fly in anything from 7MPH to about 25. The new ones have 2 or 3 modes but what they all do is take the trailing edge and pull it in to reduce the projected surface. In full storm mode it is shaped like a tube. Changing modes takes about 5 minutes so if you are out and the wind picks up you can always get back. I hate to be out over 25 MPH in cold driving snow so the range is good for me.
10) Paraski flex hosted the 2008 World Ice and Snow Sailing Championships so if you search on WISSA you'll see lots of their kites.
1- the bad. You can't find used cheep Paraski flex kites in the US. If you go to paraskiflex.ca, go into the french forums and look for used equipment. Use Google language tools to translate. Otherwise, contact the vendor for new. You will really get a lot of use out of the kite and they handle a wide wind range so you really can have a quiver of one. Especially if you get the F series.
2- the bad. Crap on water. The R series and L series are supposed to be good for water but I don't see how you relaunch if it drops into water. At least an inflatable or something like a Flysurfer or Peter Lynn sit on top of the water for a relaunch.
3- the bad. They don't fly as nicely as a typical 4 or 5 line kite. You can have lots of fun with little experience and go just as fast but 4 and 5 line kites respond much more quickly to user input. 4 and 5 line kites also jump higher but that can be a bad thing if you don't know how to do it safely.
4- the bad. They don't have any schools in the US and people will really look at you funny when you use one.
The Great!!- Great for kids- check out this site. It goes to "www flexlibre dot com" and translates to english
http://translate.google.com/translate?u ... l=fr&tl=en