Reviewer: John Holgate

21/02/2010 06:08am

A few thoughts on the 2.8m Century II. I didn't get any lines or handles with mine so I can't comment on them. The bag is a bare bones stuff sac with a couple of straps that allows you to wear it as a backpack, but it's also light enough to roll up and stuff in your pocket while you're flying. The sail seems very well made. Mine has 32 cells, quite long multi colored bridle lines and reinforcements in all the right spots. Mine is the standard material which seems very nice. Launching normally requires me to get it on it's side pretty quick to force some air into it and then you're off! Being thin (this is my first 'high aspect' kite), you need to keep it moving and force the air into it. It's not made for static flying (although I've had a couple of great sessions doing just that) and it will fly clean out of the window and luff if your not paying attention. Having said that, I've noticed in really clean winds it can just sit at the edge of the window, but not so much in the gusty crud I get around home! It responds very well to flying on the front lines. a touch of brake to speed the turns up - not too much, or you may squeeze all the air out of it and stall it. Or stall half of it with a resulting spin. So it's a little trickier to fly than the low aspect Flow's & Beamer's and the like. BUT, it rewards you with FAR more power. I was tearing up and down my paddock with this the other night in winds that would not have got me going with my 4m Beamer. It's very smooth in it's power delivery. It did bow-tie on me a few times, but as I said, this is my first high-aspect kite and it will take me a little while to adjust. I had no problem getting to all corners of my paddock, so upwind isn't an issue. It's reasonably stable and friendly. Once up to speed, the Century is more than happy to sit there and pull you along in the buggy. I tend to take it up in the window, slide off a bit of speed and downturn the kite. It doesn't like any slack in the lines so I have to watch my line tension a bit. I must say I am extremely impressed with the Century II. It makes my other similar sized low aspect kites feel much, much smaller! And it's a hell of a lot of fun. And did I mention that this has got to be the sexiest kite ever designed?? A beautiful and awesome little kite that will demand a little more skill from the pilot, but it will reward you with a big smile. and some video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Zgn0aLcsTM cheers, John