The Blade is the latest high performance parafoil from Flexifoil. Physically it is very different to the Skytigers. Whereas the Skytigers are rectangular in shape, the Blade is elliptical following the current trend set by many European manufacturers such as Windtools and Jojo. As usual from Flexifoil the construction is excellent, yet very “simple”. If you look at a kite such as the  Competition X series from Quadrifoil and Mosquito from Windtools they are reinforced everywhere – the leading and trailing edges etc. Not so with the Blade but to date I haven’t had any problems with the 3.3, 4.9 or 7.2.  Stitching, finishing and screenprinting is superb throughout and the rucksack is very good too and a very welcome accessory in comparison with the standard ripstop bags around !!

The Blade is very easy to fly. One characteristic of the elliptical shape is the ability to fly with two or four lines, for example, using 4 lines if the brakes are kept “off” or slack the kite will turn very well but simply pulling on the top lines. Adding some brake increases the rate of turn.  I feel that the most important and noticeable characteristic of a Blade is the reluctance to overfly and collapse (or “luff” in kiting terms). Many of the elliptical kites collapse in tight turns, directly overhead or when the speed drops. This is potentially dangerous – sometimes they collapse and deflate then suddently reinflate and pop back into shape. However this means that they develop massive and violent power which is very difficult to judge and manage. However the Blade simply slows down and remains very manageable. This can be seen if the kite is flown directly overhead. Try pulling hard (pump) on the top lines to accelerate it. It will begin to fly forwards but then slows down and actually “backs off” into a neutral flying position. This actually means that the Blade is very predictable which is a superb characteristic for beginners and experts alike.

Overall the Blade is an excellent kite for general purpose use including buggying,  jumping and kite surfing. Support a quality UK manufacturer and buy one !!

General Specifications:

All Blades are made from Chikara and are supplied with quad / 4 line handles in a quality rucksack.

Standard line recommendations by Flexifoil are 300lb over 200lb (135kg over 90Kg) for recreational use, 500lb over 200lb (225kg over 90Kg) for heavy use which includes buggying  / traction activites and 700lb over 300lb (315kg over 135Kg) for water use (the lesser figures are "brake" lines).

For most purposes a  300lb over 200lb (135kg over 90Kg) line set, about 25m long is fine. Longer lines (45m) can be used in light wind conditions to a) get the kite into slightly faster, higher air and b) use the height to keep the kite moving and stay in the "power" by alternately climbing and diving. The use of different line sets can extend the wind range of a specific kite however the tradeoff is the time needed to change the lines and ultimately there's no replacement for a bigger kite !!

For further information check out the Flexifoil web site

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