Kites and Travel Frames

[MadJon]

Hey everyone!  I've owned a rev 1.5 SLE for around 8 years now. I got it when I was in high school and only just recently learned that there are even other options.  How I managed to stay in the dark so long is beyond me, but here I am, and now I'm very confused as to what kite to get next.

So I actually started investigating rev's more thoroughly in preparation for a two month Europe trip.  I learned about travel frames from a kite shop in Bodega Bay, and in researching those more thoroughly I discovered my SLE is woefully outdated.  I'll attack a picture of the travel frame I was shown below.

So I've got a few questions.  The first is, what is the difference between the new Reflex rx rand the old Rev 1.5 SLE's? Mine is pretty beat up so I'm looking to replace it, but I'd like to make an educated choice this time rather than buying the first one my local shopkeeper presents to me.

Second, are the old frames still compatible with the reflex rx and spider?  So if I did pick up a travel frame as well as a new kite would I be able to use them together?  My understanding is the new frames are 5/16 of an inch rather than 1/4 of an inch, but I'm not sure if they're a different length or if they're more flexible than the old ones.  Additionally on the revkites webpage I don't see any travel frames available for the reflex's.

Lastly, I'm sort of confused about the different travel frames available.  I saw some posts about "diamonds", and racing frames.  Are these different from the travel frame in the picture I've posted?  Are the travel frames even affective enough to be worth investing in?

That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll have more questions in the future.  I'm very excited to have updated gear and be more involved in the kiting community, so thanks so much to anyone who can help me along my journey 

[REVflyer]

some like the new reflex kites, some don't,.....

personally? the best one looks like a B-series panel layout and incorporates the reflex mechanism, plus uses the ordinary sized frame members we are used to.  (You need to dremel saw the furnished down-spars in half and epoxy in add'l ferules to make that a travel frame,... no biggie, wrap the spar in electrical tape before sawing to prevent splitters in the tube)

what's the difference between the old and the new? Well the materials are better, lighter, stronger and the panel layout provides for stretch over time by channeling the airflow (more durable).  SLE tubes serve a purpose, but most pilots don't use them.  If you want to throw your kite though, they can NOT be beaten!  Most of us like more bending in the frame, but we want it to snap back too.  Like comparing a cross-bow with an english long bow, both put an arrow downrange, but one almost any farmer could fire accurately and the other take real training and practice to perform even marginally as close.

The overall design has evolved too, there's now a much more pronounced curvature built into the leading edge, where "back in the day" it was built laser straight.

Diamonds are a custom order, just like a Ferrari, delicate, fast, expensive, worth the money (IF you can afford it),.... poor man's diamonds are Skyshark P-90s (too flexible but really light in weight and cheap enough to break ~ order extras)  

T-zero is a chinese spar that comes with the Friedline kite, better than a P-90 but nothing equals a Diamond

2 wraps are light weight and more readily available, stiffer but still relatively light in weight are Black Race

Skyshark P-100 and P-200 go in here someplace too

Green Race is a Black with an add'l coating applied. it's almost the perfect stick, strong and responsive (quick rebound), not unreasonably priced.  I have friends that use this frame in no wind conditions!

3 Wraps, kind of a middle of the road stick, very common in team flying as almost everyone has it.  Black Race is builded as "the strength of 3 wrap and the weight of a 2 wrap)

P-300 from Skyshark goes in here and there's a Chinese Spar called the T-Two

4 wraps are for when weight is not a factor, you just want it stiff and strong.

SLEs are for when the port-potties are blowing over, under water, or within a sacrificial sail playing bumper kites!

REMEMBER: A travel frame is a step up in stiffness and weight too, so it you want a 3wrap frame buy a two wrap travel instead.  Can you see why lots of folks picked the Black Race or Diamonds now for a travel frame?  Plus if you break a stick you are only needing 1/10 instead of a fifth!

You'd NEVER need a 4 wrap travel frame, it could be used to free a car stuck from the snowbank!

We could be into hybrid travel frames, but you need hours on the line more than equipment purchased, know what you want, the pursue it hard!

The handles and leaders can be vastly improved with a little time and effort.  Leaders should be 2 or even 3 times as long on top as compared to the bottoms of the handles.  The "hog rings" can be dumped for plastic drywall moly inserts and flat headed or trumpet headed screws, so they are "Snag-less"