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Handle size for rev ll ?


Noel

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Hello everyone, I just picked up my first quad line kite, a rev ll, looks like I'm going to need some handles and and lines, other than that it's a complete kite. Took a little bit to figure out the extra lines and spars that this thing has on the back side though. I was wondering what size handles to go with and where is a good place to order them from, heard this is a twitchy fast kite, this is my fisrt rev so I just don't know, thanks.

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many folks like that kite on handles appropriately sized (short), like maybe 9 inches or less (across the gap between the two attachment points), but my first quad-lined coach (Jeffery Burka) flies his on handles of 19 inches, basically you take off the bottom hog ring and slip in a piece of carbon tube, butted against the curvature and held in place with vinyl electrical tape.  The end cap of a Rev is epoxied onto the end of the carbon insert so you have an easy attachment point.  Jeff flies his without a bridle too,... and upwind, and one handed without looking at the kite.

so the easiest answer is ,.... do what feels best to you!

My Rev/B2 flies on 13 inch no-snag handles with less than 80 feet of line of flying line so I can throw and catch it. Modified too, it has a Race Frame, micro-carbon magic sticks and a french bridle,.... everything is available from Flying Smiles kites in NC, just a visa card away!

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Hi, Noel, and welcome! 

The RevII is a fast and very responsive kite. It will be a bit more challenging to learn with that size of sail, but not impossible. Nine- to eleven-inch handles are ideal for this size, but the more common thirteen-inch are what most flyers use, since that's what they have if they started out with a full-size sail. The lines most folks start with are 75 to 80 feet in length, and eventually get 120-foot which is the accepted international standard when crossing lines with others. Get no-snag handles with extended top leaders. They cost just a little bit more, but will eliminate the need to modify the standard hog-ring style later.

Get on the KiteLife forum and watch the tutorials on setup, breakdown and line management if you don't have anyone to instruct or help you with your first few flights. It will save you a bit of frustration and is easier than learning on your own. If you must learn on your own, you will more than likely have some issues with getting the lines sorted without tangling them. Ignore the twists that appear to be in the lines as you lay them out and attach them. Ninety-nine percent of those twists will disappear when you put tension on the lines. The remaining two or three should be fairly easy to undo at the handle end.

From your description it appears that you bought a used one which came with "magic sticks", the frame members that jut out perpendicularly from the back of the kite, supported by lines that go from the distal ends to the leading edge and tips of the kite frame. I recommend not using them unless you are absolutely positive that they are attached and tensioned correctly. This kite will need wind of at least 8 to 10 mph until you have basic control down pat. Wait for winds in the 8 to 16 mph range. If you fly in less or more wind you will only be fighting the wind and not learning to fly the kite. It will be an exercise in frustration and not much else. If you wait for suitable wind you should have mastered basic control in four or five outings. Take a 5-minute break every 20 minutes or so. Try not to overthink what you are doing. Spend some time just feeling how the wind pushes against the sail. Remember, if you can't feel the wind pushing on the kite it won't fly.

Any questions you have can and will be answered. Don't be shy. We all want you to succeed.

Have fun, smile and don't forget to breathe.

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Just finally successfully flew the rev2, had a good stiff wind for it. Took quite a few crashes to figure it out and loose that two line mentality. It's a blast, very quick and took very little input on the handles, looks like the upper bungees got a little sloppy or maybe the sail stretched out some was flying it in 15-20 mph gusts, think it's a kite from the 90's so I guess I have to expect some of that. Defiantely does not like turbulent air at all, never the less it was fun, now I just have to get better at line management, I kind of make a mess on them at first.

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Cool. Glad to hear you got some air time in. What length of handles are you using? I prefer 11-inch for the II-sized kites, but 13's should be ok, just keep the input gestures mild. Replace the bungee. If it's from the 90's it definitely needs to be replaced since rubber disintegrates quickly. It's 1/8 inch diameter and not expensive. It'll take you an hour or two but is well worth it. You'll be amazed at how much control you'll gain when you have some shock absorption to compensate for wind gusts. When you are laying out the lines don't worry about all the twists you see in the lines. Most of them are not really there. Just hook up the kite and handles and put tension on the lines. Voila, 99.9% of them disappear. The one or two that remain can be easily removed at the handle end by shuffling the handles around and through each other.

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