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"B" series vs. "B" series pro


bartman

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I believed back when I ordered my pro series, and still believe now, that a beginner or flyer with just average skills would not see a lot of difference between the two. Flying my pro last year did not feel any different to me than flying my regular "B" kites. I was not afforded a sudden increase in skill by switching to a Pro and that was okay since it would be a kite to grow into for me and even the best tools in the world cannot make a bad carpenter good. In short, I wasn't expecting a pro kite to make me any better at flying.

Now, almost a year later and and more hours of flying under my belt (the last six weeks of endless snow, rain and hurricane winds not withstanding) I find my kite of choice is the pro.

I can't make a perfect apples to apples comparison because my pro is a mid vent and the B-Series are a std sail and a full vent but, damn, everything works a lot better with the pro now that I have gained more skills. My spins are more stationary and centred, my inverted hovers more level, inverted slides cleaner, reversing has better controlled (and I'll take any control I can get in reverse as it is a struggle), in general far less wobble than I manage with the other two even using the full vent which has slipped to second choice.

If there is any way to fly the pro even a bit out of it's recommended range, that is the kite I want to fly.

I'm happy that I've started to feel the differences and notice the differences. It tells me that even though I am not getting hundreds of hours of practice a year I am still making some progress and moving forwards. It also has helped me to justify the extra money I spent on a pro over getting a regular mid-vent "B".

Upwards and onwards!

Bart

Edited by bartman
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Icarex has become a somewhat interchangeable term nowadays, just wanted to clarify a bit further... ;)

The B-PROs use PC-31 Icarex, the real deal, top grade and quite a bit more expensive so it's not used in the regular B-Series.

All quality riptstop goes through periods where it's hard to get, either in particular colors, or in general.

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The B-PROs use PC-31 Icarex, the real deal, top grade and quite a bit more expensive so it's not used in the regular B-Series.

Thanks John. Just out of curiosity, what are the actual materialistic/physical differences of the Icarex PC-31 over the material used for the regular B-Series?

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Thanks John. Just out of curiosity, what are the actual materialistic/physical differences of the Icarex PC-31 over the material used for the regular B-Series?

You can see the difference when comparing the two kites. The fabric on the B-Pro remains crisp longer, doesn't stretch as quickly, and is more water resistant. The B-Series, after a bit of use, will feel soft to the touch. You will see the kite stretching in a way that distorts the curve in the outside of the trailing edge. The kite will also get heavier when wet. Both kites will get to this point eventually, but the B-Pro takes longer to get there.

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PC-31 is Icarex's method of designating what the fabric is. It stands for polyester carbonate at 31 grams per sq. meter. Icarex is also a company owned by VliegerOp (aka. Peter Lynn Products) in the Netherlands. Regardless if it is Texlon or Icarex or whatever brand, it is all polyester reinforced ripstop material. Icarex tends to be what everyone quotes as "the" best material, truthfully there are many different designations for Icarex material. It is like saying an adjustable end wrench is a Crescent wrench. Crescent is the brand name that originally manufactured the adjustable end wrench - These days, there are many manufactures that make adjustable end wrenches. Some brands are better than others and you can argue that Snap-On or MAC makes a better "crescent" wrench than Crescent does....

The big difference is not necessarily the fabric itself, but the coatings that are used on that fabric. Icarex has a special way of coating their fabrics that works exceptionally well for kites without adding a lot of weight and lasting a very long time. It is also coated on both sides where as some other manufacturers may (or may not) only coat on one side. The cost on the fabrics are all pretty close in price and usually when a manufacturer such as Revolution chooses a particular fabric for it's B-Series kites, it is chosen on color more than manufacturer and price. Icarex is a company that produces a majority of material for the kiting industry, so that is usually what most companies tend to choose, but if a certain color or style is not available from Icarex, then other manufacturers are considered.

Most people would never "feel" or know what fabric is actually used in their kite without physically looking at the material, they are all so close to each other in quality and weight that it is difficult to know unless you have spent thousands of hours flying each type and style in the same wind conditions...then you may be able to feel a difference from the pilots end. As you change from Ripstop Polyester to Ripstop Nylon, the differences become much more noticable but it would be exceptionally difficult to tell the difference between a sail that was made with 100% Icarex brand materials and one that was say 50% Icarex and 50% Texlon.

That being said - and the fact that this topic is noted as differences between the B-Pro and standard B....

You can most definately tell the difference in overall flight and control between a normal production line B-Series kite and a hand made custom B-Pro produced by Bazzar. The difference is not so much the material used, but more in the details and the tedius way that Bazzar assembles each kite. Bazzar does things on the B-Pro that would just be too expensive and time consuming for Revolution to do on each of it's B-Series, things such as the extra details on the leading edge ends and the finishing details on the trailing edges amoung other things.

Hope that helps, this is the best of my knowledge of what I have heard/learned from others who are much more experienced in materials and such than I am. Please forgive me if any of this is not correct.

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You can most definately tell the difference in overall flight and control between a normal production line B-Series kite and a hand made custom B-Pro produced by Bazzar. The difference is not so much the material used, but more in the details and the tedius way that Bazzar assembles each kite. Bazzar does things on the B-Pro that would just be too expensive and time consuming for Revolution to do on each of it's B-Series, things such as the extra details on the leading edge ends and the finishing details on the trailing edges amoung other things.

This always reminds me of my first Pro and of meeting Bazzer

In flight, I did not feel like there was much of a difference until I flew a Pro exclusively for over a month - when I switched back to the B-series the differences really started to jump out at me. Given the choice I will take a Pro in flight over a B every single time, but I am often on the handles of my friends B-series and can assure those reading that the B-series will not hold you back, but a Pro will make it that little bit nicer :)

In construction...

Lets just say that after making the trip to the USA and getting to meet Bazzer and have to opportunity to spend time talking with him and flying with him ... there is not another person I know of that I would rather have make me a kite than him. I'll skip the details since we really don't need to inflate the poor mans ego, but I'll just say that Bazzer is the man. You will likely never see or understand all of the things that go into the Pro, but they are there and they do make a difference.

For me, these things are worth the extra cost ... your mileage may vary

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Another big difference that you may find between the b-series and the b-pro is the way that the fabric is sewn into the kite. Rip-stop tends to stretch on the diagonal, so the way that it is sewed changes the way the sail stretches in general.

Thanks Watty, I have been wondering this for a while now.

Tapatalk for iPhone.

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