90 replies to this topic

[Kitelife]

One of the common questions I hear is "How can I tell one Rev rod from another?"... Well, here it is.

Rev rods (also known as Advantage rods) are generally marked with gold labels, which have different content:

Revolution Equipped - Generally 4-wrap.
Ultra Light - Generally 3-wrap.
Professional Use Only - Generally 2-wrap.

There are also the following:

1.5 rods - Not for necessarily for the Rev 1.5, these rods are the lightest made and are included with the Indoor Rev... Easily distinguished because of their much smaller diameter.

SLE - Used primarily as a leading edge, the Super Leading Edge rods have a much larger diameter than any other rod made by Rev and will withstand even the most ballistic conditions.

On rare occasion I've come across 2-wrap rods marked with Ultra Light labels, but this is very rare.

I've also seen standard diameter Rev rods done in 6-wrap, but these are very scarce and are generally only used by sponsored pilots... The SLE has made the 6-wrap faily well obsolete anyway.

Well, I hope this helps a bit... Now go fly!

[OAK]

One of the common questions I hear is "How can I tell one Rev rod from another?"... Well, here it is.

Rev rods (also known as Advantage rods) are generally marked with gold labels, which have different content:

Revolution Equipped - Generally 4-wrap.
Ultra Light - Generally 3-wrap.
Professional Use Only - Generally 2-wrap.

There are also the following:

1.5 rods - Not for necessarily for the Rev 1.5, these rods are the lightest made and are included with the Indoor Rev... Easily distinguished because of their much smaller diameter.

SLE - Used primarily as a leading edge, the Super Leading Edge rods have a much larger diameter than any other rod made by Rev and will withstand even the most ballistic conditions.

On rare occasion I've come across 2-wrap rods marked with Ultra Light labels, but this is very rare.

I've also seen standard diameter Rev rods done in 6-wrap, but these are very scarce and are generally only used by sponsored pilots... The SLE has made the 6-wrap faily well obsolete anyway.

Well, I hope this helps a bit... Now go fly!

Hi John ~

I see you have been a member since 1969?  

I was but 11 years old and flying homemade box kites!



But, really, I've been reading through the posts and found this one interesting because I see that my new 1.5SLE has the gold label, Ultralight rods. Why would this be rare, as you mentioned above?

Also, the kite store told me that the SLE should have had #90, 85' PRO Gold line, but said that, lately, line has not been included. So, they gave me #90, 75', Spectra, Warp Speed, Sport Line.

I have no idea what the technical implecation's are and, since I'm new to this, I don't think it makes a difference.

However, I am, technically, curious.

Thanks

[awindofchange]

I may be able to help clarify this for you.  The rare "Ultra Light" rods that John is referring to are 2 wrap rods which are lighter duty than the normal "Ultra Light" 3 wrap rods that are currently used in the 1.5 SLE.  This can be quite confusing.

As for flying line, Revolution will ship kites with or without line depending on what the store orders.  Some stores like to include their own line instead of the standard line shipped by Revolution.  Line will vary about as much as tires for your car.  There are inexpensive linesets that will work but may not work that well and then there are high quality linesets that may cost a bit more but have tons more performance.   I personally like Laser Pro Gold or Shanti line over all others, they seem to have the highest quality.  There are also other brands as well that are very good, those two are just my personal favorites.  Line length will also effect the way your kite performs.  Most Rev fliers will use line between 75' and 100'.  Line length is a personal thing so if you get the chance, try flying on several different lengths until you find a length that you really love over the others.  It's not that big of a difference that you should go out and buy 20 or so linesets to find that optimum length, but if you do end up purchasing a couple sets, you may want to try some other lengths just to see if that works better for your style of flying.  I mostly use line in the 75-85' lenght depending on the Rev that I am flying at the time.  For the Powerblasts & larger revs, 100' seems to be the ticket.

[Kitelife]

Aye, Kent hit it right on the head...

1. Sounds like you have 3 wrap rods, which are indeed marked correctly as "Ultra Light".

2. Inclusion of lines is at the discretion of the stores.

Hope we cleared that up some.

[OAK]

Aye, Kent hit it right on the head...

1. Sounds like you have 3 wrap rods, which are indeed marked correctly as "Ultra Light".

2. Inclusion of lines is at the discretion of the stores.

Hope we cleared that up some.

Yes, very helpful!

We spent the afternoon flying, for the first time, in a real wind, probably somewhere in the 15 - 20 mph range.

I need to get a good pair of sunglasses!

8)

[Kitelife]

For sure, good eye protection is a must!!

[antman]

i still like the 4 wrap and 2 wrap spars the best and a exp fram on a 1,5 sail is the best set up yet

[RevWizard]

One of the common questions I hear is "How can I tell one Rev rod from another?"... Well, here it is.

Rev rods (also known as Advantage rods) are generally marked with gold labels, which have different content:

Revolution Equipped - Generally 4-wrap.
Ultra Light - Generally 3-wrap.
Professional Use Only - Generally 2-wrap.

There are also the following:

1.5 rods - Not for necessarily for the Rev 1.5, these rods are the lightest made and are included with the Indoor Rev... Easily distinguished because of their much smaller diameter.

SLE - Used primarily as a leading edge, the Super Leading Edge rods have a much larger diameter than any other rod made by Rev and will withstand even the most ballistic conditions.

On rare occasion I've come across 2-wrap rods marked with Ultra Light labels, but this is very rare.

I never heard of two variations of the Ultra Lights 1.5 SLE rods.
Almost all of my SLE rods are the Ultra light though I do have two sets of "Revolution Equipped" 1.5 SLE spars.

I've also seen standard diameter Rev rods done in 6-wrap, but these are very scarce and are generally only used by sponsored pilots... The SLE has made the 6-wrap faily well obsolete anyway.

I agree, the only set of 6-wrap(REV I) I have ever saw I have. I was sponsored by Revolution when I received them back around 1996 or so.

Well, I hope this helps a bit... Now go fly!

John Mitchell

[antman]

6 wrap!!!! never heard of them

[woody65]

One of the common questions I hear is "How can I tell one Rev rod from another?"... Well, here it is.

Rev rods (also known as Advantage rods) are generally marked with gold labels, which have different content:

Revolution Equipped - Generally 4-wrap.
Ultra Light - Generally 3-wrap.
Professional Use Only - Generally 2-wrap.

There are also the following:

1.5 rods - Not for necessarily for the Rev 1.5, these rods are the lightest made and are included with the Indoor Rev... Easily distinguished because of their much smaller diameter.

SLE - Used primarily as a leading edge, the Super Leading Edge rods have a much larger diameter than any other rod made by Rev and will withstand even the most ballistic conditions.

On rare occasion I've come across 2-wrap rods marked with Ultra Light labels, but this is very rare.

I've also seen standard diameter Rev rods done in 6-wrap, but these are very scarce and are generally only used by sponsored pilots... The SLE has made the 6-wrap faily well obsolete anyway.

Well, I hope this helps a bit... Now go fly!

Also you can get unmarked rods which are usually from an EXP and are three wrap.

There are definitely 2 types of SLE - Ultralight and Rev Equipped

Woody

[antman]

yup

[ilh]

Aren't there THREE types of SLE sticks?  GWTW is also selling "Stiff" (5-wrap) SLE sticks.

[wufer]

sorry you guys but im new as far as REV,s are concerned.  I have just got my first REV   an EXP..  I keep hearing you talk about "this wrap" and " that wrap". So please tell me what does WRAP mean.       Thank you.   Derek

[ilh]

It is roughly related to the number of layers used in the construction of the sticks.  More wraps means stiffer and heavier.

[antman]

spar size and weight for example a 4 wrap is a heavy duty  leading edge rod for strong winds and a 2 wrap is the lightest rod it takes off head weight to make it fly better in lighter winds

[wufer]

aaaa i see. That clears things up for me. Thank you   Derek.

[Ray C]

I'm new to Rev kites and this forum. This topic looked like a good place to post my question. I recently bought a REV 1.5 SLE. She flew great the first two times out. However, both times the wind was at the top of the advertised wind window of 4 - 20 MPH. Today I took the kite out in 5 - 6 MPH winds and could barely keep her in the air. Realising I'm still in a learning curve, I'm not blaming the kite. However, she really seemed nose heavy. Should I be thinking about aquiring smaller LE spars to fly in winds this light or do I just need more finese?

[Kitelife]

The smaller spar will help a lot, and some basic techniques might go a long way as well.

http://www.kitelife....ind40/index.htm

FYI, I fly with my top lines lengthened (with leaders) by about 4" to 6"...

This lessens the SLE's tendency to flutter and fall out of the sky, and helps you gain ground in light winds.

[mousieo]

Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!

This was very helpful.

mousie

[Ray C]

The smaller spar will help a lot, and some basic techniques might go a long way as well.

http://www.kitelife....ind40/index.htm

FYI, I fly with my top lines lengthened (with leaders) by about 4" to 6"...

This lessens the SLE's tendency to flutter and fall out of the sky, and helps you gain ground in light winds.

Thanks for the tips John. I tried 6" leaders yesterday and that helped a lot. Also did a lot of walking backwards. (If your on the beach, watch out for holes people have dug in the sand ). One more question on rod sizes. My wing rods are marked Ultra Light making them 3-wrap I'm assuming. If I can only afford to get one set of lighter leading edge rods right now, would you recommend 4-wrap or 3-wrap?

Thanks again,
Ray