12 replies to this topic

[Vector]

hi all!

new to the world of quads, just started a couple of weeks ago.

my first (and only) Rev is the 20th Anniversary one. having lots of fun with it but it is getting kinda trashed out.

I was wondering if I should get myself a 1.5 SLE (someone is selling his locally) for practise? Am afraid i'll trash the 20th A one out of existence!

having race rods with the 20thA, I could easily replace the 3-wraps on the SLE of course.

what do you guys think?

[Baloo]

Welcome to the forum, glad you are having fun.

Some folks on here would tell you Revs are built to be thrashed. However I understand your concern.

I had great difficulty working out the handles wen I first started flying on my own. I bought a quad line foil which flew slower and managed to work it out, then my Rev got less thrashed.

You are in the right place to ask questions.

If you can find another Rev flier you will learn a lot, is there any local festivals you can go to?

As for uying the SLE only you can decide, would say more Revs are better than less Revs though. And the SLE will fly in higher winds to. Specially with the practically indestructable leading edge.

[REVflyer]

The first couple of REVs are generally loved like successful kids, you'll actually brag about 'em.

Eventually though, they will be joined by so many others, they'll be like redheaded step-children livin' out in the woodshed! Yeah it's true, the kite won't look as good in a couple of years, but you have savagely beaten that poor thing into submission. It only does exactly what you tell it to and all the warfare & disasters have added up. The leading edge sleeve looks like you've rested it on a chain-saw. The elastics and bridles have been replaced several times. You've broken sticks diagonally on sea-walls and cut the sail repeatedly on fence-post signs. There will be stress fractures in the fabric, every reinforcement seam will be frayed, maybe a kids' muddy foot print or a cigar/cigarette burn-hole from your own butts is in the fabric as well. That darn thing still rips the air and flies beautifully, it has become old faithful, the kite all others will be compared to!

Rev will come out with some new fangled darn thing and you'll have to have one of those beasties. The newer ones will move the older ones out of your "A-bag". So what if you've sucked the life out of it by hard use. It gave you as much in return as your efforts put forth. If you want to flail, cool, . . . go for it. But you've gotta' learn precision & speed control also, so you can team kite with your fellow mates from around town, the country and the world! Chase these things long enough and whole group of you will be pulling 'em out locally together on weekends too.

Wanta' really beat a Rev? Give newbie lessons in big wind!!
It ain't even about you anymore, everyone chases 'em into the ground, (leading-edge first, naturally) as they panic and snap the handles with tons of forward drive, smack into the earth. Teach 'em to roll it over and try again. We all went thru that exact same learning curve! At the end of the day the leading edge is ripping away from the sail and all the tubes have been smacked around hard at different angles. "Crashes are cumulative" in case you were curious. I still come home with my face hurting from all the smiling I did. You'll leave white line creases on your tanned face where the dimples fold.

I do know an individual family who's almost religious about caring for their kites. They remove the sticks and carefully roll the flattened sail around a stiff plastic tube (that could hold a fluorescent light bulb). I don't say a word and they don't want any of my help when packin' up either. It's all good, we are family (of REV pilots)! Nothing lasts forever though + the darn things just keep getting better & better aerodynamically. That means I want to beat 'em, so I can justify new ones to my beloved bride Barbara.

2012 will be my 20th anniversary as a revolution customer. I will want an entire new suite of masterpiece or PRO kites (with all the things I've learned over the years incorporated in each one!) Whoever buys my old set will get a killer deal, but they will certainly not be in "like new condition". They will still fly like a dream though. Revolution kites have got to be one of the best values in entertainment, . . . ... now who wants to play "bumper-kites" with me on kevlar string? HA!

[goestoeleven]

I was wondering if I should get myself a 1.5 SLE (someone is selling his locally) for practise? Am afraid i'll trash the 20th A one out of existence!

having race rods with the 20thA, I could easily replace the 3-wraps on the SLE of course.

As someone who started just eight or nine months ago on an SLE . . . . YES! If you can get it for a good deal, and it's in good shape, then I'd go for it. BTW . . . this logic leads to more kites than you can explain to your wife . . . . Worst case scenario . . . you'll have another kite to fly with your friends or family if you get another line set with the kite. You'll find . . . you will want "need" more kites for more wind conditions (i.e. vented, SUL) and then . . . (so you can enjoy flying in the same wind with your friends or family), you'll need more than one of each type. Then . . . you'll say, "well, I should try the Speed series" and you'll end up with another one. By that time . . . you'll have to buy another kite bag because the first one is packed full.

And I fully agree with the post about having some "beater" kites for newbies to learn (including yourself). Some of the ones I bought used (including my original SLE) are getting a bit thrashed from my mistakes, and they are now becoming my "beater" kites. But I don't mind because it's more fun to fly than it is to keep them in the bag. I'd rather let people who want to learn try out my "beater" revs than my newer ones. If you have a "beater" rev, then you won't get upset by some kid dragging your nice brand new (insert your latest Rev kite here) across the sand. Plus, the more new people I let fly my "beater" revs, the more likely it is that I'll have more friends to fly with in the future.


If the SLE has the "big" SLE leading edge, I'd replace it with something lighter unless you often fly in heavy winds. I won't go into the whole spars debate here, but I'm happier flying with lighter spars than the SLE leading edge. I've used it just once on a very windy day since I got lighter leading edges, and I only used it because there were two of us flying, and the gusting wind was really bending my only 4 wrap spars in a fully vented, so three wraps were out of the question.

Also . . . agree 100% with finding a local flyer to spend some time with - it will make a world of difference in your learning curve.

[Vector]

Thanks all for the insights!
Just to check, I can swap out the spars on a SLE with the racerods on the 20thA rite?

[RevWizard]

Thanks all for the insights!
Just to check, I can swap out the spars on a SLE with the racerods on the 20thA rite?

Make sure you are getting an original REV from California and not one of those bad copies out of China or maybe somewhere else.
Those bad copies have poorly made sails and cheap material. On top of that the rods are dangerously bad.

[Baloo]

Good point, and well presented John.

And yes you can swap the rods around.

[stroke survivor]

Just to add to Baloo's post: you can swap all the rod sets for the 1.5 between models! 2, 3, 4 wrap, and both race frames are interchangeable!!

[Vector]

ah thats great to hear.

now i'm in a further dilemma...just tried a friend's JB Pro over the weekend...it was great!very precise, really stops on a dime!

now thinking of scraping the SLE idea and going straight for a JB Pro...arggh!

[REVflyer]

Vector, you won't be disappointed in any of the kites with Bazzer's name on 'em, particularly the PROs
(Do you need it?, NOPE, but I bet you'd really enjoy spinning one around that is all you own)

[JasonOsteo]

Or.... Go for the 1.5JB package. You get two frames with it, pigtailed handles and the same panel pattern as the pro. They fly great too.

[REVflyer]

The panel layout might look the same in photography, but it is not. The B-series sail has something like 13 fabric parts whereas the pro model has more than double that number. The sail fabric pieces are individually rotated for stretch and the trailing edge is much better crafted for knifing thru the air (as opposed to just backing up) on the pro models. This level of construction/labor does cost more but it's worth the extra dough. They are not call Professional by mistake or thru some clever marketing concept's catch phrase.

[Vector]

The panel layout might look the same in photography, but it is not. The B-series sail has something like 13 fabric parts whereas the pro model has more than double that number. The sail fabric pieces are individually rotated for stretch and the trailing edge is much better crafted for knifing thru the air (as opposed to just backing up) on the pro models. This level of construction/labor does cost more but it's worth the extra dough. They are not call Professional by mistake or thru some clever marketing concept's catch phrase.

Thanks for the info,I didn't know tat!
Guess my choice is clear!jus gotta save up!