Absolutely Beautiful Kte, a keeper, but not as reliable as its predecessors

Posted by Hank Manseau, Scarborough, ME on 22nd Jun 2012

This is a beautiful kite! It is the third Power Sled 81 I have purchased and is the latest addition to my collection of 10 Premier power sleds which I have always considered to be my go-to ultra-reliable "sky hooks" in turbulent winds. However, this specific variant is the first Premier Sled to exhibit the bad behavior of dipping a leading edge, rolling over, then imploding in moderate and heavy turbulence... a behavior NONE of its predecessors have ever exhibited. My impression is that the sail fabric is of a lighter weight than that of its predecessors and therefore not as rigid over the span between the three inflatable cells. The kite will often right itself and re-inflate but that really messes up the line laundry. I can't help but feel this kite was rushed to market with insufficient field testing. P.S. This kite comes with a beautiful R/W/B drogue not the tubular tails pictured on the PPK web site.