Executive summary:
Kite flies well (very stable) and is easy to fly in my very humble opinion (1st foil kite).
Considering the awesome price it is recommended (with reservations) if you want to try ram kites or you are on a budget for one IN CASE you are willing to (potentially) troubleshoot a bit.
-It is highly recommended to do a detailed pre-flight inspection before first flight in order to confirm right bridle and lines connection. It’s also very likely you’ll have to shorten the 5th line or you’ll stumble on it. And in general be prepared to make small corrections
-It is highly recommended to replace the chicken loop (or use your own bar). There is no untwisting swivel and in general it’s not inspiring confidence. (On the other hand, clamcleat and all lines and pulleys look good and strong)
-I did not need anything special from customer service.I got the thing sent ok and got an answer to a basic question before that.
Detailed review:
Kiteforum is such a great place because you can exchange knowledge and experiences related to kiting (products, shops, technique, spots etc) with people from all over the world. Thank you Toby!
I’ve learned so many things and I’ve been helped so many times that I fell it’s my obligation to share information that could be useful to somebody.
Pansh kites have been a controversial topic. I hope that sharing my experience may help somebody.
I was interested to check foil kites but unfortunately there is no rental service or lesson around and none of my beach buddies has one.
The price of new gear was too expensive just for checking if I like them and I’m a bit hesitant to get used gear as I have no experience with foil kites (or anybody to help me)
Therefore the idea of trying a foil kite got parked until I read about Pansh in this forum.
Although controversial most of the reports were recommending them as great value for money.
Checked online and the price was unbelievably good!
Since many comments were negative regarding customer service, I decided to write them an email with a simple question confirming the final price.
I immediately received an automatic reply that my message was received and will be replied asap.
One week passed and I got no reply… having worked with Chinese suppliers in the past, I wrote them again in simple English “no answer, no buy! “ Got a reply and an apology the next day in very ok English.
I placed the order for an A15 , 12m ready to fly (i.e. with bar and 25m lines) and paid with paypal as an extra safety layer in case something went wrong.
10 days later it was at my door.
Everything looking fine when I opened the box and laid it down. ( The chicken loop did not look great and I decided to order an alternative one in order to replace it later on)
I took it to the beach and flew it with a friend who is super experienced with LEI but also new to foils.
We found that
- the bar was not connected ok , the right steering line was going through the V of the front lines
- In a similar fashion, one of the bridle lines was going through another bridle branch and needed to be disconnected and reconnected out of this.
- The 5th line is a few meters longer than it should be. That makes it tangle everywhere during landing and is also a stumbling potential. (made a brummel splice higher up, later on)
It flew ok, considering that we were both ram rookies. (We did not go into the water as it was too late and not in the right clothes)
After correcting the above issues I took it for a ride with a regular sized Twin tip on a couple of days that my 10m Switchblade would either not fly or would not allow me to stay upwind.
My impression (probably mixing general foil impressions as well):
-It had a strong but very gradual/ steady pull
-It was very slow on turning (25m line+bridle…) but very fast on riding [Everything compared to my 10m Switchbalde but for sure applies as well to 12m Switchblades I’ve ridden]
-Bar pressure was so low that I was missing feedback from the kite
-I was going fast upwind in conditions that the Switchblade would have not stayed in the sky. (light wind)
-Upwind angles were better that the best I’ve experienced with Switchblade.
-It had a very Zen and cruiser feeling (opposite of adrenaline)
- In general I was very conservative and did not try jumps or relaunches yet. I once got it down with the breaks and it flew up again when I released them
-25m lines + bridle length + foil launching technique make it quite demanding for the beach (space and ground quality). There are 2 beaches that I kite frequently and I can’t launch it there because of space restrictions, especially if other kiters have landed in between…
All in all quite happy with it (after minor corrections).
Now, I want to become a bit more familiar with it (and foil kites in general) in order to use it with a hydrofoil when my 10m Switchblade can’t reliably stay in the air.