Hi... which kites did you buy instead?Gobigorfoil wrote:Hey,
That is exactly the reason I sold my 2016 bandit kites, great kite but a poorly designed quick release that doesn't release the power..
Hi Alexeyga.... which kites did you switch to?alexeyga wrote:That dysfunctional safety is one of the reasons why I've turned my back on Bandits. Well that and the simple fact that F-One has been selling us same gear in different colors since 2013. No innovation or improvements what so ever.
As far as safety goes - generally speaking - it seems to work better on smaller sizes and is next to useless on larger ones (12m+). Your millage may vary a lot depending on your weight (heavier = better), but it is always a case of a Russian roulette none the less.
Also, had to go through some warranty claims which were handled very poorly by our Canadian distributor and I was never able to speak with or hear from anybody alive at F-One's head office, even in their mother's tongue language.
Having had better experience with other brands/suppliers - at today's gear prices - it's really worth exploring other options. Bandit is a great kite, but it isn't the only great kite out there.
Hi JeromeL, thanks for your reply... it sounds like you have had very similar issues.jeromeL wrote:I have had similar issues with bandit 7 and 8 edition, It's a known issue... You can always flag the kite by pulling one of the center line once you pull all the leash with bar at stopper ball, though don't mess with lines if wind is strong and make sure you don't get tangled in lines...
I have asked F-one directly with supporting videos and their answer was that bandit is a performance based kite and flagging kills 70% of power (don't remember exact number but it's not 100%) and if I want a safer kite I can take the fone Trust....
I have a feeling they do that because their bridle is really long so if kite is in true flag position, as you reset the bar and kite rotate the wingtip can catch the bridle which will start uncontrolled loop (deathloop), happened to me 3 times...
for 3) you can give a few tug on leash line and it will go to 1) or 2)
I have had a few success true flag by pulling hard on leash line on 9m but 12m never had success, if you wait long enough and pull hard sometimes it flag. but even once it flag the kite can still turn around and somehow end up in the bad positions...
What I do usually I pull leash all the way pushing bar all the way to stopper ball, if there isn't too much power I grab with one hand chickenloop+ leashline and try to reset it. If it still has a bit of power I grab one of the center line so the kite goes in true flag position while I reset bar...
I still have fone bandit and use them occasionally but should probably use another bar with it, I haven't tried but I guess something like a cabrinha bar should work...
Kite is great, the bar safety is not so good and a pain to reset. Perfect bar would be same bar with single line safety and a swivel to unwind bar after loop.
Provided that you're just a beginner - I suppose you're looking for a solid and easy all-rounder. As such, just about any mainstream kite will do just fine. Core XR4, Airush Lithium, North Evo, Liquid Force Envy, Cabrinha SwitchBlade (heavier bar pressure). All depends where you're shopping.justkite100 wrote:
Hi Alexeyga.... which kites did you switch to?
Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot], Brent NKB, bshmng, Faxie, FunOnTheWater, Google [Bot], Hasse, i_love_storm, jhonson, jjm, Peter_Frank, WindeeGuy, Yahoo [Bot] and 694 guests