PKD Buster 4.4
Review
by Mike Reedy Oct 16,
2010
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Top of the Muffin to You???
You may be wondering about this statement. It will
become evident shortly.
I recently started selling
PKD kites and though I've flown some Broozas off and on over
time, I really never went too far into their lineup
since I didn't sell them. So this is my first venture
flying them and the Buster Soulfly was just released.
Below are my thoughts...both good and bad. |
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The Buster Soulfly comes in a gray
bag illustrated here sitting next to a Brooza bag.
Both of these bags contain 4m kites. A tight fit even
brand new for the Buster.
Complaint 1:
This bag is so small and lightweight,
you need the included sand bags to hold down the empty bag
while you fly. Bring a water bottle or something to
keep it on the ground should the wind pick up. |
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Complaint 2: The included ground
stakes are pretty wimpy. They give you two, but
again they are pretty wimpy.
Complaint
3: As it comes, there is no velcro on
the kite to contain the bridle when in storage. Even
my 2 line kites have this. PKD seems to lean towards
the keep the lines attached philosophy which is good...but
give me the option. Everything was tangled when I got
the kite. Bridles, lines, everything. 15
minutes of intial frustration right out of the bag. |
Now the good stuff. Sitting on
the ground looking at you, the kite has a design that
really grows on you. When I first saw the new Buster
Soulfly, I really had reservations...but the more I
looked at it, the more I liked it. Kite build
quality is on par with HQ, Peter Lynn, SkyDog, and the rest.
With winds about 10 gusting to 15 mph I thought I
might have pulled out too much kite for just a short demo,
but that was not the case. |
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The kite is pretty tame. Underpowered even.
In these winds, a 4m kite will move me around a bit
and I'm not easy to move. I didn't budge with
this kite. In fact, I tossed the controls
to my 12 yr. old son and he controlled it with ease (see
banner photo).
Controls are smooth, yet it
hesitates to respond to brake controls as it came out of the
box. I will add a knot in the handle lines next time
out. |
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These two pictures show both the front and the back.
Notice a slight difference that gives a bleed through effect
when the light hits it just right. Its kind of cool
and the pictures don't do it justice.
The best
thing about this kite is the price. With all the
shortcomings, it would come as a recommended beginner
kite for someone not sure if they wanted to fly. They
could save some money and still have a decent kite.
But if you decide to a heavier bag and groundstakes,
you are approaching typical 4 line kite prices. |
Hunter doesn't get to fly too often.
His brother Will spends more time with me and the kites so
it was good to get him out there flying for a few minutes
and it was even better having someone I could have take
pictures and someone to take pictures of.
In the end,
the PKD Buster Soulfly is a No Frills kite with some of the
thrills. It is a quality product and flies nice for a
beginner level kite.
Beginners can fly
with confidence knowing that the occasional gust wont have
them flying on their nose. This kite is a nice
addition to the beginner level of Power Kites. |
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Back to the top of the page: The first time I
rolled the kite up and tried to put it in the bag,
this is what I got. A Muffin Top! I
left it that way for a few days before I tried today.
I got it back in the bag today without any trouble.
There is absoutely no room in this bag for anything other
than what is in there now. You will have to find
someplace else for your wallet, keys, etc.
You can
put them in a spare shoe that you will need to bring to hold
down the empty bag in the wind.
Anyway: joking
aside, its a good kite. If you are in the market
for a low cost quality kite, this is it.
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The opinions in this
review are mine alone. I don't purposefully bash any
kite, nor praise any kite. It has to earn its lumps or
hugs from me through its performance.
UPDATE:
11/7/2010 I have flown this kite
several times now. And have had others fly it as well.
I have mastered the rolling of the kite and it fits in the
bag fine for me now. I have also started the habit of
leaving the handles connected to this kite and rolling them
up inside the kite. This has worked very well for me
and is a time saver.
I actually like the
ground stakes. They are easy to get into the Texas
Clay...much more so than the Peter Lynn Groundstake.
They are very hard to see in the field however.
I will probably spray paint them orange.
This kite is
a true beginner kite and flies as such. Very forgiving
and docile. Do tie another knot in your brake
lines to give you much needed brake inputs.
The
biggest help to this kite was to cut the strop line at the
top. Once the line was cut, this kite took on a
completely new life. It now flies on par with most
other beginner level kites. But at a reduced price. |
