Revolution EXP

Revolution EXP

Once I had got the basic stunt kites I spent a lot of time on the Internet finding out about various kites relating things. In the search I found out about 4 line kite flying - something I had never considered possible until that point. Various enquiries led me to discover the Revolution. Eventually in May 2001 I purchased this from my local kite shop, the 'entry level' model to the range. The four flying lines attach to the top and bottom of the kite & is flown by tilting the handles towards or away from you.

Purchased: May 2001

Details

Width : 234 cm Height : - cm Depth : - Weight : - g

Spars : Revolution EXP Carbon Fibre Sail : Ripstop Nylon

Wind Range : 2 - 4.5 beaufort

Cost : £130.00 (inc. handles & training video) + lines

Good Things

Very controllable - can move the kite in any direction, including sideways and backwards.
Robust design (if you assemble it correctly!)
Impressive look in the sky, especially when some of the standard manoeuvres have been learnt - like the famous (and fun) dive-stop.
Not as difficult as some people make out (at least in terms of basic technique - much harder to be an expert).

Bad Things

Takes a while to get used to the quad line hand movements (i.e. it doesn't respond well to the 2 line flying techniques).
The EXP model has a much more limited wind range than the other models.
Don't even think about flying it in a 20mph wind!
Having spars in it can lead to breakage's (to be fair I haven't managed to damage the spars by crashing yet, but have by not assembling the leading edge correctly).
Not as fast or as accurate as the 'standard' Revolution 1.5.
Some concerns about the quality of the webbing in between the leading edge and sail - mine ripped after about 2 months of use (repaired OK & been fine ever since).

Final Thoughts

Excellent kite - will teach you all the basic quad line flying stuff - great fun and so on. However I no longer fly this one (although I retain it in my kite bag) since upgrading to my Custom Revolution 1.5 SLE.

I would suggest looking carefully at the more expensive Revolution 1.5 SLE (that's Super Leading Edge) at £199 if you can afford it - it's faster (due to the stiffer leading edge - hence the SLE name), more accurate and what the 'good' fliers use.

Revolution EXP

Details

Good Things

Bad Things

Final Thoughts

Links