Sky Bums "The Midge"

A cheap ripstop and fibreglass single line kite that promises "Simple Fun Kite". I picked this up at my first Middle Wallop Kite Festival in 2005 as a fighter practice kite. I liked the idea of a controllable single line kite, having seen them fly at festivals, but knew that they tended to be fragile (at least the bamboo & Mylar ones). So I bought this directly from Sky Bums (who were one of the kite traders at Middle Wallop).

I didn't get around to actually flying it for a while - but when I did I found it a very good introduction to the whole single line fighter kite thing

Purchased: May 2005

Details

Width : 58 cm Height : 52 cm Depth : n/a Weight : 20 g

Spars : Fibreglass Sail : Ripstop Nylon

Wind Range : Medium

Cost : £6.50

Good Things

    • Ideal introduction to fighter kites.
    • Cheap.
    • Robust.
    • Disassembles so it rolls up nice and small.
    • With the supplied tail attached it becomes a very stable kite - good for children.

Bad Things

    • Heavy for a fighter kite - so needs more wind.
    • Seems to be a little too unstable.

Final Thoughts

I am pleased with this little kite - it's a good way of starting out on the fighter kite road, without wasting money on the 'real thing' and breaking them. I suspect there might be 'better' ripstop and carbon (or fibreglass) spared fighter kites out there, but this is cheap and accessible.

What I do need to do is keep this in my main kite bag. As a wiser and older kite flier once said: "Always keep a fighter with you to round off your flying session". I might just do that.