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Flysurfer_speed_3_deluxe_review

The Advantages / Pros of the Speed 3:

  • Faster and tighter turning.

  • Infinity Bar and standard.

  • Working FLS (only 4 lines)

  • Larger wind range.

  • Increased depower on the bar and through the use of the trim strap.

  • New graphics.

  • At least equal low end to the Speed 2.

  • Velcro deflate (no more zipper)

  • Huge hang time for old school tricks.

  • Better jumping, hold an edge for longer.

  • Extremely stable.

  • No back stall.

  • Shorter, neater bridle so less tangles.

Disadvantages / Cons of the Speed 3:

  • Very simple bag in respect to kite and price.

  • Should possibly only be made in deluxe fabric for everyone to benefit more low end and a quicker turn – also better for traveling due to weight and size.

  • Safety leash supplied more practical to beginner kiters and not more intermediate/advanced kiters.

Flysurfer Speed 3 and 2010 Flyboards Innovation Days

Monday 24th - 28thAugust 2009

In the morning of Monday 24thAugust Tom Beaton (Maxtrack / Uk Distributor for Flysurfer) and myself (Marcus Woodbridge from Foilzone & ATBshop.co.uk – retailer) headed to Bristol airport on route to the Flysurfer Innovation Days which were located at Gera Lario, Lake Como, Italy.

We left the Uk with grey sky's and drizzle and stepped off the plane in Italy to clear blue and 25+ Degrees C which was a welcome change. On arrival at the airport to our delight we discovered neither Tom or myself had bought ANY information, contacts or details with us, other than the fact we were heading for Lake Como (46km long!)

We knew we had to catch a train so we caught a buss from the airport to the “local” station which was about 20minutes away. During this humid time spent on the buss a child in a pram managed to empty an entire bottle of sprite over my foot! Luckily it drained away from my luggage bag and instead decided Tom's was more suited to becoming damp (He wasn't pleased but then neither was I?)

So, with my sticky feet and Tom's wet bag we got the the station, waving our hands, doing that weird talking slowly with an accent the Brits are so good at and repeating the word Colico we were handed some train tickets. To our happiness the train we needed was sat on the platform with 15minutes to leave. A few stops later and it was time to change trains. Someone obviously made the train timetable as a joke for tourists as the transfer time between trains was only about 2minutes between ours arriving and the other train departing. A flight of steps later and an extremely fast scan of the platform numbers meant as soon as we got our bags loaded the doors shut and we were away.

30 minutes standing by our luggage in between carts sweating away and moaning about the heat we decided to take a seat... In the fully air conditioned cart we had been leaning on! Bugger...

Nearing Colico we began to see kites flying in the air and out in the lake which gave us a manage boost in excitement after a long day. Dragging our 30kg+ Boardbags we jumped off the train and headed for the kites on the near by beach, It was warm and blowing around 18knts and at this point were very confused that there wasn't a Flysurfer in the Sky.

A few minutes later we receive a phone call from Ramon, head of international sales and marketing at Flysurfer... long story short and a swift pick up from Ramon, turns out it was the wrong beach! Around 12 hours from setting off and just in time for a monster buffet we arrived at the hotel and sank a couple of ice cold beers. Job Done!

We spent the next few days testing and discussing the development of the new Speed 3 and 2010 Flyboards range. It is amazing to see how many hours of RnD, how many prototypes and how many people it takes to bring the kites from the initial ideas stage to full blown production models. Flysurfer take great pride in the quality of their products and the Speed 3 was the longest development time yet of any of their kites, and with the super low end and hang time of the Speed 2 they had quite a challenge to make a worthy successor.

We relied heavily on local thermals which would blow through the valley around 6-15knts from about 2pm.The mornings were spent recovering from the night before which included eating and drinking too much, “mingling” with locals, meeting the local law enforcers and making our way back from a mafia run strip club! If I were to share one piece of travel advice from the trip it would be not to ask locals and scam artist taxi drivers for “party party club club” Its not what you would get taken to in the Uk and its not pretty. Any way, back to the kites...

I have spent the last couple of seasons dangling below a Speed 2 on land and water and am extremely stoked with the production models of the Speed 3. The turning rate has been improved and sits somewhere in between sizes, Ie Speed 3 19m is in between the turn rate of the older 15 and 19m. The kites have also had a welcome bar change to the fully spinning Infinity bar which previously was only seen on deluxe models and the Pyscho Iv. The bar features a fully spinning 4/5 line safety system and is being shipped in 50 and 60cm sizes.

After kitesurfing in a 20+ degree lake in only harness and board shorts for a week with some great people and even better equipment, I cant say I am overly glad to be back in the Uk besides eagerly awaiting a 15m Deluxe sat in my car boot for some more hang time goodness!