KiteJan

As a Synergy Deca1 owner I had heard about the Deca A1, a smaller and cheaper version of the Deca 1 but had never actually wanted one since it was, well, too like the Deca 1. However a second hand one came up on the Fractured Axel forum at a good price. I  wasn't really going to bother until I found out its upper wind range - 45mph! Now I was looking for a high wind kite to complement the Custom Vented Revolution 1.5 and the Benson MiniGem and so I snapped this up.

My hope was I would receive it in time for our holiday in France where a small high wind kite would be perfect on the beach. But due to a UK postal workers strike it looked like the A1 would miss the holiday - thankfully it turned up in the nick of time the day before.

Physically its somewhat smaller than the Deca 1 but its sail is still made out of a single panel - it also has a reputation of being very robust indeed.

Purchased: August 2007

Details

Good Things

• A very good wind range - especially in higher winds.
• Controllable at the upper ends of it's wind range.
• Virtually no pull.
• Usual beautiful Deca shape (as with the others).
• Packs up small - useful for taking on holiday!
• Pretty robust!

Bad Things

• Not as easy to do the flipping onto it's back or front as with the Synergy Deca 1, especially true in stronger winds.
• The Deca A1 doesn't float on it's back, it aways flips back to the upright position.
• Unless my second hand version had been fixed in it's past I think the left and right hand sides were set up differently.
• As with all the Decas's - it isn't a precision kite.

Final Thoughts

An excellent small kite - perfect for those strong wind days (alongside the Vented Revolution 1.5 and the Benson Minigem). I like the simplicity of the single panel sail - the light blue looks stunning in the sky and is fun to fly.

Of course you can't fly it in low winds - it needs a good breeze - so it's not much use as the only kite. However it has earned a permenant place in my kite bag. Not bad for a kite I wasn't interested in (at least until I found out it's wind speed). A real shame they aren't made any more - they are well worth it.

Packs up to 73cm x 5cm.