KiteJan

I must admit to always having liked the look of the Benson Gemini. The twin spines give the kite an unusual look and, according to opinion on the Internet, makes it a very capable trick kite. In fact I was very nearly tempted by the ultra lightweight version at the Middle Wallop festival in 2005 (managed to resist - just!).

The stated idea of the twin spines is to allow increased air flow during straight flight, so adding to the stability in straight flight, whilst when stationary the curved wings allow for radical tricks. At least that's the theory - I will need time to get to know the Gemini to verify this myself..

A picked this one (along with the Prism Illusion and the Minigem) second hand from a fellow flier. This Gemini especially has seen a few years of hard use, so the sail is worn in places, repaired in others, and baggy in yet others - but still looks the part. I had to replace the central standoff and make some repairs to the spars before it was ready for flight.

Purchased: September 2005

Details

Width	Height	Depth	Weight	Spars	Sail	Windrange
218 cm	104 cm	-	-	6mm Carbon	Polyester	medium
Cost
Mine is second hand - but new currently around £160

Good Things

• Very easy to pull off tricks - the Gemini really 'wants' to do tricks.
• Easy to recover from line wraps and the like.
• Very well designed and built (even after years of use).
• Pleasing design (I like pleasing designs...).
• Very very fun to fly!

Bad Things

• Not too hot on precision flying.
• Old design now - other kites promise everything the Gemini can do and more.
• Doesn't fly in extremely low winds (but thats why an ultralight version exists of course).
• The ferrule joining the two parts of the leading edge seems fragile.
• The mylar panels towards the nose are starting to crack - and will be difficult to fix (more of a problem with mylar in general than with the Gemini).

Final Thoughts

I have flown this a few times over the last couple of weeks and the verdict is "fantastic"! Of all the dual line kites I have flown the Gemini is the one that I have clicked with the best. The first time out in proper wind and I managed to pull a sloppy left hand axel - but an axel none the less! This is very good for me (so far with the Obsession, Pyro and the Fury never managed to pull a left handed anything). It's also a gentle pulling kite, even at the upper end of it's wind range - a real pleasure to fly!

I have concerns about the strength of the ferrules in the leading edge - managed to break the ferrule in half after a couple of sessions. However this could simply be down to the age of kite - I shall see how the replacements hold up to by flying style.

There are a whole host of modifications I can make to this old Gemini to bring it up to a more modern standard - including a new bridle (designed by Andy Wardley), weights on the spine (to help with tricks where you flip the kite onto it's back), etc. In short it's going to be a while before I get tied of this one!

Update 2006

I really, really like the Gemini - I should have bought one of these years ago. If you want to get into trick/freestyle flying try to get one of these second hand (keep your eye on ebay and the for sale sections of kite forums - they do come up) - they are excellent at helping you learn. And are amazingly robust! As for the ferule issue - I haven't had one break (or indeed a spar) for months so I think my early experiences were simply bad luck and old parts. (KiteJan 6/7/06)