KiteJan

This was a (very) lucky buy in October 2002 at my local kite shop (Five Forty). This kite was around in the mid/late 1990's, but was better known in the States than here in Europe. It has a very striking design - the sail is actually suspended between the spar and bridle structure & is actually 3 dimensional. These types of structures known as Tensegrity (a mixture of tensional integrity) structures - see link on the right for more info.

There were a number of different models of kite - the Deca 1 has the sail made out of a single piece of fabric, the Deca 6 has 6 pieces, the Deca 15 has 15, etc. Basically the more pieces the better the sail shape is (becomes truly 3D, rather than just being stretched into a 3D shape, like the Deca 1). The Deca A1 is a slightly smaller version of the Deca 1, but still with a single sail. There is also a couple of zero wind editions and a smaller version (called the Mienergy), and even a 3 line kite called the 333.

The design was briefly taken over from Guildworks by HQ Invento (the firm who makes the Obsession). Sadly the Synergy Decca line seems to have come to a end as a mass market item (they can be made to order from Guildworks in the USA).

Purchased: October 2002

Details

Good Things

• Fantastic design - very eye catching.
• Can fly in higher wind speeds (>20 mph) without problems.
• Tolerates crashes well - the structure absorbs shocks.
• Doesn't generate much in the way of pull in stronger winds (mind you if you like power kites this is a bad point!).
• Can do different tricks to a Revolution kite.
• Actually quite easy to fly & responds well to dual line 'pull' hand movements.
• When the kite is resting on the ground it doesn't move - the force of the wind on the sail pushes it to the ground (most of the time!)

Bad Things

• Very complicated to assemble/disassemble until you have had some practice - and even then can be tricky if there is a lot of wind.
• Needs a moderate breeze to get it flying.
• Not as fast as a Revolution.
• Can't do the same tricks as a Revolution (especially doesn't want to slide left to right).
• The bridles lines need to be tuning from time to time to keep the kite symmetrical.
• Some spare parts hard to find in the UK.
• Some people will find the lack of pull from the kite a problem - it's not a power kite!

Final Thoughts

A fantastic kite - but it isn't a Revolution! Can perform a great range of tricks & looks very nice in the sky (and on the ground for that matter). Complements the Revolution nicely I think.