Review of Bandit 3 – 2010 edition
I thought it was time to try a different kite after 2 years with Cabrinha and Royal Era. I´ve been very happy with my Cabrinha and Royal kites, but I’ve always been a bit unsatisfied with the bars. The bar to the Royal Era has a huge safety bar cuff, (you know the molded the plastic piece above the chicken loop) which always make me a bit nervous since I might hurt myself if I crash and get the thing in my head, or even worse, ruin the glass on my water proof breitling watch. The lines are also very thick and I often end up swearing when the lines are all tangled. The Cabrinha bar is great, until it start to fall apart… The de-power strap tends to get worn out quite easily and when it brakes, then you have no stop and if you lose the grip of the bar, then you can hardly reach the bar when it’s hanging 1 meter above your head.
So, it was definitely time for a new kite with a good bar! My choice fell on F-ones Bandit III kite and it sure does have some qualities!
- The pull is very constant from the bandit 3 kite. Some kites lose their pull at 12 o’clock, but bandit 3 does not, which is an advantage when you jump. You get a smooth lift up in the sky and the ride through the air is under control.
- The turning speed. My bandit 3 kite is a 7m so even though it should be a fast kite, the turning speed is insane!
- Wind range. The low end on the bandit 3 is superb. I can easily go upwind in 9 m/s and also be able to ride kite in extreme wind conditions, 20 m/s is no problem as long as you depower as much as possible.
There are however a few less good things with the bandit 3.
- The lines are super thin and feel a bit crappy. I´m just waiting for them to snap, but I’ve been lucky so far. Perhaps did F-one use spider web or some other mega strong material, but I doubt that.
- Unhook issues. It’s hard to unhook when I’m riding with full power, the tension in the chicken loop is to strong, so I´m forced to de-power before I go unhooked. Another “bad” thing is that the kite is still very responsible when I’m unhooked. So the tiniest pull on the bar make the kite fly back to 12, or worse, in the water =P.
My overall impression about the Bandit 3 is however mostly positive. The benefits with the bandit 3 definitely override the few bad things. I can really recommend this kite to both beginners and professionals. My next kite will probably be a bandit 4, I just need to work my ass off for a while so I can afford it, but I´m pretty sure that it’s worth the effort =)