Easy Light

by Level One Kites

Specs

History

This was my second ultralight kite after purchasing the 3D.  I did extensive research before purchasing it, and found a number of very positive reviews of the kite at various forums and online sites.  I purchased it used from the GWTW swap meet in the red pattern in excellent condition.  I usually fly it on 50-60 foot lines (50#).

Construction

The kite shows the fine craftsmanship typical of all Level One kites.  The polyester sail is well sewn and durable.  The frame is pultruded carbon, and the bridle is an adjustable 3 point bridle that can be converted to a turbo bridle with only minor modifications.  The only area of concern I have is flexible T used to swivel the lower spreader at the spine.  This part is twisted when in use, and has a tendency to wear I am told (though mine has not broken).  This is a pretty inexpensive part if it does break, however, so I don't think it is cause for much concern.  The kite comes with a nice storage bag labeled "Made in heaven."  

Tuning

There is a bridle modification where you can take the inhaul and move it from the "3 point" knot to the higher knot already near the top of the bridle.  This effectively makes the 3 point standard bridle into a "turbo" bridle, and only takes a few second to perform.  I did not notice a significant change in performance between one and the other.

In addition, the Easy Light does need a little bit of tail weight to improve pitch performance.  I ended up using about 12 grams on mine, but you may want to try different weights to see which is better.  Most sources recommend 8-12g.

In Flight

The Easy Light is well known as a good low wind trick kite.  Despite the size and light weight, you can easily bang it around much like you would a larger trick kite.  The Easy Light, in fact, makes many tricks look "easy" - especially for an ultralight.  I think it is a great "first" ultralight trick kite since it handles much like a standard trick kite wound when tricking. The kite does very nice axels, spin axels and half axels, stalls, holds a fade well and also does well in a turtle or lazy susan.  540 maneuvers are also pretty with this kite.  Just about any axel type maneuver is great with this kite even in light winds.

I did find only a few minor issues with this kite.  The largest was the difficulty in performing some pitch maneuvers, most notably the pancake to fade.  Though it is possible to get the kite from pancake to fade, it requires a very precise pulling maneuver rather than the typical single pop.  Of course you also need to stop pulling at the right moment or the kite will simply start flying nose down into the ground.  If you put 12-15g of tail weight on the kite the pitch response improves , but still falls a bit short of some more modern designs.  A fractured axel to fade is a much easier to achieve, and the kite does well once it is in a fade.  Flic flacs are achievable, but again are difficult to keep even due to the slow pitch response.

Two other relatively minor nits - the kite does tend to oversteer quite a bit a low speed, but then again it was probably never intended to be a high precision kite.  This can be improved slightly by adjusting the existing bridle (just move the inhaul up one knot) to create a "turbo-bridle".  Finally it does require a little bit of wind to get it going.  It seems to be most comfortable at around 3mph and up, which is a little higher than some low wind kites.  However, once you get it going it is a lot of fun to fly.

Overall Impression

For the price, this is a fantastic low wind trick kite especially if you are transitioning from a standard kite to a low wind kite.  Unlike many low wind kites that can be skittish, the Easy Light is quite forgiving and can be "banged around" much like a full size standard kite.  Stalls, axels, 540's, fades, and plenty of other tricks are all easily within reach.  The only major negative I found was in transition from pancake to fade (and similar pitch maneuvers), where the inputs must be somewhat precise.  However, you can work around this by using a fractured axel to enter a fade instead.

Pro

Con

Rating

Contact Us with questions or comments about our products or this web site.
Copyright © 2003-2004 Bradley J Smith - All Rights Reserved