The best selection, service and guarantee since 1980.
Our Line of Kites - Having a kite store in a place with some of the worst winds on the planet, we've learned what separates kites that fly well from kites that fly great. Together with leading kite designers, we've turned that experience into some of the best flying kites anywhere.
This kite was a breath of fresh air. I'd previously purchased an E3 after graduating university and moving to Fort Collins fall of '09. Being only an hour from the ITW shop, I now understand the comments in the catalog about the frustrating winds in Colorado.
I now have a lot of income to "waste" on my hobbies, but I was dismayed at the change in quality from the Prism kites I had in high school (favorite being my trusty Illusion). The E3 was very trickable, but had shoddy construction to what I'd been accustomed to in the past (see more in my E3 review).
The Zephyr is a fabulously designed and constructed kite. It flies beautifully, is very well balanced, and allows all your favorite tricks. In addition, it comes with a beautiful hard case. I actually felt like one of those gangsters in old movies who pulled machine guns out of cello cases the first time I opened it. . .
In the case, there is space for spare parts, another kite, and three sets of lines. Two line sets are included for lighter wind days; I've never found myself wanting anything other than the included line sets.
If you are uncompromising on performance and quality, the Zephyr is a kite with which you can't go wrong. It is definitely a competition level kite and will be destroyed by beginners. It isn't fragile or anything, but I wouldn't trust it to anyone that doesn't know what they are doing.
This kite has now become my favorite kite. My old Illusion still comes out of the bag, but only when I want to visit with that trusty old friend. While the Zephyr is definitely not a zero-winder, it can fly on the smallest of breezes.
There may be one problem with the kite that I made worse with my stupidity. The lower spreader ferrule was apparently not glued very well on arrival. In a hurry one day, I was not paying attention and accidentally tried to stick the ferrule into the rubber elbow connector rather than through the center connector. While I didn't push hard, the ferrule slipped down inside the wrapped spar. Long story short, after an attempted repair I ended up having to replace the spreader. Not sure if it was just that spar, or an issue with the glue used. I haven't tested the new one to figure it out. ;-)
