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UL Gemini Review
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| I have a few hours on my Gem UL now, enough to do a bit of a
review. I am going to compare it to the standard Gemini, for obvious reasons. First off the build quality is pure Benson, which means top notch. Tim makes a nice kite and this one is no exception. The bridle is a bit different than the Gemini. No more crossover, which is a good thing. I wore through the bridle on my first Gemini and it is nice to see this one without that potential. There is a bit of other differences, but more complicated that I care to go into, or dare to say I understand….. The kite is framed in SUL Skinnies (not sure about the spine, and I am assuming the LE is the same as the spreaders). The lower spreader is a three piece instead of two piece like the standard Gem, but works basically the same. The graphic layout is a bit different, and I like the change. Ok, how about flight? The kite will definitely fly in lighter wind than the Gemini. I would estimate it gains 1-2 mph over the standard Gemini. I have done 360’s with it when the wind was around 2 mph, which I would not try with a std Gem. I have flown the kite only in about 1-4 mph so far. 1 mph was a lot of work and not something I enjoyed trying to do. 4 mph was fully powered up and flying very well. 2 mph seems to be a good bottom end wind range for the kite. The kite feels very much like a Gemini in both tricks and flight. Flight is not something I do much with my Gem though, it is usually flopping around so I am going to concentrate on those comparisons. The UL axels pretty much like a standard Gemini. Not pretty, but very easy. Double axels were harder to hit which made sense with the loss of mass. I could get them to go but they were hit and miss and not very pretty. Axel takeoffs were easy also. Couldn’t get any doubles to go there at all. Flip flops/cascades are very nice, especially for a UL/SUL kite. I have had some light wind kites that seriously lose that ability, but the Gem UL does them as good as the std Gem with just a little bit difference in the feel. You can feel the loss of mass, but it doesn’t stop the trick from happening at all. How about rotofades you ask? Not a problem whatsoever. Again, the loss of mass is noticeable, but not a problem. The kite just has a slightly different feel, but again, very capable. I wanted to see just how capable so decided to see how many I could get and was able to get 50 rotations no problem. So like the standard Gem, the UL Gem is a rotofade machine. 540’s felt about the same as a standard Gem. Fades were no problem, and I could flick it into a fade, just like the standard Gem. Fades are as solid as the standard Gem. Flic flacs were a little different due to the loss of mass, but very possible. Lazy Susans at about 50% up in the window were fairly easy. From a fade to a lateral roll into the lazy susans were possible, but not near as easy as the standard Gem. A little too much tossing around for a UL kite I guess. And roll ups/yo-yos are much more difficult than the standard Gem. I think that is a loss of mass and light wind thing. I had a very tough time getting one to go at 2-3 mph but when the wind picked up to 4 mph I had a better time of it. Still much more difficult than the standard Gem, but at least it is possible. Flap Jacks…. couldn’t get one to go at all. I find FJ’s difficult on the standard Gem, and I found them impossible (in my hands) on the UL Gem. So to sum up, if you like the Gemini I have no doubts you will like this kite. The loss of mass is noticeable, but not a problem with most tricks. And if you want a light wind kite that is a rotofade machine, I would highly recommend this kite. It is my light wind kite of choice now. Bill Rogers 5/25/03 |
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