First off I must tell you that I was in for a shit day but at the time of pumping up a kite I did not know that…..What I knew at the time was I was going to ride the New WiND-X Monsoonz and Flysurfer Speed II …both 10 meters and test them back to back. Yeah Baby!!!!

Things went bad after a while. You know how it goes …some days you rip…some days you are shit…this was one of the latter. I felt as clumsy as a teenager going for his first grope…and just as excited as well. Both were strange kites …that didn’t help….so in that afternoon I managed to break a bridle, snap a fin and lose my good sunnies under a wave….However I did enjoy flying both kites.

The conditions were cross/onshore and the wind was averaging about 13 to 15 knots…sometimes down to 10 and up to about 17. Also the waves were up to head high on the sets and there was a strong sweep running the same way as the wind for the first 25 meters off the beach. Just your typical surf type conditions we get here.

I’m just an average rider…very average…but I love kiting. I’m not into freestyle, what I really get off on is trying to ride the biggest wave I can find on the day….love it..Oh!...and I am 93kg....heavy...

My preferences in a kite are depower, stability, upwind ability and wind range….this suits me for riding in the surf.

Ok to sum it up….a score out of 10 for each area I guess….

Quality…

Speed II 10/10
Monsoonz 7/10

Anybody who has looked at a recent Flysurfer can see that these kites are made real nice…..the Monsoonz’s quality would be some where between a 06 and 07 sonic.

Value for money…

Speed II 9/10
Monsoonz 10/10

The speed II costs nearly $900 dollars more in our local currency.

Power per dollar value….

Speed II 7/10
Monsoonz 10/10

You get more power for your dollar with the Monsoonz.

Depower…

Speed II 7/10
Monsoonz 10/10

The Monsoonz depowers more than the Speed II.

Usable Wind Range….

Speed II 8/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Not sure on the ultimate top ends of there kites yet, however the Monsoonz depowers more so this may allow a higher top end….this is just a guess..

Low End Power….

Speed II 10/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Both these kites have about the same bottom end….amazing kites for low end power.

Turning Speed….

Speed II 7/10
Monsoonz 8/10

Pretty evenly matched….the Monsoonz is a tad quicker…both quicker than I expected.

Upwind….

Speed II 10/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Both are awesome considering the conditions….everyone else were doing down winders.

Realunch….

Not Tested….yet.

Lift….

Speed II 9/10
Monsoonz 10/10

Both kites produce colossal amounts of lift. Stand on the beach and pull down the bar …up you go. The Monsoonz was my favourite here for sure…pull in the bar and up I went…ooohhh baby!!...it was love at first flight… I guess this why they go up wind so well.

Stability….

Speed II 8/10
Monsoonz 8/10

Both very good…both will sit a zenith for a little while before they drift to the side and down to the ground. Both benit from resting against the stopper with some power left in the kite to help with stability. The Speed II does suffer from collapsing if there is a sudden change in wind direction…this is because it does not have any stiff structure…like an inflated leading edge. Saying that ..it is a awesome kite but not for a beginner. The Monsoonz is more beginner friendly.


Jumping…..

Wind conditions were not idea, so I’d rather not comment yet….I was still getting used to the kites….they both had plenty of pop…they just had a different feel.

These kites are very evenly matched on everything performance wise….price not so….one you have to pump and the other you don’t.

I really like both these kites and your choice of purchase would depend on what you like….foil or LEI, but I don’t reckon you could not go wrong with either. The Speed II is quicker to set up and pack down obviously.

I really like both of these kites….which would I choose…mmmm.. tough one…I think the Monsoonz offers better bang for your buck….but the down side is you have to pump it up.

Cheers,

Barrie.

http://www.stormriderkites.com.au

PS. I’ll probably add more when I think of it….any questions I’ll try and answer them.

Good review

The only thing is about the upwind.
You're describing both equally good and the same.
I've flown the 12m Speed2 SA for a long time and nothing could come close to the upwind,
are sure the upwind is about the same

DrLightWind

I thought it was a great review too. Surprised, pleasantly so, that you would rate their turning speed so closely as that has been my disappointment area in the past with FS kites.

Thanks for doing it.

Thanks for the review - I'm sure you would get more out of both kites after some time on them, the newer Flysurfers are easier to use than previous models, but the Speed2 is still the most demanding of the pilot. Don't know much about the Monsoonz, but if it has the same low-end as the Speed2 it must be pretty flat, and that probably requires a slightly different flying style too.

I was very supprised with up wind ability and power of the Monsoonz.

Some friends stopped to have a look while doing their down winder and they were flying a 16VII and 13 Waroo... and my upwinding was better than there's.

As for turning speed...I think I could get the Monsoonz to turn quicker if I had it trimed better. I found with the pully bar it stalled a bit in the turns...nothing that a bit of adjusting the trim stap couldn't fix. I also tried the monsoonz on a standard 4 line bar, but I found it too light for my liking. I didn't get much time on a standard four line bar until I ran into trouble. I lost the kite to a wave... and snaped a bridle...but it did not rip...amazing..

Both kites are very different to fly obviosly....and required different technique..and yes more time on them I think I could get a lot more out of each of them. I was way more impressed by the Speed II than the Psycho III. At one stage there was a fella out on a psycho III 17 while I was on the a 10's...and I had about 15 or more kg's on him.

I was told by a friend who owns the speed that monsoonz looks just as flat in the air as the flysurfers. I did not get to see that....I was to busy riding them...

Both these kites I reckon are awesome...for me anyway. It all depends on what your preference is and how many fun vouchers you have got to spend.

Who would believe that such small kites could produce so much power.

Cheers,

Barrie

Low end wise, would you say both of these kites are equal to a 14 or 15 waroo?

Ed

Before you post a review, you may want to have the decency to post that you are a Wind-X retailer, it kind of changes the whole perspective of the review

Check the url in his avatar. But apparently he isn't a FS retailer - put that in perspective.

ed257,

Can't answer that one...I have never flown a waroo...even though i have wanted to...

Mission Man,

I'll sell you flysurfer too...they're just not on my site...I tried to be as honest and impartial as possible.

Tom,

I really like foils, I used the Speed II as the kite to put it up against, because I think the Speed II offers more per square meter than any other kite and they are both super flat kites. This I thought would make for a fair comparison as both are designed for light wind conditions.

I did not find the Speed II a demanding kite to fly at all, I don't know were all the comments come from about it being a hard kite to fly...I found it smooth, powerful and very easy to fly.

Myself...I ride mainly PLK's.


I don’t see this post as biased, it is to the contrary if you read it properly, however any review can be perceived differently from reader to reader.I tried to make the review objective and not subjective ….. take it as you wish.

Cheers,

Barrie.

Both kites looked good in the air yesterday barrie, wish i had the chance to fly the monsoonz but alas - job interviews take priority.

Don't know where all the 20-25 knot forecast was today, it was dead at caloundra so came back down to brizzy and had a short session at brighton before it dropped out.

get that bridle fixed and i'll see you on the water soon!

cheers,

Neill