Type of Kite
The venom is a twin skin, Water Re-launch able, De-powerable kite which is Bridleless.

Introduction:
The Peter Lynn Venom is one of the favourites by arc flyers as it covers a wide wind range and it produces nice floaty jumps.

Packaging:
The venom comes in a nice large bag which is fully expandable and very spacious, allowing the kite to be packed with the spars fitted. It has two straps on the front of the bag which stow into small slits so they don’t hang out and straggle all over the place. These straps are for attaching your board when you have a handful of equipment to carry to your flying spot. The expandable bag is really good but if you have it fully expanded it is a little awkward when walking with it down over the back of your knees. However if you fold the trailing edge of the kite level with the ends of the spars you are able to fit the kite into the bag with out unzipping the bottom.
Bar and Lines:
The Bar is a 60cm carbon bar that is very light and comfortable to use. The floatation floats are nicer than the old tube floats as these ones cover the end of the bar work just as well as the tube floats. The chicken loop is strong and the quick release works well along side the safety leash. When the quick release is pulled the bar disappears up the break line and the kite comes to the deck very quickly. I think this is a very good system and works well.
The lines are 27meters long and are coloured for easy and quick set up. The lines are good quality and haven’t needed to be adjusted in anyway.

Construction of the Kite:
The kite is well constructed from good quality rip stop nylon with strong stitching. Unfortunately the stitching on one of the spar pocket Velcro tabs has undone. There are zips at either end of the kite unlike the guerrilla and phantom, this is to enable the kite to inflate more fully and quicker. The compact spars are good quality and when putting them in the kite there are little caps to stop the spars from splintering and coming through the pocket end. For easy removal of the spars they fit into caps in the spar pockets which have a white cord that when pulled removes the spar in one piece.

Set up and Flying:
Set up of the kite is reasonably simple put the spars in the caps and push into place and close the pockets with the Velcro tabs. Weight or peg down the upwind end of the kite and open the inflation zip closest to you and let the kite inflate, this may take a few minutes. Whilst the kite is inflating you can unwrap the lines and lay them out prior to attaching them. Take care and attach the lines to the correct tags. By now the kite should be inflated so you are able to close the inflation zip. If you are on your own there are little Velcro straps at either end of the kite place the down wind tip lines through the nearest Velcro strap (see photo). This stops the lines from going under the kite an inverting it on launch. Now you are ready to get hooked in and fly!!.

Flying the kite:
Flying the kite is really nice and it is very stable. The auto zenith comes in very handy if u flip out your buggy or fall off your board. This allows you to get yourself sorted out and back on your feet without having to worry too much about the kite. When flying in gusty conditions the kite just absorbs the gusts and doesn’t try and chuck you around like some other kites. I find the kite turns very quickly even when fully de-powered.

Boarding:
When you are boarding with this kite the power is second to none even in the lightest of winds. If you are just boarding normally you can de-power the kite and it will just pull you along nicely and not try to lift you as much, but if you are jumping you can power the kite up and pop your self into the air with no effort. So overall I have found it a great kite for boarding.

Buggying:
When you are in the buggy you can hold the power and just cruise along even at the edge of the window. As long as you remember to turn the kite before the buggy chances are you won’t get lifted out, but as I said in the boarding if you decide to do jumps and tricks you can with no effort.

Over all verdict:
I have found this kite great for land use, unfortunately I can not comment on water use as I have not yet tried kite surfing.
A*

Review submitted by Ross Newland