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Introduction

The sub £50 pages of this site can be rather dull - under £50 doesn't normally buy you a lot. In the last few years you might have been able to pick up a 5ft kite that did a few tricks, and maybe came with decent line, but generally spending that little bit over £50 made a lot of difference the difference.

The Addiction changes that.

Package:

The Addiction is a 6ft freestyle kite with a solid carbon frame. It comes packaged in a nice kite bag and with a set of short, light dyneema lines and finger/wrist straps. The quality of construction impressed me for a kite in this price range. Very neat & nicely done.

The lower spreader is one piece which annoys the hell out of me, but isn't a big problem. The bridle is a straightforward three point affair. There is no trick line. It doesn't need one.

Design

John Trennepohl and Wayne Brunjes seem to have taken the ADX and scaled it down. The kite looks smart. It is fairly high aspect ratio, and the sail is only moderately deep compared to many European kites.

Basic Flight

The Addiction's wind range is from 4 mph up to 20 mph. It certainly makes the bottom end, although I am not convinced how pleasant it would be to fly at the top end. The Addiction is a bendy kite, hitting the floor results in bounces. As the wind picks up it deforms a little, but this seems to slow the kite down.

The Addiction is very easy and enjoyable to fly, and in a stronger breeze can even be coaxed into some squares.

Freestyle

The Addiction is one of the most competent freestyle kites I have ever flown.

In all positions it seems happy, although it's light weight doesn't make it as versatile on its back as more expensive 6ft kites. When the wind is very light the Addiction is capable of some awesome combinations. I did find that the flexibility of the frame made ground work harder (although it dead launches nicely), and it does make the kite less responsive than a stiffer frame. But this is a kite for £40 - not £100 or more.

The video of the Addiction shows the kite surviving some gusty wind, with a flier who is struggling with some nasty thistles: Yet the Addiction holds fades very well, flick flacks slowly (and faster with practice), lazy susan's, backspins, and does various axles. The Addiction will even wrap up - although the curved leading edge with no yo-yo stoppers means I ended up with multiple tip wraps instead. However apart from that I got very few line wraps with the Addiction. It recovers from mistakes beautifully.

At a recent festival I passed the Addiction around some of the UK's top fliers, and everyone returned with a grin on their faces. I can confidently say this is the best freestyle kite I have flown in its price range.

Conclusion

The Addiction is a great introduction to freestyle. The Addiction is capable of pretty much anything in the right hands in the right conditions. It is however a budget kite and although it is exceptional value it won't perform as well as a kite costing three or four times as much.

As a more experienced flier I soon find myself wishing it had a stiffer frame (which may well have doubled the price) - but reframing is not out of the question. For the beginner a solid, rather than a tube, frame means that breakages are far less likely.

If you are looking for an entry level freestyle kite buy this. If you are looking for something fun for your kite bag, buy this. If you see one at a traders stall, just buy it.

The Addiction gets the kHiTe Star award.

Addiction Feature
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