TESTED P e t e r
L y n n
E s c a p e
9 m
£819 // WITH BAR £1118 // WWW.PETERLYNN.COM P e r f o r m a n c e Flying // Turning // Unhooking When you first launch the Escape you notice that big low aspect shape that it has, and it makes for a very stable, predictable and balanced kite. The downside of this shape of kite can be that is has a high bar pressure and is at risk of deforming while powered up, but Peter Lynn have managed to get around this by squaring off the wingtips which appears to take a lot of the pressure off of the back lines, and releases the bar pressure as well the risk of deformation. Before I went for some unhooked riding I moved the back lines in from the tips slowing down the turning speed of the kite, a little bit of depower was required to prevent the kite stalling but after that it was ready to go. The stable characteristics made for a good fun freestyle kite, it’s not a PKRA winner but for the basics of fun freestyle it performed a lot better than I was expecting, it had good pop and reliable pull.
I n t r o d u c i n g WHEN YOU THINK OF PETER LYNN YOU MAY HAVE MEMORIES OF AUTOZENITH BRIDLE-LESS FOILS BUT PERCEPTIONS OF THE LONG RUNNING KITE MANUFACTURERS ARE CHANGING QUICKLY WITH THE LAUNCH OF THEIR SECOND LEI KITE. THIS GO-TO INFLATO IS SET TO GET PETER LYNN KITEBOARDING INTO THE HANDS OF A NEW CROP OF RIDERS. TESTED NT B a s i c s Build // Construction // Graphics They’ve been making kites for years yet still I was incredibly impressed with the construction techniques that Peter Lynn have used on this kite; as a kite repairer myself I know the points of weakness and the Escape is well reinforced in all the key areas making for a solid feeling kite. The Escape is fitted with a simple one pulley bridle on the front lines, the pulley isn’t even a pulley it’s a Ronstan Shock block, this eliminates all moving parts and will last a lot longer than a pulley. Bar // Depower The bar has everything in the right place - as you would expect - a rope centre line and a clam cleat depower system that every rider will feel familiar with. 68
JANUARY FEBRUARY 2015
All of the components on the bar feel really solid and as though they will take a lot of abuse before breaking. Safety works well and depowers the kite well onto the two front lines bringing it down quickly with no pull. The quick release is simple and well-tested push away system; once the release is pushed away from you it does require some pull from the kite in order for the chicken loop to get pulled apart but when you have power in the kite it works well. The depower is a massive advantage of this kite; the range potential of this one kite would be massive, it’s got so much depower that I would feel very comfortable counting on it in solid wind.
Jumping // Hangtime When the kite turns it has a pivot turning characteristics rather that a drivey turn, this makes the kite great for jumping as you can send it up to the top of the window really quickly cheating good boost, but when it came to the looping I found the kite a little bit tame, it had no real grunt through the loop. Some riders will like this feeling as it will make kite looping a lot less intimidating especially while learning! The Triangle It goes to wind ward better than almost all other dedicated freestyle kites; with an efficient profile and great depowe you can throw it about the window no problem and it will remain controllable and secure, even at the highest of speeds.
V e r d i c t Peter Lynn are obviously carrying their foil expertise over to LEIs, and I was really impressed, they seem to have a good factory that is producing these kites to a high standard which is a really great starting point. This kite will work well for intermediate riders wanting a do-everything-kite with a big wind range and a stable feel that will deliver across the board. For me the bar still needs a bit of work to streamline the whole thing but this is a minor point.
I n f o
P a n e l
Main Market Freestyle / Freeride Sizes 5, 7, 9, 11, 13m Line configuration Four line Inflation Single Point Safety Front Lines Depower