There is, of course, a further reason to choose the artisan
over the manufacturer. Allow me to paint the scene for you:-
let us say that you try Prism's
E3 and you are transported to a higher plane of kiteflying joy. It
is what you've been waiting for. Your prayers are answered. The search is
over. You've found Your Perfect Kite™ (
and I'm prepared to accept that this scenario could happen, given an infinite universe).
What happens when the wind drops a little to below the
E3's claimed 3mph minimum wind speed (
and I think we all know about the credibility of kite makers' wind speed claims) ? Is there an
E3 UL or
E3 SUL to keep you happy ? Is there likely to be ? Doesn't seem like it.
What if the wind howls on to above... 25mph max. wind ?!?!? C'mon Prism, be serious. Anyhoooo..... is there a
vented E3 to be had ? There is not.
What if you'd like a custom colour scheme or even some individual graphics to set you apart from every other yahoo who clicked on the Buy It Now button on eBay ? Unless you get a Berkeley-edition, no dice.
Would you like the kite even more if it were pimped and polished with some of those fairy-dust showered Aerostuff spars ? Not from the factory I suspect.
And so... for those of us that make this our hobby and for whom these sorts of options (even if we don't make use of them) are important, then the mass-produced kites simply will not do. I don't think this makes them bad, just aimed at someone else.
Mike.
