A Few Notes

To be considered by our panel, kites had to be designed in the 1990's. Several readers questioned why certain kites were not nominated. The Hawaiian, Spinoff, Trlby, and Rev I were all produced in the 1980's, and therefore did not qualify for the survey.

Sixty four different kites received write-in votes. Kites nominated by five or more readers were the Rev 1.5, the Outerspace and Gemini from Tim Benson, the Speed Limit, and the Elixir and Fanatic from Prism.

And The Winners Are.......

All 27 of the nominated kites are winners. Here, we present the 5 kites that received the highest number of votes from our readers. The kites are presented in alphabetical order.

"Thanks for this, it was not as easy as I thought. Most of the kites listed had an influence of some sort or another on me. I found that I had to read the question closely -- the words "...most influential to you" meant that I had to come at this again from a different direction than I would otherwise have. I also pondered whether to write in a single-line fighter but decided that it didn't really fit into the criteria you had established (it would have been the Stafford Wallace Mylar fighter :) One further comment: the Chris Matheson Midi Sandpiper is an earlier version of the Midi series -- the one in the pic is not the Midi-Sandpiper but, rather, the Midi."

"It would be interesting to see a chronological photo display of the changes in kite designs from say 1980 to the present. And then to discuss the influence that specific designs had on the industry. Thanks for providing a valuable online magazine."

"How about power kites?"

"So many great kites-so little time"

"Some of these are kites that I have only seen flown and I have not flown them myself yet they managed to amaze me with their visual grace, beauty and ability."

"I appreciate what these kites have done in drawing people to the world of kite flying. Some of them are affordable kites with a great deal of functionality. Some are unique in what they have accomplished. You have compiled a very good list!"

"Oh to have at least one of each in my bag!!"

"The newest kites are adding a whole new dimension to kiting, but these 5 are ones that I bought and loved. They may not be the first out of the bag now, but are dearly cherished. They represent the progressive development of this great sport."

"My selections are based on the designs that have had the most influence upon myself as a pilot (and kite junkie), with a nod towards those which have done the most to get others hooked in this wonderful sport. All of the nominees are excellent designs, but may not have had the same amount (or quality) of influence on the flying public."

"This was really hard. I have only flown 13 out of the 27 kites Nominated, and felt I should limit myself to voting for those that I have direct experience with. So many of these kites' reputations precede them, whether one has flown them or not, and I hope to have flown them all some day. I was torn between approaching this survey from an historical perspective or a more personal one. What seems to have emerged is a mixture of these two approaches. It would be easy to vote for all of them and more besides."

"These are all great kites, and I wouldn't mind having any of them in my bag. With such a great lot to pick from, the top kites are very hard too choose from. Almost all of these changed sport kiting in some significant way. Great job folks."

"I choose the Beetle as my 5th choice because I think everyone should carry at least one in their bag. It's a great kite to let onlookers play with at little chance for damage".

A Lucky Kiteflier

And the winner of the custom Peter Betancourt Sport Kite is.... (drum roll)...... Scott Hill! Scott, drop us a picture after you get your new kite.

The High 5 Survey was sponsored by Peter Betancourt Sport Kites