Ridden the Psycho 3 10m 3 months & 17m 1 month
Rider:86kgs , Experienced intermediate .
Kites flown :Naish arx9.5m , peter lynn 16m & 19m , Cabrinha crossbow 8m &12m (one session each on Cabrinha )Psyhco 3 10m & 17m
Boards: Sling shot SX137 Cutloose directional aprox.180
Dealer: Ian Young W.A
On the beach.
Self launching directly downwind or cross is the same result , different . Lay out the kite unwind the lines , miraculously all those little lines unravel and in very little time you are ready to launch. No pre-inflation required , walk back tension all lines and go for it. This is the part where if you read the manual and in the self launch section you would notice "DONT PANIC " now you realize why .As the kite is not inflated the tips will flap around and the kite tugs its way to the zenith inflating as it goes , once fully inflated it will finally spread its wings and from wounded duck you now have soaring albatross .2 or 3 self launch's and it's a breeze .
Self landing: After some experimenting the system is now bombproof.( for my location ) .I bought a large sand peg about 15 inches long from local camping shop , clipped a snap link in the eye . Time to land , drive the peg into the sand , deploy the full depower system and once the kite is on the ground clip leash to peg walk over to kite and secure down wind tip , lay kite out and sand down wind tip , game over .
On the water:Tried conditions 10m 10-28knts 17m 7-17knts.
The 10m is a absolute dynamo , fast turning, tons of grunt and great hangtime .In 15+ knts this kite has provided me with fast , charging adrenelin pumping sessions every time .Redirect and change direction is super quick , nice hollow wave aproaching , swop edges crank the bar over , carve the guts out of it and as you come around back on to the wave the kite is parked out front ready for more , pull bar in power up , push out ride the wave in , too good !Jumping as other kites just leave 6 inches on the bar and as you release your edge pull in for escalator to the top floor !
The 17m : Put something a bit more mellow on the i-pod , this kite is rock solid , super stable , turns great for a big kite and delivers constant smooth power . The pace is a bit slower , to jump off or carve out an approaching wave you do have to spot it a bit earlier , last minute change of mind genrally doesnt work .If you like to jump you are going to love this kite , on the twin tip 10 - 15 knots good solid power ,edge, send it release , grab , remove board , check srews ,remove bluebottles from fins , you get the picture , good hangtime!Great pop , 1st backloop I was looking for the second rotation , allows for big old lazy wide open rotations .

Conclusion:
Depower is awesome not on/off like the cabrinha , bar pressure perfect I found cabrinha 06 heavy and very sluggish when bar pushed out , pycho 3 can be ridden and turned with ease with bar out and with one hand .Both kites have greatlow down and with my big directional I have ridden both at the min wind speed . 10m 10knts+ 17m 7knts+ . The top end is great and trimming the kite correctly means you can always have the bar in the right position which does wonders for stance , no more poo stance in mongrel gusty winds!
Upwind great as with crossbow .Going upwind give the kite more on the bar and you can feel the board pick up speed and I know you are not supposed to look at your kite but sometimes the view is too good ,kite out front , board slicing thru water with rooster tail out back ,lifes good !
Water relaunch l.e down 10m noproblem grab back line pull release one and hold on . have not had to relaunch 17m l.e down but on its side or folded no problem .
Self land and launch is not as easy as PL venom and the kite is not a "tie to a fence post while you get a drink "kite .I believe that the Venom is a great starter with its stability and the psycho3seems like a natural progression.I believe that since i have been riding the psycho's my overall riding ability has improved .
The quality of the kites are second to none , some dont like the bags , I think they work well with 2 kites and a board on your back cycling to the beach is a option .

I'm Happy!

This sounds more like an advertisement for Fly Surfer Kites. I own a 17mtr P/3 and the reverse launch in over 12 knots is nearly impossible. To the point that I have removed the original bar set up and set up a depower system as per the sling shot kites . Except I have set it up so that you can extend the power system further to allow reverse launch by pulling back on the bar . Once rolled , reset the power to normal ( a mark on the pully system ) and kite will rise .
Try to do a reverse launch in over head water in around 12 to 15 knots. You will not do it with the standard bar set up .
How ever the 17mtr will sail in 10 knots and you will go to windward . I weigh 95kilo and this is an amazing kite to sail .

Put in a sand anchor for kite landing . If you put this in the sand before you go sailing it would be danagerous for spectators and the tide would of come in so where is it ??
Or park the kite over head / walk to your gear which is under the trees / Then install your peg into the sand . Find this very hard to beleive .

I fly the kite to the side of the window / back stall the kite hard / and totally release the bar to set the FDS . Grab the safty line and walk to the kite. This is the only way I have found to safely put down the 17 mtr on your own. No one has been able to tell me another way . Sand peg - ya ok ! We all sail in on shore winds , don,t think it will work in the water so as to land your kite on the beach !!

Jeff R

No advert just love the kites / sport, I have not had the 17 m l.e down in the water so will bear your point in mind the first time I have to .
Regarding the sand peg : I am very fortunate to live in an area where I can leave my gear on the beach without risk of theft so retreiving the peg is no problem,we generally get side cross to on /cross shore winds so if I leave the kite at zenith and dump the bar it goes on to FDS and falls straight down wind , once on the ground the pull is marginal and this is when I attach to peg. I did walk down the 5th line hand over hand at first but found the kite flapped around alot and in 20 - 25knts on the 10m you get the feeling thats going to rip a finger off and fly away so I tried the peg . Straight on shore it wont work .Unless of course you have a ton of beach.
What Board are you using? Iam trying to figure out what Twin tip to get as a light wind board . The spleene board look good but are not locally available . Any suggestions .

He uses a home made special.....it's as ugly as sin...but it takes the attention away from his head....

Sangoma !
Yes my board is home made . Core is high density green foam / 6mm. thick and is cut into cubes to allow bending into any shape.
Size is 1640 x 460 twin tip with sharp rails as per sail boards and the rear of surf boards are shaped . Colour white .
How ever the combination of this board & the 17 Mtr.P3 , no one can keep up or go to windward as high .
Crackas is a good mate and he uses it also on his Peter Lyn when ever I let him . ( Which may not be for a while now )

Fly Surfers boards how ever do look good but don't seem to have much curve in the sides .( Front to back). General curve in the sides helps in going to windward . Straight sides are for quick planing .Sharp rails releases the water freely from the board .I have built many surf boards / sail boards, and this is the princple used in them , with out going into bottom shape designs.