For the 18 years that Revolution has been putting out kites, only one other person had previously merited a "Signature" edition Revolution and thats Lee Sedgewick, a true and legendary innovator in the sport, whether with his large stacks of Rev 1s or with his own UFO design, Lee has been involved with Revolution for a very long time.   But, another person who's also long been tied to Revolution Kites is John Barresi and when Revolution decided they wanted to do a new Signature series kite, John's name came up immediately.   Having won probably more individual multiline kite competitions than any other person who has ever competed in the sport, John has also been an innovator and guiding light for multiline flyers around the world.   Now, as the leader of the exciting and competitive IQuad Team , John has finally had the opportunity to put together a great quad package that is good for any level of quad flyer.

When making a "Signature" kite for a flyer, there's two approaches that you can take.   You can duplicate what their "trademark" kite was, which in John's case would have been the blue fade Rev I kite that he flew for over decade or, considering the fact he switched to the Rev 1.5 more than a year ago, you can give him a designers hat and say, "John, what would you like to see in a kite", and have him come up with something a little more forward thinking and incorporate some new directions for multline flying.

After what eventually became hundreds of emails and a few prototypes of the various pieces, a final design was approved.   A Rev 1.5 sized kite, complete with 2 frame sets (standard and an ultra light frames), new sail graphics, custom tied handles and removable weights on the bottom tips.   Not necessarily what one would call an earth shattering departure from Revs of years gone but, more of a refinement of the Rev package and certainly the largest package ever sold for one Revolution.

Two other points of note with respect to this kite, you will see that there is no more mylar in use for this particular kite, due to John's preferences.   And also, you won't find an SLE rod, due to for John's preferences for the thinner 1/4" ID rods, for which he has long preached as giving superior flight characteristics over the thicker SLE rods.

Lastly, the handles that come standard with every B Series Rev are what has long been known as the 13 inch or SUL handle, with the metal tubing utilizing the thicker foam.   But, in a departure from whats long been Rev's approach to handles, these ones actually come pre-knotted to allow for multiple attachment points in different positions in the same fashion John and many of the other top Rev flyers have been doing on their own for years.   The multiple knots on the extended leaders allow for instant adjustments and a wide variety of flying feel.

One minor difference between previous Rev 1.5's and the B-Series is that the bridle is all black instead of the typical red/black thats been the norm for the last few years.   This was strictly a visual preference for John and probably stems back from so many years on John's Rev I's with their thicker black Dacron bridles.

By supplying two frames with every B series kite, you end up with a kite that has a very large wind range, from as low as 3 mph with the UL frame in place, up to 25 mph once you have dual (double) leading edges in place.

First off, there are the handles.   Modeled from what John has been using for many years now, the handles are the first Revolution handles to come with the top and bottom leader lines pre-knotted for various wind ranges and flight styles.   While its excellently explained in the brochure that comes with the kite (in a break from their past, Revolution had John write up a custom sheet specifically to augment the "usual" instruction sheet that comes with Revolution Kites) the handles allow for quick adjustment, letting a flyer have more or less forward and reverse flight with a simple handle adjustment.

John designed the sail paneling with stretch in mind, so that as the sail loosens over time and flight, those vertical stripes actually create channels running from the leading edge to the trailing edge, which will increase precision for those who have enough skill to notice the difference.

With the pair of frames this kite comes with, some amount of frame tuning is possible as well.   Is the breeze a little lighter than "standard" wind? Replace the verticals with the included 2 wrap ones.   Still need to gain a little more? Replace the leading edge tips with the UL rods as well, leaving merely the leading edge center as the heavier one.   Or, Is it so windy that the standard leading edge is flexing a little too much for your comfort?   You can simply slide the entire UL leading edge in beside the standard one, nearly doubling the strength.   As a side note with respect to this, Team IQuad has successfully flown in 30+ mph using this combination method of leading edges, ie, a vented kite, and TWO leading edges will provide enough strength to keep your kite in one piece.   That being said, DO exercise caution in very high winds.   While it may be possible, that doesn't necessarily mean it's wise.

But wait, one further adjustment, to weight or to not weight (or is that knot weight?)?   Weights are really only going to benefit you with respect to slackline-ish moves on a Rev, ie, Axels or Flic-Flacs.   Additionally, you can experiment with placing the weights in any of the six different end capped rods for different effects.   But, if you have no intention of doing anything like this, simply put them in a safe place somewhere for the time being.

The Revolution 1.5 B-Series comes complete with kite, Bag, Stainless Steel handles, Standard 1/4" Leading Edge AND an Ultra Light Leading Edge, weight kit, advanced flying instructional manual and a professional Advanced Training DVD.   ** Lines sold separately**
With the two leading edges, The Barresi Series kite is like getting two Revolutions in one!