The complete guide
Choosing and Flying a Butterfly Kite, A Practical Buyer's Guide
The problem with most first kites
Plenty of people buy a kite, take it to a field, spend twenty minutes watching it nose-dive into the grass and quietly give up. The kite goes in the shed and nobody mentions it again. That experience is almost never the flyer's fault. It is usually a mismatch between the kite and the conditions, or a design that needs more skill than a beginner has on day one.
Big kites look impressive in the shop and pull like a dog on a lead in the air. Cheap flat kites with no tail spin the moment a gust hits them. Novelty kites made from thin plastic tear on the first hard landing. None of those are the right starting point.
What makes a kite easy is a combination of modest sail area, a flexible frame and a long tail. Modest sail area means less pull, so a child can hold the handle. A flexible frame means the kite absorbs gusts rather than fighting them. A long tail adds drag at the back, which keeps the nose pointed up and turns a twitchy kite into a steady one. This butterfly kite 2 pack is built around exactly that combination.
How this kite works
Each kite has a polyester sail measuring 78.7 cm by 55.9 cm, which is 31 inches by 22 inches. Behind it trails a tail 100 inches long. The frame is fibreglass rod, which slides into sleeves sewn onto the back of the sail.
Polyester is the standard sail fabric for recreational kites for good reason. It is light, it does not absorb much water, it holds printed colour and it resists tearing far better than plastic film. Fibreglass does the same job on the structure side. It bends and springs back, so a hard landing or a sharp gust flexes the rods instead of snapping them.
When the wind hits the sail, the sail wants to lift and the line holds it back. That tension is what creates flight. The tail hangs below and behind, dragging through the air and pulling the lower edge of the kite down, which keeps the whole thing angled into the wind. Without the tail, there is nothing stopping the kite from rolling sideways and spiralling in.
Each kite comes with its own handle wound with 30m of line. That length is well matched to this sail size. You get genuine height, but the kite stays visible and you can bring it in quickly if someone wanders into the flying zone.
Who it suits
This is a beginner and family kite. If you have children between roughly seven and twelve who have never flown before, this is the kind of set that gives them a win on the first attempt. The maker gives the age range description as adult, which is the maker's own classification, so supervise young children and keep an eye on the line.
It also suits adults who want something simple to throw in a camping bag. There is no learning curve worth mentioning and no technical setup. Some people buy a kite purely because it is twenty quiet minutes outside with something to watch.
What it is not is a stunt kite or a competition kite. Those are dual-line designs built for tricks, and they need space, wind and practice. This is a single-line kite that goes up and stays up, which is a different and more relaxing activity.
The two-pack format matters more than it sounds. The most common complaint about buying a family kite is that only one person flies at a time. Two kites, two handles and two lines means both children are busy, or a parent flies alongside a beginner and demonstrates. That alone usually doubles how long everyone stays interested.
How to choose a kite that actually flies
A few things are worth checking whenever you are comparing a lightweight kite for kids against something else.
Look at sail area first. Anything much bigger than about a metre across will pull hard enough to worry a small child. Smaller sails need less wind to lift, which matters because most days are breezy rather than windy.
Check the frame material. Fibreglass is the sweet spot for recreational kites, light and flexible without being fragile. Solid plastic spars tend to be heavy and snap, and carbon is excellent but priced for enthusiasts.
Check whether a tail is included. A kite sold without a tail is usually either a sophisticated design that does not need one or a cheap one that should have had one. For a beginner, a long tail is not optional.
Look at line length and how it is stored. Thirty metres on a moulded handle is practical. Line sold loose on a card is a tangle waiting to happen.
Finally, think about how it packs. A kite that folds into a bag with its rods and handles together is a kite you will actually take out again. One that lives in three separate pieces in a cupboard will not get used.
Flying it well
Pick open ground with clear space downwind. Parks, playing fields, open grassland and beaches all work. Beaches are a favourite because sea breezes tend to be steady rather than gusty, and steady wind is what a kite likes.
Stay away from power lines, roads, trees and crowds. A kite line is thin and strong, and a kite coming down across a power line is genuinely dangerous. Give yourself a clear circle of space.
To launch alone, stand with your back to the wind, hold the kite up and let the breeze take it, then release and feed line out in short pulls rather than one long run. If the kite sags, walk backwards a few steps to add tension. Resist the urge to sprint. Running almost never rescues a launch and usually ends with the kite in the grass.
If you have a second person, have them walk the kite downwind twenty metres, hold it up and let go on your signal while you pull in.
When the kite dives repeatedly, work through the short list. Is the tail attached and free of tangles? Is there actually enough wind where you are standing? Are you letting line out too fast? Nine times out of ten it is one of those three.
Looking after it
Kite care is mostly about moisture and rods. Shake sand and grass off before packing. If the sail is dirty, a damp cloth is enough. Skip the washing machine and skip detergents.
Let it dry fully in the shade before folding. A damp kite folded into a bag can come out spotted weeks later. Shade rather than direct sun, because long hours in strong sunlight will fade any printed fabric eventually.
Wind the line back onto the handle under light tension. Loose line dumped into a bag turns into a knot by the next outing, and untangling 30m of string in a field is nobody's idea of fun.
Keep the fibreglass rods straight. Do not stack heavy things on the bag. If you spot a small tear in the sail, patch it with ripstop repair tape on both sides straight away. Tears spread fast once wind gets into them.
Each kite in this set carries a one year product warranty, so keep your order confirmation somewhere you can find it.
The short version
This is a simple, well-matched beginner kite sold in pairs. A 78.7 cm by 55.9 cm polyester sail on a fibreglass frame, a 100 inch tail for stability, 30m of line on an easy-grip handle, and everything packing into one bag. Assembly takes about a minute.
Buy it if you want something that works on a normal breezy afternoon with children who have never flown a kite. Buy it especially if there are two children, because sharing a single kite is where most kite days go wrong. Look elsewhere if you want a dual-line stunt kite or something built for high wind performance.
For a park, a beach or a camping trip, it does the one thing it needs to do. It goes up and stays up.