just wondering... but how many of you guys hook your safetys onto the outer lines so the kite flags if you pull the pin?

EVERY single person ive EVER seen flying a bow kite, has got it onto the chicken loop, or to a little ring on the chickenloop....
cos its a pain in the arse to have a non spinning setup....

if the leash is on the chickenloop its no good, all it does is puts a bit of distance between you and the bar/kite.... and stops it flying away wen ur unhooked...

Ive already had my arse kicked tho so i just hook mine onto the ring on my waroo chicken loop... im also a follower so theres another reason i do it...

come on guys, admit it... Who 'USES A LEASH' even though you know it does sh1t all...

I hook mine to the small ring above the depower strap so that if i unhook and let go, there is only tension in one of the lines.

It is a bit of a pain having the leash running this far up though as it often gets in the way!

Lemm

Good morning, bit sad today as daylight savings has ended, now I will have to sneak away during work hours to get a session and the cold is coming, yesterdays Southerly was a season changer for sure.

All the new Contra bows will be supplied with a leash. All bows should be supplied with a leash.

What I do with the Cab bows I use is clip the leash above the red release, between the release and the bar.This way if I accidentally trigger the release I don't lose the kite, but if I need to let go of the bar in a crash to depower the kite it works the same as if the leash was connected to the chicken loop.

To land, or if the kite is misbehaving on the water I just pull down on the chicken line and clip the leash to the flagging ring.
All the TD's should be fitted with the bar upgrade kite that gives you a flagging ring, its free contact your dealer.

Halos have a good leash system that spins, Liquid Force can be leashed the same as the Cabs, same with the Shockwaves.
Sonics have a re-ride leash thingy mod retrofit but you cannot spin with it I think?
I've heard the waroo does not depower as much as other flat kites once the bar is let go of, that could be why it is spanking you so much, sounds like they should be leashed to a re-ride only or re-rigged with a longer chicken loop line so they depower fully when the bar is dropped. It seems they did this to prevent any chance of inverting, downside is residual power when the bar is dropped.

If you crash any of the bows in the water try not to slacken any of the lines, but especially the rears. So if you get pulled forward and land in the water with arms outstretched remember to pull in on the bar a bit just enough to stop the rears from going completely slack if possible.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve McCormack

My release goes to the front line normally and to the chicken loop from the back of my harness if I am riding unhooked (hardly ever). I still have the other release attached though - activated by my amazing home-made releasing hook!

not me. i hook it to the chickenloop as a suicide leash. You don't need a proper saftey leash on a bow kite. If the **** kits the fan you can allways pull the "oh ****" tags at the end.

It's such a piece of piss with the bow kites. You don't need a real safety leash.

Nah mate the 12m goes sweet in 30 knots!!! not dangerous at all.... and if ya pull that bar down then the jumps are very very nice... whats this about bow kites not having the lift of c kites???? I sense some severe jealosy and anti bow sentiment

Interesting topic, and now I'm even more confused about the whole Bow safety thing. Currently I ride LF spectrums with a spinning leash. Based on recent accidents in Vic, and some experience of my own, I'm shopping around for a bow/sle kite, primarily for safety, but also for general depower, as I want to get more into waves. Call me a whoose, but death by kite is not my idea of a great weekend, and I am loving this sport! So, to the questions? Firstly, recent lofting accidents have been with regular C kites. What is a bow likely to do in these situations? i.e. my understanding was if you let go of the bar, puff, no more power, and hence no more arse drag/loft, and in thoery letting go is fastest? If this is the case then shouldn't the leash attach to the chicken loop, allowing depower, spinnig and safety and when riding both hooked and unhooked? I notice LF assaults and Ocean Rodeo's have a leash connector below the bar. Any help/adise appreciated. Cheers.

camsand, with a bow/sle you just let the bar all the way out and yes the kite depowers, but there is still some residual pull from the drag created by the kite. i landed a fella on the weekend in a very strong gust (35+, sand spray kicking up off the beach) and he was just holding on but was not being dragged on his 12m switchblade. that would have meant a lofting on a C of the same size. the point to realise is that even though these kites have a ton of range you are still subject to the consequences of high wind overpowered riding if something goes wrong and the kite does not depower as you expect (bridle snap, snagged bridle on a wingtip, line breakage etc). In the worst case you would want to depower using a leash to one line just like a C kite. I use a suicide most of the time, but if im not trying tricks or the wind is strong and gusty I use the standard leash option.

yep that's exactly how a bow kite behaves and the very valid point here is the depower time. It's like riding unhooked.. let go of the bar and you have peace.

This will get you through the freak occurances which you can't predict. Common sense will get you through the ones that you can see coming from over the horizon. anmd you are far more likely to wanna land a bow kite (well a waroo anyway) when you realise how easy these things are to land and launch from land. none of this "oh there are so many squalls it's such a pain in the ass landing my kite and it doing the twirly thing and lines tangled etc.. take another hour or so while wind is crankin untangling the bloody thing" styles. so bows are safer once again. Using common sense is allways the safest option. Then again to be really safe you could stop kiting alltogther.. that way you will NEVER get lofted.. but after a while you would probably end up putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger. so nah once your in your in for life... so get a bow, get out there and use the grey matter upstairs and be prepared to let go if the **** hits the fan.. it's soo damn easy!!

quote:

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Originally posted by Spacemonkey!

5th line is practically no residual pull, if ur getting residual pull on 5th line its not kiteboarding weather.

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and/or your 5th line stopper is set too long (kite will fly inverted) or too short (kite wont lie on its' back).

Dudes, having a clip that you need to hook onto a ring when your being lofted into houses, or being dragged out to see by your kite doing endless kite loops is neva gonna work! I've seen some1 get their outside lines to wrap the other pulley and bar to the center line at the normal depower setting spot ie, the kite lines ties the bar to the center line in 30+ kts, and it was looping and relaunching for over a KM, dragging some1 who couldn't reach the safety line and soon after wouldn't have made a difference once their was hundreds of twists in the line.....

Check out the Halo.

It comes with an easy to use and safe leash, which can either be used with a wrist leach or a spinning leash that attaches to your spreader bar.

One of the main reasons in using a leash is to protect other water users. All kites should be flown with a proper leash so we don't have issues when kites get blown through swimmers etc.

The Airush spinning leash is also available to fit to other brand kites for $40.

Check it out on :- standuppaddlesports.com.au/

All Airush retailers should have them in stock, Airborne Kitesurfing definately have them in stock.

Thanks,

Ian Grose