I have a Cabrinha Co2 12m 03 and would like to upgrade the hardware to get a bit more safety, depower, whatever. Im not realy interested in buying a new kite just yet though.

For a start the saftey leash sucks, it clips onto my spreader bar and has no spinning leash function.

Does anyone have an idea from past experience of what works or dosent work as far as bar setups (cab or other) / recon (dont know if an 03 will work with recon) / etc...?

I have looked into the Slingy surefire spreader bar and the pro version - im also interested to hear about anyones experience with these?

Also, does anyone use swivel harness loops to keep their front lines untwisted?

Thanks for any responses
pete

I like the SS spreader bar because I use it every time I come in. The spinning leash is not made for either of my kites (Naish & Cab.), but I use it on both. Most riders do not like the amount of "clutter" brand hybrid setups can create, but it works for me. Just hope that we move to a dominant pulg and play design in kite parts so that people can use the best from all brands..... because it is the riders out there that will get to the best set ups sooner than any company.....ummmmmmm.

I have on a few occations been very greatful to have the SS bar during mishaps out there. You can pull the pin and reconnect to your bar and relaunch, even in the wildest conditions. I have not found any system that is simpler to reconnect than the releasable hook method.

Now to swivels, I love them on my Naish kites....haven't modified the x-bow, but the SS swivels that I have are great....not cheap though $25-30 I think.

Ulitimately each person must decide for themselves what works best for them.....I'm still fiddling around.

G'day Pete. I'm with gruezi on this one - the SS Surefire works great for me. I've used it on both my CO2(17) and my Slingys. If you get picked up and then dumped in a gust, it's nice to know that your QR is in exactly the same place, no matter which kite you are flying at the time.

Initially I used it with the std 4 line set up. This was fine for depower but, it did result in frequent tangles when you used the QR, as the kite often rolled over and twisted the lines. Small price to pay for certain depower I thought.

Have now got the SS Oneline kit fitted to my bar and love it. I use this bar on all 3 kites (got a sailmaker to fit a suitable attachment point to the CO2 LE). Less tangles when you hit the QR now, no more big fat 17m jelly fishing through the sky, and extra "trim" control. The trim works great if it gets a bit gusty. Haven't sussed the rest of the advantages of using the trim feature yet. Better bottm end apparently?

Have had only one prob with the surefire and that was when the release lever came off the end of the pin that it pivots on. Result was bar being left in release mode. Too stuffed to fly in unhooked so had to swim/walk. Bar was sent back to SS and repaired for a measely $15 (incl freight!). Gotta be happy with that.

Don't be afraid to mix and match, just check that it all works fine before flying the kite with it. Chrs salty

Go the Slingshot surefire bar - I've adapted this to my 2003 co2's and it works great. You will need to modify you bar slightly to use it though. You'll need a ring for the leash to clip to and about 1m of line to make an extension as you need to shorten the leader at the bar ( this keeps the back lines the same length) call me on 0405558600 if you need further explanation.

matt