Hardly ever post but do read a fair bit. Just your average punter who loves to kite.

I had a bit of a problem with a Peter Lynn Venom Bar. Lets just say it could of caused a whole lot of damage. Luckily it didn't but it did scare the hell out of me. Firstly I love the kite. I have a few inflatable kites as well so no foil bashing please. It was always good to get the Venom out but mainly i ride the inflatables because I guess there newer.

Anyway the wind kicks up. I go straight for the depower strap. No good. It must be stuffed as everytime i pull it it just realeases out. So i go back to shore. It starting to lift me a bit so i drop the kite by pulling the safety. The bar rides up the lines for about 3-4 metres and just stops. Its caught some how. Due to the auto zenith of the venom it stays in the air. I guide it out to the water as best i can so i can try and get it to release. Trying to drag the bar back to me is getting me nowhere. A guy comes along and i asks if i want a hand. I told him the safety is stuffed and he says he can see that. This gives me confidence he knows what he is doing. Anyway he grabs the bar and directs the kite into the powerzone. It must of been accidental. He was just trying to help i tell myself. The secondary safety releases and goodbye kite. It nearly landed in busy traffic. Thank god it didn't.

Anyway has anyone else had any problems with Venom 1 bars i.e. the depower strap and the bar catching on release? Maybe it was just a freak thing but looks to me like a design fault to me. I know i had it a while but it should not do that.

Anyway I think the kite will be sold in the near future. This would have never happened with the inflatos. The bar is staying with me as i don't want someone getting hurt. Its stuffed anyway.

PS thanks to the guys who helped retrieve the kite.

sorry to hear about your incident.
iv'e got 3 v1s (19, 13, 8) with PL bars. never had an issue like that one.

I found the zero 7 bars quick release can get bumped easily and lets go.(ive put a rubber ring on depower line to make it less prone to bumps)
its better to put your kite to the edge of the window for a quick release or you'll find your only remaining line still attached will snap if realeased at 12 oclock.drop in the water if in doubt.
my advice would be to stick with the venom just get a new bar.
freak accidents can happen with any kites, its just a matter of how you deal with the first few seconds that counts.

Thanks guys for all your responses. Its appreciated. I will have a look for the safety announcement and see what i can find out.

I guess a new bar will solve the problem but the depower strap is a bit of a worry when someone else has had the same problem.