snalberski said..

Freddofrog said..
I wash my kites in fresh water after EVERY session and then hang via the bridle lines under patio (ie in the shade)

Seriously?

This looks like a man who is about to sell some second hand kit on the forums soon. First thing you do when looking in the for sale forums is check out the posts that people have to see if they have anything like 'I like to rub sand into the bar and lines at the end of every session and sprinkle some bleach onto the canopy' type stuff.

Obviously I too wash my kites, dry them in a room with a dehumidifier, wrap tracing paper between the folds in the canopy when rolling them up and adjust the lines each time I use my kites.

Personally I like to give the mechanical safety bits a hose after a session if I can. I always release the chicken loop and leash every time before I go out but I like to keep them clean. Am not too concerned about all the kite fabric, wettie etc. it would be awful if you went to release a safety and it didn't work .

dusta said..
people care for their kites ?

my edges go in the bag sand and all . never had an issue .

Yep. Very quickly gave up on washing and what-not, and now just jam them in the bags wet, sandy, whatever. Can't kill the bloody things. I want new ones...

Craig66 said..

( I bet when you co camping you perfectly roll your sleeping bag )

Haha, actually it is a lot easier to stuff it than roll it :)

The sun kills them.

Freddofrog said..

Craig66 said..

( I bet when you co camping you perfectly roll your sleeping bag )

Haha, actually it is a lot easier to stuff it than roll it :)

I thought you were supposed to stuff, as rolling can misplace the insulation...?

People always say not to leave the kite fluttering at the beach. Problem is if I pump up multiple kites as the wind changes I leave the other kite/s at the beach so I can switch quickly if I need to.
How do you guys address that?

I just put some sand on top and it does remove some of the flapping (as was suggested here too).

Craig66 said..

...

What brand of kite comes with an Hour meter ? or did u retro fit one????

There are people working on UV exposure meters. I think it's a dumb idea. I fly paragliders and I am required to keep a flight log. After I had been kiting for a few years I got into the habit of entering my kiting sessions in there as well.

It's easy to do. I just glance at my watch when I go out and take another glance when I come in. The only odd thing about it is I tend to round out sessions so they finish on an hour or half hour so it's easy to remember.

It's kind of fun to go back and remember sessions or adventures. It also puts into perspective people's claims about how much they kite and all the stuff they say they do. People claim 4-5 hour sessions, but I've seen them on the beach. They arrived after me and left before me and I only had a two hour session. I think they count the driving time and the standing around on the beach yapping time.

Yep Gorgo, good idea, im usually on the water for about 90min, but I can be at the beach for over two hours. I call that about an hour session.

I stopped wearing a watch a while ago (one of the joys of being single and not under the thumb to be home by a certain time) but I was always checking the time and going back and looking at wind graph to cross reference how I was riding etc.

Invest in a few boards rather than pump up multiple kites would be my suggestion.

I just make sure its dry and pack it in my bag although every now and then I like to machine wash my lines in cuddly soft,takes a while to untangle them but gee they feel so soft and silky and cut through the air so much faster

yendor said..
I never wash anything, just don't store your kite wet.
Its that easy.

Same here. And I always leave them in the van as well.
Riding the same kites for 4 years now, without any problem.