up there for thinking bigmark.I pulled my safety apart last night and it was that full of salt and sand I wonder if I got in the s##t if it would have worked.

I havent had 2 use mine in along time(touch wood)so tend to come complacent about checking it.specially when the winds up and are keen to get out there.

But after seeing how seized up with sand/salt it was, Im going to check it everytime.could be a life saver,literally.

The stupid thing is,just before I launch I stop for 5sec and think and do a double check in my head that lines are good,at good angle to wind,no one in the way and look at my saftey re-lease so Im ready to hit it if needed ect.Not much use though if it is stuffed up with crap and dosent work.

GreenPat,I can lend you some of my hardend sand/salt build up if you like,should clog it up nice and tight.

Somehow i am not entirely confident with the Naish set up and the velcro strip in the sleeve
I thought the airush set up look like it would be a lot easier to access while in panic mode.
Unfortunately my kite is a naish

My safety is a pain in the ass, its the TD2 safety release so its on the chicken look (that little red knob). It's so annoyingly sensitive that I've fallen onto my board and had it release just from touching the board... then got a taste of unhooked riding... while trying to reset my safety release at the same time, I did a few kiteloops while holding on and had awesome fun .

At least in a real emergency the effort required to let go could be exerted by a mouse.... that helps.

Good advice, some Q/R's are a little prone to "getting sticky" after a period of inactivity.
Most practical thread in ages.

Very good call... I wouldn't go far as far hooking it to my harness (kinda limits the unhooked stuff) however it is essential you check it at the start of each session (or as aforementioned at the end with tension on the lines) -> at least every 5-10 sessions with tension.

If you know your gear you will know if it will work regardless of testing it with tensioned lines provided you are inspecting and checking it at the start of a session. (I also do a mental exersize at the start of a session where I practice reaching for it as quick as I can 10 times). You will be amazed how long it takes if you havent done this in a while compared to doing it every day. Your brain needs to repeat something 6,000 times before it becomes a reflex so you do the maths.

I had a pretty bad accident the other day, and if I couldnt release my safety I probably would have been a lot worse. In the surf I always have my safety leash hooked up to my chicken loop. This way when you hit your safety you only have to hit ONE and not two. That split second between a wave hitting your kite and releasing your kite is all it takes when the surf is big.

Be safe.

Ok went out today at narrabeen... and AGAIN... the SAME thing happens, the flippin safety touched my right arm (not even having a grip on it) so just my swinging arm and releases... oh and guess what the flipping clip on the safety had somehow come off the kite (possibly being hit by a big wave earlier... no idea how really) I am 100% sure that I clipped it on beforehand, sometimes the clip doesnt like swinging closed (it brand new pretty much ). Kite got wrenched outof my hands and sails off into the water.

My god... I was swearing at my leash ... I am now certain that the safety system is made for f****** hamsters. So I may just give shortening it a try.

Oh and just to make my day, somehow my chicken loop came off my harness while I was riding at a wave, never had it happen before.

I couldn't say that none of this was due to me being careless, but holy crap... that kite didnt like me today

bigmark100 said...

Recently there was a fatality in Egypt - speculation is because of a jammed safety release......

Another chance for me to plug my favourite hobby horse. The best safety innovation in kiting since letting the air out.
SlingShot Surefire Spreader Bar.
One touch QR to your kite leash thats always right there, always in the same place, always requiring the same action no matter which or whose kite you are flying or what is going wrong.
Bloody Brilliant.
AND - its gotta be the simplest possible re-fit of any QR. One handed hit and its back in place then you just hook back in - its that easy.
AND - you can practice hitting it everytime you kite. Dont unhook when you land - just hit the button. A great way to get it to be an instant impulse reaction.
AND - it comes with its own donkey dick (well more like a chicken dick really) which is completely one-touch optional - at any time - on the fly.

You can never be certain of anything being a 100% guarantee but IMHO every kiter should use one.
I wouldnt leave home without it.

{edit}
Did I mention it is also a has a built-in, fully spinning kite leash cw a 2nd & last resort QR?
No?
Well it does.

Nar, I'm 100% sure that in an emergency it would work... it just requires such a light force to open that I've had it release by accident several times

As a yachtie I've always rinsed and check my gear, I find it amazing how many people choose not to (not saying anyone in the post). But come on it's your safety release its worth checking every couple sessions if not everytime you go out.

I've got the North 08 Iron heart and it works really well and find that it doesn’t clog up with sand and salt easily, though I'm sure it would if you left it un rinsed and never opened it up. Just wish that it had a swivel, just means that you need to learn to spin both ways.

I don't think there is anything which could be deemed 'faulty' really apart from the clip on the safety leash not closing unless I myself close the gate, but now I know to double check everything and generally its all fine.

I was just saying how the safety release requires such a small force to open that it does so unintentionally at times, just from glancing pressure from my arm once.

Well, it is definantly on the overly safe side, I really dont think I'd have many problems depowering and pulling the safety if I ever really needed to