I blew a few struts/ bladders this season on kites just over 12 months old and they all went in the same place about 1/3 of the way up from the trailing edge.
I usually roll the LE of my kite up from both tips to the centre and then fold the struts over 1/3 of the way up from the trailing edge then over again, so I am sure that this is why the struts blew as it is right where it folds.
Not sure what I could have done to prevent this though unless I left the bag extended and just rolled up the LE and didn't fold the struts or just tried to vary the spot where I fold them a little.
My kites got a lot of use and I generally pump them up rock hard.
Although I loved the kites to fly, I was disappionted with what appears to be weak point in the design.
I am now riding a different brand of kite so hopefully I will have more luck with these, time will tell.

leave your struts inflated. constantly shoving your fully deflated kite into a bag that is never big enough isn't good for your kite. eventually you will put your fist through the canopy while shoving it in. it probably isn't the best thing for your struts to be inflated all the time but i havent had a problem with them yet after 3 years.

webby7 said...

I'm not sure if it applies to kites but with our sales it was always believed that folding was best as long as you folded it the same way and at the same place each time

Doesn't that repeatedly wear / stress exactly the same spot?

The Kite Dr explained it to me a couple of years ago as being better to fold than roll. He said that the rolling is more likely to pinch the bladder whereas folding maintains the shape.

I figured the man who has done a large percentage of repairs in WA for a LONG time would probably have a fair idea.

Cheers,

Ben.

I scrunch!!!!

Ben De Jonge said...

Roll it gently, treat it gently.
Like a woman.

Oh dear - here we go...

cRAZY Canuk said...

webby7 said...

I'm not sure if it applies to kites but with our sales it was always believed that folding was best as long as you folded it the same way and at the same place each time. I roll my kites up though and haven't had a problem yet touch wood.

I gather your talking about sails and not sales. But that's wrong, continually folding sail material in the same location causes a hard crease which can cause the fibres in the material to break.

Roll Roll Roll
[/quote

We always found that if you folded the sail at the same spot both directions it would wear through a lot quicker then if you only folded it the same way. if you folded it the same spot each time it would cause just the one weak spot verses creating 100 if you folded in different spots each time

Ben De Jonge said...


Like a woman.

Tried that last weekend and it doesn't work. Eventually I had to get up and get my own beer.

As long as you are kind to your kite, I can't imagine it makes much difference!

Yacht sails are concertina folded so you can lay them out on the deck, attach the sheets, attach the clew and feed the head into the track so you hoist them straight up the forestay or the mast track, not to protect them from wear. (I have worked foredeck on keel yachts in races). If you had to unroll the sail before you could hoist it, the bloke on the foredeck would have to contend with a mass of unfurled sail! It's a tricky enough job staying on your feet, being yelled at by the skipper and doing eveything else without having to contend with controlling metres of unfurled sail. In terms of storage, its harder to put in a sail bag that way.

If you are using your gear enough, wear and damage from storage will be the least of your worries!

I roll from the tips to the middle, neatly but fairly loosely. I like to arrange the leading edge so it rolls smoothly.

Once in the middle I pat the rolled sections flat, squeeze out any remaining air, then fold from the ends towards the middle. It then fits neatly into the bag.

My kites always look neat and crisp.

I used to fold the tips in before rolling and ended up with havt wrinkle in the tips so I turned to neatly rolling. The advantage of rolling before folding is that you avoid always folding in the same place.

I find the worst things for wear and tear on kites are abrasion against hard surfaces and putting kites away wet and sandy, and leaving inflated kites sitting in the wind on the beach for long periods.

The biggest single cause of damage is carrying from the beach to the grass packup area when the wind is not strong enough and the kite gets caught on branches and rocks and pavement and stuff. In those circumstances it is best to deflate at least the LE on the beach.