You want shortest possible lines on the front and longest possible lines on the back for max depower (minimum power). Keep in mind that if you do rig it with short fronts and long back lines the kite may not be as responsive and may not turn as quickly as your used to.

surfingboyo said...

koma said...

You want shortest possible lines on the front and longest possible lines on the back for max depower (minimum power). Keep in mind that if you do rig it with short fronts and long back lines the kite may not be as responsive and may not turn as quickly as your used to.

so does that mean for max power you do it the other way around

i can tell you a top notch fool-proof way off rigging your kite for optimum power in all conditions.... but it'll cost you fifty dollars.....

Just picture it... when you push your bar out what happens? The front lines stay the same and you loosen your back lines... hence depower. When you pull your bar in you tighten your back lines... hence power. Now picture an extension of this when you hook up your kite.

The shorter the front lines (longer back lines) the more depower
The shorter the back lines (longer front lines) the more power

I fly my 9m Rev on the middle knot on back and front lines (any knot as long as it's the same on both).
I tried powering it up for lighter wind by shortening the back line by just one knot but found it was over sheeting and flew much better on equal knots.
I don't depower it on the knots either as I find I have plenty of depower just using the depower strap on the bar and don't really like how they fly when you lengthen the back lines.

My 5m however needs to be flown on the longest front knot and the shortest back, not just the 3rd back knot but the 4th right up where the bridle lines come together (not really meant to be a knot but if you look at the kite you'll what I mean). If I put it on equal knots on front and back like my 9m it has no power no matter how nuking it is and doesn't fly nicely. Same goes though, I always put it on the same knots each time and then just depower on the bar.

I reckon thats the way to go, with the Revs anyway, find the sweet knots that the kite feels good at then just use the depower on the bar when you need it.

But that's just my opinion...and I tend to change down a kite when it gets too windy for it rather than push a bigger kite into stronger winds...but I ride a surfboard and would rather be slightly underpowered than over.