There's other people that would know better but from what I understand, if they're all 4 line kites it'll be fine so long as the bar came with the biggest kite because a smaller kite's bar might not fully flag out a bigger kite when you pull the safety

Incredible that there are still people using the 2014 overdrive bar.

Now out of interest. When you use that bar with a non cabrinha kite, does the depower on demand feature still work?

yeah i had the same issue with my 2014 bar. the 2015 bar fixes that.

Kamikuza said..

Scrubes said..
like said, works on most 4 lines and have used on my Fluid kites, good bar on land not so good releasing on the water, hard to reset.

First thing I did with the 2012/3 bar was pull the QR and put it back together. Then I did it one handed. Then I did it with my left hand.

I've never understood how anyone could have problems with it

struggled with it in deep water, ended up riding unhooked back to shore.

I hated the 2014 bar. An over engineered piece of crap. Especially the recoil one.

To your question. Most kites fly on 4 lines of equal length. The pigtails are often different but you can solve this buy buying a set of Ozone pigtails for $20 and attaching these to the offending kite's bridals (not your bar). That way your setup time will be quicker.

The main thing to look out for however is the safety system and whether the kite is designed to fly with a low v bar (cabrinha, switch, naish and most other brands) or a high v bar (north and core).

I dont understand the mechanics of the safety line flagging well enough to explain here other than there are several designs and some kites will not fully depower / flag out correctly if used with the wrong bar. You shpuld research what flagging system the kite requires that you intend to use it with.

Macster said..

Kamikuza said..

Scrubes said..
like said, works on most 4 lines and have used on my Fluid kites, good bar on land not so good releasing on the water, hard to reset.

First thing I did with the 2012/3 bar was pull the QR and put it back together. Then I did it one handed. Then I did it with my left hand.

I've never understood how anyone could have problems with it

Have you successfully done it in deep water with tension in your lines and the kite dragging you through the water?. It's almost impossible.

On 2011 & 2017 bars (and leashes) -- yes. I needed two hands though ;) The 2011 was more problematic because the loop stays on the hook and you can't see it.

Macster said..
I hated the 2014 bar. An over engineered piece of crap. Especially the recoil one.

To your question. Most kites fly on 4 lines of equal length. The pigtails are often different but you can solve this buy buying a set of Ozone pigtails for $20 and attaching these to the offending kite's bridals (not your bar). That way your setup time will be quicker.

The main thing to look out for however is the safety system and whether the kite is designed to fly with a low v bar (cabrinha, switch, naish and most other brands) or a high v bar (north and core).

I dont understand the mechanics of the safety line flagging well enough to explain here other than there are several designs and some kites will not fully depower / flag out correctly if used with the wrong bar. You shpuld research what flagging system the kite requires that you intend to use it with.

not saying the 2014 bar was great. the mini5th never worked properly. bar didnt float. Safety was impossible to reset.

The centre tubing was great though at preventing lines tangeling around the bar and the recoil spring increased the useable windrange by quite a bit. A 9m Switchblade would fly in 14 - 40 knots. I remember it was one session in particular where the wind increased like crazy and in gusts the kite didn't even care where the leading edge was - you could go either way xD.
No probs with depower on demand. - yes other kites could achieve that too but it leads to a very long bar throw which isn't practical in real life.

The other thing was that the bar was very comfortable to grab for sensitive hands. I toy with the idea every session to put some handlebartape around my Switch controller 3 bar...

Scrubes said..

Macster said..

Kamikuza said..

Scrubes said..
like said, works on most 4 lines and have used on my Fluid kites, good bar on land not so good releasing on the water, hard to reset.

First thing I did with the 2012/3 bar was pull the QR and put it back together. Then I did it one handed. Then I did it with my left hand.

I've never understood how anyone could have problems with it

Have you successfully done it in deep water with tension in your lines and the kite dragging you through the water?. It's almost impossible.

Thank you, thought it was just me.

Just you two maybe ;)