that sounds like a kitemare
glad everything worked out and everyone is ok
I now have used my kite (not a waroo, i got a dos) QR many times in events that could go down all wrong (human error)

and glad it works

I do have an 07 waroo and it does have kook proof lines. There is one red line and red pigtail, one all blue and two grey. They do all end in loops but if you cant take enough care to make sure your lines are right and to get red to red, blue to blue and grey to grey then you will next time. Sorry to hear it happened, glad to hear no major injuries were sustained.
I must confess to having done it myself when learning. I was in a rush to get out, overconfident and didnt have enough respect for the kite and wind. I ended up with minor concussion and didnt kite that day. It was back in the day when all the lines where white and pigtails all the same colour but that is no escuse. Always double check your lines and gear before you launch. I lay my lines out downwind of the kite so when the lines are straight and attached you can pick up the bar and physically look down all of the lines at the sametime to check for twists and that they are attached in the right places.

dkeating said...

my mate had a bad experince with his 07 11m best Waroo. i can;t believe Best did not have the kook prove lines like most brands.
Any way as a warning to others he crossed the back and front lines over on one side only. i launched him and neither of us noticed this. The kite went into a wild spin dragging him along the beach and by the time he activated his safety it didn;t work possibly due to all the lines twisted around each other. I jumped on top of him and grabbed his harness. eventually one of the knots on the bridle broke and the Kite caught up in some bushes in the sand junes. I don;t know whether best's newer kites can still do this but for an 07 Kite i think this is disgrace. Dale

sounds to me more like someone is sour because they kooked up and are now looking for something to blame.. how you could not notice one pair of lines is differnt from the other is a little shocking...

just for everyones advice we both had lessons back in 2000 when kiting first got going, never had this complacancy before.I only looked at the kite not the strings. and my mate oviously in a hurry didn;t notice the cross over.I've been flying wipika in 2000/01 which was black for back and have had Airush/slingshot/cabrihna kites since and they all have had kook proof lines. Obviously i thought all the kites were fool proof.

COL said...

Hey you guys, how come you all assumed this pair were learners, not that that makes any difference.

Didn't pay enough attention? Just a brain snap? Face it we all make mistakes, get distracted. I know I've had my share of moments of dickheadedness.
Kites should be as foolproof as possible. The fact that it's a 2yr old kite is no excuse. I'm with Dale.

How important is your safety? Go for safety when selecting your kites. & that means anything over a few years old has no value. Designs have improved that fast it's amazing!
cheers
COL

Most kites only got kook proof connectors a couple of years ago. Its also not a 2 year old kite, its 3 years old. The 2009 best kites were released last year, not this year. We assumed they were beginners and they were.

In short, you can blame the kite here, but more than one mistake was made to lead up to this situation, namely:

1. Neither party was familiar with the equipment - dangerous
2. Neither party was experienced - also dangerous
3. The first party didn't rig the lines correctly - very dangerous
4. The second party didn't check if the lines were rigged correctly knowing it was a beginner when the kite was in launch position - dangerous

If both had received lessons, they would have know to check their lines.

When I select a kite, the last thing on my list is kook proof lines. If you need to rely on kook proof lines not to cross your lines then you're a danger to yourself and those around if, because god knows what else you haven't bother to concentrate on while you were rigging.

COL said...
When you have a few near death experiences under your belt Saffer I'm sure you'll have more regard for safety.

On the contrary, I have had enough near death experiences for me to know that relying on something like kook proof connectors is the wrong way to approach line setups because one becomes lazy. Its one of major reasons I rig downwind, so I can check my lines are rigged correctly. I also double check when the kite is in launch position. I'm not saying kook proof connectors shouldn't be standard, but I am saying that the author called the kite disgraceful when he should have been blaming himself. To blame a kite for your own stupidity means not taking responsibility for your own actions.

There is no substitute for common sense, and relying on kook proof connectors to replace common sense is stupid. If they were bad enough to misrig, then they would have been dangerous with a kite in the air as well. There are also a number of ways you can misrig a kite even with kook proof lines. I've seen numerous people rig their back lines through their bridle because they are in a hurry.

Sumpin nort right ear..

My old 2005 (with 2006 bar n lines I think) Yarga set up has kook proof front/rear lines and pigtails???

Did you buy the kite 2nd hand and someone had modified it perhaps?


The more experiance = the more complacency in my experiance. Therefore I make myself run my lines twice every time!

Recently whilst feeling time pressure to get out on the water quickly, I nearly didn't check my rigging a 2nd time, but had that nagging voice in the head saying "You will get spanked the one time you don't." So I did run along the lines again - what do you know I had messed up my 5th line with one of the outside lines! Lucky.

Yes - I would have visually checked all the lines when strapped in ready to launch but what if the kite had been accidently let go of etc by the dude holding it?

CHECK YOUR LINES TWICE EVERY TIME FOLKS! 30 secs can save a whole lot of hospital bills and much time off the water.

err always leave one end connected to your harness.

all kites come with a manul to where and how the lines go on how the safety systems work and which way they go on. If you dont take the time to read learn check, practice safety, kite safely than i hope for your sake that you are the one that is hurt or killed not some bistander that had done absolutly nothing wrong apart from being in the wrong spot at the wrong time.

I think the best thing you can do is you have identified it is dangerous(obviously not you) then remove it from service and have it destroyed dont sell it as the problem wont go away.

Buy a safe kite do some research for what will work for you. rig down wind so you can visualy check your rear lines all the way back to your bar, re check while on the beach. check bridles for tangles make sure all conections are tight make sure your safety line isnt tangled twisted half hitched make sure it will work make sure you know what to hook your leash to and which way the leash goes on how it works fire it off to check it do the same with your chickenloop. re check before launching allways use some one compitant to launch land your kite.when you grab your bar and lines walk back before hooking in pull on your leash line to make sure it is all going to work if needed hook in but leave one hand on the safety untill all lines have been checked if something doesnt feel right when holding the bar it probably isnt start again launch safely and then quickly make your way to the water. kite safely. things can still go wrong so make sure you have insurance.