Learned a lesson the other day. I hung up my wing by the handle to dry for the first time. Took it to the beach and the strut bladder popped right next to the tube that joins it to the main bladder. What happened was the bladder dropped down the strut due to being hung up. Got doubled over and trapped when I inflated. Do not dry your wings by hanging them from the front handle. If you do give, the strut a good shake as you inflate it slowly.

And you could just never hang your uninflated wing by the front handle, it's been working great for me.

waterlife said..
Don't see the point in washing wings - I just roll it up and chuck it in the bag. Your wings will age from waves/ general use. Cleaning it won't contribute much in my opinion. Plus I am most likely using it in following few days..... very tedious process if you ask me

This has nothing to do with washing your wing. It is drying it after a session.

The bladder material normally neatly fills the tube as you inflate. Any voids or twists can be seen as a slightly concave wrinkled section in the tube. You need to keep an eye on those sections as you pump. To an extent the bladder material will stretch to fill the tube.

If you have a pale coloured leading edge or strut you can hold them up against the light and see the actual wrinkles and twists. It can be a bit scary to see all that stuff in the leading edge.

A tiny amount of dampness can cause the bladder material to be a bit sticky and twists will lock themselves in. It is possible to have a 180 twist in one section of the bladder and a series of other wrinkles in the opposite direction elsewhere. They will not come out with pumping. You have to do something to sort them out.

I noticed a 180 twist in the leading edge bladder. I unzipped the leading edge and straightened the twist by hand, which was good for a couple of sessions. Eventually I pulled that end of the bladder out and reseated it. Now I have a nice neat leading edge.

None of this is a problem with kites because the bladders are narrower. There simply isn't enough fabric for the bladders to twist, and there's more struts and attachment points to keep everything secure.

I have a drying rack hanging from the roof of my garage made from some 50mm plastic tube. I just hang the wing over that, either partially rolled if it's just the leading edge that is damp, or flat along the centre strut if it's all wet.

If the wing is only a little damp and there will be wind the next day I just leave it loosely rolled in the car.