Gorgo said..
Hanging is only bad if you do it wrong. People were hanging the wings by the front handles and that allowed the strut bladder to flop down. Hang it with the strut level and the end won't flop away.

I have been washing wetsuits and stuff in chlorinated water since the 70's. I have noticed no degradation of fabrics in that time. It might be true in remote places with crappy water systems. I doubt if it would happen in a major Australian city.

If you pump your wing with the bladder wet the bladder fabric can stick to itself and the sides of the tube. You can get a locked in twist. There's so much room inside the leading edge tube that stuff can flop around and twist inside. I had one a couple of days ago. I unzipped the leading edge and reached in and untwisted it. I was surprised how tight it was twisted.

You can see the twist as you're pumping. You have a nice smooth texture in the leading edge with a narrow bit at the seams, then a wonky wrinkly line going across on an angle, usually near the corner of the leading edge where it transitions into the tip.

Ah that's great info gorgo

Clamsmasha said..

mcrt said..

Clamsmasha said..
Wetsuits degrade if not rinsed in fresh water because the salt crystals shred the cells in the foam. They go downhill very quickly if you dry them salty....that's how you make beef jerky.

Plus they get this unique aroma...
I hate it when funky wetsuit guys sit upwind in the lineup

Mine always smell like piss

Yeh regularly make the mistake of throwing the non washed but dry wetty in the car then leave in the car for the arvo session. Damn. Make it real interesting when you play role of parent Uber then pick up the daughter and a few of her friends ...

Leighbreeze said..
Would hose rinsing by rain water out of water tank be better than chlorinated water.?
Then hanging supported under the centre strut horizontally dried say overnight.
Wings are Deffinately more vulnerable than say kites.
Strengthening the framework with say OR Aluula material would give longevity.
Aluula material is miles in front of anything else available.
Would be the cost that's hard to swollen.

Good point. Rainwater compared to chlorinated? I thought for a second I used water from my water tank. But realized no not anymore too lazy to cary water from water tank to my car like I did in drought times. But obviously don't rinse my wings in fresh water. But sometimes rinse the sand off the wing tips if they hit ground & get dirt or sand on them when carrying the wing back to car.
Think I better get my 4m Naish out of its bag since haven't used it for some time. Check if any moisture, Pump it up & restore it.

colas said..

Leighbreeze said..
Strengthening the framework with say OR Aluula material would give longevity.
Aluula material is miles in front of anything else available.

On Aluula I found the two posts by Sun and nixmatters in kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2403437&start=390 quite interesting:

Basically Aluula has stronger threads, but more loosely weaved and with a softer holding resin than Dacron. There are advantages and drawbacks... One of the big advantage is tear resistance, the Aluula looser weave will prevent tears to spread as fibers can move to spread the tension. But the question then is the durability of the resin used for Aluula, and what happens when it wears out.

Yes not sure Colas.
Aparently Aluula is being used by armed forces and astronauts eta as protective clothing and armour.
Only going off my Aluula kites and there rigid skeleton frame.Super light weight kites but strong stable skeleton.Leading edge and struts covered in the Aluula material.Seems really strong.
Reckon a wing with the leading edge and struts made
covered In Aluula would give them a longer lifespan.
As far as rinsing the kites or wings in fresh tank water then drying thougherly would be less detrimental than chlorinated water.

If I see how quick the wings get better each year I wonder how interesting longevity and resale is at this moment.

Guys running the 1st generation Alula kites report excellent durability. So I think the material is more than just a tougher fiber.

Personally I don't need a lighter wing than my Wasp. But I'd like at least the same durability and a more efficient upwind. Most V2 and V3 wings have this efficiency, but Ozone seems to still lead on durability.

The interesting question will be pricing -- I suspect these wings will be expensive and relatively obsolete within months as new innovative designs hit the market. Just about every company has another wing in the works, which will be released in the next few months.

Been kiting for close to 20 years and winging for about 1 1/2 and didn't take me long to figure it out that wings generally take way more beatings than any kite with a experienced rider,every time you come in in after a session the wings are wet and sandy in ocean riding no way around it as opposed to a kite with a competent pilot hardly ever drops them depending on your riding style of course.Wings take beating while riding in the waves and continue there beat down long after you get out after a session.For most of us who don't live in tropical climates it's just not possible to dry em out the beach for 15 mins then pack em up,most of us pack a wet sandy mess wing that makes for a myriad of issues waiting to happen bladder shifts,stitching issues you name it,can't compare to windsurfing sail we're talking inflatable wings with internal bladders that get sticky when wet and tend to shift more so than when dry.No doubt that wings need to be better reinforced than a regular kite down the line,but then you figure more weight and cost when they are already over priced as it is,so hard to see where it's going? But one thing I would like to see is a after wing session stuff bag made with ventilation netting that you can just roll up your wing commonly and lay it in there and zipper it up to transport home to dry in yard/ garage whatever without folding or minimal say 1 fold as wet and sandy folding wings in the OEM provided wing bags are just a recipe for premature wear and tear on your wings,I'd buy one tomorrow if a company made a light weight wet transport wing bag

Winging has well and truly taken over, especially the swell wave riding aspect of it. DW Adventures with a couple of mates and my son, just can't be beaten I'm afraid.
upwind exploring - kite foil still has its place.


really good waves, spot on conditions that shallow out (generally to give a proper wave) kite SB still has it place.


too old to push the wakestyle now so really what's the point. Big ass jumps with loops going wee wee wee all way home. How many times you need to repeat that before even that gets boring.
Probably the only other thing I'd consider is the perfect nuking TT bump and jump in some double head high waves. That's still very cool.

but yeh Leigh it's taken over, completely. I now own only one kite.

My son above about to pull into this wave and the ride was a good 300m into the bay. Maybe a tad more. Sick.



Big boy hilly crackin down a face. That's Jason (wingman's) son in the back. Catchin waves and jumping and crap on a small sink start prone and straps. Old and the new lol.

it's good fun man.