Matteo V wrote: ↑Sun May 13, 2018 9:54 pm
Naish and Ozone have always had great low stretch lines with a tight braid and are very resistant to wear.
North and Best lines (at least 2010-2014) were junk lines that pretty much immediatley showed wear even if you were not using them in a highly abrasive environment.
A tight braid with a waxy feel seems to be best.
But for cost and low stretch performance, I go with the Jerry Brown hollow braid spectra. This stuff splices great and has decent wear characteristics, though it is not "waxy" and somewhat a looser/flatter braid. But is no where as loose as some of the junk lines previously mentioned. I use 800lb for my fronts, and any other junk line (stock on any bar I get) for the rears. I also have some Marlow tight braided spectra kite line that I believe is 350kg, but still nice and thin for back lines. Here is a link for BHP tackle where you can get a really low price on the right sized spool (300yds is plenty for maintaining a few bars).
http://www.bhptackle.com/home.php?cat=46
Stretching and splicing is 50% of the issue with kite lines. You need to take your time stretching and stretch to within about 80% of the breaking strength. Then you need to take more time and let the lines relax. For fronts, let them relax for 15-20 minutes before making the final splices. Rears are better left for longer, but can be done in a pinch after a second handling and a 20 minute wait. - Again THIS WILL MAKE OR BREAK YOUR LINESET PROJECT! There is more to it than I am laying out, but I am not going to write a guide for you right now. And just for clarity, you need some mechanical advantage to properly stretch you lines. But be careful as the stored energy release of a snapped line can hurt you pretty bad.
Q-Power line is great, except for the terminations. If you knot, you must make a perfectly neat "figure 8" knot or you will easily break at that knot. If you machine sew sleeved loops, make sure you wet the line and the thread before sewing. Then go slow with the machine. If you don't follow that advice, you will cut individual strands in the Q-Power line and severely weaken the splice. Honestly, I abandoned my Q-Power line sets after a few breaks at the sewn sleeves, and then later at a less than perfect figure 8 knot.
MutantWizard wrote: ↑Sun May 13, 2018 7:36 pm
A while back heard some good comments but also some bad comments about Q-PowerLine Pro lines but that might be outdated by now. I would appreciate any experience or advice members here have with these or a recommendation of any other lines you think would qualify according to my criteria.Thanks!
Q-power line has not changed and all the issues with it still exist and will always exist. It can't be spliced as it is not a braid. So knots or sewn loops become it's "Achilles heel".
I am choking to death just reading this statement!
Naish has the lowest quality lines in the history of kiteboarding. I am convinced their manufacturer bought 1,000 containers of cheap line back in 2001 and they have been burning thru that stock ever since. Liros did a study of aftermarket lines (eg, actual lines on kite bars) and Naish was the lowest of the low. As a rider of a Naish Torch, I demolished 5 sets of lines by stretching and in some cases breaking them due to stress in just six months; finally I had custom lines created for my TOrchies. Years later my custom lines have not stretched at all.
Naish = Traish when it comes to lines.
Ozone lines stretch altho at a reasonable rate.
North used to be junk but nowadays are using 500 kg lines. It taken me a year but I finally stretched out the center lines on my Click Bar. Overall good lines for stock OEM imo.
Now this is all focused on STRETCH - Abrasion resistance is another animal. I baby my lines and dont get them sandy so abrasion is not a huge deal for me, stretch is (im a 240 lb Big Air guy who loves his Loops). Q Power is great for abrasion but needs a technical update to improve their stretch (weakj 600 lbs).
I strongly recommend researching any lines you buy - including looking at the actual line manufacturer instead of just the kite brand that is sticking its name on it. I am a huge fan of Liros and the lines I made from Liros DC-701 and DC-401 are the magic bomb imo. They do need to be waxed every six months though or abrasion will get to them (six mo of near daily usage). My North lines didnt start to wear/get abrasion until 12mo (better aftermarket processing treatment than applying cheap candle wax from walmart). Now they are on the same wax cycle as my Torch custom lines. Liros the manufacturer behind Core lines (the super fancy Core middle lines on their Sensor 2Pro are DC-401). Teufelburger is the manufacturer behind North lines. At this point both manufacturer of lines (liros and Teufel) are using SK-99 fiber core. Its 2018, if a manufacturer is still using line with SK-75 fiber technology, dump that crap - SK99 is WAAAAYYYY better than SK-75 for our sport.
I really like the treatment on Q Power in terms of abrasion, just wish they would update with newer fiber core technology to have better strength. If you have a low power application (eg, Foiling), stick with Q Power. For anything requiring lots of breaking strength/stretching resistance, go with Liros is my advice. Again, look THROUGH the kite brands to the actual manufacturers of the lines.