replacing FLS endline?

[Gyre]

My FLS endline wore through today (just riding along and it fell apart... weird). I did a field repair by replacing its entire length with an old front line that I had in my bag, just to get me through my session. My question is: can I put in a splice and make this permanent (the old front line I subbed in is in good shape), or do I really need to order the purpose-made FLS endline from Flysurfer? I know it's important to get the length right for the kite to flag out fully but I've got that. I think breaking strength of front lines (when new) is something like 190lbs... I can't imagine even half of that force being needed (or manageable) for an FLS endline to hold a flagged-out kite.

Thanks!

[Kamikuza]

I've two FS kites that I've spliced a new loop in...so far, so good

I'm guessing you wore out the bit just above the CL? You can splice a line into a line and then add a loop on the end, so long as you keep the extra thickness below the stopper block at the end of the trim strap.

You can use the worn line as part of the tail bury, so you'll have a really long bury--it'll be super effective

The trick is getting the lengths right. And for OCD I like to try to hide where the splice end and the loop end finish inside the QR body...

So, basic idea is:
Cut the safety ring loop off just above the eye splice.
Poke a hole for the splice at the bottom of the trim strap (so the bar won't rub on the splice entry points).
Splice in the new FLS line (it's just front line, I think) and finish the tail near the stopper block.
Splice in the old FLS line.
Make a MacDonald Brummel and eye loop for the safety ring.

IIRC you'll loose about 7-10mm of length per 100mm of bury, but it doesn't matter too much. Long bury is strong, and you'll be doing 100x easy.

[Gyre]

Thanks a lot for this excellent answer! I haven't had a chance to try it yet but going to.

Yes, it was just above the CL that the line wore through.

Getting the correct length might not be difficult in my situation: I replaced the entire line (all 10+ metres of it), so first I'll do the long bury and splice at the safety ring end without worrying about length, then I'll fine-tune the length at the other end, where it attaches to the frontline (a simpler splice).

Sounds like the important thing is to have double-thickness (via a long bury) all the way from the safety ring to above the trim strap... correct?

Thanks again for the advice!

[Kamikuza]

My comment was about splicing the loop end into an existing FLS line. If you've replaced the whole thing, that's a lot easier

Don't forget the stopper knot in the FLS at the top, too.

What bar are you using?
I'm not sure if you need double thickness and I don't know if it could actually speed up wear, but I do know that if the tail ends above the CL body and where the bar sliders over it when sheeting, it'll wear at that point quickly. So either have the tail finishing just inside the QR body (may be a little short...?) or above the end of the depower line, is my suggestion.

With using an existing FLS (after all, it's only the bit below the trim strap that wears) you have no option but a double thickness FLS...

[Gyre]

Yeah makes sense. It's an Infinity 2 bar. I've never had a depower line wear through on my older bars (Infinity 1 and some pre-infinity version), even though they had a lot more hours on them. Wonder if the Infinity 2 design is tough on depower lines.

Makes me think I should splice some kind of a "sleeve" (maybe just another piece of frontline) on the OUTSIDE of the new depower line, similar to what Flysurfer does with the depower ropes, to absorb the wear without jeopardizing the actual depower line. I'd run the sleeve from the safety ring to just above the trim strap, put a few stitches at both ends to keep it from slipping. Just an idea. Might not be pretty.

[Kamikuza]

You could do double on the 2 fine.

The worn ones are on my 1 bars. Wouldn't worry, splicing in loops is dead easy.

[Gyre]

I take back my idea of splicing a sleeve over the bottom part of the FLS line. I did it (made double thickness all the way from the steel ring to just above the trim strap) then realized that when the outer sleeve frays through, it will bunch up and block your bar from sliding up the FLS line when the quick release is activated, which would be super dangerous! So I'm back to using just a single piece of frontline and I'll just watch it for wear and replace when necessary.