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5th line necessary to relaunch from snow/water ?

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Ittiandro
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5th line necessary to relaunch from snow/water ?

Postby Ittiandro » Sat Dec 02, 2017 11:35 pm

Hi

I am a windsurfer and I am now considering both snowkiting and kiteboarding on water in the summer.
I am a bit confused about the 5th line issue .
Most of the LEI kites I have seen on the Internet show a control bar with only 3 lines: two at the sides and one in the middle, described as the safety line, allowing to quick depower and drop the kite by disconnecting it or to gradually decrease the power by pulling on a strap along the same central line.
Nowhere do I see more than 3 lines on the control bar ( call it 4th or 5th), yet all the kites in the instructional videos are shown while being relaunched, without showing more than 3 lines on the control bar. Where is the 5th line, if it is there? This is what confuses me. .

Be it as it may, is a 5th line really essential to relaunch the kite on the snow ( or water) ?
An instructional video on the Internet shows OOzone kites in action and says that a 5th line is necessary for relaunching, but again, none of their LEI and open cell kites shows more than 3 lines.
I know a 5th line can be bought separately, but relaunching the kite is so important that if it requires a 5th line one would expect that it is already included as standard , just as one would expect a rear gear and brakes in a car. May be IT IS a standard feature. If not, how can I tell if it is included or not in the kite, just by by looking at it and the control bar?

I would appreciate clarifications on this, may be with the help of a photo or a video detail.

Thanks

Ittiandro

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Re: 5th line necessary to relaunch from snow/water ?

Postby br44 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:45 am

1. It is unavoidable. You have to pay to play.
2. SUP kiting? After you learn with a twintip yes, maybe, otherwise I much doubt it.
3. Snowkite on cross-country skis? Been there done that, but the downhill skis are 100 times better.
4. Do you at least have a trainer? Your best bet at this point is to go out and fly.

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Re: 5th line necessary to relaunch from snow/water ?

Postby edt » Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:41 am

Almost nobody makes high Y kites any more (maybe 1 or 2 are made still) where the QR releases via what we used to call a "mini 5th". Modern kites use single center line flagging. You can buy a used control bar or last year's model for $250 to $300 which will be a single center line flagging system. You can use them with all 4 line kites. Almost all of the 5 line kites any more are C kites, which are not for beginners. Most of the stuff you are talking about is for old kites which you don't want to use. You want to check where you are getting your information from, it seems old from about 10 years ago. Kiteboarding isn't like windsurfing which is mature, kiting is only a 20 year old sport you don't want to use 10 year old info things have evolved a lot since then especially safety equipment.

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Re: 5th line necessary to relaunch from snow/water ?

Postby Ittiandro » Sun Dec 03, 2017 6:41 pm

Thanks BR 44 and EDT

Basically, all I wanted to know is if I can safely assume that in the 3 lines kites the middle one is always the Depower/safety release and power control line, no matter whether you call it 5th line or other. In this case, obviously the 5th line is a moot issue, may be a vestige of the older technology.

I do believe so, because in all the 3 lines kites I have seen the middle line has a similar connect/disconnect feature and a sliding mechanism along it.
It must be standard today.
Even the more basic water relaunchable HQ HYdra trainer kites, made by Kitemare in Germany come with 3 lines and the manual clearly states that they do have this depowering/safety feature, even though, by the way, they cost half as much as a full fledge L.E.I. THey can be bought from Amazon for about $ 600.

There still are , though, two lines kites on the market and these clearly don't have this depowering/safety /power control feature.

Please feel free correct me if I am wrong

Thanks

Ittiandro .

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Re: 5th line necessary to relaunch from snow/water ?

Postby edt » Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:05 pm

Here is a list of kites which are 4 line kites with single center flagging that come with a control bar that uses single center flagging which you can use for kiteboarding (not a complete list):

Envy, Wow, Solo, Elite, RPM, Turbine, Wave, Rally, SST, Pivot, Slash, Dash, Ride, Boxer, Fy, TS, Roca, Switchblade, FX, Drifter, Apollo, Contra, Radar, Union, Catalyst, Enduro, Reo, C4, Edge, Zephyr, Evo, Neo, Dice, Rebel (as of this year), Mono, Juice, Rabbit, Maniac, Nitro, Element, Helium.

Here is a list of C kites. They often use the Y lines as you mentioned sometimes with 4 lines, but are not for beginners. All of them have the capability of riding with the 5th line both for safety and relaunch.

Legacy, Fuel, Torch, GP, Vegas.

The kite you imagine, the one with the two center lines that joins into a V, has a bridle, releases to the 2 center lines, that system is called a "mini 5th" and is extinct. Ocean Rodeo has an option to ride one of their kites in the mini-5th configuration that's it.

Modern kites have something called: Single Center line flagging. You ride that. Or you ride a C kite. I have no idea where you are getting your information from. It is quite old.

Trainers don't require safety systems (you can just release the bar) and can run on 2, 3 or 4 lines, and their control system, and bridle generally don't have much to do with the power kites we use every day. They are excellent for learning but don't require the more sophisticated safety system of a power kite.

If you are looking at power foil kites, the only use for the 5th line is for the safety. If you throw the QR on a foil kite and have the flag out line attached to the single center line it twists everything into spaghetti, which is why most modern foil kites use a 5th line, but relaunch using system peculiar to foils (such as reverse relaunch).

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Re: 5th line necessary to relaunch from snow/water ?

Postby wingnut » Sun Dec 03, 2017 10:25 pm

Just Google "North bar and lines diagram" . ALL kitesurfing kites are a minimum of four lines. The center line that you are looking at allows the bar to slide up and down to allow for depower (sheeting) of the kite . Further up that center line there is a 'Y' in the lines where the two front lines split to go to the leading edge of the kite. A 5th line is sometimes part of the design,attaches to the center of the leading edge and allows for the best and safest IMO depower of the kite in an emergency situation causing the kite to flip onto its back and float up into the air in a predictable manner with the least pull on the rider.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=north+ki ... Xk7LqdLDSM:


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