I spent some winters riding foils in the 2000 to 2006 years, and LEIs on the water. The foils were old school ones with no depower (F-One Shadow). I found that the 7m Shadow pulled like a 12m LEI. The 9m was more like a 14m LEI with depower. Guys riding the Flexifoil Blades back in the day probably ...

One kite bladders wiping with rubbing alcohol first greatly improves the bond with aquaseal. You might try wiping your repairs down with alcohol too.

If we step back a bit, I'd say first, if you have low bar pressure then there is more pull on the front lines. if the kite is flying at a certain angle of attack then it should fly the same whether the tension is more on the front lines, or whether it is more evenly split between 4 lines. However, i...

Sounds like what was happening on the original waroos. The solution is to pump it harder, and/or keep more bar pressure on it. Big guys who are on a big kite for the wind and who like to let go of the bar on full depower were most prone to this kind of thing. If the kite was leaking and going soft i...

I think when the SLE or "bow" kites first came out, Ocean Rodeo had a kite called the "one" which was a 12 metre. The idea was that with the ability to depower a kite, you only really needed one kite (apologies to O.R. if I was misinformed back in the day). Anyway, while you might be able to use one...

Yes, +1 for aquaseal. I've said this before and will say it again. I did some tests with various bonding techniques. Cleaning and light sanding helps, but also wiping it with rubbing alcohol (and let it dry) will greatly improve the bond you get.

Peter

It's all fine and well to say "punch out" but keep in mind, in that era, on that bar, the kite did not flag onto one line. It just depowered. Yes, it's a true thing to say in most of our cases now, but for him with that gear, he would have to release the CL and the leash. Although at least if he did...

I've been using the open palm mitts for decades. They are great for all of the reasons outlined above. Just keep in mind though, if the water is on the colder side and you spend much time IN the water, they are about as warm as bare hands. They are great for the windchill though.

Peter

I've seen Q-lines break at the knot if a careless figure-8 knot is used where the parallel lines are allowed to cross inside the knot. If you take the time to get the half twist out of the figure-8 knot which normally gets created when you fold the line in half and tie the knot then I think the knot...

This description above is like those "how-to" videos showing a launch on a huge empty smooth sand beach. Many of us have various obstacles to avoid and ground surfaces and dirty wind at the launch. It is not the same for everyone. If I have the option of having someone hold my kite and launch it fro...