Do you want a releasable spreader bar?

[gonewiththewind]

We should just ditch the quick release trim loop altogether, and solely focus on good spreader bar releases instead. One safety system for all of your kites and bars. Simplicity at the chicken loop with a nice clean solid loop instead of the mess some manufacturers make.

EMERGENCY!!! Do I need to find that red loop and pull on it or do I need to grab my chicken loop and yank forward? No wait, which kite am I flying? Maybe I need to pull that hard red button instead. Is it on the left or the right after I unhooked? SLAM!!!

Spreader bar quick release is the only way forward. Harness release as a backup. Solid loop on the bar.

[Toby]

Indeed we need a safety system that is all the same, on which kite ever!
People learn on it, will keep riding on it. Emergency...boom, there it goes.
That is key for our sport to make it safer. This is the call for the companies. Just develop ONE QR for everyone, they won't make money if the sport is banned everywhere...

Not sure if it should be on the spreader bar instead or only. If the system is easy to put it back on, then it might be different. I rather have two releases, if one fails...

[Bagels9000]

i think thats a terrible idea, now when kites are released the spreader bar will be flying around with the regular bar.

also, how easy can we make it. The more saftey systems the more people think, "Who needs lessons, i can just release my kite"

whack, but good try

[badmrfrosty]

How is this a sticky? I already have a releasable spreader bar it is called a knife. It also serves as "releasable" kite lines as well. The nice thing if any real bad shit happens I can cut my (or someone elses) way out.

Any thing within a meter or two of me is "releasable"


Next

[tomatkins]

How is this a sticky? I already have a releasable spreader bar it is called a knife. It also serves as "releasable" kite lines as well. The nice thing if any real bad shit happens I can cut my (or someone elses) way out.

Any thing within a meter or two of me is "releasable"


Next

What brand and style knife? A picture would be good.

Do you feel the need for any maintenance procedures? If so, what are they?

Have you had to use it yet? Do you kite is salt water?

Have you tested it on kite line, leader line, etc? If so, what is your test procedure?

[kitezilla]

Bump:


It is time for this thread to be awakened.

The discussion in today's thread, authored by Toby, titled Looping kite - Safety Discussion ( viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2357124&start=0 ), has led us back to the subject of the need for a fully releasable spreader bar...and this is the proper thread in which to continue the discussion. Hopefully, some ideas have been generated in the last 2 years, pertaining to this subject.

Nothing has happened in the last 2 years, to motivate a manufacturer to produce such a product. Let's present some more ideas on the design and construction of such an item, and hope someone "picks up the ball" and runs with it.

[ronnie]

A girl I knew came close to drowning, when her windsurf harness line got twisted around the spreader bar hook and held her under the sail in the shorebreak. She bought a spreader bar with a release at both ends.

I have this Q/R on my windsurf harness for the same eventuality. Unfortunately, this one, made by Maui Magic only has it at one end of the spreader bar, but it is the best I have seen, and releases with a flick of a finger.

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessorie ... aderss.htm

If they had that on both ends of the bar, it would do the job.

[marekmk]

I already have a releasable spreader bar it is called a knife. It also serves as "releasable" kite lines as well. The nice thing if any real bad shit happens I can cut my (or someone elses) way out.

Maybe you have never been dragged, partly under water with a looping kite.

You would realize very quickly that the idea of getting hold of your knife and then cutting a line is almost impossible. The violent movement of the kite very quickly disorientates you and the chance of getting you knife out is very slim.

[DrLightWind]

I already have a releasable spreader bar it is called a knife. It also serves as "releasable" kite lines as well. The nice thing if any real bad shit happens I can cut my (or someone elses) way out.

Maybe you have never been dragged, partly under water with a looping kite.

You would realize very quickly that the idea of getting hold of your knife and then cutting a line is almost impossible. The violent movement of the kite very quickly disorientates you and the chance of getting you knife out is very slim.

Exactly

[kitezilla]

A girl I knew came close to drowning, when her windsurf harness line got twisted around the spreader bar hook and held her under the sail in the shorebreak. She bought a spreader bar with a release at both ends.

I have this Q/R on my windsurf harness for the same eventuality. Unfortunately, this one, made by Maui Magic only has it at one end of the spreader bar, but it is the best I have seen, and releases with a flick of a finger.

http://www.powerkiteshop.com/accessorie ... aderss.htm

If they had that on both ends of the bar, it would do the job.

ronnie,

It is good to have you back on the project!

I like the looks of that bar, but, to play the "devils advocate", I would voice the argument of the skeptic, concerning 2 things:

(1) That bar release was designed to function as a release for a situation where a Windsurfer is trapped under the sail...in which case, there would be a relatively small force being exerted on the bar, at the time the person is triggering the release. The situation during a kiteboarding incident, where the release would be triggered, would probably involve a dragging situation, where a lot more force, at the time of the release attempt, would be placed on the bar. The release mechanism may not function under this situation, because of the much higher force placed on the bar. The release also may jam if the bar is being twisted. Therefore, this type of release should be considered a "convenience" release, until proven by through testing, to be a reliable release, when stressed by a much higher force on the bar.

(2) A bar that needs two separate release triggers (one on each end of the bar) could be very dangerous, in that, it would be very difficult to press each of the two release triggers at exactly the same time, to release the whole bar. I could conceive of some severe problems in releasing the second trigger, after the first one was released. For instance, the bar would probably violently twist, and change position, making it impossible to either find or press the second trigger.

I think that one of the key requirements of a totally releasable bar system would be to have only ONE release trigger, which would engage a mechanism, resulting in the release of both ends of the bar at once.

I will post another prototype, suggesting one way this could be accomplished, after I take some pictures of the model's features, later today.