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I am sure edt knows what he is talking about so go with that. I think I have heard that it is possible to blank off the main bladder and plug the strut to turn it into a multi pump kite as a cheap repair option. Perhaps edt might know if this is a possible last resort solution if it turns into a worst case scenario?

A lot of the older naish kites are falling apart - the valves peel off - the plastic connectors for the one pump turn to flour.... especially if you live in the tropics.

It hasnt happened to all brands though.

Planned obsolescence or convenient obsolescence?

Not built to last... landfill.

Thanks for all replies! I´ve found the cause to the leakage. See photo below. It's the valve coming of. This would be an easy fix on any other kite, but the valve is glued from the inside of the strut bladder... I guess I can try to squeeze some glue into the area where the valve has detached from the bladder and hope that it will be enough to fix the leakage. Any other ideas how to fix it?

such a pita!

time consuming job - throuble is - you fix - one then next session teh next one goes.....on and on and on..

you could cut this bladder open - sand clean apply glue - clamp together - reseal...


i would be tempted to just seal these up quickly with a bag sealer - no more 1 pump

then rip out teh leading edge bladder and remove all the male connectors and glue a patch over each one. - put them in boiling water where glued on? - they may just fall off?


stuff paper in the leading egde so you do not glue teh 2 halves together


then there is the small matter of the holes in the leading edge - may or may not need rto do sometghing about this..


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so many naish kites going to landfill that ride fine still - such a waste and engineering f##@ up


my super fast method - i would just tie a knot in each bladder, stuff it back in..

then buy a sheet of tear aid and just patch over all teh male connectors i removed.

-- rather than chuck it in teh bin - or better still get a cheap electronic bag sealer. - you can use an iron too - just fold some paper on the bladder and get ironing - paper sort of sticks to teh bladder but who cares.

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As previously stated not worked on Naish kites, but I have removed valves stuck on the inside of other bladders. I softened and deglued them with a soak in near boiling water, and then carefully extracted them through the hole without damaging the bladder. I have then just glued replacements on the outside of the bladder without further problems.

PS if the valve has an orientation mark the bladder appropriately before removing the valve,

longwhitecloud wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:24 pm

time consuming job - trouble is - you fix - one then next session the next one goes.....on and on and on..

you could cut this bladder open - sand clean apply glue - clamp together - reseal...

^^^ This.

Cut straight across the strut bladder at its tip, and then turn the bladder inside-out. Use Aquaseal or comparable glue to re-attach the valve. Put some weight on the valve as the glue dries, being careful not to glue two sides of the bladder together. Once the glue is dry, turn the bladder right-side-out and reseal the cut end with a heat sealer (or clothes iron). After sealing and for added security, put a line of glue within the seam of the bladder end just outside of the heat seal. Check for leaks and, if okay, re-assemble the kite. Be very careful when re-attaching the male and female parts of the valve (as said before, use PTFE and the donut spacer), because that connection is where most of the problems with the octopus inflation system arise.

As longwhitecloud says, the problem you'll face is that other valves are going to detach just like this one. When one goes, they all seem to go. But you can repair them if you have the time and patience.

Pull the valve off and restick. I can't remember but isn't there an extra layer of strut fabric over the valve? I think you just cut that off then you can use your fingers to pull the valve off should come off pretty easy since it's so old. I never used hot water on kites older than 5 years. Put the valve on the floor glue it place the strut material over the valve then put a cylinder and weight over it while it cures. Do the usual sand lightly and rubbing alcohol to clean. I never turn my strut inside out but I guess you could do that. I just place it on the floor and on top of the stut fabric place a cylinder to hold it in place while it cures

Check it carefully!!! I've done resticks with female valves before that were cracked right around the tube. Sometimes they are both coming off AND cracked.

so many naish kites going to landfill that ride fine still - such a waste and engineering f##@ up

That´s unfortunatelly why I quit riding Naish in 2012 after 10 years.... had to swim back my Torches and Ravens to the shore many times after a a leakage deflated the whole kite, and every time I fixed a bladder another one popped out.
Eventually, I just gave up. Hope their engineering is better now

edt wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 10, 2020 4:25 pm

.....I can't remember but isn't there an extra layer of strut fabric over the valve? I think you just cut that off then you can use your fingers to pull the valve off should come off pretty easy since it's so old....... I never turn my strut inside out but I guess you could do that....

You'd only need to turn the strut inside out if the valve is truly glued on from inside the strut and you want to replicate that. If edt is correct that there is an extra flap of strut material over the top of the valve, but the valve is actually glued to the outside of the strut, then I agree with edt's recommendation. Re-glue to the outside if that's actually how the valve is attached.

You should give Naish a shot! they quit the octopus system in 2020 and now use standard one pump inflation valves. I can't say how pleased I am with this change. Naish says that they still prefer the old octopus system that there was no problem with it but they made the change anyway I guess because they realized a lot of riders just didn't want the octopus and wanted to broaden the appeal of their kites? I guess there really is nothing wrong with the octopus other than that it takes roughly twice the time to do any repair on it compared to a regular inflation system.