Do kites stay at the same pressure after hours?

[Havre]

My last two kites were leaking.
But still rideable up to 5 hours, so no problem.

This is quite normal it seems.

Same with one of my old kites.

[bjw]

After a kite gets rolled in the surf, it always feels softer. Could it be the air compressing during a session?

[Trent hink]

I have had inflatable kites that developed tiny pin-holes in the leading-edge bladder.

I think it was mostly from self-landing on a beach littered with fish bones after a red-tide event.

But, the kites worked well-enough, and it was amazing to realize how many tiny holes there were, once the problem got so bad that I actually decided to remove the bladder and chase down the culprit.

I have also had the experience where one of my smaller inflatable kites seemed to be going flat, but the actual problem was the pressure drop from a strong cold front moving in.

If the bladder integrity is perfect, it should hold air practically forever.

[tegirinenashi]

Before one pump one had to inflate each strut separately. This was quite a chore, especially with 7 strut kites being the norm. Common time saving trick was to not deflate struts at all, therefore, trading the kite setup time for the extra space taken by the kite stored with inflated struts.

In my experience, though, struts had never held the full pressure for long. While some struts were able to survive a week or two, there was always one demanding reinflation before each session.

P.S. This was also the times when bladders were quite thick, so that contemporary new lightweight ones might be even worse.

[edt]

After a kite gets rolled in the surf, it always feels softer. Could it be the air compressing during a session?

Air escapes out through the connectors. When it gets rolled in the surf there's so much pressure that the air just squirts out and often you'll even pop open a one pump connector.

[cglazier]

I have repaired many kites. After each bladder repair we would always leave the kite pumped up overnight. If it wasn’t firm the next day we looked for more leaks.
Bladder repair isn’t difficult. There are instructions on the internet. Be sure to pump your kite up before you remove the bladder and use a spray of soapy water to find the leaking area. I always found the leak area.. even slow leaks.
As mentioned above it is often the inflate valve.

[alfredo68]

After a kite gets rolled in the surf, it always feels softer. Could it be the air compressing during a session?

Exactly, when washed out in the surf they always loose pressure , dont know how. Or is just the materials that streched?

[alfredo68]

After a kite gets rolled in the surf, it always feels softer. Could it be the air compressing during a session?

Air escapes out through the connectors. When it gets rolled in the surf there's so much pressure that the air just squirts out and often you'll even pop open a one pump connector.

[Trent hink]

Strong changes in temperature or ambient pressure might affect the pressure in your inflatable kite, but if the integrity of the bladder(s) is good, it's nothing that a few pumps won't solve.

Where is Pump Me Up, at a time like this?

[JakeFarley]

Temperature changes when a cold front comes through will definitely soften a kite. Also, if the water temperature is significantly lower than the air temperature, a wet kite will lose some pressure. Remember Boyle's law P1V1/T1=P2V2/T2. If Temperature drops and V1=V2, then P2 drops in proportion to the Temperature drop.