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Advice needed please

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Jayfrs
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Advice needed please

Postby Jayfrs » Sun Jul 04, 2021 10:14 pm

Hi guys,

Not new to kiteing but been out the game for a good while.
I have always had a weak shoulder from an accident no kite related, it had never really given me any problems till i was out with my blade 8.5m and mid air my shoulder decided to dislocate. I kind of stopped flying the kites at that point. 10 years on i want to get back out lol. My shoulder is still weak so i think i will have to go harness if i wanna do some jumping. Could i have some advice on harness set ups please? Guy i used to fly with years ago had a rock climbing harness set up it looked a decent rig tbh but i dont know to much about the harness set up. My current kites are blades v 4.9. 6.5, Blade IV 8.5 and a Rage 3.5.


I will be using the Rage to blow the cobwebs off to start i only need to worry about the shoulder on the blades if i wanna get airborn.

Many thanks
Jay

Herman
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Re: Advice needed please,

Postby Herman » Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:38 am

The style of rock climbing harness shown with the carabiner loop pulled over the hook of a kitesurfing waist harness gives a lot of support and some redundancy. I only find climbing harnesses comfortable on their own if conditions are light.

Some use access harnesses. There are also simple seat harness and combo/hybrid harnesses with high or low hook positions. Try on as many combinations as you can as it is very personal.

Might be important to decide whether you want a low or high hook position!!!
Last edited by Herman on Mon Jul 05, 2021 10:02 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Herman
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Re: Advice needed please,

Postby Herman » Mon Jul 05, 2021 9:39 am

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B-Roc
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Re: Advice needed please

Postby B-Roc » Wed Jul 07, 2021 2:08 pm

Typically speaking, when jumping with fixed bridle kites, one isn't hooked in. Back in the day when I flew only FBs, part of my quiver was similar to yours (I had a Bego 400, 600 and 8.5 Blade III). I wore my harness (Dakine Fusion) to give my arms a break and I wore the harness when on my landboard but whenever I was ready to power slide or jump, I always unhooked and if I was just static jumping, I never hooked in for the jump. I feel for your shoulder problem as I have a rotator cuff that will need correction one day and I ruptured my pec and tricep in an accident in 2003 which put my kiting on hold for over a year and then required me to hook-in as I couldn't hold the power of the kite on my damaged right side. But during that time I flew very conservatively and you may have to as well. If you want full time harness use, I'd advise you move away from your FB quiver and go the depower route but be warned... DPs aren't as fun to fly static but they respond better in that scenario to a harness.

Jayfrs
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Re: Advice needed please

Postby Jayfrs » Sat Jul 17, 2021 8:19 am

Thanks for the information, tbh i have jist knocked up a rock climbing harness wichard snap shackle and snatch block and had a go lastnight with my rage 3.5, something very different about being strapped in to the kite,.

Going back to my shoulder injury i pulled it out doing a pendulum jump running right and using my left hand as superman , technically i could just teach my self to go the other way, the kite its self won't pull my shoulder out from scudding and normally flying. I am in no rush to get jumping i just want to get my confidence back and enjoy kite flying.

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Re: Advice needed please

Postby Herman » Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:09 am

Just in case you don’t already know, a bug can be a lot of fun and it is relatively easy to control the power you put through your body. In particular it is easy to ride at the kite to reduce line tension and this can also be done at launch. Also after a bit of experience and with depower kites, you can hot wire the kite straight to the bug so only the bar load, which is only a fraction of the front line load, is going through your body. Maybe something to consider for the future but be careful if you try it you could get hooked.

PS there are pros and cons for being shackled or hooked. Personally I would much prefer to be able to unhook when using fixed bridles; being able to unhook and just let go when trying something dodgy is an advantage.

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Re: Advice needed please

Postby Matteo V » Sat Jul 17, 2021 2:35 pm

Herman wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:09 am
Personally I would much prefer to be able to unhook when using fixed bridles; being able to unhook and just let go when trying something dodgy is an advantage.
Granted I learned to snowkite in some "holes" with extremely variable winds on "fixed bridle/non-depower" kites, but........... after riding depower foils for a few years after my initial experience, there was NO COMPARISON to between depower vs non-depower.

You wouldn't catch me ever using a non depower kite again, outside of low resistance (iceskates, skateboard) medias. Depower vs non-depower is almost like two completely different sports.

Depower kites were the last real "game changer".

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Re: Advice needed please

Postby Hardwater Kiter » Sun Jul 18, 2021 2:10 pm

Second what Matteo V said.

Also, no amount of harness is going to completely offset a vulnerability in a weak shoulder. Even if the kite itself doesn't produce a dislocation, an impact potentially will.

Strengthen the hell out of the shoulder capsule and supporting structures. Do the prep work and avoid injury and downtime down the road. Take it from someone with a lot of experience in the matter.

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Re: Advice needed please

Postby Herman » Sun Jul 18, 2021 3:30 pm

As said above, depower is almost essential for many kite disciplines. But a bug on decent hard sand is fine with fixed bridles as it has such low rolling resistant. Needs a bit more power than skateboard on tarmac but less than mountain board on sand. There is good synergy between bug and fixed bridle imho and many use this combination.

If you get a chance to try a wobble baton or body blade, give it a go it may help strengthen the shoulder with less tedium than weights.

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Re: Advice needed please

Postby fernmanus » Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:27 pm

Jay,

You didn’t mention what kite discipline you are planning on flying your kites. You posted in the snow/land forum, but that covers a lot of smaller segments (snow, land boarding, buggy, skateboard, ice skates, rollerblades, etc.). It makes a difference on how you plan to use your kites and where you kite. For the most part, kiters moved away from fixed-line kites a long time ago. I haven’t seen one on the snow or water in over a decade. However, they are still used for bug and low-power disciplines. Frankly, I would much rather fly a 21m depowerable foil that an 8.5 Blade any day. The range of modern kites is so much larger.

As far as your shoulder is concerned, you will never enjoy kiting again if you put off the proper rehab. Find out exactly what is wrong and if you can strengthen without surgery, that is always the best route. Hoping that you can kite with a weak shoulder without doing the work is just begging for re-injury. I wish you a swift and full recovery!


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