Switch Kiteboarding Launches New Innovative Spider Bridle

[Toby]

Switch Kites News:

Switch Kiteboarding Launches New Innovative Spider Bridle

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Bill Hansen and the R&D team at Switch have created a totally new and innovative short bridle that has the look of a Spiders web, one of the most beautiful engineering constructs found in nature.

The Spider Bridle is the latest innovation to our Nitro5 freeride kite launching tomorrow.

The upper ‘spider’ portion of the bridle stabilizes the mid-to-shoulder areas of the kite while simultaneously controlling the wingtips limiting flaring and oscillating movements. The lower portion optimally positions the front tow point for de-power and turning. The ‘Spider Junction,’ where the two portions meet allows the kite to tip with no change in the load distribution along the leading edge.

The result is smooth de-power, fast turning, lower bar pressure and consistent rear line tension for control sheeted out. Re-launch is improved and tangles are eliminated. The Spider Bridle has unlocked the true potential of the Nitro series.

Our high performance freeride machine, the Nitro5, is expected to be a sellout hit for those wanting to enjoy massive big air tricks. The kite will be available online only at www.switchkites.com with sizes and prices ranging from US$657 for a 7m & US$829 for the 16m.

Watch Bill Hansen discussing the new Spider Bridle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICPn5clkC0I

[Westozzy]

After flying the 2015 dynos, Bill is onto something here. Be interesting to see if the reality matches the theory. That disconnection between back and front lines is the first thing we noticed flying the nitro 2,3 and 4, comparatively that is. His explanation, especially around the tow point area makes perfect sense to me.

Interesting indeed. Another key point for me after experiencing the effects of the strut bridle connection on the dynos..

The ‘Spider Junction,’ where the two portions meet allows the kite to tip with no change in the load distribution along the leading edge.

[justbob]

Nice to see that nipped in the bud....

[igoryak]

Prices went up?

[eree]

nothing innovating in this bridle, just substitute for real r'n'd.
only thing it really does is keeping leading edge tip from flattening. but, how much do you really need it?
when kite is powered its wing tips is bending towards each other. when kite is turning it is powered and its wing tips is bending towards each other. when the gust hits the kite it powers up and its wing tips is bending towards each other. so why a kite needs the bridle line that keeps wind tips close together? may be because the leading edge is too thin and soft, just like on the old ozones with pencil thin leading edges?
so far these kind of bridles didn't manage to prevent the bow-tying on foil kites anyway.

but i can tell you what this spider bridle will do wrong - it is flagging on safety line. since switches are single line flagging kites it will hold the leading edge in shape just when it is least needed. and kite is going to start looping

[BWD]

nothing innovating in this bridle, just substitute for real r'n'd.

eree you are like a dog running on kitebeach, has to mark every new kite that turns up!

Reading your comments, to know this it seems like you must have analysed the LE sweep, profile, canopy arc, LE diameter, control bar, everything! And flown the kite in real life! Otherwise you have no idea how the canopy will deform on one line, or if it will death loop.
Did you do all this analysis with FEA, supercomputers, panel of climate change experts, monkeys, or is it something your dog dropped?

Time will tell if it works safely and is fun to use.

[Osprey1]

Bill Hansen is a former aerospace engineer unlike any other many kite designers in the industry and that this new bridle concept is solid and has been tested thoroughly. No matter where the ideas come from I appreciate gear innovation in our sport. BRM Maui like Switch is another company that truly innovates and challenges the status quo. Keep going Bill, we love what you're doing!

(Ps to the previous poster, you could always retrofit the Nitro v5 with a 5th line if you are truly worried about deathlooping.)

[eree]

nothing innovating in this bridle, just substitute for real r'n'd.

...Reading your comments, to know this it seems like you must have analysed the LE sweep, profile, canopy arc, LE diameter, control bar, everything! And flown the kite in real life! Otherwise you have no idea how the canopy will deform on one line, or if it will death loop.
Did you do all this analysis with FEA, supercomputers, panel of climate change experts, monkeys, or...

well i didn't, and funny, neither did most of the kite brand designers as it seems. remember those bat-wings, zigzag leading edges, "venturi" channels, trailing edge bridles on LEI? these "innovations" have a common line - they are not making things simple and they are not logical. you don't have to be a rocket scientist to see it.
by now everybody know - if you want kite to turn faster make it more C-shape or lower the AR.
by the logic of mr Hansen video C kites shouldn't turn at all since they don't have bridles!

it is not the times job to show how good the gear is. we pay them for gear to be thoroughly tested and ready before they make nothing saying marketing video, not for the opportunity to own the unsafe product. kites with shorter fixed bridles are prone to loop in strong wind when flagged on single safety line, it is not necessary to make the front bridle connection point even shorter.

and no need to make comments personal...

[Hansen Design]

@ Westozzy

@ JustBob

@ Igoryak - Not my dept but Switch uses a fixed margin for all it's products which directly reflect cost of materials, labor, shipping, etc. and generally rise incrementally as time passes. Still a fantastic value and no middlemen taking a bite so you are actually paying for the kite only and not a dealer or distributor overhead.

@ Eree - Skepticism is good thing. Suggest you give it a bit more thought, preferably in 3D, and consider how and where the Spider allows the kite to change AOA. In a static state, the Spider has no tension. In the dynamic state, the junction is slightly ahead of the kite and the risers/front towpoint are free to rotate around the axis created by the wingtip corner and Spider junction. In a bridge bridle (what nearly all existing SLE kites have,) the axis of rotation is constantly changing smearing out the response and shifting loads along the leading edge as the angles of the intermediate lines change. The Spider basically de-couples the support mechanism from the AOA mechanism allowing it to tip freely with less bar pressure and quicker response. It also allows for a much shorter, tangle-free bridle.

Regarding flagging, this intuitively appears a problem and was an obvious concern. Repeated testing proved the kite falls cleanly out of the sky and lands face down in a stable position as the single towpoint is free to move well ahead of the kite.

@ BWD

@ Osprey1 - Thanks!

@ Eree again - If you prefer long bridles, Nitro4 should satisfy all your needs, especially being a heavyweight rider. We actually listen to our riders and a primary concern with them was shorter bridles and more stability. We found shorter bridge bridles lacking so embarked on a new path of R&D to retain the positives and improve on what they wanted. I think you would really find the Nitro5 a step forward.

[BWD]

Well, eree when I see you write a positive, or even neutral, comment on a topic about any new kite, some day, maybe I will apologize.
Until then, it's hard not to think of you like a dog sniffing out new things to mark in its territory. You do have a long track record with the negative comments, often about gear you have never seen except in an advertisement. To some people, that is more annoying than the marketing of new products, which you seem to find offensive. Hansen presented his new kite and said he was proud of the design changes from past versions. He didn't say it was the best kite ever or would bring world peace. The advert doesn't make outrageous claims, and the product, like others, has to prove itself.

If you have thought about it any further, you will realize other design parameters I mentioned (and still others) may have just as much influence on whether a kite death loops as a short bridle length, and as the designer himself writes above, the proof of the kite is in its real behavior, not just these theories.
About the death loops, it's also well known long bridles more easily wrap around wingtips and cause death loops that way, so there is no perfect solution.

But ok, sorry anyway.
Now please write something positive! Anything!