Contact   Imprint   Advertising   Guidelines

Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Forum for kitesurfers
knotwindy
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 2385
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2011 4:49 am
Local Beach: baja, gorge
Style: erratic to none
Gear: yes, I use gear
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 274 times
Been thanked: 319 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby knotwindy » Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:26 pm

Sounds good to me as long as the
Ultra thin bladders last as long and maybe stick valves better

And one pump/multi pump I don’t really know how much weight savings there is?
Enough to actually feel it with all the other changes?

But I like the idea also
These users thanked the author knotwindy for the post:
Greenturtle (Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:40 pm)
Rating: 3.03%

User avatar
Greenturtle
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 980
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 6:51 pm
Local Beach: Presque Isle, Erie PA
Favorite Beaches: Bahamian Cays
Gear: Edge 19, Flite 17, 14.5, 12, 10, 8, Cloud 13.4, 10.4, 8, 6.2, 3.7
Tons of boards for water, land, and snow
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 241 times
Been thanked: 277 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby Greenturtle » Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:38 pm

knotwindy wrote:
Thu Dec 01, 2022 8:26 pm
Sounds good to me as long as the
Ultra thin bladders last as long and maybe stick valves better

And one pump/multi pump I don’t really know how much weight savings there is?
Enough to actually feel it with all the other changes?

But I like the idea also
Ultra thin bladders as far as my own experience is concerned, last the same as regular. Maybe not if full of salt crystals from flooding in or sand getting inside etc? Thats never been an issue for me so I don’t know. But its a major weight loss achiever, so to me even if they are not quite as durable, totally worth it. Cheap part to replace also if ever needed.

If multi pump saves a few grams then Im all for it for this category of kite. Every little bit adds up to a lot when combined is the idea. Its also simpler more durable and cheaper

Pemba
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 626
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:39 am
Kiting since: 2002
Local Beach: Murrebue
Gear: Eleveight FS, Shinn Bronq
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 170 times
Been thanked: 45 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby Pemba » Fri Dec 02, 2022 9:25 am

Most of my kites die or are replaced not because of crashing but because the canopy material gets worn. Probably UV plays a big role. So I'm not much in favour of the stuff added on to leading edge and struts for protection against crashes and scraping over the beach, but anything added on to the canopy (thicker material ? sprays?) might be worth while. I kind of like the thicker bladders but that's just sentiment, not experience.

SolarSet
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 850
Joined: Sat May 05, 2018 9:30 am
Kiting since: 2017
Local Beach: Hel Peninsula
Gear: This & that
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 177 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby SolarSet » Fri Dec 02, 2022 9:40 am

Pemba wrote:
Fri Dec 02, 2022 9:25 am
Most of my kites die or are replaced not because of crashing but because the canopy material gets worn. Probably UV plays a big role. So I'm not much in favour of the stuff added on to leading edge and struts for protection against crashes and scraping over the beach, but anything added on to the canopy (thicker material ? sprays?) might be worth while. I kind of like the thicker bladders but that's just sentiment, not experience.
Maybe you wear canopy material because of your style of riding? People who try some freestyle can crash their kite hard by smashing leading edge (LE) directly to water and this put quite a bit stress on struts and LE. Make something less durable because it doesn't fail first might just lean LE with rapture before canopy at little weight saving gain?

For a 90% rides who moan lawn with occasional jump reducing durability of LE will not notice a difference but remaining 10% would be outraged that they kite doesn't last as long as it used to do.

Pemba
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 626
Joined: Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:39 am
Kiting since: 2002
Local Beach: Murrebue
Gear: Eleveight FS, Shinn Bronq
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 170 times
Been thanked: 45 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby Pemba » Fri Dec 02, 2022 10:44 am

SolarSet wrote:
Fri Dec 02, 2022 9:40 am
Pemba wrote:
Fri Dec 02, 2022 9:25 am
Most of my kites die or are replaced not because of crashing but because the canopy material gets worn. Probably UV plays a big role. So I'm not much in favour of the stuff added on to leading edge and struts for protection against crashes and scraping over the beach, but anything added on to the canopy (thicker material ? sprays?) might be worth while. I kind of like the thicker bladders but that's just sentiment, not experience.
Maybe you wear canopy material because of your style of riding? People who try some freestyle can crash their kite hard by smashing leading edge (LE) directly to water and this put quite a bit stress on struts and LE. Make something less durable because it doesn't fail first might just lean LE with rapture before canopy at little weight saving gain?

For a 90% rides who moan lawn with occasional jump reducing durability of LE will not notice a difference but remaining 10% would be outraged that they kite doesn't last as long as it used to do.
Agreed - and I'd like to feel I can crash my kite without immediate damage as well. I was mostly referring to the patches that are meant to protect against abrasion on the beach. Other than that, yes my style is probably quite conservative. But the damage I've seen resulting from crashes so far is still mostly to the canopy, not the struts or LE.

SolarSet
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 850
Joined: Sat May 05, 2018 9:30 am
Kiting since: 2017
Local Beach: Hel Peninsula
Gear: This & that
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 177 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby SolarSet » Fri Dec 02, 2022 11:16 am

I have seen both damaged canopy and LE rapture. I think it’s easier to fix canopy than LE. These abrasion patches are missing on my DT Evo so they already got rid off these in DT.

Durum
Medium Poster
Posts: 65
Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2022 11:46 pm
Kiting since: 2019
Gear: Big air
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 29 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby Durum » Fri Dec 02, 2022 12:22 pm

Ozone is an example of making kites as light as possible by reducing 'unnecessary' patches and protectors and using very light bladders.
Well you will never see me riding an Ozone kite again, since they are very fragile (I have seen way too many of them explode and had one explode myself while riding) and seem to always have a problem with leaking bladders/valves.

Making a kite as light and as fragile as possible makes it also prone to deforming in the air, something worth taking into account.

Durability and performance are equally important for me, maybe it is because I don't ride with really light wind or foil.

Qman
Rare Poster
Posts: 44
Joined: Wed Dec 25, 2013 6:44 pm
Gear: 6m and 9m
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 14 times
Been thanked: 15 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby Qman » Fri Dec 02, 2022 2:33 pm

As per Durum's comments and as an ex and never again Ozone owner. Without going to the extremes, durability is more important than performance. It is pointless having a super light kite if you can rarely use it. The hassle of replacing bladders, sessions missed and expense at 100+ USD / euro per bladder set every few months.

SolarSet
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 850
Joined: Sat May 05, 2018 9:30 am
Kiting since: 2017
Local Beach: Hel Peninsula
Gear: This & that
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 89 times
Been thanked: 177 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby SolarSet » Fri Dec 02, 2022 2:59 pm

Duotone SLS is getting number of negative feedback on durability part as it’s lighter and stiffer, seeing these quite rare comparing to regular DT I’m coming to conclusions that SLS lightness is at cost of durability as well.
I can see quite few SLS 2022 kite on sale now which are more often discounted than regular one but this could be down to much higher starting price to begin with.

User avatar
Greenturtle
Very Frequent Poster
Posts: 980
Joined: Fri May 12, 2017 6:51 pm
Local Beach: Presque Isle, Erie PA
Favorite Beaches: Bahamian Cays
Gear: Edge 19, Flite 17, 14.5, 12, 10, 8, Cloud 13.4, 10.4, 8, 6.2, 3.7
Tons of boards for water, land, and snow
Brand Affiliation: None
Has thanked: 241 times
Been thanked: 277 times

Re: Lighter vs Heavier Kites - Durability

Postby Greenturtle » Fri Dec 02, 2022 3:09 pm

It’s interesting about the ozone bladder issues. I have a 2009 ozone kite I use on snow if conditions are sub-par, its super light, still holds air like a rock…

Pretty sure all the ocean rodeo kites these days have light bladders. I haven’t heard any issues about them, anybody have a problem with those?

I own 5 OR kites from 2017 with light bladders, none have ever had a leak for me , the 10m I use the most has been tomahawked onto the beach hard a few times and pretzeled in waves a couple times and I hate to admit I accidentally drove over that kite in its bag on sand once, thought it would leak for sure after that, but its still good haha, im sure that was just luck and not the durability of the kite…Ive patched the canopy here and there on that one but no bladder issues or LE tears.

Im not positive about clouds but I assume the bladders are thin ones. Ive not had an issue with those either across 4 kites.

My problem is at this point, I refuse to get a kite that weighs more than my flites, which limits options to say the least. Hoping that as I need replacements prices will come down…


Return to “Kitesurfing”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: arjas, Bing [Bot], Bladebarry, DanielorDani, evan, headintheclouds, htsc, i_love_storm, mede, nixmatters, nothing2seehere, Peter_Frank, Pitu, SolarSet, Yahoo [Bot] and 343 guests