waveslave said...

mattyjee said...

I don't see what wrong with having my leash on my chicken loop.

Here's the thing. ^^^
If you snap a flying line,
(or if you've connected your lines incorrectly on launch)
the kite will probably rev-up into a death-looping spastic frenzy...
and you will take a free ride across the thorny carpark dragged by your 'safety'.
lol.

No dickhead.

If any of the above happens i simply pull my quick release and it releases off my harness and leash at the same time. the leash is only there to catch my kite if the loop pops off the harness.

mattyjee said...

^^^

Yes, but somehow that seems to pop out every now and again. Thats why i put my leash on my loop, so if i ever pull the ol' quick release it releases both. Not that I have done it yet.

What i think is worse is that little hook for connecting your leash to so when you pull the quick release it realeases to your leash. Thats when you get pulled backwards and can't reach the clip to undo.

Then dont be a super cool kook as well and wear you leash on a handle pass line across the back of your harness
If you don't bar pass your leash should be clipped to your dominatn had side of your harness so you CAN reach it when getting pulled by an out of control kite

I see people who ride hooked in and never bar pass even begginers clipping their leash to a bar pass line on the back of their harness all the time this monkey see monkey do action will nail someone.

Spacemonkey! said...

. For me the safest set up is 5th line.

I agree that the 5th line system is very safe. I think the lifeline sytem, and the IDS system employed by f-one and cabrinha where the kite flags to both front lines is equally as safe, and should become industry standard for 4 line kites.

happy1 said...

Derr every safety Ive seen has a quick release on it.

Here's a test you can try.

Harness-up and lie on your guts on the carpark.
Then get a couple of mates to drag you around by the death-leash.
lol.
While you spend precious seconds (or minutes) blindly searching for the pull-pin 'quick' release to cut the connection to end the bitumen body-drag...
think how far you would have travelled in that time behind a death-looping power kite.

I'm a bit confused here, is waveslave against kite leashes or just against suicide leash setups?

Leashes aren't designed for your own safety, they're for everyone elses' safety. (and to stop your kite running away) Look up Silke Gorldt if you don't believe me.

The safest leash setup is a 5th line that is not under tension when the kite is flying normally. e.g. Slingshot Fuel on 5 lines.

waveslave said...

happy1 said...

Derr every safety Ive seen has a quick release on it.

Here's a test you can try.

Harness-up and lie on your guts on the carpark.
Then get a couple of mates to drag you around by the death-leash.
lol.
While you spend precious seconds (or minutes) blindly searching for the pull-pin 'quick' release to cut the connection to end the bitumen body-drag...
think how far you would have travelled in that time behind a death-looping power kite.

Derr again
Mines right by my right hand and i know when to use it
Your silly test would last about a microsecond with me and your mates would be sitting on their arses

However the kooks that put their leashes on bar pass lines on the back of their harnesses would get a lot of skin removed by your test

A safety is there to be used and one must practice to use it when it counts
The leash is a final last ditch thing to get rid of a kite but it can be your best friend if you know how to use it

You sound dangerous old and illogical

attach your leash to wherever the the leash is designed to be attached to for the kite you are flying. I learned the hard way with my 04 fuel. The leash was a bungee with no QR. Long story short, I attached leash to chicken loop, Kite spiralled many times, unable to disconnect myself, getting dragged by my back, lucky nothing downwind. Now fly the IDS which has leash with QR and is designed for chicken loop to back leash for unhooking. It hasn't happened yet, but If something went wrong with this kite like spiralling out of control, the IDS is easy to get to and the QR is easy to disconnect even when attached to your back.

kitecrazzzy said...



enjoy your comparably **** set ups

slave is right on this one. too many people that are too frail to deal with a kitemare just copy the cool kids and hitch themselves to a ride they wont live to tell the kids about.
in this set up you can drop the bar on suicide doing tricks
drop the kite on fifth line doing tricks
drop the kite on fifth while hooked in by pulling the stock QR
this is the range of the normal ways of connecting to a fuel but the blue line allows you to accidentally pull the QR while unhooked and riding suicide without losing the kite. it is rather convenient.
you can also pull fifth while unhooked
if in suicide and getting dragged in death loops (the kite will crash very quickly normally but if it doesn't then you can ditch the whole lot from the QR on the harness.

if you cant do tricks in two directions then maybe you shouldn't be riding suicide as a solution to the leash twisting up... just a thought.

There you go - great solution and good answer to a valid question from slave

It's called progression

a few guys with the ids kites use no leash at all. If you are staying hooked in the whole time there shouldn't be any dramas flying without a leash. If you want to land yourself you don't need a leash to land safely. If I was anti leash I would fly something with a system like ids.

waveslave said...

lostinlondon said...

I can't see what the fuss is about - I've been around the traps for a few years now and the only people I have seen being dragged face first across the bitumen are people who decide to bring out their old '02 kites with virtually no depower after not touching the gear for 5 years.

Sadly,
Kite-leashes have been the direct cause of many fatalities in recent years... ^^^

Curious to know how you can validate that Slave?

waveslave said...
Curious to know how you can validate that Slave?



Getfunky,
If you want to be ghoulish you could trawl thru the numerous 'He's dead' threads that were posted on Kiteforum. ^^^
At one stage they were popping up every month, tragic hey ?
Read thru the reports, it's abuntantly clear that the kite-leash was the main cause with a number of fatalities.

Bullsh1t, most deaths are caused by overconfident people overestimating their ability to kitesurf, in storms, approaching weather fronts, close to solid objects, fitness, inapproriate gear selection to suit conditions, kiting alone.
Those reasons would cover the majority of kite related deaths.

I cannot recall a single incident where the leash was unequivocally identified as the cause of the death!

Regards

Steve

Look - I am not trying to bag you Slave but you have made sweeping statements then refuse to offer evidence.

I don't fancy trawling through death stories - but I didn't make your statement.

Then you suggest leashes are likely to snap. Wouldn't that result in a runaway kite - just like it would be sans leash?

As for facts of the matter. In occasional incidents leashes drag the punter behind a spiralling kite. In most situations the leash does it's job, the kiter gets their sh!t together and then gets on with it.

BTW - I have had a leash come undone on me 3 times over the years and have had to release my leash twice also. In each case i was not happy about the potential damage I could cause by this auto-pilot kite and bar going solo, with potential for very serious trouble for anyone in it's way, or worse, attempting to help.

In somewhere around a dozen other instances the leash has done it's job. I and others in the vacinity have stayed safe, I have continued kiting and everyone had a good/safe time.

I can see what you are on about as to attaching your leash to the loop (each to their own to some extent though). However this thread has become one of your crusades against leashes - wholesale. Just can't agree with you on this at all Slave.

Ride that way if you prefer but noobs and the majority of riders should be using a leash I reckon.

getfunky said...

Then you suggest leashes are likely to snap. Wouldn't that result in a runaway kite

getfunky,
you're too paranoid about stupid runaway kites. ^^^
a runaway kite invariably ends-up turning into a wet, soggy, plastic shopping-bag.
seriously.

Not in my experience Slave.

The majority of times i have seen either my kite or when i have chased down others the weight of the bar (and the depower defaulting to max) has been enough to hold the kite in shape and have it periodically lifting off and flying unpredictably on auto pilot.

Funnily enough the better behaved (ie more stable) kites are probably most dangerous as they are designed to go auto pilot for park n ride flying.

Any kite goin solo is a danger.

Trant said...

waveslave said...
a runaway kite invariably ends-up turning into a wet, soggy, plastic shopping-bag.
seriously.

Silke Gorldt died because of a runaway kite.

Not having a leash is transferring the danger that you put yourself into and making it someone elses' problem. How selfish is that?

It's on the same level of selfishness as not having Liability Insurance when you kite...