I ride a slingshot and yeah it's happened a few times where iv landed funny or something like yeah and the CL has slipped off and just hangin on by a thread. I just always check to see if its locked in properly after I crash or whatevs

You may need a stiffer donkey dick.

It depends how it is manufactured. If it was made from a hollow plastic tube, then you could bond a filler inside in at the area where it goes through the hook. You still need it to be flexible enough to get it into place so it has to have enough flexibility near its attachment point.

What harness do you have? Some hooks are designed for easy unhooking with a short curve. Maybe you have a mystic warrior which isn't a Len10?

BurkeyBoy said..

What harness do you have? Some hooks are designed for easy unhooking with a short curve. Maybe you have a mystic warrior which isn't a Len10?

It's happened with two different kites, so I'm not sure if its the quality of the donkey dick that's the problem.
The harness I use is a Ion/Apex

The reason your chicken loop is coming off is that you are pulling the bar way too hard towards you. You pull the bar down past the harness hook, it pulls the chicken loop off the hook and if you pull it far enough it can pull the donkey dick completely off the hook. Some donkey dicks are better than others at staying on but all donkey dicks can be pulled off the hook, otherwise you would never be able to remove the loop. (I am a bit over all these farm animal names for kiteboarding gear).

The solution is simple. Don't pull the bar down so far. That is the all time number one beginner mistake. Apart from pulling the chicken loop off your harness you are also choking the kite and it will be half stalled. Stop it. The solution to almost all beginner problems is to push the bar out.

Part of the problem is you are using the bar as a handle. It's not. It's a control device. All of the power should be going through the chicken loop into the harness. You use the bar to steer and modulate the trim and power of the kite. Don't grab onto the bar with a death grip and hang off the bar like a chimp.

Solution number two is to not panic. It's not really a problem if you accidentally unhook. You can do two things about it. Ride towards the kite to ease the tension on the lines then simply hook in again. Alternatively you can grab the chicken loop with one hand and depower the kite and put the loop back onto your hook. Consider getting out in a lighter wind day and go body dragging and practice working the chicken loop with your hand.

The other beginner mistake is to do something silly, or find something difficult and think things would be better if you change gear. With very few exceptions all beginner problems are operator error. The solution is to get out more and practice and get better at kiting. It's a skill. You can only acquire skills with practice.

rockykite said..

Every now and again during a session, the chicken loop detaches itself from my harness if I happen to knock it accidentally. I end up having always to do a self rescue (which has been good practice). Even though I always make sure the donkey dick is inserted correctly this happens to me from time to time. Any thoughts?? Thanks

Start looking for a new kite.

suface2air said...
So you say your bar is too far down wind , That would be correct . That last single line that is still attached to you (with the safety leash) grab that and start wheeling in it and hey presto your bar is slowly coming back to you . Now the hard part (not really) grab your bar with one hand and with the other let the "single" line which is now all around you out very slowly . The kite is flaged onto that line so no real pull as the kite is flaged(depowered) . So you are letting the line back out getting the line away from you and it reaches the end grab the chicken loop and connect back up steer kite up drop it in the power zone and your off riding again . IT IS NOT ROCKET SIENCE . What the hell are these schools out there teaching people .NO NEED to do a full pack down and recovery . As Above check the length of the donkey dick as the kite powers the chicken loops stretches out and I have found on 1 kite that after 5 years of good kiting it had stretched that bad that the donkey dick was to short and it came off in the big pull stuff .Easy fixed stuck some plastic hose over it bit 2cm longer fixed .

This is not good advice. Depending on what kite/ bar setup you use, the bar has a chance to spin around on itself and get lines tangled around it.
If it has flagged far enough down the depower line you may have 2-4 very slack lines washing around the bar which may then tangle.
Also pulling on the depower line is going to bring the kite towards you, and not necessarily the bar, again, depending on the sort of equipment to use.

The only way to properly avoid a pack down would be to ride without attaching to the flagging line, I.e. suicide...

I used to have an air rush bar which would occasionally allow the chicken loop to unhook - the dick wasn't quite long enough so when the loop was under maximum pull the dick could get past the loop. I use a North bar now which has a better design loop/dick and I've never had the problem. If you'r loop is detaching from your harness but not being released the the dick is too short. If the loop is accidentally releasing you may be releasing by knocking it as you say though that sounds unlikely. The safety mechanism may need a good clean and service if it is self releasing.

Mate, it doesn't matter how experienced you are if you are kiting with a very flexy Donkey Stick or it is too short or has a bend in the middle of it or you can't tuck it up through the upper horizontal part of your spreader bar, it's gonna come out eventually.

If it's slingshot extend it and reinforce it with some 10amp power cable or stiff fuel line and be sure to rubber glue up the end nice and smooth or replace it with some way stiffer fuel cable.








For BWS, you can stich the velcro together so it never undoes and heads off with Jack Sparrow's dad. I've never had a prob with north or cabs.

Whatever you do just sort it sooner than l8r otherwise it's another hazard/rescue/jumping obstacle in the water for the rest of us and lost time for you.