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The more I pump up the leading edge bladder the easier it is to relanch. (less folding over on the tips when on it's back) But it seems as though I could pop the bladder at some point. Can you over inflate? How does one know when to stop? Seems like a pump with a pressure guage would take the guess work out.
Thanks
Dennis

well...
just inflate it hard enough

you should be able to press the tube down a little, but it should already make a drum sound when tapping it with yout fingernail.

when you put the kite sideways, it should form a 'C'...

My instructor just told me that last week two beginners fully inflated a kite at late morning, when the sun was shining bright. They left the kite on the beach for a while, and the air within the bladders became too hot and expanded, exploding a bladder.

There seems to be a subtle but significant differance between being able to make a C and not having the tips fold over when it is on it's back. My buddy who has the same Fone magic 12.0 can make the same C as I do yet has a much harder time relanching due to the tips folding over on his kite. It seems that the one or two pound differance makes a big differance.
Also we speculate that the cold water decreases the pressure inside the kite from when you pump it up on the beach. Is this possible?
Thanks
Dennis

This thing with right inflation pressure is a quite demanding task. We can have +25-27 C in the air ( much more in the sun ) but 17 C in the water. The kite is hard when warm on the beach but once you drop it ( and need it to be hard for relaunch ), the kite get´s softer in cold water due to decreasing air pressure/volume in struts. This phenomen is most applicable for big kites with thick struts ie. large air volume. Irritating but true. Won´t stop you kiting though...

-jupu-

which kite do u use?
i've seen guys pumping up their mach1's so hard, i'd be afraid.

some kites need a lil' more pressure than other ones.

....just try a bit.
if the kite's too soft, make it harder the next time, but not too hard. you know when the tube's inflated too hard, when you hear a sound like 'bang' and your fronttube is loosing pressure rapidly.


big kites often relaunch easier with low pressure fronttubes, because they flip over easier. . .

you know when the tube's inflated too hard, when you hear a sound like 'bang' and your fronttube is loosing pressure rapidly.

Funny Murdoc. Unless that bang/hiss is coming from my kite!