Been out testing kites all day so returning late to this discussion. I'll respectfully decline personally testing the 'O' rings the way you used them since my engineering background and experience tells me it is a poorly designed system and unacceptable for an expensive product with which people may potentially kill themselves. Your spectacular riding and death-defying stunts with kites is truly fun to watch. As a well-known risk-taker, you can use them that way - fine. My only thought is that you seem OK to transfer that risk to others and then defend that transfer by attacking anyone that questions it by claiming everything wears as a justification. Attack the messenger when you don't like the message - right?
The point is, some systems wear faster than others and since line wear is a concern, a system that causes accelerated line wear is a problem. Why do you think the demand for sliders on your website has been so strong? You've switched to sliders - GOOD FOR YOU! I've already said your passion for the sport and your brand is commendable. Why not leave it at that? Have fun in the Caymans - sounds like a good time - hope you can get back on the water. All good!
Cheers!
PS:
BTW, I did a bit of skydiving and I do not remember my parachute's risers passing through any 'O' rings in such a way that 100% of the load was on a single small line running back and forth repeatedly. As a guide for lightly loaded steering lines to keep them from getting tangled maybe, but nothing that I was hanging from. All that 'stuff' was highly engineered mil-spec custom hardware.
Cheers again!
Dimitri M wrote:I am sorry Mr. Hansen you see it that way, but I have been kiting on these "O"Rings for a long time. Maybe it is time for you to get in the water and start kiting so you can really do the testing on the "O"Ring.
Pulleys or "O" Rings do wear the lines after putting lots of ours kiting and I am not going to lie to you, everything wears after a lot of abuse. Same thing applies to the lines that goes through the hole of the bar. It is called WEARING.....
Also the thicker the line is the longer your lines will last. I have use both of these items and I have seen what they do. So again Mr. Hansen it is time for you to move out of your computer and get in the water so you can do a real test. I am going to the Cayman Islands next week for a photo shoot, hopefully I can start kiting again after my injury. So maybe you can join me and finally go kiting and test these items.
You know my number.