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Where to find cheap kite lines?

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edt
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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby edt » Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:06 pm

Q-powerline is excellent great stuff.

The reason kite companies can't use it is that none of the current safety systems work well with knots, because a knot won't pass through the safety, also q-powerline is slightly more expensive than either bare dyneema sk75 or spectra, even coated with poly.

On paper, regular kiteline will have greater strength than q-powerline, for the same price you can buy 1.75mm 800 pound dyneema sk75 for 30 cents a foot, while q-powerline is only 600 pound for 30 cents a foot, but if you go with 1.5 600 dyneema sk75 you will be only paying 25 cents a foot. On paper, the 1.5mm is the same as qpowerline but in real life, the q-powerline has about the same strength as the 800 pound lines, because the sheath protects the core from abrasions.

That said, I only use q-powerline for tying extensions, for my regular kite lines I splice regular line, because I want all my center line flag out systems to work. I guess if you want to leash onto an oh-shit line, or run your leash up above the bar q-powerline is fine, but then you don't have the advantages of below the bar leashing.

Anyway, learn to splice even if you use q-powerline, you will always have some regular 12 braid lines and it is a lot cheaper to use 5 cents worth of line to splice a fix instead of spending $100 for a set of brand new lines.

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby TheJoe » Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:13 pm

FredBGG wrote:
bay surfer wrote:Q-line is the way to go, Never had a line break, if the ends start to wear, I just cut off and tie a new loop with a figure 8 knot. And No the figure eight knot will not weaken the Q-line, it is a whole different beast than the cheap Dyleema lines they put on bars, you can tie a knot in it and still untie the knot after a session, sand does not get in the weave cuasing wear. I find when I buy a new bar the cheap lines never last a summer, Never in 10 yrs of kiting have I replace a broken Q-line.
I used to use q-line, but do not any more.
Anyone that knows anything about lines knows that a knot will weaken a line.
Even the recommended figure of 8 knot will weaken the line.
I'll add that any time the line is not straight it weakens the line. Larks head, loop, knots, etc. etc.

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby Drachenschmied » Thu Sep 27, 2012 6:39 pm

yes, a knot does weaken a line! Any line in fact - there is no way around it at all!

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby GrodanBoll » Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:05 pm

edt wrote:bro, three words

Learn To Splice

You cut off both ends of the damaged lines, splice in some other brand new line, and if you do it right you'll have 100% strength and the same exact line length.

Kite lines will never be cheap unless the raw material getrs cheaper some day, this dyneema sk75 or spectra is expensive.
Looks like a handy tool! To bad the shipping fee to my country is neary $40 =(

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby edt » Thu Sep 27, 2012 8:36 pm

GrodanBoll wrote:
edt wrote:bro, three words

Learn To Splice

You cut off both ends of the damaged lines, splice in some other brand new line, and if you do it right you'll have 100% strength and the same exact line length.

Kite lines will never be cheap unless the raw material getrs cheaper some day, this dyneema sk75 or spectra is expensive.
Looks like a handy tool! To bad the shipping fee to my country is neary $40 =(

u dont need tools to splice just knowledge. I'll splice lines with a bent piece of copper wire, a cut off bicycle spoke and some tape or whatever else I have laying around. I never use any of them fancy tools they sell for splicing.

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby bay surfer » Fri Sep 28, 2012 2:46 am

Knots in Q-line never had one break, manufactured lines seem to always break, I'll trust my knoted Q lines over plain Old Dyleema any day....! Spicing is easy, though, feed line into itself for a loop, sew threaded line with dental floss, I have use this method, but all lines must be done if one breaks, and note you cant use sleeving, Lines will last a season or two, Note this method for Eye loops works great with Amsteel, replaces all my steal Halyard on on my sailboat, A good skill for making Chickin loop lines.

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby foam-n-fibre » Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:04 pm

Just make sure if you tie a figure 8 knot in Q-line to make the loops that it is a tidy clean knot with the 2 parallel parts of the line not crossing over each other. Saw a bigger guy in town here with a not-so-good knot have the line break at the knot.

Peter

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby Caesar » Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:02 am

foam-n-fibre wrote:Just make sure if you tie a figure 8 knot in Q-line to make the loops that it is a tidy clean knot with the 2 parallel parts of the line not crossing over each other.
Peter
Hi Peter,

What do you mean by that? I can't follow...

Cheers
Caesar 8)

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby Caesar » Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:05 am

bay surfer wrote:Q-line is the way to go, Never had a line break, if the ends start to wear, I just cut off and tie a new loop with a figure 8 knot. And No the figure eight knot will not weaken the Q-line, it is a whole different beast than the cheap Dyleema lines they put on bars, you can tie a knot in it and still untie the knot after a session, sand does not get in the weave cuasing wear. I find when I buy a new bar the cheap lines never last a summer, Never in 10 yrs of kiting have I replace a broken Q-line.
100% agree!
When I get a new kite, first thing I do is take the original lines off and replace them with the Q-Powerlines from the kite I will sell (I replace kites every 6 months).
I feel much safer with my Q-Powerlines and the new owner of my old kite will have a new set of lines on the bar.

Cheers
Caesar 8)

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Re: Where to find cheap kite lines?

Postby foam-n-fibre » Sat Sep 29, 2012 5:20 pm

What I mean is that when you fold the line over to create the loop, you will start with the line, where it is folded over double, straight and parallel with no twists. Now, when you tie the figure 8 you will probably introduce a twist or two in the lines. Take the time to look at the figure 8 you just tied, and if necessary, work out a twist or two in the two lines, where they might cross over each other somewhere within the knot. It should look super clean if done right.

Does that make sense?

Peter


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