Convert 2016 Best GP bar to four lines possible?

[Peert]

Hi Perrt

Are you saying that the flag out line with front line attached will not pass through the quick release and therefore only flags 3m? If so then it will not depower correctly.

I was under the impression that if I attached the flag out line to a front line and removed the fifth line then it would work line any other 4 line single line flag out system.

Yes that is what I was saying.
Your impression was indeed wrong. It flags indeed a limited couple of meters.

See the pictures of the red bar system for reference..
The hole in the QR is similar size as the hole in the black splitter... that is the reason best uses a separate line that reaches the powerline higher up (without knots and pieces) and is attached there (6,5 meter) higher up...

[oshaugho]

Are you talking about the 2015 or 2016 GP bar cause I think the quick release on the 2015 has a large enough hole for the flag line and knot to pass through bit the iron heart quick release the hole is too small.

[swimmer]

I have both 2015 and 2016 GP bars for my GP kites. I have only tested the 4line setup the 2015 bar.
The knot should pass through QR on both the 2015 and 2016 GP bars. I know this because when I flagged of my Ckites on the 5th line the connecting knot almost always ended up past the QR.
The GP's lines are thicker than the RP bar's lines so the bulkier knot it may indeed snag a bit on the entry hole on the QR.

[Peert]

Are you talking about the 2015 or 2016 GP bar cause I think the quick release on the 2015 has a large enough hole for the flag line and knot to pass through bit the iron heart quick release the hole is too small.

All 2016/2017 material.. the north ironhart version...

Note you need a knot or something to stop the line in the Y splitter. Without a knot to stop the QR/single frontline in the Y splitter your single frontline will not respond to you pulling the depower rope...
This very knot should still be able to travel through the iron heart... Maybe possible but not ideal... that is why Best made the RED bar with a safety line that travels through the centre of the Y splitter and connect with a powerline several meters up..

[qbanboy14]

Anyone found a clean solution for this? The bars are now at 199 on their website.

[qbanboy14]

BUMP

[Mike101]

I have both the 4 and 5 line bars- the line quality is immense- easily the most rock solid lines I've ever seen. If I get time tomorrow I'll try and document the differences for you, including the flag line holes etc. I use the 4 line on my 11m kahoona and 14m SS rally and the 5 line on my 7 and 9m gp's. The gp's are absolutely wikid kites but don't offer a lot of hangtime. The 7m ate that storm 2 weeks ago- 55knts and only 40% depowered. I'll also compare the throw length and depower range- mainly because I'm not sure just how much the bungee system actually moves, it feels like a lot but that could very well be the kite. To be honest you won't get anymore for that money right now.

[Mike101]

I'll take the photos this morning and upload tonight. Sorry I've been crazy busy trying to sell my house. Got the day off today though 21-25knt!

[Best-Kiteboarding]

Hello everyone,

This thread has been brought to our attention by one of our friends. We normally don’t intervene when it comes down to “tuning” and improving gear. In this special case however, we think it makes sense to comment on this as a Brand.

As mentioned in this thread, changing from our “old” Quick Release to the Iron Heart 4 brought a lot of benefits but the one downside is the reduced diameter of the bypass hole for the safety line through the QR. It went from 10mm on the old to 5mm on the new QR. When testing the same line set up we realized that the spliced bungee inside the safety line and the loop to loop connection between flying line and safety line wouldn’t travel flawlessly through the Iron Heart. As described here as well, the result is that when activating the QR, the safety line could get stuck at the height of the bungee or the loop to loop connection when running through the QR only allowing partial de-flagging of the kite. These 3m are by for not enough and can result in what is called a suicide loop of the kite with disastrous consequences.

This is why we clearly can’t advise anyone to make the conversion as described in this thread and must warn of the dangers implicated.

That said it is very interesting and assuring for us to see that you are basically having the same thoughts and draw the same conclusions.

[Matteo V]

Hello everyone,

This thread has been brought to our attention by one of our friends. We normally don’t intervene when it comes down to “tuning” and improving gear. In this special case however, we think it makes sense to comment on this as a Brand.

As mentioned in this thread, changing from our “old” Quick Release to the Iron Heart 4 brought a lot of benefits but the one downside is the reduced diameter of the bypass hole for the safety line through the QR. It went from 10mm on the old to 5mm on the new QR. When testing the same line set up we realized that the spliced bungee inside the safety line and the loop to loop connection between flying line and safety line wouldn’t travel flawlessly through the Iron Heart. As described here as well, the result is that when activating the QR, the safety line could get stuck at the height of the bungee or the loop to loop connection when running through the QR only allowing partial de-flagging of the kite. These 3m are by for not enough and can result in what is called a suicide loop of the kite with disastrous consequences.

This is why we clearly can’t advise anyone to make the conversion as described in this thread and must warn of the dangers implicated.

That said it is very interesting and assuring for us to see that you are basically having the same thoughts and draw the same conclusions.

Yaaaaaaa.......Those bungies never lasted for more than a couple of months anyway. Just pull out the stupid bungee, or better yet, replace that line with some 7/64ths Amsteel. If you go the new line route, you will need to splice at least the "Y" end. I actually use 7/64ths Amsteel as a wear sheath over some 800lb test dyneema so I don't have to change it out until the core is showing. But make sure you know what you are doing when splicing with a sheath as you need to make sure the load is transferred to the core. This is a safety line and it needs to be "bomber".