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eclipse ez-lock system

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teabag
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eclipse ez-lock system

Postby teabag » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:28 pm

The eclipse ez-lock gadget looks simple - how well does it work? I was thinking about making one - it seems to be made from the standard CL211 MK2 clamcleat with an extra bit bolted on the back. What diameter line is eclipse using (the cleat takes anything from 4-6mm I guess)?

Not sure is this is as good as a two-line stopper ball, but would work well on older bars which do not have a big enough hole for two lines.

Do any of the companies sell their movable stopper gadgets on their own?

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ronnie
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Postby ronnie » Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:52 pm

The Starkites stopper is better, but for some reason they do not want to sell it and make some money. They seem to think people will buy the bar too, just to get the stopper.

The Starkites stopper will need a way to adjust it for wear in the line, but this is a simple design change any competent engineer could figure out.

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docuk
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Postby docuk » Thu Oct 04, 2007 4:36 pm

yeh, the 08 ez locker seems worth a try - i've ordered one but at 20 quid its a bit steep especially for such a simple thing in terms of design.

manufacturing wise i would think 20p at most. so its a 100 times mark up or in other words 10,000%

Surely a fiver would be more reasonable or even a tenner.

am i being stung here :-?

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Postby sbkiter » Thu Oct 04, 2007 4:46 pm

Eclipse stopper works pretty well... ordered it a few months ago. If they still have the video up, it works as advertised. Nice thing about the stopper is that it 'follows' the bar - in other words, with other stoppers there's a possibility that you could set it too high and have difficulty reaching it while riding whereas with the Eclipse, once you disengage, it will ride against the bar. Its also super quick and really easy release. It is a standard clamcleat but the extra plastic helps for grip and prevents hangup on the line - yes, thought of 'making my own' but decided to pay the extra few bucks and give Dmitri his due for thinking of it. Besides, its pretty cheap and not worth the effort to do it yourself - at least not for me... Not familiar with the Starkite stopper so can't comment. Also, did a lot of searching for a single line stopper and this was the only one I could find (but looks like Starkite has one also).

Not sure if you care but also messed around with a bunch of 2-line stopper balls. The best 'design' we found to work is the Slingshot and Liquid Force stopper balls - they allow for a 'true' lock whereas others seemed to allow for slip when pushed hard.

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Postby eastcoastkite » Thu Oct 04, 2007 5:38 pm

The EZ lock system works because of that red molded plastic.

You could just buy a cleat and it would lock your bar in place, but it would not release like the EZ lock. The EZ lock is able to release because the red plastic gives the extra leverage needed to quickly disengage the system. It also puts all the weight on the back of the cleat and forces it down if you were to hit the sand or water hard enough.

MSRP for the EZ lock is: $20usd. Just the cleat alone is like $12 in west marine. Not a bad deal.

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Postby eastcoastkite » Thu Oct 04, 2007 5:39 pm

The EZ lock system works because of that red molded plastic.

You could just buy a cleat and it would lock your bar in place, but it would not release like the EZ lock. The EZ lock is able to release because the red plastic gives the extra leverage needed to quickly disengage the system. It also puts all the weight on the back of the cleat and forces it down if you were to hit the sand or water hard enough.

MSRP for the EZ lock is: $20usd. Just the cleat alone is like $12 in west marine. Not a bad deal.

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kitegrommet
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Postby kitegrommet » Thu Oct 04, 2007 6:15 pm

I have 2 EZ locks from last year, still working great.

BUT, I would never put a West Marine cam cleat on my kite. Locking in has never been a problem. It's getting out fast and easy and upside down or underwater that I care about and the cleat has never failed in that aspect.

the little piece of plastic is the key. Also, I hit the water a bit hard and mine released on impact.

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Bullroarer Took
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Postby Bullroarer Took » Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:06 pm

Two questions:

1. Is the ball needed between the EZ Lock and the bar? (Shown in black in the pictures and the video.)

2. It appears that with the 2008 bar the kites simply depower to both front lines simultaneously. Is that right?

TIA

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bleighty
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Postby bleighty » Thu Oct 04, 2007 8:49 pm

sbkiter wrote:Not sure if you care but also messed around with a bunch of 2-line stopper balls. The best 'design' we found to work is the Slingshot and Liquid Force stopper balls - they allow for a 'true' lock whereas others seemed to allow for slip when pushed hard.
you should be able to push thru the stopper system.. if you cant, then whats the point?

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Postby sbkiter » Thu Oct 04, 2007 9:45 pm

you should be able to push thru the stopper system.. if you cant, then whats the point?
The point of the stopper is to stop the bar when you adjust it to your desired throw... not sure why you would want to push through? If its for safety reasons, both the Slingshot and Liquid Force pulls the c-loop line through the stopper when the safety is pulled. To each his own but its annoying to me to not have a 'lock'.


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