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does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

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supachip1
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does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby supachip1 » Wed Jul 17, 2013 3:53 pm

today my 12m ripped in half after a minor crash, dragged back to shore,to be honest i never expected too much from that kite anyway as it has let me down every session somehow, so, then i pumped my 9m and the LE was flat before i got back from walking the lines out, i shook my head, sighed, laughed to myself and gave up, after 5 minutes sitting on the beach annoyingly watching the other guys kiting i decided to check my go pro for the 15 minutes footage before my 12m broke to find the case leaks and water inside!!!
other than wrap my all my gear in cotton wool i look after it the best i can and clean n wash it every time its used, (which is not very often), out of 4 kites i own 1 is in working order, i have had every valve come un-stuck on 3 of my kites (north and wainamn) and before anyone says they are not used to the heat, or they shouldn't be left in the sun, the 1 working kite is a 2003 cabrinha CO2 that has been sitting outside on a peg since 2006, exposed to 7 years worth of weather, its still crispy and all the valves are still holding, the only reason it not used is due to re-launch and bar pressure, its even been through trees and into a bungalow as i was learning and still intact and 'as new' condition.....it seems to me that newer equipment is made to a poorer quality than the earlier days, or it is just because i had a shit day??

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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby g00se » Wed Jul 17, 2013 5:04 pm

Sounds like you've had a bad time of it, maybe you just got unlucky - or maybe your idea of 'looking after kit' is different to everyone else's :D

I do agree that kites seem to be a lot more fragile since 2008 onwards in general.

Maybe it's down to lighter materials and a higher performance trade-off for construction. My older kites seemed a lot heavier but also more bomb-proof.

You get a lot less for your money too - bags etc are lower quality than they used to be. Guess everyone is cutting costs where they can.

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edt
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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby edt » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:05 pm

your kites have definitely been in the heat, that's why the valves delaminated. I know that the old cabs did something different with the valves, I think they used less plasticizer, which means that the valves get brittle and break off very easily, other brands like fuel use the same amount of plasticizer as today, so if you have a 2003 fuel, every single valve will delaminate, I have had to restick the valves on all my old kites -- except my old cabrinha 17 nitro, what a great kite -- I stuck it in a tree and destroyed it last year -- when it's blowing 40 knots doesn't take long to turn a kite into tissue paper, didn't get it down from the tree soon enough. Valves on those old cabs might break in two but they never peeled off. Valves and heat it's a tradeoff because the valves are pvc and the bladder is polyurethane so plasticizer is added to the valves, this leaches out to the bond and they fall off. Someone who knows more about it can explain it better, but they have been wrestling with this same valve problem, it's not a matter of low quality high quality it's a tradeoff between valves breaking in two and them falling off the bladder.

I think eventually they are gonna go with kites that don't have a million valves, maybe they will replace the air tubes with some other material or go strutless, something. It's definitely a problem.

There is definitely a trend in modern kites to go lighter and lighter. This makes them less durable. There is no way around this. Personally I would rather have a heavier kite, that is like a tank in the air, even if it means it turns slow as molasses, but they are providing what the customers want and that's fast agile kites. That's one reason I like the Fuel, same weight kite as they always have been. But for sure the valves will fall off if it gets too hot on a Fuel old or new.

Also everyone at my launch has switched away from gopro to the new cheaper better waterproof cameras you can get now. Can't remember the brand.

what size is your co2 I think that year the big sizes were 17 and 20 if it's a big one I might to buy it from you.
Last edited by edt on Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby Laughingman » Wed Jul 17, 2013 6:20 pm

I had a season like this, I eventually said F it and replaced all of the valves with stick on ones... Never ever had to replace one since and its been a few years now...

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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby supachip1 » Wed Jul 17, 2013 7:57 pm

believe me i have replaced or re-glued all the valves on my 2010 evos on what seems to be an 'every time i kite' basis, and fixed many a hole with tearaid.( i feel i should have shares). for me its something i just got used to, i can do it blind folded now.

some say FORD= Fix On A Daily basis..my experience with NORTH =Never Out Riding The Hour!

but its not just north, my wainman is the same (all valves de-lamed and bridle broke, stitching gave in due to having to pump LE so solid to stop wing tips folding, cost of 150$ repair), they are all kept in the same conditions, even though the 2010's are 6 yrs younger why is the CO2 that is 'un-used' still the only 1 that stays soild over night..?
EDT..you say they are left in the heat..ok, not in direct sunlight, but in shaded tropical temperatures, the CO2 is still going strong from 03/04,

i have only just started to trying to the use CO2 due to horrible reminders of whole body red raw sand rash and hitting water like a stone from 20' as a beginner before IKO had some sort of standard (dont want to get into that IKO arguement now) but all my gears failed, harness straps, footstraps, safety lines, tissue paper like canopy, pumps..infact the only thing that has never let me down is my jamie pro board and the bar next to my launch site which serves 'chang beer'.. even though the burmese staff have no ides what i'm complaining about!!

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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby NYKiter » Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:12 pm

Bladder problems are a nightmare....
When will they come out with the tubeless LE like the tubeless tire????

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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby edt » Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:14 pm

supachip1 wrote:
all kept in the same conditions, even though the 2010's are 6 yrs younger why is the CO2 that is 'un-used' still the only 1 that stays soild over night..?
there's no better board than a jaime love that board. North bladders are known to delaminate in lower temperatures than other kites. Good kites, great control bar, the rebel is especially solid all around kite. I go through two pumps a year, I have resewn my harness several times, go find myself some new buckles and webbing, and a sewing awl not a problem. The actual canopy fabric on your co2, wainman and north is all exactly the same, Teijin Technoforce T9600, the only difference is how many reinforcement points they put on the kite.

I believe the key word in why the co2 is in such good condition is this word : "unused"

The co2 valves on that year I told you, they used less plasticizer on it, that's why it can take more heat. But it's not a good solution because it makes the valves brittle that's why they quit making them like that.

ps don't use the old bar on your co2 use a new bar the north bar should work fine, in 5 line mode, the 2003 bar that came with that kite is positively dangerous.

supachip1
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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby supachip1 » Wed Jul 17, 2013 8:49 pm

EDT, everyone says that valves delam in hot tempretures, even though they test north kites in sri lanka where i got 1 hell of a tan due to kite failure, bored and nothing else todo( see attached photo)..geez that was hot , you say lower tempretures? i'm confused.. i just think i'm unlucky with kiting in general, however even though my kite experience have been tainted by north, i'm stubborn and want to buy a rebel...surely i cant be bitten twice??

p.s my camera wa a go pro copy made by ACE, maybe a chinese firm?

sorry, early kitemare finish+ large changs

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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby William Munney » Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:05 pm

supachip1 wrote:believe me i have replaced or re-glued all the valves on my 2010 evos on what seems to be an 'every time i kite' basis, and fixed many a hole with tearaid.( i feel i should have shares). for me its something i just got used to, i can do it blind folded now.

some say FORD= Fix On A Daily basis..my experience with NORTH =Never Out Riding The Hour!

but its not just north, my wainman is the same (all valves de-lamed and bridle broke, stitching gave in due to having to pump LE so solid to stop wing tips folding, cost of 150$ repair), they are all kept in the same conditions, even though the 2010's are 6 yrs younger why is the CO2 that is 'un-used' still the only 1 that stays soild over night..?
EDT..you say they are left in the heat..ok, not in direct sunlight, but in shaded tropical temperatures, the CO2 is still going strong from 03/04,

i have only just started to trying to the use CO2 due to horrible reminders of whole body red raw sand rash and hitting water like a stone from 20' as a beginner before IKO had some sort of standard (dont want to get into that IKO arguement now) but all my gears failed, harness straps, footstraps, safety lines, tissue paper like canopy, pumps..infact the only thing that has never let me down is my jamie pro board and the bar next to my launch site which serves 'chang beer'.. even though the burmese staff have no ides what i'm complaining about!!
I have six North Rebels I bought over the last three years, only replaced one valve on the 2008 16m.

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Re: does anyone else suffer with regular kitemares??

Postby plummet » Wed Jul 17, 2013 11:17 pm

Just sounds like old kites to me.

I expect my kites to last 1 year high use. 2 years medium use. 3 years light use. Anything more than that is a bonus.


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