My first 5th line

[KiteCulture]

I hate 5 lines....think they suck balls. They seem to create the problems they were designed to solve. I'll never buy one again.

[flaps1111]

I love 5th line, 100 % safety. Solo landing and launching no matter what wind intensity. Water relaunching in light wind. 6 years flying it (out of 12) and NEVER tangle any kite.

God save the 5th line!!!

[matth]

I hate 5 lines....think they suck balls. They seem to create the problems they were designed to solve. I'll never buy one again.

The only problem seems to be the infamous wrap that many long time riders claim has only happened once , twice or never. I think what you gain in saftey, stability, feel , and relaunch , far out weight the negative. I have used my safety twice in overpowered conditions so far and it was a nice feeling to watch that kite flag in one second. I have got dragged by two other brands kites that would not roll over as advertised. Not fun when you are a thousand feet from shore in overpowered conditions ,hit your safety ,and kite continues to pull. your only choice is to ride it out tying not to drink the ocean or dump the kite...

[William Munney]

I love 5th line, 100 % safety. Solo landing and launching no matter what wind intensity. Water relaunching in light wind. 6 years flying it (out of 12) and NEVER tangle any kite.

God save the 5th line!!!

What is your procedure for self launching with the fifth line?

[Peter_Frank]

Ha haa, this is "almost" funny, eventhough very sincere

The 5th line that clutters up or "rips" the kite in half

It seems, seing from "outside" (I have had 5 line kites, but only rare), that these tangles and ripping the kite in half, CAN happen.

But extremely rare...

There are huge advantages regarding almost full depower, self landing in extreme conditions, and relaunch in light conditions.

So, in my eyes, the reason why everyone contributes so extremely either "pro" or "con", is their personal experiences.

But as these experiences will be influenced by the extremely rare, BUT possible tangle and destruction - we see a lot of black and white opinions on this very topic

Dont know if this post is helpful at all - but at least it might tell the "opposing" part, why we always see this picture and opposite opinions regarding 5 line kites
Some has never had serious issues with tangling or kite being destroyed, meaning 5 lines is the best.
Others HAS had these problems, meaning 5 lines is almost banned, and to be avoided.

Peter

[Wray118]

Good points Peter , but if any problem is repeated on a regular basis either four or five lines then its operator error IMHO

[flaps1111]

I love 5th line, 100 % safety. Solo landing and launching no matter what wind intensity. Water relaunching in light wind. 6 years flying it (out of 12) and NEVER tangle any kite.

God save the 5th line!!!

What is your procedure for self launching with the fifth line?

I do a normal launching putting one tip to the wind but sometimes the kite slips down wind, no poblem just pull the 5th line and the kite lies in their back ready to launch.

[JGTR]

It seems, seing from "outside" (I have had 5 line kites, but only rare), that these tangles and ripping the kite in half, CAN happen.

Yet to see proof of a kite ripped in half by a 5th line

[Peter_Frank]

It seems, seing from "outside" (I have had 5 line kites, but only rare), that these tangles and ripping the kite in half, CAN happen.

Yet to see proof of a kite ripped in half by a 5th line

I used to be on 5 line kites. Now I am on 4 line kites and much happier that way. If I get wraps, they are generally because I crash the kite while riding towards it in a turn. I find that with 4 lines, the wraps that I get are easier to ride with than the ones I used to get with 5 lines. With 5 lines I once managed to get the centre line over the canopy, ripping it from trailing edge to leading edge. Wasn't too stoked about that.

I think 4 vs 5 is also very much a preference and riding style thing. Some people like the 5th line for the extra leading edge support and the safety, some people hate it because it can make for trickier wraps.

Personally, I didn't like the wraps and have found the safety of 4 line kites to be great.

[t3rse]

I didn't realize simply stating that I had a bad experience in iffy conditions warranted personal attacks. Thanks for the input from everyone else. I respect the opinions of most of you, and I'm not saying I'm going to up and sale the sail based on one bad experience...