The end to death spirals and drownings?

[pmaggie]

And that's it, the spreader bar. My one is close to the hook, it works perfectly.

[rightguard]

You can buy a little loop with Velcro closure that goes around the spreader bar, then the leash clips to that. Should be able to buy them at your local kite shop. I put mine on the left side of the hook as I always undo the right side while putting harness on. It's nice to use a short leash as well.

[tomatkins]

It is nice to see so many experienced kiters comment on the many issues involved in the remaining dangers inherent in our activity. I have been a participant or at least a close observer of the activity of kiting since the "Jacobs Ladder" days of the '80s, through the "delta kite" (Kiteski) days of the '90s, and the "inflatable" kite days of the present. The activity is no longer a "kooky circus act" for daredevils only. "Safety" was a late-comer to the party. The activity has always been a magnet for creativity on the part of the "wackos" (me and you) who are attacted to this kind of recreation. Creative thinking has kept a lot of us alive and well, and prevented others from experiencing the horror of having a fun day turned into a nightmare.

In an "eccentric" and small activity, like kiteboarding, we are all "beta testers" whether or not we choose to be. It seems that all safety improvements have occured, by "reactive" and not "proactive" engineering of the equipment... an example being the horrible death of Silke Gorldt (1976-2002), which encouraged the development of the safety release.

The fact is that our kiteboarding equipment is not being developed by large companies like Boeing, with a large staff of certified mechanical engineers, with access to a research lab and a lot of expensive design equipment. The well-meaning and enthusiastic individuals, working for the small kiteboarding companies are not that different from the above-average kiter, and for that reason, may need some help... from us, the kiters.

Thanks to Toby and this international kiteforum, ideas can be presented here, some of which may actually be a contribution to the cause, by "filtering up" to the designers, who work for the kite equipment manufacturers. So keep the ideas coming! It only takes ONE good one to solve a problem.

Of course, when you propose an idea for discussion, you will run the risk of being called derrogatory names ("kook", etc), by certain individuals, who put forth an effort to condemn, rather than an effort to improve on the short-comings of an idea or proposal. Don't be discouraged by this reaction or react in kind, but keep your "thinking cap" on and keep putting forth the effort to improve on the idea. 'It takes many links to make a chain, and the longer chain may reach a solution.'

Do any of you remember this proposed solution to the "out of control kite" problem of old? It came and went pretty fast. Here is a picture, dug up by a kiteforum member, from another KF "design" brainstorming thread.


http://www.kiteworldmag.com/gear/rrd-type-6-bar-2004/

"...WHAT DOES IT DO?
Pull the handle and the kite immediately releases three of the four flying lines, losing 100% of its power.
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RELEASE?
The Caution handle is attached to three of the four flying lines, and when pulled it releases the two front lines and one rear line. The handle uses the classic pin release system at each point, and comes out easily. The rider remains attached to the remaining rear line through the chicken loop. It's a no-nonsense system.
DOES IT WORK?..."

[SpaceRacer]

Words of wisdom Tom. Excellent post. You soothe some of my raw nerves surrounding this issue. Partly because as I read your post I was truly disheartened by the fact that I also posted this on my regional northwest USA forum and got nothing but jokes. There were more posts about someone's smelly booty problem and whether or not riding commando in a seat harness was doable than about this idea. Sad. Anyway, your post is interesting and is one that I will explore a little further. Without belaboring the point, how would we all feel if with the press of a button we could detach the kite from the flying lines or immediately deflate our leading edge or heck explode the leading edge??? The harrowing, scared shitless experience of getting tangled in our kite lines (or someone else's), ending up in our kite lines in the surf, getting pulled into our lines after a blown kite loop, etc. will merely become a nuisance as opposed to life threatening emergency. The same kooks who make jokes in my neck of the woods, who ride around with cameras up on their leading edge, controlled by a remote control, spend hundreds of dollars to take pictures of themselves is cool but the idea of having the same exact thing to save your ass is well...a joke. Being able to stop the kite will save a lot of lives in the future and I think it is just a matter of time before someone comes up with a feasible way. Thanks Tom.

[edt]

Dumb question: where do you attach the leash at the front of the harness? I have a Dakine Pyro and the only attachment place I see at the front is the spreader bar?

lark's head a short piece of rope with an o-ring on it, fasten the safety to the o-ring and lark's head the other end around your spreader bar. You don't want to actually slip the safety around the spreader bar because it can sometimes trap the quick release (depending on the model of quick release). I have an ozone shorty with another 6 feet of rope so I can do handle passes. The standard leash isn't good for anybody, too short to get do a handle pass and get wrapped, too long if you never unhook.

[SpaceRacer]

Edt, not being critical or an nice person bit in the spirit of safety, that set up does not look safe to me at all. I could be wrong but having a rope leash, regardless of the size, hooked in front looks like a disaster waiting to happen. I think all safe leashes should be stiff not ropey. I had a similar setup that once wrapped itself around my QR and CL. I will send a picture later but I have a short stiff leash that goes from a fixed point in the side of my harness shorts straight to
the kite leash connection. Firm and straight to the point. No ropey leash which could cause a tangle in front. My .002

[edt]

Edt, not being critical or an nice person bit in the spirit of safety, that set up does not look safe to me at all. I could be wrong but having a rope leash, regardless of the size, hooked in front looks like a disaster waiting to happen. I think all safe leashes should be stiff not ropey. I had a similar setup that once wrapped itself around my QR and CL. I will send a picture later but I have a short stiff leash that goes from a fixed point in the side of my harness shorts straight to
the kite leash connection. Firm and straight to the point. No ropey leash which could cause a tangle in front. My .002

no problem. not sure how i can have a stiff leash and do handle passes. I really love the ozone leash because it is so easy to customize. But you are right it's ropey not stiff.

[SpaceRacer]

Sorry! I didn't comprehend that you do handle passes! You're a stud! So I can't comment on leashes for that as my rotator cuffs don't float.

[longwhitecloud]

How about a very small battery powered waterproof actuator put inside velcro pocket on leading edge with a contained needle( with a razor spade shaped nose to split the leading edge/bladder controlled by infrared). - my idea is open source from right now.