In strife, got your knife?

That time of the year to check your gear, don't forget to check the knife is still in the harness and serviceable , got a new harness? Check it's got one in, here's a little extra safety tip, place some elasticated cord to it which you can tuck into your pouch, if your in strife and drop your knife , it ensures another chance enjoy the season

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Dave Whettingsteel said...

cauncy said..
That time of the year to check your gear, don't forget to check the knife is still in the harness and serviceable , got a new harness? Check it's got one in, here's a little extra safety tip, place some elasticated cord to it which you can tuck into your pouch, if your in strife and drop your knife , it ensures another chance enjoy the season

Elasticated cord is a good idea. Reckon it would be easy to drop it if you are in crisis. Then you are truly F****D

Not wrong Dave, we all know of mike dying at corros 5 years back, also my kite buddy had his bar and lines wrap around a bombie out the point, scared the shidt out of him, wind and swell pinning him, it's our cheapest bit of equipment , IMO just as important as our safety release,

any old bit of tough string will do. If you're in a situation where you've felt the need to cut lines , you REALLY don't want to be dropping it!
You can even pack two knives if you have the pouches for them. Why not Eh?

Shock cord as in Occy strap, bungee etc...With a hook on both ends? Doesn't sound like a bad idea if you can pack it away. I was thinking something a lot lighter and thinner but will give it a go!

I bought 3mm shock cord for that purpose last year....you really might need a second chance when you are being bounced...

Oh I've got a knife alright!

Great idea the shock cord, when it stretches though it will fit into the knife slot.Will try it and let you know

I use a Dakine harness that comes with a knife pouch. This is on the bottom of the padded spreader bar. I simply turned the padding upside down, so the Velcro pocket was facing up and bought a fishing knife with a built in line cutter. This fitted perfectly and is now in a much better position to grab it, in a emergency. You never know, but if you're body dragging back to your board and something with big teeth is circling you, it may give you half a fighting chance!!

I find the ones supplied with harnesses a little fiddly and hard to hold onto. They also seem to drop out and get lost easily. Personally I carry a trilobite cutter. Cuts anything including webbing if need be, is large enough to be easily held especially in an emergency and has a good pouch that doesn't allow them to fall out. At around $25 with a couple of spare blades for when they go rusty, they are good value. Having a bit of shock cord to secure them is a good move too.

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gdownie said..
OMG
A real safety line knife can be run across your body or skin to cut lines in a panic,try doing that with a normal knife like the one shown,

I totally agree with you regarding the danger of using a real knife in a kitesurfing emergency. But, the knife is inside its plastic sheaf, which is in the harness pocket and when pulled out, the plastic sheaf stays inside the pouch. I always wear gloves and found the traditional Z knife hard to handle, whereas, in practice, I can get a real grip on this knife, plus it is very easy to locate and see. Also, I have this little paranoia of a shark attack after being circled by a white pointer while trying to body-drag back to my board, which was 50 metres upwind. For awhile, I didn't want to go back in the water, but ended up with this knife after discovering that I had lost my fitted line cutter. Maybe I'm kidding myself, but if I ever find myself confronted by a shark again, I feel that I can at least put up a good fight with this, as compared to a single purpose line cutter. In the end, this is my calculated risk carrying this, but overall this sport can also be very dangerous, but we still do it, understanding the inherent dangers.

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coastflyer said..

gdownie said..
OMG
A real safety line knife can be run across your body or skin to cut lines in a panic,try doing that with a normal knife like the one shown,

I totally agree with you regarding the danger of using a real knife in a kitesurfing emergency. But, the knife is inside its plastic sheaf, which is in the harness pocket and when pulled out, the plastic sheaf stays inside the pouch. I always wear gloves and found the traditional Z knife hard to handle, whereas, in practice, I can get a real grip on this knife, plus it is very easy to locate and see. Also, I have this little paranoia of a shark attack after being circled by a white pointer while trying to body-drag back to my board, which was 50 metres upwind. For awhile, I didn't want to go back in the water, but ended up with this knife after discovering that I had lost my fitted line cutter. Maybe I'm kidding myself, but if I ever find myself confronted by a shark again, I feel that I can at least put up a good fight with this, as compared to a single purpose line cutter. In the end, this is my calculated risk carrying this, but overall this sport can also be very dangerous, but we still do it, understanding the inherent dangers.

I have the same harness and one day checked (after many regular checks) found the hook knife missing out of the bottom opening pocket. I was due to do a 75km downwinder the next day so grabbed a small retractable box cutter knife and a small fishing knife with sheath (in case I lose the first one). I positioned them at the side of the harness so that no chance of stabbing myself if I double over. Never thought of using it on sharks though but we don't really have any here in Vicco, nor do we have barrels or any good footy teams etc etc.