When you have pumped up your kite that has a one pump system (like my Rev), is it better to seal off all the struts or leave them open?
Why/ Why not?
deffinetly seal them because if u get a puncture or your deflate valve opens the only the thing keeping your kite alfoat will be your struts if not say good by too ur kite cause it will sink!!
Had 04 fuels for two years and never worried and never had a problem.
Had octanes for two years never worried.
Did start to seal off one of the octanes which had a troublesome leak towards the end of the two years.
Got the revs and will never worry about sealing these of either unless there is a problem becomes apparent.
If I ever plan to go a long way from shore or a big down winder etc I will block off to be safe.
when im in the ocean i seal them off, just to be safe, and it means i can deflate my kite on the beach roll it up then do it properly at home without sand everywhere getting blown into the kite.
but when i kite on the river i dont bother, i pack the kite up on grass, its onshore breeze and quite safe, i can also stand.
I never seal them.
Had 1 problem,
It was a kitemare and the clips wouldn't have saved the day.
i never seal them... only time i would bother is when kiting offshore reefs etc
wish my havocs didnt have them cause the plastic clips have chafed the panel making little holes, so now i have liltte patches where they all are. thats a piss off.
On my Cabrinha and Ozone kite I fly regularly and even the demo Rev, I can feel the difference if I do not clip them off - the kite feels a bit spongy, hard to describe but the crisp feel of the kite is not there.
David Pilkington - Ozone Instinct designer describes the phenomenom better than I can, but basically the pressure in the kite will change between the LE tube and the struts, as you load the kite (pull in on the rear lines), or do turns.
Air will flow into the struts when the LE tube is put under extra pressure, and then it will flow back when that pressure is reduced = a soggy feeling kite.
Clip em off, the other obvious reason is if you get a main valve blow out, you don't lose air in the whole kite.
Cya and
Goodwinds
Steve
i don't mean to be a negative nancy... but steve, your sign off of see ya and good winds... does not farken work.... we have not had good wind for ages... maybe you should try.. cya and pray for good winds.. or.... cya and sacrafice a virgin for good winds.... and seeing some of the guys working in the dolls shop, surely you got an oversupply there... or cya and if we get good winds i'll eat my own poo....
I fly the Riot by Core Kites. It has the seals but I very rearly use them. I have never had an issue I guess it is just one more thing to think about setting up and down. Have you seen these kites Steve?
I think i will seal them from now on. Maybe just a trial.
Cause as a matter of fact, the other day i did pop a valve and was lucky enough to make it to shore with a waterlogged kite. If the struts were sealed, it would've been easier.
And Steve, i do know this 'spongy' response you talk of. Didn't get it when i pumped the kite up to 13psi but that was back breaking to do.
So i will give it a shot.
Stay classy San Diego
if your not gona seal ur kites off,take the clips of and give them to me... id love to seal my kite off.. stops damage to the struts from massive crashes as the struts arnt as re inforced as the LE and all the force pushes the air into the struts. and when a valve opens up ur kite still floats.. trust me swimming in with a completely deflated kite is not easy!
I have flown my 13m Ozone edge clipped and unclipped and there is a difference in how the kite performs it feels soft if you don't clip them up ....it is only subtle but I think the bigger the kite the more important to close the valves ....my 9m edge will be here in a couple of days so I will be able to confirm this.
I was going to reply to this topic earlier and say that i never bother to clip up my clips as they all end up coming undone anyway (08 Airush Flow 7m) but i didnt.
Although when i went out today, i clipped them up simply becuase of what i read on this post.
But i was right. They DO indeed come unclipped. And co-incidentally, i had a hose pop off of my c rap-a rse one pump system and i had to do my first self-rescue today at safety bay. I'll abreviate by saying it was an entertaining and educational experience trying to drag a fully deflated and waterlogged kite 100m back to shore. I havent even started to untangle my lines yet.
Does anyone else have this problem with the clips coming undone? Or has anyone ever had hoses pop off before? Apparently it also happened once to the guy who sold me the kite.
