Anyone have one of these and had safety issues with them? Helped someone launch their 2012 Trigger the other week, seemed to be going all right so I walked off, took a few steps and the next minute he was in the bushes. He was pretty green but it looked like the chicken loop had slipped the hook even though he had put the donkey dick in. Luckily he let go the bar in time or he could have ended up on the road.
Didn't think too much about it till I took my fat lady for a spin and the same thing happened to me. Had been kiting for about an hour when the bar exploded out of my hands, gave me a cracking bruise on my left hand. When I retrieved the bar the chicken loop was still intact.. Wtf?!
I had always thought the 2012 bar quality was crap with the "Made in China" quality quick release which is actually pretty damn hard to release and the lines which seem to debraid just by looking at them. Aparently the new bar solves some of these issues but that doesn't help people soaking up the old stock.
I have had two blade kites and have never had a problem with unhooking unintentionally. Kite quality is pretty good. I would admit the quality of the bar probably isn't on par with your top tier brands North/Ozone etc etc but you get what you pay for I guess. You might need to get a longer chicken loop for your type of harness??
Yeah I love the kite, well made and flies great for a 17 meter. Good point you raise but now I think about it, the issue might be the chicken loop is too long for my hook? Stretches out under big load due to the hook being a little narrower than usual (dynabar), so the donky dick pops out, then bit of slack on the line and out she comes... Makes perfect sense.
I meant to say you might need to get a longer donkey dick (for your FAT LADY), but I think you got the picture :)
The chicken loop is make of rope (dyneema) this has stretched.
Take the loop off a replace with wire. Local boat shop can make this up for you. Get a bit of black tube from bunnings to cover the wire.
This will solve the problem. I have done this a couple of times because I don't trust the rope.
Dyneema is very strong but when it wears it breaks without warning.
We will have the new bars back in stock soon if you are interested in upgrading, Blade have done a lot of things to improve the 2013 over last seasons system.
The way they are spliced and stitched is what has caused it to stretch.
No photo, sorry.
It's just 1/8 wire looped at each end swagged. Black tube to cover.
Spectra would work as well.
Dl33ta i have not found any issue's with the bar yet, its comfy and does everything as advertised! i would like to see a sliding stopper ball added and maybe a bungee on the safety line to take up some slack when you ride really depowered.
all the parts seem to be holding up well to the use and abuse i give it and the other riders demoing it. The 2012 bar and lines needed a big overhaul and IMO they did a very good job addressing all the issue's the customers were talking about on the forums and what the dealers asked for.
if you have not seen it there is a small vid in the other thread.
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/Review/Blade-trigger-2013/?page=2
I just bought two Blade Triggers second hand,but I cannot find any info on how to water relaunch,I would like to understand that procedure for this kite before using them,thanks.
Any video will do. They launch like any other kite.
Roll the bar pull the top line, BOOM off it goes.
9 out of 10 this would happen due to some slack in the center lines, i.e when launching your kite....
The chicken loop gets loose and drop from the hook, only being held by your donkey dick that will start to crook with the power as your kite starts moving in the wind window. Then it's just a matter of time until it pops out from the harness. As you're launching your kite just make sure your chicken loop is still into place, it will avoid this kind of issue.
Yeah I had a good look at the chicken loop last time I was out and given the length of the donkey dick it didn't seem plausible that the dyneema would stretch that much, and if it had, some of the stretch would stay in the line. However the plastic sheath still covers the entire length of the loop, which would tell you straight away if it had any stretch in it.
Quite possible the lines went slack as I had just had a stack and did the usual retard dance. Will make a note to check it next time I use that kite. Still reckon the bar isn't worthy of the kite though. Keen to try out the new one if anyone is going to demo one on the Sunshine Coast.
