hey i just got a new kite and i have seem to of lost my kite killers somewhere in my house. my question is, can i use something else?
I was thinking of using my impact vest from kite boarding and just tie a piece of rope to the the handles and attach it to the vest. Would this work?
All kite killers are is a wrist strap with some rope so this should work fine correct?Kamikuza - 7-6-2011 at 05:52 PM
Look carefully at where the kite killers attach - the brake lines. Their function it to collapse the kite and drop it to the ground. If you attach to
the handles, you may or may not get the same effect.
Just buy some new ones - they're cheap. Or fly without them but take care of what's downwind.shehatesmyhobbies - 7-6-2011 at 05:58 PM
Totally agree to either buy new ones or fly and be mindful!indigo_wolf - 7-6-2011 at 06:08 PM
Going to answer this a little bit backwards.... just because it will make more sense that way. You didn't specify which kite this is, so for the sake
of argument I am going to assume the worst case scenario of you being attached to a freight train (and depending on the winds, that will be a fair
assessment of even a moderate sized kite). :o
Quote:
Originally posted by cpamieta
All kite killers are is a wrist strap with some rope so this should work fine correct?
That's not really an accurate description of most modern kite killers. The are generally a length of bungee type elastic with a woven polyester
sheath (in many cases the polyester sheath also has elastic strands so that it shortens when the bungee is not being extended). At the each end a
piece of woven cord and/or a piece of nylon webbing is sewn to the sheath to form a loop. One ended is attached to the wrist strap and the other end
is for larks heading to the brake line leaders.
When a kite is fully powered up and in a situation where you might need to use the kite killers, it's carrying a fair amount of kinetic energy. The
elastic in the kite killers absorbed some of that kinetic energy while depowering the kite. The muscles in your arms absorb the rest. To some extent
you can extend this effect by running forwards a little bit (it is generally more diginified that getting swept off your feet and being dragging like
you are escaping a bad opera).
Quote:
Originally posted by cpamieta
I was thinking of using my impact vest from kite boarding and just tie a piece of rope to the the handles and attach it to the vest.
I would be very, very careful about where on the vest you tie off. If the tie-off is not reinforced you might be greeted by the sound of ripping
seams until two or more overlaps pieces of stitched fabric meet. This might hold, but then the point at which you are being pulled won't be one of
your choosing and might pull you off balance. Since there is no elastic involved, you will be taking all or most of the energy to depower the kite.
Kite killers can be ripped off in an emergency. Some are harder to rip off because you have to feed the wrist webbing through a loop and bring it
back on itself before joining the pieces of velcro. Ozones kite killers do away with the plastic loop and add a big plastic coated orange nylon pull
loop. If you get in trouble it is probably the easiest kite killer to do a full cutaway and release the kite completely.
Without a way to quickly release the "rope" from the impact vest, the relationship between the two of you will be more of a shotgun wedding type
arrangement. You may scare some local wildlife.
Quote:
Originally posted by cpamieta
Would this work?
Maybe, maybe not... and how effectively will be determined by kite size, winds, gustiness, and tie-off point on the impact vest.
All in all, depending on where you are, ordering a spare set of kite killer might not be the worst idea. If you original ones turn up, you can keep
them in reserve. If one should break down the road, you won't have to wait for shipping transit time to keep on flying.
ATB,
Samcpamieta - 7-6-2011 at 06:50 PM
o ok thanks for the info. The kite i have is a 4 meter skydog, and the wind would be around 10-15 mph. This is going to really piss me off, last
time i saw them where in my room, but i packed everything up i think. Maybe they where in the kite cell.indigo_wolf - 7-6-2011 at 07:37 PM
Only upside is that a pair of kite killers should be available from pretty much any of the power kite dealers. If you order one from a store
relatively close to you, it should be able to go out in a small Tyvek Priority Mail envelope and you could very well have it for the weekend. Just
give an shout out to one of the dealers as early as you can tomorrow morning, so they get get it out to you during one of the early mail pickups.
ATB,
Samcpamieta - 7-6-2011 at 08:00 PM
lol thanks ill wait a few days, i am sure they are somewhere.Drewculous - 7-6-2011 at 09:03 PM
Man, I was hoping this was the "other" kite killer thread lol!
Haven't seen one of those in a while nocando - 7-6-2011 at 10:27 PM
In my opinion the best kite killers on the market would definately have to be the Peter Lynn variety as they can handle punishment and not fall to
bits.
I have used flexifoil killers and they suck because, the stitching on the bungee cord is not strong enough to handle punishment, and comes undone,
then you have to find an industrial sewing machine to affect the repairs.
Go with PL killersBladerunner - 8-6-2011 at 04:52 PM
If you are relying on kite killers then you need to rethink the location you are flying at , the wind speed you are flying in or your choice in
dealing with power. Just letting go is good at 1st but eventually you need to learn to handle / kill power without letting go.
Killers are a great aid when learning but there are many ways to kill the power in your kite that don't include Killers. If you have the right winds
and location I think it would be a shame to lose valuable fly time waiting for a set?
Please don't read into this that I don't think kite killers are good for beginers and sensitive locations. They are.cpamieta - 9-6-2011 at 06:18 PM
o ok I just don't want my kite to fly away if i fall or something lol. I am used to flying a bow kite with the bar. If I let the kite go, would it
just collapse and eventually fall down? Don't want to be chasing it for a mile or something lol.Kamikuza - 9-6-2011 at 06:29 PM
