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leash qustion

ssayre - 30-5-2014 at 06:40 AM

probably a dumb question but where should I attach the leash to my harness when I buggy. My leash is the hq leash that has a 6" long tube that says eject with arrow pointed towards me. I have been attaching it to the side of my spreader bar that attaches to the harness but last time I flew static I pulled the safety on the chicken loop and somehow the release on the leash was pulled without my input which resulted in me chasing the kite. I want to avoid this because I frequently have obstacles downwind that could snatch my kite if it goes far enough.

Demoknight - 30-5-2014 at 06:52 AM

I just clip mine to my hook spreader.

ssayre - 30-5-2014 at 06:55 AM

On the hook itself? I'm wondering if your style of leash would be better. I'm gun shy about using my safety now because I'm still not sure why my leash safety went off

BeamerBob - 30-5-2014 at 07:18 AM

You probably had bumped it earlier and it was already loose but attached before you pulled your safety. I attach my leashes to the hook.

Demoknight - 30-5-2014 at 07:28 AM

My leach is push away, and my chicken loop is pull. No real way to activate my leash release when trying for the loop safety.

B-Roc - 30-5-2014 at 09:14 AM

I attach mine to the webbing that holds the spreader bar. Reason being that spreader bars can break and welds can fail over time. If your spreader bar broke you would lose that, the leash and the kite. So mine is attached to the webbing which leaves the leash dangling off to the side but under tension the leash release is still easily accessed.

ssayre - 30-5-2014 at 10:07 AM

Quote:

I attach mine to the webbing that holds the spreader bar. Reason being that spreader bars can break and welds can fail over time. If your spreader bar broke you would lose that, the leash and the kite. So mine is attached to the webbing which leaves the leash dangling off to the side but under tension the leash release is still easily accessed.

That's pretty much where I was attaching it. Like beamerbob said, I must have loosened it somehow before I pulled the chicken loop release. I might hook it on the loop so I don't accidentally loosen it when it's to my side. I haven't used my harness enough to start breaking welds. At least I don't think. Mine looks pretty solid where it's welded on.

indigo_wolf - 30-5-2014 at 10:54 AM

If the leash becomes an issue, the latest HQ leash allows you to adjust the release tension:

As far as an attachment point, the Ocean Rodeo harness comes with a dedicated attachment for the leash.

It is a stainless D-Loop attached to a webbing loop. The is larks headed to the main bar of the spreader bar and passed through a port in the spreader bar cover. You can see it in the right hand side of this pic. Sadly, even though it comes with the harness, it isn't sold separately, to the best of my knowledge.

It's fairly easy to make something like this. All you need is a solded welded stainless steel ring from the local sailing/marine store and a continuous loop of dyneema.

Larkshead the dyneema to the stainless steel ring. You can "lock it in place" with a suitably small rubber grommet or washer from the local Home Depot/Walls.

You can then larkshead the free end of the dyneema loop to the main crosspiece of the spreader bar, leaving the stainless steel ring as the designated attachment point for your leash.

ATB,
Sam

ssayre - 30-5-2014 at 11:10 AM

That's cool. Thanks Sam. It's a shock when you see a lot of money suddenly floating downwind towards hazards. I'm going to play with my current set up a little more, but If I have another mishap i'm definitely getting a different leash. Also, I don't think it would be to hard to rig a set up like that to the webbing to clip the leash to.

RedSky - 30-5-2014 at 01:45 PM

As others have said, use the hook itself. If the leash is hooked to the side of the harness then its easy for the leash safety to become wedged into the seat with any movement potentially setting it off.

..and also a short leash is better than a long one dragging along the ground.

Demoknight - 30-5-2014 at 02:04 PM

I use a full length leash, clipped to my hook, and it is just fine wadded up and sat between my knees in the seat. No ground dragging for me. That being said, a short leash would be nice, because I can't see myself ever doing handle passes in a buggy... As long as the leash is still long enough to clip up to my rear lines for landing that is really all I need.

ssayre - 30-5-2014 at 04:58 PM

Thanks guys I will attach it to my hook. Now I just need some wind.

indigo_wolf - 30-5-2014 at 06:52 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Demoknight

I use a full length leash, clipped to my hook, and it is just fine wadded up and sat between my knees in the seat. No ground dragging for me. That being said, a short leash would be nice, because I can't see myself ever doing handle passes in a buggy... As long as the leash is still long enough to clip up to my rear lines for landing that is really all I need.

Ozone sells a short leash (no bungee)

and

PKS sells a short leash with bungee

(full size leash shown below it for size comparison)

ATB,
Sam

BeamerBob - 30-5-2014 at 07:11 PM

I like that short Ozone leash! I could home brew one of those from an existing leash I bet.

elnica - 30-5-2014 at 07:23 PM

I really like the flysurfer leash. I use it with all my kites.

You can also easily convert it to a short leash just by removing the bungee.

ssayre - 31-5-2014 at 07:41 AM

Good idea elnica. I don't see any unhooked tricks in my future so I like the idea of a shorter one.

elnica - 1-6-2014 at 08:55 PM

The bungee is good for lessening the sudden load on the line and canopy which is especially important on foil kites to avoid canopy or bridle damage. When you activate the release, all of a sudden the whole force is going on one line until the kite looses it shape a second later. It probably also helps ensure the line passes through the bar by jerking it a bit. Maybe I'm making this up.

On my slingshot LEIs sometimes my bar has a hard time going down the flag line and I jerk it a little so the kite flags out completely, I imagine the bungee does something similar, or maybe the bungee is the culprit in the first place by lessening the load.