Power Kite Forum

Proper inflation

rofer - 19-6-2015 at 07:51 AM

In the few times I've taken on my Flysurfer Cronix I'm pretty sure I've under-inflated it, but I'm scared to pump it up too much and pop the bladder. If I recall correctly the kite recommends being inflated to 7psi with 8psi listed as the maximum. I usually just pump it up until everything feels fairly rigid and I start worrying about popping it.

However, the fancy pump it comes with claims to switch over from double to single action at around 5.8psi and I've never gotten this far. I'm thinking next time I pump it up I make sure I keep pumping until a bit past when the pump switches to single action.

However, I'd really appreciate any heuristics people have to share, especially if they relate to the FS Cronix specifically. I wish I could just pump until the pump won't go down any more, but apparently this pump is rated to almost 12psi.

vaultingbassist - 19-6-2015 at 08:15 AM

Here's how I think of it: any time you crash, the pressure in that section the leading edge is higher than what you've inflated it to. These kites are designed to take some amount of force from the outside, so I think it's safe to consider the pressure from inflation to be quite a bit below what they've designed it to handle.

rofer - 19-6-2015 at 08:26 AM

True, but I don't want to overinflate it on land to have it end up farming on a crash it should have survived. I definitely want to son for the 7psi recommended, but I've heard pressure gauges generally aren't very accurate with kites and my pump deficient didn't have one.

vaultingbassist - 19-6-2015 at 09:48 AM

Yeah, absolutely, the more inflated it is the more it'll pressurize in a crash. I'm still new so don't have much more to offer, but one of the guys I kited with made a good point about how when the kite gets wet, the fabric stretches or gets weighed down (or something) and then looks less inflated. Things to keep in mind if you know you aren't close to over-inflating but you feel you should stop :).

PHREERIDER - 19-6-2015 at 11:01 AM

drum tight , solid to touch, nice ring tone when thumped. once it starts pressurizing, the valves in pump will start snapping shut at every stroke, clearly audible difference.

Some kites are sensitive to lack of pressure , mostly only detectable to super hard redirects/jumps.


get a gauge and test it if you doubt or can't tell. even with a gauge you still need to touch and feel so once gauge starts failing you'll know the difference. once you can recognize a solid pump the gauge will be just decoration



RedSky - 19-6-2015 at 01:56 PM

The kite should not fold when stood up onto it's wing tip.

rofer - 19-6-2015 at 02:00 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky  
The kite should not fold when stood up onto it's wing tip.

It definitely doesn't, which is what makes me worry about pumping it up more. The main bladder feels really solid and it takes some force to bend. However, the pump still feels like it's double action and at least once I've had the kite feel a little too flexible up in the air.

RedSky - 19-6-2015 at 02:56 PM

Quote: Originally posted by rofer  
Quote: Originally posted by RedSky  
The kite should not fold when stood up onto it's wing tip.

It definitely doesn't, which is what makes me worry about pumping it up more. The main bladder feels really solid and it takes some force to bend. However, the pump still feels like it's double action and at least once I've had the kite feel a little too flexible up in the air.


Perhaps inflate using the standard valve. The double action may switch over using the narrower intake.

Bladerunner - 19-6-2015 at 04:40 PM

Around here the water is cold so if you pump up on a hot beach and then your kite hits the cold water pressure goes down. The opposite can happen and bladders pop sitting in the sun. Like Phree' suggests a flick of the finger should ring on the drum tight skin.

Proletariat - 30-7-2015 at 11:56 PM

I pump mine up until I really have a hard time pumping and then I pump about 5 more times. That is typically about 6.5-7psi on my gauges. It makes me uncomfortable every single time, but to Chad's point, it should ring like a drum. The leading edge is rock solid, but I've found that squeezing a strut is a much better indicator. If it feels squishy, pump it up more.

Proletariat - 30-7-2015 at 11:58 PM

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky  


Perhaps inflate using the standard valve. The double action may switch over using the narrower intake.



I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that. :). I miss the high diameter pump situation so much. And, even worse, the 2013 North Rebel has the damn deflate valve on the wingtip!!!

propylene22 - 1-8-2015 at 09:11 PM

Dude I hate the wingtip deflate valve. But the thing to do is roll up the side opposite the deflate first. Then close the deflate and roll that side up pushing out through the inflate valve. That way you can just start pumping without having to unroll to the deflate the next go round.