After a trip to the playa I have a kite that has some leading edge fray where the stiff cell forming material meets the soft fabric at nearly every
cell seam.
I guess this just proves the playa is pretty hard on kites. Is this a typical wear location when flying on the playa?
Is there any special fix for this other than the typical sail tape etc?
A side question: how long does the average kite usually last with average usage? 1 year? 2 years? What's your experience?krumly - 2-6-2008 at 09:31 PM
I have some smaller PKD Brooza's with heavy mylar-backed dacron stiffening fabric at the front of the ribs to hold the shape. The 2m I bought used
had minimal Playa use (a few days I think), but enough to cut through the top skin in spots where it folded into the ribs at the leading edge. Playa
is abrasive, way more so than beach sand. I think really crisp ripstop doesn't help here either, as it makes for sharp creases that abrade through
easily.
I picked the seams open and sewed some dacron reinforcing triangles at the seams in those areas using a free arm machine and then closed it back up.
It was time consuming, but it works well.
Flying on grass and snow, and only making it t the coast 1x a year, I have had kites soft and limp but still flying OK after 4 years. Leading edges
are still in good shape. Ice and corn snow is hard on 'em, but nothing like playa dust.
krumlyOreBeamer - 2-6-2008 at 09:48 PM
Yeah that's where mine are splitting/fraying. Right where the rib attachments are.
Thanks for the notes.krumly - 5-6-2008 at 08:18 AM
Maybe jsut applying sticky back over the seam from the outside will be enough. You can get sticky back heavy dacron, called "insignia cloth" from
places like KiteStudio (http://www.kitebuilder.com/kitestudio.html). It is heavier than ripstop.
You could hand stitch the edges if you can't get a machine arm in there or don't want to open the trailing edge to turn the cell inside out. Seems
like a spot for companies to consider installing additional reinforcing.
krumlyOreBeamer - 5-6-2008 at 10:40 AM
Quote:
[quoteSeems like a spot for companies to consider installing additional reinforcing.
I was thinking the same thing..
I may try some of that dacron tape or ripstop tape. My sewing skills are pretty lacking I'd probably do more damage than good.
