Not being a horsey person, I originally read of these in context of the Paraskiflex. The Paraskiflex harness was said in one forum to have a simple, effective release that slides along a heavy line that is attached at the hips and does well with side loads. The guy who sells those eBay homemade crossover bars also incorporates one (it must be a Canuck thang). :wink2:

The one I got is 4.5", quite rugged, quite inexpensive...and quite heavy - too much to try as a Red Hat safety substitute. But maybe it's a good Wichard substitute. The slide is not too easy to pull back (maybe a good safety feature). But some have expressed concern that sand could get in them.

What is also unique about them is that the slide release is not part of the load bearing mechanism. They were originally made to hold back or quickly release horses - so can probably handle any power kite load.

As a side note, half the Wiki info on these is about it's apparent use in the underground B&D culture.
(So, just remember NOT to shout your "safe word" when you are catching air at 30 feet!) :singing:

looks interesting... i imagine its better than a pin-style since the release mechanism should not be as load bearing. I could imagine some load pushing up on the relase plate, but not much. I can't tell if there a divit by the release platewhich would allow less sand to getin but there is still a large area that could clog. But i do like that it's a push-away style. The winchard is just such a good release mechaimsm is that style... it's not cheap... and it may not seem worth the price... until you need it. I've never actually had to use my release but if I did I'd want it to work 100 percent of the time. I recently saw a guy dragged near a fallen tre cause his QR didn't work, scary shiz. But anyway, what's the price? :D

The slide release is normally pulled toward you, away from the latches, tho' I guess you can flip it. The slide also has a spring that keeps it pushing forward. Since most style slides are open a bit on both sides, I guess debris could get in there. The paraskiflex is meant for snow kiting, so dry dust or sand is probably not an issue with them.

Price? It's practically a commodity with a variety available - you can prob.buy 10 of these for the price of one wichard!

I don't like the fact that I can't find one that has a rated load limit and is made of stainless steel. Also ran across this in my searches.

http://www.kite-enterprises.com/articles/tow_release_wars.ht...

Quote:

There was a strongly worded discussion on the hang glider discussion list about tow releases. I've watched this thread with some interest. I train quite a lot with tow, and at various points in the training, I have used many types of release.

Quote:

Incidentally, the Panic Snap Release has been used since the early days in towing with some success, but most panic snap releases are cast from pot metal and not very strong. Further, they require positive tension to operate one handed. Keep that in mind if you use one. Keep pulling until the rope is LOOSE.

I can share some of those reservations. There are some much more expensive models, tho I don't know if that's from marketing or using S. steel.

I don't know if anything is normally rated for limit load in the equine industry ("horsepower?"), but the guy in the vid uses one like mine to release a (levered) 500 lb load.

You would normally only need to use this IN a positive tension kiting situation. Actually, without tension, you can flip it and push the rear against something like your harness, and the holding pin should then drop from gravity.