I routinely fly just on handles with my fixed bridled kites when using my Dirtsurfer (not much power is needed to cruise).

However, I do use a strop from time to time to rest my arms in bigger winds.

Just curious - do most of you always fly hooked in when landboarding or buggying with your FBs?

I will purposely remove stroop from harness to get a workout on my arrms and upper body. Then hook back in. Great therapy for a permanent shoulder tear that is catalyst for shoulder dislocations. Shoulder has never been stronger and less incidents of dislocation.

Safety wise....in very strong gusty winds you can also let go of a handle(s) in bad situation( Like kite gets 'behind you' and pulls violently at same time)....which you can't do hooked into harness by stroop line..... w/kite killers or not. I thought originally when I started the sport I would be using Kite Killers for safety.. but they are not going to do anything if you have hooked into your harness and you can't pull back to pop out stroop line. So I never use them.
I also like the wider range of position I can angulate upper to lower body(hips actually)to work kite unstrooped.

:wee::o:wee::o:wee::roll:

Joe,

When I was on handles I generally hooked in for the straight runs and unhooked for the turns or when the winds were bumpy.

The better the quality and consistancy of the wind the more I stayed hooked. Whenever it got a little dicey, I always unhooked.

I started without a strop, but I got better when I started flying hooked in. For some reason it helped me to keep tension on the lines. But to agree with B-Roc, when the wind is shifty gusty I unhook...
I don't unhook during turns as most do and as a result there are times where I'm two inches out of the seat while turning...

Quote:

Originally posted by skimtwashington I thought originally when I started the sport I would be using Kite Killers for safety.. but they are not going to do anything if you have hooked into your harness and you can't pull back to pop out stroop line.

That is why you use a Quick Release, pop it and the whole rig is gone.

Ditto stroped in with quick release , static and in the buggy. I won't let the kids strop in though they survive jumps/supermans better when just hanging from the handles and when hit hard by a gust the handles get ripped out of their hands, like a built in weaklink.

Personal preference viewpoint here, but I never use strops... Nebraska is too dangerous with out chop and punch gusts.... Ive only been in a true dangerous situation with my kites once, and I was stropped with no QR, and it hurt! I count myself as lucky cuz I had no lasting damages, but it was a bad day, and every time I feel the kite grab me that way, im happy im not stropped!

Nothing against em, but I cant use em in my winds



Arcs ftw!!

I spent the first summer without a strop but all my handle sets now have them so I would much rather fly hooked in. I find it gives me much better control. Flying hooked in keeps your centre of gravity lower. You always know where your pull is coming from and can shift your weight faster to counter gusts. When flying unhooked on my ATB I often face planted when hit by a gust while turning because my arms would go up and I would get pulled off balance.

I only run the strop through the quick release too. Then there are no surprises from coming unhooked when a lull is followed by a gust and you can always release the kite when you need to.

Depends on wind and where I'm riding really. Static or small field flying I go without the strop but if I'm somewhere like Jekyll, I hook in for the long runs.

I always ride unhooked when riding my FB's. In my gusty and holey inland conditions, I like knowing that I can release as quickly as possible and nothings as fast as just letting go. Also, I found that with a strop it limited my range of motion in my conditions.

Guys a question to throw into this meld.

Was reading a post somwewhere was basically about buggy speed PBs the qualifier being unhooked or no harness runs

Has anyone done so

I have a PB of 66 klicks using a 2.5 Rage on killers

I am a FB race kite guy and I pretty much always fly stroped. I like to fly heavily powered and I just don't have the strength to fly for more that 10 minutes unstroped. After that I start hanging out of the downwind side of the buggy and increasing loose the ability to control the kite and well as I would like.

I am spoiled and blessed with mostly clean coastal winds and I don't often have to deal with gusts that require the kite to be killed. In these conditions flying stroped greatly increases my ride time and enhances fine kite control.

I do not use a QR, they did not exist when I started and have done fine without one so far. The few times I really had to kill the kite in an emergency situation I have reached up and grabbed both break line and pulled them in.

Quote:

I will purposely remove stroop from harness to get a workout on my arrms and upper body. Then hook back in. Great therapy for a permanent shoulder tear that is catalyst for shoulder dislocations. Shoulder has never been stronger and less incidents of dislocation.

Flying kites is a lot like working out with kettle bells. When I started flying bigger kites, I was sore in the same ways I was when I started kettlebells. Both of these types of exercise keep the chronic shoulder pain I had for years at bay. I fly handles primarily.
James

in my opinion strops are the worst idea ever. they make me nervous as hell. there is just so may different ways you could get tangled up in one. when flying a FB i prefer to just get sore muscles.

There is no way I could ride on the lakebed as powered as I do without being stropped in. It's the difference in riding a 2m kite or a 3.5 or so. No way you could edge against the power a kite makes at 50+ mph while holding it in your hands, unless you are just doing a run to prove you can. The strop lets you ride that powered for hours instead of minutes. I have the strength to slide my buggy sideways for long distances with no strop, but that load is nothing like a fixed bridle kite running fast on its apparent wind.

Now put me in a light wind situation and I'll never hook in once. I need all the full control that I get with 2 handles in my hands.

I agree. Stropped in, I can go all day, but at NABX, where i forgot to pack my harness, My runs were about 15 minutes before resting for extended periods of time.

As for safety, a QR would be nice, my MG Cruzer crash was stropped with no QR. It is nice to 'Abandon Kite' on the buggy if things look too hairy. I've done that several times and with KK, you can't abandon it. on the buggy, KK just keeps it dragging behind you dragging through all the muck you probably don't want it to drag through. Better to jettison and have to chase it a little ways in my opinion....you usually have a choice on where to jettison it.

+1 for stropped in. I don't like the captive system and unhook to launch / land / try tricky stuff but 95% of the ride is hooked in.

Canuck is right on about the pull from core being an advantage.

I not only ride hooked in but try to hold my handles " bar " style. Doing almost all turns using only brake input. Learning this style has greatly improved my FB flying. Watch how the Dutch, Coolbreeze, Rip' and KiteGuru ride hooked in to see examples of the style I mean .

Been practicing with stroop lines but don't really need them for landboarding because I don't really need that much pull. Once I bought an Ozone Turbo Bar and dialed it in, I did not see the need for using stroop lines in the buggy.

Side Question: Has anyone extended the throw distance of a Turbo Bar line above the bar to the stopper ball? I have long arms and could use more range. With a 5m flow I added small extentions to the center/power lines for more brake turn input. With more throw this would give more brake as you could pull the bar in further?

i forgot to mention i dont buggy often....

Static, basically just playing around. flying something light, I"ll fly unhooked

The second I want to be properly powered the harness comes on. I use a fully captive pulley system with a quick release. Adjust the harness so it is so low that it barely clears the side of the buggy. Only way to go. I"m a big guy, I fly big power. Same as all the posts above, it is impossible to control it for long without hooking in. Then when you get on those nice long spirited runs, all you need to do is lock the kite in place, maybe give it a slight bump on the brake line once in a while and lay back and enjoy the ride.

I agree with Pablo. For short runs or checking a kite, unhooked. The rest of the time it is hooked in with an Automatic QR. If the A-QR is not available, Armstrong flying until my arms are to weak to hang off my shoulders.
I would never fly hooked in without a A-QR.