scott540
Junior Member
Posts: 39
Registered: 26-6-2006
Location: appleton WI
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access vs montana
Hey for the same money - access 10m or Montana 7m?
I know the access isn't meant to have much lift. Using it for land boarding and skiing. 5'6" 180 pounds- slowly going down from the kite flying
stuff in the afternoons.
Also, what does a spreader bar do on a harness? All the harnesses I've looked at say spreader bar "optional". Don't you have to have one? They also
come with a knife. I'm guessing this is if you get tagled in the water?
Man, I wish there was kite shop around here.
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code
Member
Posts: 225
Registered: 23-11-2005
Location: MD
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I'm not sure what the winds are like in WI...would imagine that you get some nice stuff coming off the lakes and would imagine that the lake effect
snows are pretty nice too. With that said, remember that you'll get slightly less power with depower then fixed bridal, however, you'll have range
with the depower to go fly in multiple types of wind conditions. Do you have a fixed bridal kite?
I'll try to advise based on what I've read...but don't take this as being 100% correct..am sure someone will chime in..or hope..haha
Here goes..... a 7m depowerable kite would have the equivilent pull as a 6m fixed when powered. It's decent power, but it also all comes down to what
you want in a kite. If you're riding in the snow you can make jumps to go off of so that access may not be all that bad and may give you more range.
The montana has lift and they're great kites. Difficult choice not knowing the winds, and your kiting background.
Your next question I can help with as I have a harness and spreader bar..ha.
If you get a harness you'll need the spreader bar...so if they say optional, that means if you already have a spreader bar you can get just the
harness. If you don't then you should get one..otherwise the harness is pretty useless without it.
The spreader bar connects to the harness..basically a bar that spreads across the front of the harness (dispursing pull across your chest /waist)
with a hook like piece in the middle on it. The hook connects to the control bar by means of a chicken loop (on depowerable bars) which is attached
to lines that feed through the bar. On fixed bridal kites people hook into the spreader bar moreso to release some of the pull of the kite from their
arms then anything else. On depowerable kites, this allows you to change the angle of attack and / or power up or depower the kite (so with the
montana or access you'll need a harness and spreader bar). The knife is there to cut yourself free from the kite if for some reason you completely
loose control and are in a bad situation and can not release your harness from the bar (otherwise you'll get taken where ever the kite decides to
go..whether it be in the water or on land).
Confused?
Hope this helps a bit...
Joe
ps. A lot of us on here don't have close by kite shops and have either been self taught or got lucky and knows of someone else that kites. For the
most part we have all gone through the similar frustrations (some far worse) as yourself. Everyone on here is more then willing to help out their best
though to make things smooth for you in the learning. Just keep asking the questions.
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scott540
Junior Member
Posts: 39
Registered: 26-6-2006
Location: appleton WI
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Thanks Joe, not confusing at all. I've got 2.5 Beamer that I've had since spring and I've been riding my board around with it when the winds are good
enough. The winds here are pretty choppy so I'm looking for something better in low winds . I'm a little over an hour from Lake MI so I miss out on
the good wind. Winter is much better though. Seems like the wind is always blowing, but gusty.
As for the harness, I just thought it was strange to get a harness and spreader separately but now I can see why. Thanks.
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awindofchange
Posting Freak
Posts: 1945
Registered: 14-3-2006
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
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Mood: Awesome - totally awesome
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Another reason the spreader bars are sold seperatly is that there are several different kinds/sizes. For most people, the standard "hammerhead" style
spreader bar in the 10" range will work just fine. If you are one of the lucky skinny toothpick types (usually more for the women riders) you can
downsize the spreader bar to a 6" or if you are gravity challenged like myself you can get the larger size of 12". Not really "One size fits all".
(sizes are for the Dakine spreader bars, other manufacturers may vary in size).
Different styles are also a concern on spreader bars. Some are pivoting, some have setups for spinning leashes, some are spinning hooks, some have it
all pivoting, spinning leash, and hook. We have quite a few riders here that have swapped to the Slingshot surefire release spreader bar. This
bar has a quick release built into the hook itself which is quite nice.
So, you can purchase your harness and then get the spreader bar that will work best for your style of riding.
On a word of caution, check with the store you are ordering with because some spreaders may not fit with the dakine power clip system or vise-versa.
Hope this helps
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matthewlavin
Junior Member
Posts: 99
Registered: 16-4-2006
Location: NYC
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i have a montana 7m. i've flown it in 13mph wind and it can get you going on a board, but anything less and the kite might colapse and luff near the
edge of the window. it takes alittle more skill to fly the kite in lower winds. i usually can get air at about 15-20mph. the montana has lots o
lift. if you are not used to the power it can be intimidating, but these kites perform better when the wind is blowing. the depower is more useful
and responsive then.if you plan on boarding a bar and harness is the way to go. a little more dangerous, but the safety system on the montana works
great. always wear pads though, especially as you learn. when a foil luffs or deflates it will drop in the power zone, re-inflate and pull you over
the board down wind. if yuo can't get your feet out of the straps you'll hit yer knees and elbows.
m
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