Does anyone know of an affordable, convenient, commercially available solution for increasing the padding on control handles? I'm going to look into getting some sailing or weight lifting gloves for a little padding in the fingers; but if that isn't enough, is there something I can add to the handles themselves?

I was thinking of perhaps a neoprene or foam tube that could slip over the cylindrical handle...

By the way, what do you think of these gloves? Overkill? http://www.sportsunlimitedinc.com/harmenbiggri.html

What handles are you using now. Do they have padding.

As for gloves a lot of us are using sailing gloves and they work fine.

Susan

Hey GulfSandEater,

The last question still matters... What kind of padding do your handles have now?

Typically I find the padding to be more an aid when winding my lines back onto the handles.
When flying my hands are on the top of the handles with the top lead coming out between my index and middle fingers.
The rest of my hand, while touching the handle, does not grip the handle.
Occasionally a fingertip will touch to add a bit of bottom line stall to aid in quick steering.

I'd suggest quite a few solutions; Starting with pipe insulation or a pool noodle wrapped in gaffer tape or handlebar tape.

I've found the sailing gloves to be too tight for desert comfort.
I prefer Metolious Climbing fingerless gloves.
All leather with triple padding on the palm and the web between thumb and index finger.
$24.95 at a local climbing shop.

If you ever have the potential to use these gloves with a running line, like with big single-liners, remember that the rubber pads will melt with friction.
They don't melt and fall away - Oh No - They melt to your palm.

All synthetic materials have this potential so be cautious.
Notice the difference between gloves made for gripping (like weightlifting and bicycle gloves) and gloves intended to handle ropes and lines.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

The handles have a rubber tube on the metal that resembles a radiator hose (these are the Pansh handles). It seems to be more for slip-resistance than padding as there is very little give. I'm holding the handles as you describe, Corey, so most of the pull is on my fingers, not my palms. I'm looking for something that will provide some cushion or padding to the fingers in addition to skin protection from the top lead, etc.

When I imagine pipe insulation or pool noodle, I think of larger 4-6 cm diameter foam. This seem large to me. Would you try to compress it down using the gaffer / handlebar tape?

Thanks for the input!

Just guessing, you're probably flying pretty powered up, I'm guessing you're also not using a harness to take the strain.

Anything soft enough to be really comfy will also make it harder to hold on to. It might be time to start considering a harness if you've got good kite control and want extended powered up flying sessions.

I've got foam handle bar padding, the type you'd use on a 10 speed comes four to a pack, which is similar to the pipe insulation but the diamater is perfect for most of the handles I've used. Its comfy and grippy but you'll need to cut your leaders off depending upon where they exit your handle. A bit of a pain but very effective if you don't want to just buy new handles. The 3 sets of handles I have redone in this fashion are my favorite for comfort and fit / grip.

If you want to add padding onto what you have; you could use a bicycle handle grip tape; or tennis racket handle grip tape, these will add more padding, without loosing grip - possibly increasing grip.

Pablo, that's right--it's pretty powered up and I'm not using a harness. I try to rest my hands by bringing the kite to the zenith or out to the edge of the window; but after about 15 minutes of mixed flying (into and out of the power) my hands are getting pretty sore. My goal is to move toward buggying, so maybe now is the time to consider the harness as you mentioned.

Also, thanks for the ideas of the bicycle grip or tennis grip...I've got a gel grip on my tennis racket that I imagine could feel pretty comfy on the handles. Think I'll give this a go with some gloves until I can get into a harness.

Also, I'm sure there are plenty of discussions of harnesses with handles on the PKF; would someone mind linking one that would be helpful for just starting out? I saw some pictures/discussions of people's handles, strops (?), pully wear, etc, but I don't understand how the whole setup is assembled and how it works in principle. :puzzled:

<newb alert! :o> Does a "strop" connect the back of the lead lines to a hook or pully on the harness so that you can slide lead-line tension back and forth from one hand to the other?

I'll move the harness discussion over to another active thread (http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=4059).

Thanks everyone for the padding tips.

The brits call it a "strop" I call it a strap but yes it is the line that connects the two handles to use with a harness.

You might want to check out the shop where I got my seat harness. It is in Clear Lake on Nasa Road 1 HYW 528 off of I-45. From Houston exit and go east. I can not remember the shop name other than it was on the north side of the street. Buggy people use a seat harness and most will have a roller on the spreader bar. Some use a hook but that justs eats through the strap and you have to replace it a lot.

Susan

Thanks, Susan. Hey, you need to bring your kites and buggy over here to San Luis Pass. I've been out the last three or four weeks and the weather has been perfect. Nice, steady 10-12 mph off-shore wind, mid to upper 80's temps, partly cloudy to sunny. I'm suprised there haven't been more kiters out...

You just have to watch out for people (drunks?) on four-wheelers cutting from the shore to the dunes. One guy drove over my lines yesterday while I was practicing braking to the deck...while the controls were my hands! :o Thank God the lines were low enough to the sand that he didn't drag the kite (or me!!) down the beach!

I won't be able to make it the next couple weekends, but I definitely plan on going out the end of August and September!

With the rain and bad weather it is not worth the 5 hour trip for me. I am waiting for the crowds to thin out like the rest of the local buggyers. I have been able to make a few trips to the beaches over here in Louisiana. There are two places where we can buggy. One with the winds coming out of the south and the other with winds out of the south east so I have been able to buggy some.

I am glad that the info about the harness was helpfull. That is why using a harness you can buggy for hours without stopping and only have to use sailing gloves for comfort.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Susan

The PANSH handles are your problem ! They are about 1/2 the diameter of any other handles I've seen. I am not suprised they are uncomfortable. You should be able to buy decent new handles for about $20. Many folks prefer not to use the handles ( or lines ) that come with Pansh.

The line looks suspect but the handles are a joke. I unwound the lines and checked that the lengths were ok, but would never launch a kite with those handles. I got some handles and kite killers from Angus at coastal wind sports.