so, had my first ride on my venom 13 on the water, only third time on the water with the board, and did quite well but after a good while of riding, took a tumble and the kite hit the water. It wasn't even that hard, but the spar pocked must have been a bit loose cause it opened and the spar fell out. I did some looking up and guys said to look for tent poles with the same diameter, so I did so - not bad - $6 to put one replacement together.

But, during my search, some guys said they used bamboo!! Anybody use bamboo for spars? Would it work for on the water too? If it works without catastrophically breaking into sharp pieces to damage the kite further, I'll probably carry around 2 for spares.

i dunno but i want the psycho in your avatar

Untreated bamboo will swell and crack in water. I assume the same would be true of any water it absorbed hydroscopically if it is not stored in a "cool, dry place."

It is very strong, but if you are going that route, I would start checking into places where they specialize in prepping it and supplying it. Among other things, I expect there is a grading process, where weak, damaged or those lengths with flaws (like knots) are discarded. Also talk to them about what you are going to be using it for. It's quite possible that bamboo in a diameter that fits the length and diameter of the spar pockets might not be viable. I assume it will not be collapsible.

Periodic inspection for wear/degradation would also be recommended as failure when it happens is fairly spectacular.

ATB,
Sam

Long story short, don't use bamboo.

You're headed in the right direction with the tent poles, those work like an absolute charm. I'm trying to remember where I got mine, but they were super cheap and so were the aluminum end caps for 'em... I could find the thread with the link to the site if someone really wanted me to... You choose the specific diameter you want and everything. I used them for my 13m Venom.

@Seanny: Looks like you got them from Quest Outfitters in this thread:

http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?fid=35&tid=...

ATB,
Sam

I like the idea of trying bamboo. It's proving to be quite a kickass material for bikes (http://www.calfeedesign.com/products/bamboo/) and I imagine if you could source it, proprerly sealed, it would work quite well. Untreated would probably work for my purposes.

But tent poles and snow plow markers are a quick, dirty and inexpensive fix.

Houston, yup, really like the p4 (except for small space landboarding)...don't worry, your $ is safe, it's stayin' put for a long time time yet.

I actually found easton tent poles at the local camping store, so *exactly* the same poles that were in my kite before (they were replaced before I got the kite, they were collapsible though). The guy at the store even had a pipe cutter in the back, and did it up for me - nice! The new piece is just 2 pieces instead of 3, and of course doesn't come apart cause I didn't install the elastic cord - I still have to find end caps locally too. So, almost there and for $6, that's not bad.

About bamboo, check this out...
http://forum.kitecrowd.com/kite-landboarding/peter-lynn-spar...
haha, the 2nd guy said his used venom was sold to him with bamboo spars! I would be asking some questions if I found bamboo in my kite, but hey, seems to work for them.

Ya, Indigo, probably not so great for the water. Maybe only a land alternative. Just wanted to see if anyone had heard of it or tried it out. The guy in the first post seems to think it's the best thing next to sliced bread.

Did somebody say BAMBOO?!?!?! :singing::singing::singing:

I got to agree with the guys above. I'm not deep enough into kites yet to know exactly what your talking about, but I do play with bamboo all the time and when it does finally snap/shatter, it can have really sharp edges. I've cut my self a few times on edges.

Spare tent poles would be a lot better because when they shatter the edges are a lot smoother (I have had them shatter as well).

Like mentioned above, bamboo bikes are looking pretty cool right now.
I just want one of these:

spar fell out , wow hard to imagine. bamboo will break , oak will break.


fiber glass tubes, cheap and durable and easy on the weight. salt water tolerant
1/2" hollow at about 8 ft for $15. i have a few sets with 3+ years and a mountain of ocean time. never had one break , or fall out.

Angus has the supreme after market custom Aluminum.

there are some epoxy resin very stiff, the old 3pc. where resin i think , may be glass.,, anyway when they break when any of break they are modderphuckers to get out.

When one does not care about collapsible sticks, Aluminum 6061-T6 tubing 3/8"OD x .06" or .09" wall thickness is the way to go.
They will not break, bend maybe, in that case just take them out and straighten them over the knee.
For salt water contact, just spray it with few coats of cleat urethane and you are ready to go, don't forget, rubber end plugs !.
If plugs not available, duct tape or electrical tape will work as well.

Thanks Sam! Yeah, that's the one. Super easy to order, super cheap, and got here within 4 days or so. I had some initial concern that the tent poles would bend inside the pockets under stress, causing the kite to be slow and non-responsive, but they really do work perfectly. I cut them down to size and connected them like you normally would with the male end into the open end, no epoxy or anything required. Then you just put the end caps in, bounce them on concrete a few times to make them snug, and you're good to go.

Seriously, I am into green alternatives to 'standard' engineering materials. But bamboo in lieu of carbon fiber, glass, or aluminum spars for a kite that uses maybe 40-50 sq. meters of petroleum based fabric? At least in a bike frame it replaces a significant percentage of material...

krumly