Can I use my HQ Montana V bar with a PL arc or LEI? Is the "tophat" safety as good as a 5th line?

Personally, I wouldnt use that bar on an LEI. It MIGHT be okay on the PL, but I dont know. If you dont have any other bar, I would look at getting a bar from the same manufactorer as the LEI you are planning on flying.

It will work... But the safety will be different.. Arcs flag out on one line, the montana just goes to the lower bridals (still 2 anchors)... I gotta assume the lei will be different too. Basically keep your bar in the same type of kite (arc, foil, or lei).. It may not always work, but it will be a better bet than switching kite types

Iirc, some older flexi tube kites used a bar that was nearly identical to your bar on the montana, not sure about the safety system on them tho

You _can_ use it; older kite safety systems worked on the side line. This approach shortens only one of the sidelines so it will depower your kite and have it drift, float sideways down wind. but given that the kite was not design to do that, it will pull some and flop around like a dead dish. Likely the kite and bar will separately twist around your lines, so the chance that you'll get your kite back up is pretty low. In contrast, Arcs will are designed to 100% depower and flag downwind. You can use the bar, but I would only consider using it if you were going to be close to shore on water and I'd be sure to test it out on land a few times first and I imagine you could easily damage your kite fabric as it's flopping around. Modern LEI/SLE's (w/o a 5th line) are intended to depower by severely shortening the center lines so that there is no side line tension and the kite sits at the side of the window for easy reconnect and relaunch.

So it might work but probably not a good idea and definitely not as safe, got it. Thanks, I'll just keep saving till I can afford a new bar too.

Saw bar and got excited...wrong bar.

*puts dollar bills away*

Ahahahaha!

Jager bombs away!

I wouldn't. Safety setup is completely different.