I have never had a kite line break. I noticed my go to kite for simplicity, power, and good upwind performance on the beach (in a buggy) is my 3 line 4m slingshot b4. It was also my most used kite in the wheat fields of Oklahoma before I moved here. Slingshot had a clearance sale a while back and was selling 3-line colored replacement lines very cheap so I bought a bunch. Now, when flying I notice a little wear in the color of the lines about 15 ft up. While walking out the lines they feel fine. I now fly sometimes when it is a little risky if something went wrong (beach with people, but never when crowded) - if a line snapped it could be bad. Any comments on how to tell if lines need to replaced to prevent an accident?

Thanks,

Jason

age, much sunlight, if a bit fluffy on some places and if you fly big and loop the kite frequently like i do in the sideride buggy.


you know your line strength and your weight total so you guess the load on everything, and not just the lines.
i've seen harness break due to wear and tear, do check all your gear
if you go out on a regular base

A picture might help. Have the lines been flown a lot, or left out in the sun? They may be fine. I'd be more worried about apparent physical wear (fuzzed up or frayed).

Single-braid Spectra and Dyneema lines often have a color coating to help protect against UV, make them more slippery, and to aid in R-L identification. The same thing is used on larger diameter single-braid lines for boats. The material can wear off - even on leather gloves if you are running lines between your fingers to sort them out.