just wondering if this has happened to anyone....they snapped today while flying my legend 5.5 in 12mph winds.....anybody know what would be the best brand of kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s? i used a pair of flexifoil today and my guess is their probably about as good as any......

I had a brand new set of HQ Killers snap on me flying my crossfire back in December or January. I have read another post on here about other peoples killers snapping also. I think this is just one of the risk we take when doing this sport (addiction). I have also tried the flexi killers. IMHO the flexi's are a bit more comfortable than the hq's. I am still new to this sport and have not had the opportunity to tried any of the rest of the brands of killers, so I cant really speak as to which is the best to use.

That's happened to me with my old crossfire M1 .....HQ Replaced them for free and i got better and stronger ones with bungee. Are they the bungee??? if not then thats what ya need. Once they got replaced i never had a problem:bouncy:

Quote:

Originally posted by dgkid78 HQ Replaced them for free and i got better and stronger ones with bungee. Are they the bungee??? if not then thats what ya need. Once they got replaced i never had a problem:bouncy:

My HQ killers are an older version with thin black cord (1.5 - 2 mm?) connecting to the kite, they work but I've never used them in anger, not sure I would want to with a fully powered biggish foil... I use the flexi killers (sometimes...) with my aces and the blade, the bungee on those is thick stuff (5 or 6 mm?) and does the job. If HQ is replacing with bungee, well... something to look into!

I had an Ozone kite killer snap on my 3.5 IMP trainer. I have had my own home made kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s snap too. My own were attached at the handles and not far enough forward. I learned that when I bought some real ones. I am hoping my new ones won't break but they are not even as thick as the ozone one. I recently was forced to let go and did with just one hand. That worked pretty well. I am wondering how they will work with a strop.:puzzled:

My new ones that just snapped on me were the bungee ones from HQ. But I have not contacted them to see if they would replace them or not. Not to worried about it, they were part of the package for my 1.8m Beamer. I also have a set of the old one like Furb described and they are still going strong fer now. Thinking of taking the straps from the HQ's and replace the bungee cord with some of my strop line and see how that does for a temp fix for now.

In my opinion, the kite killers that came with my Crossfire II are as good as any I've ever seen. As a last chance safety, you really don't want to be attached to your handles with 3000 lb cord. If you wrap a kite killer around a buggy tire and it keeps wrapping, the bones in your arm are the weak link with strop cord on your kite killers. Replace any old ones with that thin cord but you can't go wrong with current models. Nothing wrong with Flexi or Peter Lynn either. Peter Lynn has a nylon sleeve covering the bungee and they are somewhat shorter than HQ or Flexi killers. I'm not sure where the weak link is in them though.

ive had no complaints with the Peter Lynn ones. Ozone ones are good too.

i bought a couple sets of PLs from RIP. they seem OK (not broke any yet but never went out in nutso wind). they are a tad short for some reason. they put a wee little tension on brake line leader(s). i suppose one could attach them closer to handle end but that would be limiting their usefulness?
*me and brother snapped a few bungee type HQs in 60-70 Kp/h wind with 2m and 3m kites. figured i'd have to toss them until i saw wolfee's HQs. i thought he simply snapped and then replaced the bungee with some thin black string/chord. that's what i'll do once i find out what type of chord it is.
*i'd say flexi's are the best i've seen though.
Paul

Heres a picture of what happened when my HQ kite killers snapped.

http://s431.photobucket.com/albums/qq35/dylanj423/Kites%2020...

No more HQ for me. Besides Flexifoils stuff is way more comfortable, too. No experience with other brands of KS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s

i dont want to start a war but consider this, if its so windy that you cant land the kite by braking, or are expecting to encounter an emergency situation maybe you should pack up or choose a smaller kite.

the only real safety system on a kite is your brain, and your ability to let go of the handles with nothing else connected to your body, instead of risking being yanked around by an kite you can no longer control.

3.2 m kite in 15-20 mph wind... seems reasonable to me.

I have flown the same size kite in wind just as high with different control gear. The gear that day sucked, and I payed the price.

No war piku, just discussion. It depends on the situation, the pilot, etc.. In light of my own recent accident, there are a lot of things that can be learned from any failure mode. I agree completely that our brains are the best safety device but when the stuff really hits the fan, it is the poorly learned skills that we forget first. Having an option to bail with out risking sending hundreds of dollars worth of gear off into the sticks is well worth the little extra cash for the right kind of safety gear. KS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s, the right kind of QR for a strop setup, etc..

I broke a pair of HQ kite-killers myself one day. Was flying a 3-meter kite in 15-20mph winds. Big gust snatched the handles out of my hands and broke a killer. Didnt pull me out of the buggy or anything, just broke the killer. Not a big deal to me personally. I just grabbed another one out of my bag and put it on. Kite was a bit of a mess, but nothing a little time couldnt fix.

good point to put away gear instead of wrecking it.
my only kk issue broke as i was sitting down into buggy. butt wasn't lined up with seat and i stumbled a bit. thought i'd be smart and let go of the kite instead of possibly having it hammer straight into the ground. KK may have been weakened (wrapped once too many times around axle)? i've had and seen kite snatched from hands but never broke a KK that way. only speaking for myself though

Dude, kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s or not your kite in that tree sucks. How did you get it back? Wow, I can't belive so many people have broke kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s. I have Flexi one's and have put them through alot w/ no problems. Where are they breaking at? Is the cord snapping or comming apart from the wrist strap?

Quote:

Originally posted by Sthrasher38 Dude, kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s or not your kite in that tree sucks. How did you get it back?

I can answer that question for Dylan

I called him up to see if he was going to fly the next day, and he told me about his KKs breaking and the kite flying into the tree. He also mentioned that he'd already called HQ to complain and that they were going to send him a replacement kite at a discount.

Then he told me that I could KEEP THE KITE IF I COULD GET IT DOWN :frog::roll::o:tumble:

I told him I'd get it down for him, but he insisted I keep it if I got it down so...


FREE KITE?!?!?! OF COURSE I was gonna get it down :D :D
http://i43.tinypic.com/2prsodj.jpg

The bridles were REALLY tangled in the branches..
http://i40.tinypic.com/oiylnk.jpg

At this point, some chick yelled 'IT'S NOT WORTH YOUR LIFE!!':
http://i41.tinypic.com/34zyrug.jpg

GOT IT! Tossed it down to Frank..:
http://i43.tinypic.com/23h1yqq.jpg

People in the park cheered for me when I tossed it down, then I had a little family clap for me when I hopped off the tree, so I took a bow

It took a while to untangle all the bridles, but here it is all nice and clean:
http://i42.tinypic.com/1zlbvjl.jpg
Not one rip in the canopy, not one torn bridle. Flawless victory!

Back in business:
http://i40.tinypic.com/2dcid11.jpg

And here it is with a buddy :D
http://i40.tinypic.com/m9prhw.jpg

I later gave it to my buddy Frank with a brand new set of Ozone lines+Ozone handles for his birthday and to get him into the sport.

Excellent!! Glad to hear you made it out safe and used the kite for a good purpose. Kiter 1, tree 0.

Quote:

Originally posted by geojones just wondering if this has happened to anyone....they snapped today while flying my legend 5.5 in 12mph winds.....anybody know what would be the best brand of kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s? i used a pair of flexifoil today and my guess is their probably about as good as any......

Can't speak for your particular situation but your HQ dealer should be able to help you out. If they were bought used with a kite, maybe HQ USA could help you. HQ KS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s have gone through a lot of changes in the last few years and the new stuff is really quite good- as god as anything out there.

yes Angus,i called hq today and they are sending me some right away!!i like to reward companies that stand behind their products and give good customer service,so no doubt i will be buying something from them soon--im thinking maybe a crossfire 6.5.....prism was also very good when a pair of straps broke.......:singing: by the way....the hq kS-P-A-M-L-I-N-K-s were brand new with the beamer 3.0 i got a while back.......

ahhh... the memories

I had to copy those photos. I still cant believe that kite made it out in perfect working order.

*end hijack*

i hate trees, however i seem to find lots because of the small park we have. probably since i want more space and push every single area i can.

the running joke around here is "i Ricky'd my kite"

however if i can put kites in trees, i've mastered how to get kites from trees.

http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z193/kitemama/?action=vie...

http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z193/kitemama/?action=vie...

(this one was the worst, best advice ask your friends to go into the thorn bushes to get your kite. the whole time i kept saying just forget the kite. Thx DS and Kitemama for getting it down)
http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z193/kitemama/?action=vie...

word of advice:

1. if its too high its not worth your life
2. poles may or may not help, and could damage your kite more
3. never pull on the "flying lines" to get your kite down, it will stretch your lines or kite bridle
4. first, remove your flying lines from the bridle ... less lines = less stress
5. if you can undo your Pigtails from the A B C lines, less connected = less snags
6. have patience

~if i'm not buggying, i'm treekiting

patience in fair winds can also help untree a kite. I've flown power kites out of trees several times... It just takes a little time to wait for it to inflate and ease the lines.

Tip of the day from HD: When flying a kite out of a tree, try to minimize how much you pull the kite with the lines. It's easier to fly a kite out if there's less branches in the way of the path it took to get in.