BayAreaKiteboarding.com

Hi all... I'm finally gettin somewhere with this sport, but I need a new bar. My F-One bar is a real bear when it comes to self rescue, an acknowledged problem with the design. I've heard good things about Airush and North (in comparison with mine) and Boardsports has some North from last year (? 2012 vs 2011) on special. I'm not gonna buy blindly this time so any opinions on these bars?

Basically I need an easier self rescue.

Thanks...

Ben

(not sure if there is a specific forum for this... didnt see one)

I have tried a bunch and for me North bar is best on the market. I really don't like the plastic Airush depower handles.

What is wrong with the SR on the Airlite bar? No OSRs which sucks but that shouldn't affect SR...

What kind of kite? Some kites are designed to flag to 2 lines, some designed to flag to 1.

Make sure you get the bar compatibility sorted out before purchase mate

4 line or 5 line? Make sure the # of lines matches your kite. Not all bars work with all kites. Make sure the shop or person you buy your bar from emphatically tells you that the bar works with your kites, either from experience or by trying it out.

I'm curious too what difficulty you're having with the F-one bar during self-rescue. I'll be honest that I haven't had to self rescue on my Bandits… yet. Are you riding an F-one kite because they flag to two lines on all the bandits as far as I understand, though I'm not sure about the volt. Flagging to two lines with a kite designed for one probably isn't very safe, and even in light winds may be very difficult to wrap up.

Let's be real. Get a slingshot comp stick.

Best Redline 2012 bar. Super easy to punch out and then recover and reset.

Let the hating begin....

I've got a North 2011 bar with 20m lines or 2012 with 20m or 25m lines. All used moderately for $250 each.

sc-surfer wrote:Best Redline 2012 bar. Super easy to punch out and then recover and reset.

Let the hating begin....

Yeah, all you gott do is sneeze and the cuff blows right off - super ez ;)

Hey thanks for the responses. I'm not 'subscribed' somehow, so I had to look manually.

I posted here at some point about my experience. Some details: (I have a 4line kite)

But I have an F-One 11m Bandit IV (with the airlite bar), and in basically all conditions when I blow the safety and it comes down LE first (if I'm lucky), it REALLY drifts downwind and pulls like a "B**TCH" (to quote another local guy with the same kite and the same issue). I then have to really work hard to wrap the leash up. Then, in order to get the kite to "taco" and stop pulling, I have to gather up some of the front lines to the stopper ball and almost to the Y on the front lines, then I hurl out that same gathered length and even swim like mad toward the kite, and it will GRUDGINGLY roll onto its back, and finally stop pulling. If it is light wind then getting that Taco is super hard and self rescue is nearly torture.

THEN the pressures off, and I can wind up the kite and self rescue. I've literally been a few ft from the rocks on 3rd ave below the beach, BARELY getting the kite back before it is grounded. Clearly this is bad planning, but still its a real pain. I do worry that I'll be in an emergency sometime and tired or hurt, and I wont have the muscle available to do all this.

I thought maybe this was just me and my newb self, but I've heard other people say this, and then Donny from Kitopia went nearly ballistic when we were muscleing the self rescuing up on the Delta a couple months ago, so I knew it was a bigger issue. I was back up with Sandy 2d ago, had an AMAZING session up there (still not beach launching though), and she agreed, and recommended something like an Airush. I guess with that type of bar (or the North) there is some kind of elastic connection or way that the front safety lines can have unequal tension in the rescue, thus allowing the kite to flag out and not start the pulling game?? I'm not sure on the details but maybe someone knows? I'm happy to adjust my Airlite bar if someone has suggestions. On the other hand the single push away safety of the non-FOne bars is tempting, as they look much safer.

Comments and suggestions are welcome. The 2011 North bar for $330 sounds like a pretty good deal, but I'm happy to consider other things.

Thanks.
Ben