2004/5 North chicken loop problems?

[mfremont]

Anyone else having/had trouble with the 2004 or 2005 North chicken loops?

I warrantied my first two from my 2005 kites after only a few days on the water. The long loop that slides into the red release knob bent into a "J" shape, rendering the chicken loop useless.

I have replacements, but the first one I've tried still releases inadvertently. During a recent session, it blew out six or so times within two hours. The problem seems to be that the red release knob creeps up toward the kite, and if you don't periodically stop to push it back down, at some point BAM! the chicken loop releases. Suddenly and unexpectedly, you have a kite a full power!

I think this is rather dangerous. If the chicken loop were to release while launching or landing, it could create a serious problem on a crowded or confined launch. Even if you release the bar quickly enough so that you don't get dragged or lofted by a kite suddenly at full power, a kite falling out of the sky at the launch site is not a good thing either!

So far, the dealer's attitude has been rather disappointing. They don't seem to think that the inadventent release is a serious problem ("You just have to push the knob back down once in a while") so they're not going to bat for me with North to find a suitable solution. And, of course, North's response is "go through your dealer."

Any suggestions?