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did anybody else hear that the 5 line bows are just to get around the patent? just wondering. 4 lines seem to do everything pretty good, and the bridle doesn't really bother me. any input on the subject?

p.s. i heard yesturday that rick rolled his v-dub bus yesturday on the levee. i guess he is ok. but the van is totalled. that sucks

later,
rob

Frankly, I thought the same thing the moment I heard about the 5th line bow. But I didn't start the rumor...

Very possible, it hadn't occured to me but it is more than likely that this is at least part of why they are trying the 5th line.

Whatever happened to that 3 line kite? thats the way to go. Lets get these things down to remote controlled one line kites!

Lets get these things down to remote controlled one line kites!

Don't forget to charge it :)

3 lines also seems to me like a good way to go, even though Flysurfer switched from 3 to 4 in their latest kites from some reason.
I think North insists that 5th line still has safety advantages in dropping the kite on the 5th with little power. One thing that bums me about the 4 line bows is that if you rig the leash so it flags the kite the bar does not spin. I think with 5th line it spins, 5 line bars have been spinning for a while.

Patent wise, not all 4 line flat kites pay the patent. I think the Waroo and the Sonic do not pay.

I've seen Rob do a few spins. Does LF have a spinning leash system for their bow? Or are you using a suicide leash?

S.I. Rider wrote: p.s. i heard yesturday that rick rolled his v-dub bus yesturday on the levee. i guess he is ok. but the van is totalled. that sucks

later,
rob

That sucks. That van was really clean. How did it happen?

Someone pulled out in front of him, leaving him no options but to exit the roadway. I drove past and stopped and thankfully he seems to be unhurt. He was particularly lucky on a very bad day-- that thing went down a steep embankment and wedged up against a large tree. He told me to keep an eye out for another vintage VW bus.

i use a suicide setup. there is also a swivel so i can spin any way. the suicide setup seems to work well. when i let go of the bar it hits the punch-out ball and almost completely depowers the kite.

That sounds like a cool setup. Sorta takes the "suicide" out of suicide leash, doesn't it?

Hey bowkiters, do the other bows do the same thing if you use a SL?

There has been lots of discussion about this on kiteforum. The general consensus is that you cannot rely on a hybrid kite's "total depower" enough to justify riding without a proper leash--inversions are one of the reasons mentioned. People have posted several examples of incidents where the depower failed, but fortunately these have only resulted (thus far) in damaged kites, egos, and a some bumps and bruises.

Nevertheless, many people ride with this setup, and I don't think all the manufacturers even offer proper leashes as part of their standard package (I borrowed someone's Waroo the other day and it did not have any safety leash).

At any rate, it's gotta be alot better than a "C" kite on a suicide leash!

Cheers,

Gideon