shaggs2riches - 13-8-2011 at 09:23 PM
So after just reading the post from greasehopper and his struggle to get to a safety release, it made me wonder..... How often does everyone actually
practice using their safety systems??? I know in a perfect world everyone should be testing them before each system, and I know that in theory we
should perform an inspection on all our gear, while we are setting up and packing down EVERY SESSION!!! But its not a perfect world, and we all get
complacent. When I'm running out my lines, I do a full walk up them every time, looking for kinks, frays etc. I'll inspect the pulleys for
obstructions. As I unfold the kite, I keep an open eye for damage, same when I pack up. I admit though that I rarely fully inspect my harness, and
technically I don't actually practice pulling my safeties all that often. Normally they get checked for operation, when I'm hooking in, but not too
often do I actually pull the safety while the kite is in motion, just to make sure it will kill the kite in an emergency. Again from greasehopper's
post, it reminded me that because you don't actually get in an emergency situation too often, you don't exactly stay in practice trying to kill the
power in a split second. We preach the point to every newcomer we come across that you need to know your safeties, but how often do we practice what
we preach???? I'm guessing that all of us know how to use them. I'd expect that there are a lot of people out there, that don't go out of the way to
dump the kite to primary at least once or twice every session or two. I think I'm look around for a checklist to stuff in the bag, and start trying to
go through it every time I setup and pack down. If anything regular practice will also help you in recovery from a flagged system; which, sometimes
can be a mess if the wind is really blowing and everything is in tangles.
bigkid - 13-8-2011 at 09:38 PM
I check mine every time I use it, but mine deploys by itself.
shaggs2riches - 13-8-2011 at 09:53 PM
I will also note that the one time I decided to not run home for my helmet, I ended up bailing straight on my head mountainboarding down a tiny hill.
I thought to myself I'll only do a couple runs, that was too many, causing me a mild concussion. Could have been worse if I was a foot to the west and
hit the large rock buried in the ground. Since then, I never question it.
Kamikuza - 14-8-2011 at 12:05 AM
The Megatron units I put on my Flysurfers are good, but easily get blocked with sand - I release them and blow them clean before I hook in and launch,
every time. Do the same with the Navi bar too.
I rarely check the Cabrinha ones though ...
arkay - 14-8-2011 at 11:22 AM
I check my depower kites each time. The flexi and mutiny releases are not the traditional pin releases, but they are super simple and it's pretty
much impossible for them to clog or fail; but i pull it every time before I hook in. Same with the PL'07 bars... now I don't have the kite in the
air, I just pull the primary release and put it back. I don't pull and reattach my secondary everytime, but I do make sure the pin is sliding.
pyro22487 - 14-8-2011 at 04:47 PM
for kite killers i check them the first time i launch the kite just to make sure they apply enough break. for my depower i pull the release every time
i go to put the kite up helps land the kite and release power just incase a rouge gust comes along on landing.
pyro22487 - 14-8-2011 at 04:49 PM