Power Kite Forum

Made some new handles

rtz - 6-12-2019 at 08:58 PM

My Pansh handles were cutting the leader lines and I still haven't found a solid way to remedy that.

Bought some of that fancy heat shrink tubing they use for making and fixing up fishing pole grips. Got some vinyl end caps. Heat formed some 3/4" conduit. I wanted the grey color and it's UV resistant compared to the white.

The reason the Ozone handles don't cut lines is because inside that neoprene cover is some similar tubing.

Windstruck - 6-13-2019 at 09:28 AM

Quote: Originally posted by rtz  
My Pansh handles were cutting the leader lines and I still haven't found a solid way to remedy that.

Bought some of that fancy heat shrink tubing they use for making and fixing up fishing pole grips. Got some vinyl end caps. Heat formed some 3/4" conduit. I wanted the grey color and it's UV resistant compared to the white.

The reason the Ozone handles don't cut lines is because inside that neoprene cover is some similar tubing.



Those are BEAUTIFUL. I like what you did with the red and blue pulled through the end caps and leaders. Assuming the conduit material is strong enough and stiff enough, those should set you up nicer than OEM equipment from any source. Well played! :thumb-up

Are you intending to put your pointer finger above the power lines or will all of your fingers go below and wrap around the black material? I ask because when I fly FB kites off of handles I always seem to end up feeling most balanced when I have my pointer fingers above. I'm sure this would vary depending on how I adjusted the length of the brake lines, but that just feels natural to me. If you are the same way then your current setup would have your pointer fingers in the crease of the end caps and that might not be ideal. If you like all fingers below the power lines then my comments are mute. If, however, you like your pointer fingers above then you might consider in your next set to extend the length about a centimeter above the power lines to make room for that little piggy. Bonus points for putting fishing pole wrap up there too!

B-Roc - 6-13-2019 at 09:50 AM

Nicely done.

ColinW - 6-13-2019 at 05:18 PM

Good looking handles.
Are they 3/4" conduit?
I have made a few similar sets out of 1/2", but couldn't find anything I liked to use as grips. So being Canadian, I used hockey tape. It works nicely and can be replaced as needed when it dries out.
I also have used one piece of line for the leaders and strop, instead of using a separate strop. It allows me to fly right to the handle with bigger kites while keeping the strop length a little shorter without the larks heads and knots at the handle.