This is my first set of Octane handles. Tried to maiden my Octane 3.0 with the handles and pretty sure I have something 'not right'. In the pic it shows the 'connector string (not sure what this is called) on the top. I had it on the bottom when I flew. My only previous experience is with Tensor's (4.2 and 5) and I love the Tensor handles.. hoping that my "Hate" for Octane is more to do with my not having them setup properly.

From what I understanded, you're flying your kite opposites the way person did in picture? Top is for power line while bottom line is for brake line. Then loop behind the power line (on top toward you) is for strop line that can be hooked to your harness. Hope that help.

its called a strope line. It is used to connect to a harness. It connects to the top of the handles where you connect your main power lines. You have the handles up side down.

If you know this already, feel free to ignore, but if not I have found the easiest way to set up handles with a strop is as follows:

-Disconnect all the lines from the handles.
-Lay the handles out in a straight line, that lies crosswind, with the strop connecting them in the middle. (Make sure you have the left one, with red lines, on the left.)
-Walk the lines down from the kite with the power lines in the middle, and brakes on the outside.
-Connect to the handles. From left to right you'll connect: Left brake, Left power, Right power, Right brake Most ozone kites have numbered lines so this is simple.
-When you pick them up to use them it's easy, just bring the outside (brakes) down to the bottom, keeping the strop and power lines at the top.
-Fly :D

This way you make sure a-there are no tangles in the lines and b-all the connection points are correct.

Hope this helps you,
Tim

As mentioned above. The kite should be set up just like in the picture. You should also make sure your hands/fingers are in the same position as in the picture with your index finger 'above' the top line connection leaders.

It is also possible that you may need to 'tune' your handles/kite for your flying preference. Tuning the kite is very easy and only takes a couple minutes to do. First thing is to add in about 3-4 extra knots into the long leaders coming off of the top and bottom of the handles. I usually put knots about 2" from each other. Make sure that the knots in the right handle are the exact same length apart as in the left handle.

Once you get your adjusting knots put in, attach your flying lines to the furthest knot from the handles on all four leaders and launch the kite. The kite should climb easily to zenith (directly overhead) with good speed and control.

Tuning the kite is adjusting the lines to fit with your flying style and the way you hold your handles. Everyone is different so there is not really one 'specific' way that you should do this. What you will want to do is to play with the settings until you find one that works well for you. I will explain how I like to tune my handles and you can figure out what works best for you from there.

The way I fly, I usually point the bottom of the handles towards the kite. I only pull the bottom of the handles when I want to brake-turn or when landing the kite. Most of the time I am flying nearly 100% off the top lines. I start checking the kites tuning by flying the kite back and forth and when at speed, pull the bottom handles in about half way evenly. The kite should load up on some power and slow down through the window and nearly stall out easily. If I have to pull in a ton on the bottom handles, I will land the kite and then adjust the brake lines (bottom lines) into the next knot towards the handles and relaunch and try again. I will keep doing this until I find a setting that allows the kite to fly at maximum speed but still allows me to stall the kite out easily at half pull. When I pull in 100% on the bottom lines, the kite should immediately stall out and start to reverse, making it easy and comfortable to land. If I pull in a little bit and the kite stalls, or if I am landing the kite and it reverses very fast and wants to spin/flip uncontrollably it usually means the bottom lines are to short and I either need to let the bottom lines out a knot or pull the top lines in.

With the knots on the handles, it makes it super simple and quick to adjust your kite. Just land, move the attachment point as needed, launch and try again. Keep in mind that over time and in strong winds, the top lines will creep (stretch) out, making them longer than the bottom lines. After about a month or so, you will probably need to move the top lines in a knot to compensate for this normal stretching. The brake lines usually don't stretch out that much but they are thinner and lighter so they could stretch as well if stressed. Just remember as your top lines stretch out, it is the same as you pulling in on the brakes while flying. If you are flying your kite and it is pulling like a train but you can't get it out on the edge of the window at all, chances are your top lines have stretched out and you need to adjust.

Also keep in mind that in stronger winds, there is more parasitic drag on the rear lines, causing the kite to fly as if it has the brake lines pulled more. In strong winds you may need to loosen/lengthen the brake lines to compensate for this. Just be cautious of this because lengthening the brake lines because of the wind will mean that you will need to pull more brake to stall or land the kite when you are done flying.

Hope this helps. Try some adjusting with your Octane and I am sure you will be more than thrilled with it.

Guys - thanks for the great info/tips! All was needed/necessary in my case. All I need now is some wind so I can put it to use.