Hi, I posted before but in the wrong area. I have a follow-up question about the new Charger and control bar.

What are your thoughts on the new control bar? Is it worth me getting a new control bar? I'm thinking this summer I'll buy the following:
* 12m Charger (2013)
* 18m Charger (2013)

This will complete my Charger needs, as I have the 10m and 15m now.

Not sure if a new control bar is worth the money though.

Thanks!

It depends if you change your line/bar lengths a lot?

I would say its worth having 2 bars if you need a short bar with say 20m lines for some kites and a longer bar with 25's or whatever for the big guys.

If you are just talking about upgrading your bar to a newer one then i wouldn't bother. My 2005 PL bar works fine so I doubt the 2013 is much better. There is only so much you can do with a stick with 4 strings attached!!

There is one big difference on the old vs new navi bars and that is the old bars had a Y for the power lines and the new has a V for the power lines. I have seen where the old bar restricts the kites ability a little but more so in the older arcs because of the limited amount the sail can flatten when in the air. I would assume that the move back to the V was because it would allow for better flight and control - realize that the only kite in the arc lineup to use the Y style split is the old charger that has had issues with tip clap and super twitch turning in the smaller sizes. With that said- i think it would be worthwhile to either upgrade your old bar to a V design in the power lines or pick up the new bar
Scott
PS- for what its worth PBC is selling a new navi bar with the V for only 230 on the jibe swap page- really good deal

Not looking at my bar so this might be a stupid question but...

Couldn't you use the old Nav bar and just substitute the line that goes to the ring and replace it with a 'standard' (i.e. 23m or 27m) line instead and remove the ring or are there other factors that come into play as well?

Lunchbox-yes - http://arcusers.net/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=268#p1640 Feyd tackled that!

Hondamon- making the above mod to your PL navi with V that you have might enable it to work with the new charger2s you are planning on?

Great. Thanks for the link Erratic winds!

I think you should buy a 19m Charger 1. Actually, I just happen to have one for sale.

The single line leading to the Y is heavier than standard line strength.

Hey thanks a lot for the information. I was hoping to use my 1 bar with any of my kites. It's not easy to move stuff around here in Korea, so the less I have to lug, the better. Will the old bar work ok with the new kites, or do they really need the new setup with the new navibar? Thanks!

Damon

Older bar will work fine with your new Chargers honda, no worries. The new Navi bar get's rid of the Y line that Bob describes and replaces it with a V set up with the addition of a 4.5 line to flag the kite out. The new bar is a little more refined but the old Navi you have will work just fine.

My primary reason for dumping the split line was that with the gust factor we get here inverts are common. Y lines make inverts a serious issue sometimes.

Also the V line allows the kite to open more, reflex more and you can use any line set available in the event that you damage a line.

Cheers! Thanks again... a lot! Where's the best place to pick up a new PL Charger?

in my opinion. the new nav bar is a better bar and the build quality is far greater. just for that alone id get the new bar.