rofer
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Proper inflation
In the few times I've taken on my Flysurfer Cronix I'm pretty sure I've under-inflated it, but I'm scared to pump it up too much and pop the bladder.
If I recall correctly the kite recommends being inflated to 7psi with 8psi listed as the maximum. I usually just pump it up until everything feels
fairly rigid and I start worrying about popping it.
However, the fancy pump it comes with claims to switch over from double to single action at around 5.8psi and I've never gotten this far. I'm thinking
next time I pump it up I make sure I keep pumping until a bit past when the pump switches to single action.
However, I'd really appreciate any heuristics people have to share, especially if they relate to the FS Cronix specifically. I wish I could just pump
until the pump won't go down any more, but apparently this pump is rated to almost 12psi.
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vaultingbassist
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Here's how I think of it: any time you crash, the pressure in that section the leading edge is higher than what you've inflated it to. These kites
are designed to take some amount of force from the outside, so I think it's safe to consider the pressure from inflation to be quite a bit below what
they've designed it to handle.
2.2m Buster SoulFly Pro
3.0m PL Twister II
4.5m CrossKites Quattro
10m HQ Apex III
10m Cabrinha Switchblade
14m Slingshot Rally
MBS Comp 16
Ocean Rodeo Origin Board
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rofer
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True, but I don't want to overinflate it on land to have it end up farming on a crash it should have survived. I definitely want to son for the 7psi
recommended, but I've heard pressure gauges generally aren't very accurate with kites and my pump deficient didn't have one.
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vaultingbassist
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Yeah, absolutely, the more inflated it is the more it'll pressurize in a crash. I'm still new so don't have much more to offer, but one of the guys I
kited with made a good point about how when the kite gets wet, the fabric stretches or gets weighed down (or something) and then looks less inflated.
Things to keep in mind if you know you aren't close to over-inflating but you feel you should stop .
2.2m Buster SoulFly Pro
3.0m PL Twister II
4.5m CrossKites Quattro
10m HQ Apex III
10m Cabrinha Switchblade
14m Slingshot Rally
MBS Comp 16
Ocean Rodeo Origin Board
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PHREERIDER
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Mood: chilled....but ready to SAIL!
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drum tight , solid to touch, nice ring tone when thumped. once it starts pressurizing, the valves in pump will start snapping shut at every
stroke, clearly audible difference.
Some kites are sensitive to lack of pressure , mostly only detectable to super hard redirects/jumps.
get a gauge and test it if you doubt or can't tell. even with a gauge you still need to touch and feel so once gauge starts failing you'll know the
difference. once you can recognize a solid pump the gauge will be just decoration
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RedSky
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The kite should not fold when stood up onto it's wing tip.
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rofer
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It definitely doesn't, which is what makes me worry about pumping it up more. The main bladder feels really solid and it takes some force to bend.
However, the pump still feels like it's double action and at least once I've had the kite feel a little too flexible up in the air.
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RedSky
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Quote: Originally posted by rofer |
It definitely doesn't, which is what makes me worry about pumping it up more. The main bladder feels really solid and it takes some force to bend.
However, the pump still feels like it's double action and at least once I've had the kite feel a little too flexible up in the air. |
Perhaps inflate using the standard valve. The double action may switch over using the narrower intake.
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Bladerunner
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Around here the water is cold so if you pump up on a hot beach and then your kite hits the cold water pressure goes down. The opposite can happen and
bladders pop sitting in the sun. Like Phree' suggests a flick of the finger should ring on the drum tight skin.
Kites: 2.5m Profoil , Quadrifoil XL kitesurfer, NPW 5 Danger.
Flexifoil: 1.7m Sting, 4.9m Blade 3, 9m Blade 2.
Flysurfer : 19m Speed 2 SA, 7m Pulse
Peter Lynn :18m Phantom, 15m Synergy, 10m Synergy, 1200 Farc, 460 Sarc, 130 Tarc, 5m Peel, 4.2m , 6.4, 8.5 C-Quads, 3.5 LS2 single skin.
Rides: Flexi / P.L. Frankin'Buggy , Shaped + straight skiis, sand skis, Coyote blades. Core 95 ATB. RKB R2 ATB .
Ken (K2)
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Proletariat
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I pump mine up until I really have a hard time pumping and then I pump about 5 more times. That is typically about 6.5-7psi on my gauges. It makes me
uncomfortable every single time, but to Chad's point, it should ring like a drum. The leading edge is rock solid, but I've found that squeezing a
strut is a much better indicator. If it feels squishy, pump it up more.
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Proletariat
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Quote: Originally posted by RedSky |
Perhaps inflate using the standard valve. The double action may switch over using the narrower intake.
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I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that. . I miss the high diameter pump situation
so much. And, even worse, the 2013 North Rebel has the damn deflate valve on the wingtip!!!
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propylene22
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Dude I hate the wingtip deflate valve. But the thing to do is roll up the side opposite the deflate first. Then close the deflate and roll that side
up pushing out through the inflate valve. That way you can just start pumping without having to unroll to the deflate the next go round.
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