Setting up a 5th line for a bridled SLE kite?

[CrazyJay]

Once again........ 5th lines work and save lives. Whether it be a C, Bow, Or hybrid. If you hook it up correctly then you will never go back to 4 lines.
You can discuss all the different possibilities til the wind blows but I've ridden 5th on C's, bow's and Hybrids for 3 years with no problems. Ya'll know how I ride so if it stands up to my crazy sh*t then it will work for almost any rider.
IT SHOULD BE MANDATORY IN PINELLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(4 line bows and hybrids will get someone killed here this year once the wind really picks up)

PS... Inferno: I got knocked unconscious in 35-40 knots last season doing a double back double kiteloop. The only thing that saved my life was the 5th line. When I came too it was sitting there waiting for me and not pulling at all. It DOES work!!!!

[inferno]

Originally Posted by CrazyJay

Once again........ 5th lines work and save lives. Whether it be a C, Bow, Or hybrid. If you hook it up correctly then you will never go back to 4 lines.
You can discuss all the different possibilities til the wind blows but I've ridden 5th on C's, bow's and Hybrids for 3 years with no problems. Ya'll know how I ride so if it stands up to my crazy sh*t then it will work for almost any rider.
IT SHOULD BE MANDATORY IN PINELLAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(4 line bows and hybrids will get someone killed here this year once the wind really picks up)

PS... Inferno: I got knocked unconscious in 35-40 knots last season doing a double back double kiteloop. The only thing that saved my life was the 5th line. When I came too it was sitting there waiting for me and not pulling at all. It DOES work!!!!

i have no doubt it will work, my only concern is that if you dont have a stopper placed on the fifth line in the right spot, then the bar will slide far enough so that when you try to pull it back the rear line may end up pulling the kite into inversion (hard to explain in writing) and this could also cause a bridle wrapping on the wing tip......

i just dont want any newer riders to think its as easy as adding a fifth line to a bow and attatching your leash to it.... thats all
(i personally switched back to C-Kites for there 5th line safety)

btw Jay what kite did you try that on..... i just got an 07 8m torch that im dying to try in 35+

Yeah if you are going to rig a 5th line, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. The right way is to know where to set the stopper ball... it's different for each kite, and to make the stopper ball adjustable. A double loop through an orange ball will work if you are using Q line. i used 5th lines on all my kites until I switched to bows.

Safety systems haven't received enough attention in the kiting industry, I agree. It almost seems like an after thought for some companies. Not bashing Best, but as one single example, that velcro attachment on the O-shit could have a warning to detach before use or something. They aren't the only ones, I am just using them as an example.
I also agree the current bow/hybrids can be more dangerous than C-kites with 5th lines when things go really bad.

I hate rigging a 5th line for a bunch of reasons, but would be interested in doing it for safety reasons, possibly.

How much more safety would a fifth line represent over a flag out system using one of the front lines? Some of the bows allow for attachment on one front line. I have modified my kites to use this approach. I am curious to hear some inputs.

5th line drops the kite instantly without tangles. It's not necessarily safer or less safe than a flag out safety, but it does make it possible to relaunch the kite. I started using 5th lines after I did the swim in heavy surf a few times because I accidentally unhooked and the kite crashed with lines all twisted and I was unable to relaunch.

5th line has the advantage that you can pull in 2 feet of it to fully depower a C kite... on a waroo however we can call it the manual inversion handle.

[inferno]

Originally Posted by popeye

on a waroo however we can call it the manual inversion handle.

nice...

[CrazyJay]

Inferno.. I was on a 7m Fuel. Be careful trying anything in over 30 knots. It can really hurt!

Tom, Have you tried using a "V" 5th line bridle? Have Keith make some attachment points on the front about 3 feet apart off center and bring the lines down 6 feet to a v then attach 5th line. This helped with my wipika and kept it from inverting