xdavemarshallx

Is the sand hot? I don't like hot sand, burns my tosies.

Have a friend who does similar. He has insulated the tank with an old duvet, kitchen foil and tape which keeps the water warm for several hours.

We always just put the back seats down and dumped the boards in the back. We never had any problems.....but perhaos we were just lucky? You would think that if the police were hot on it, they would just sit up at Flag and reep in the cash...........

New pump...

Ok, I would say that in this situation: 1) It was the riders fault 100%, but 2) You could have prevented it. IMO riders should always set their lines up downwind. ALWAYS!! The position you were in is then much, much less likely. Beasue the kite is upwind from the rider, the kite will be powerless until the rider is in position at which point the wind will catch the sail and the kite will take shape ready for launch. Of course as a launcher you can't dictate how someone else sets up. However, as a somewhat experienced kitesuerfer yourself, you should really have known that ther kite was too far downwind for launch. What you should have done is pick the kite up and turn it immediatly upside down where is will have no power. Judge where the wind is and do not hold the kite up for launch until you know that you are right on the edge of the wind window in relation to the rider (by waving at them to move down wind) or ideally, a little upwind of them. There will then be no power in the kite and the rider can fine tune the angle by walking back upwind a few pases. If the rider tried to tension the lines with you too far downwind of him, walk forward with him to keep the lines slack and the kite powerless while waving at him/her to move downwind. If the refuse, just put the kire back down and have a chat with them. As I said, the balme is still with the flyer, my "you could have avoided it" is based upon you knowing what you are doing. Any other member fo the public or passer by would not know this. The flyer should have set up correctly so that the lines were not tebtioned until he know he was right on the edge of the window or slightly down wind. He should have also released the tension when he saw you struggling.

I don't use one, not because I think it's cool but because I percieve the risk of injury (as the resultant problems an injury could cause) form using one to be greater than that the risk of losing my board (and the resultant financial loss should it happen). I also wear a helmet to protect the noggin should I hit something hard and carry a line knife shoud I need it. Contrary to you're arguement, how many people have actually seen someone lose their board from not weating a leash (losing the board being the primary reason for wanting a leash in the first post)? IMO they are unneccessary in most conditions, with big swell & breaking waves probably being the exception....where body dragging is difficult and losing sight of the board is much more likey. They can create reliance on being leashed to the board rather than learning to body drag correctly. I won't victimise anyone that does use one, but at the same time I couldn't recommend one. Much in the same way I don't victimse people who believe in god, but couldn't recomend a church to someone. Anyway, I'll shut up and let people who can recommend them, recommend them.

1) Don't go out alone 2) Don't go out in nuking winds 3) Don't go out in 8ft waves 4) Don't go out in an offshore wind If you follow the above (which you should as a beginner anyway), you shouldn't have reason to loose your board. In reasonably flat (flat to a fre foot waves) water you shouldn't loose it. If you can't drag upwind to it, as said, drag into shore and walk upwind before dragging back out, just keep an eye on the board. If you are out with others and are struggling to get it, wave for some help, most people will happily grab it or at least keep an eye on it for you. Make sure it has a handle on it though or you might find they can't pick it up!! I was concearned when I first started, but in reality I fould it bloody hard to imagine being able to loose it, unlike some of the crashes where I could imagine it begin thrown at me if I has a leash!!!!! If you are that concerened get an Ocean Rodeo Go Joe which will help the board make it's way downwind and make it easier to spot. Could also paint the fins a neon colour to make spotting it in the water erasier if it has flipped, if you don't use a Go Joe. Have confidence in yourself. Asking a kitesurfer to recommend a leash is like asking a policeman which house to rob.......none.

What about backless bindings then, aka Cab Syncs and Flexi Asylums? What about ski bindings? They lock you to the skis but are designed to release when you fall? Does that mean they are not bindings? I'm just being arguementative Sorry for hyjacking!

Depends I guess. I have 3 kites and they are all different, but all the same manufacturer so have similarities and all work on the same bar. Main kite is a 10m Nemi HP. Light winds I go down to a 14m 06 Waroo (rarely use it though, wasn't worth selling on for how little it is worth and so have become my rarely used emergency light wind kite but usually head for te pub). High winds I drop down to a 7m 09 Waroo which I chose over a 6m Nemi as in silly high winds I didn't want or need something as high performance as the Nemi. The lower performance Waroo keeps the speed down from a wasp on acid to just your regular wasp. Would I have one Best, one Slingy, and one North......no.

No. You do not need to unscrew them and adjust that velcro. Instead, fully loosen the lases and pull the outer white strap away from the main foot strap/toe strap one side at a time. You will see there is velcro between the main strap and the outer white strap the laces feed through. When you release this velcro you can pull the inner strap up (which is on plastic inserts which link to the velcro on the bottom of the footbed), making it bigger, before reattaching the velcro and pulling the laces tight. You would only need to undo the velcro on the underside of the footbed if you wanted to remove the strap from the footbed. This velcro presumably stops the toe strap moving from left to right around your foot when riding which I believe was/is a problem with the Syncs.

Really rate mine. After breaking my Ankle in April I needed somehitng to lock my feet in rather than allowing them (or more accuratly, one of them) to pop out when the board hits the water hard. They will lock down nice and tight but also open up big enough for boots as mentioned above. Feel very confortable. My only drawbacks are: 1) they are not very adjustable on the fly. Fine adjutsment can be made with laces, but to get them bigger and smaller you have to fully loosen the laces and release velcrow down between the outer strap and the main toe strap. This cannot be done on the water or with a kite in the sky. 2) with small feet i find that my they end up a long way forward in the strap meaning the strap digs intp my ankle a little, but this is probably just that I haven't got them set up perfectly yet. Overall, for the money, an excellent buy IMO.

Thats the stupid thing about it all. You managed to get it all on on the plane around their rules.....just ended up that you weighed more and the luggage less! They don't charge 18 stone rugby players extra weight limits because their arms are like tree trunks, yet as a 10 stone kitesurfer with an extra 15kg of kite kit I have to pay extra!!!! Start charging the fatties!!

Maybe, maybe not. In low winds he does stick the Speed up.....but other than that it is usually LEI's.

Hoping to pick up a pair from ATBShop on Friday if they arive. Little concearning to hear from the one person who has tried them found them a little slippery as the reason I am looking at buying them is to replace my ankle breaking slippery pads on my Skywalker!