5th line

[davidwhat]

wat does d aditional fifth line do?

[extreme wussy]

it acts as a relaunch for when you crash it in the water you get it up in no time and for some brands it helps them go upwind by adjustin the amount it points upwind.

[samhengistkites]

it also increases the top end (wind range) of the kite as you pull the leading edge more into the wind.

[davidwhat]

is it worth gettin then?

[monkeyinshower]

I have a 5th Element on my North Vegas - I really like it - good for upper wind range and great for relaunching.

What Kite are you thinking of attaching it to? or are you thinking of buying a new kite with it on?

[davidwhat]

i have a storm 3

[AliB]

5th line is a complete gimmick. its just one extra line to get tangled, the only usefull thing about it is the safety. relaunch wise: you HAVE to learn the traditional way to relaunch or you shouldnt be out on the water. if your out to sea and ure 5th line snappes for any reason you want to be able to relaunch the kite as normal

[Flexigirl]

Ali just cos caution dont do a 5th line doesnt mean there not worth while

 

 

are they still making them out of nylon aswell ?

[AliB]

caution do have a 5th line

 

ive used it and got rid of it

same with quite a few people i know inc. the no.1 amateur in the country

[AliB]

http://www.cautionkites.com/flash.html

click there then view 5th line spec sheets

[muppetdude1]

pros and cons regards fifth line

 

if kite flips inside out pray the line doesnt slice the kite in half ' i was lucky cos a buddie managed to flip kite again and i was able to relaunch and get back in safely , this can and will happen in big swells and waves where wind lifts the kite

 

reluanch is a great improvement but then again how hard are medium aspect to reluanch.......never rely on the system make sure you can luanch the standard method

 

how do you self rescue with fifth line systems? different all together than standard deep water self resuce

 

ali u can get back in flying 4 lines if fifth line snaps unless you got some brand sepcific must have method

 

ive used it it works but im gonna go for normal 4 line soon use cos it pisses you off reluanching when 8out of 10 times you can save the kite on a suicide leash when you miss the bar............

 

oh and remember its another line to wrap around you in deep water

 

stay safe

[Airpowerd]

The info i have gleaned from various sources is that its a waste of time on anything smaller than 11m and only usefull if you don't go out in waves or are trying advanced stuff.

personally i haven't found that i need a 5th for relaunch, and i'm not sure that the performance gains are worth the chance of shreading my kite (i'm in waves 80% of the time)

[spinner]

With 5th line, kite comes down gently on it,s back allowing easier re-launch. No swimming getting tangled in lines. Gives kite wider wind range. North system is simple with no line tangles. If lofted on beach, a pull on leash de-powers kite. How many kites have been torn in half? I ain't seen none. How many people swimming to re-launch kite? Loads. Drop a 4 line kite upside down in surf your pretty fkd anyway. Wish It had been around when I was learning...

[Airpowerd]

No swimming getting tangled in lines. Gives kite wider wind range. North system is simple with no line tangles.

 

The first kites i saw (in the flesh) with 5th line were the naish raven (2) and a north all three were swimming back to the beach as the 5th had wrapped around the kite and had no chance of relaunch (possibly the conditions didn't helpas the waves were quite large) at least with 4 line theres still a chance the kite will catch the wind as it gets pummeled by the waves and will still fly when turned in on itself crossing youre flying lines

 

Not that 5th line is bad there are lots of reasons its good you mention some its just not for me, ever notice how all these relaunch systems are shown on flat water. to me thats light winds and big kites and thats when the 5th line works best imho.

 

Just wondering now what the nova or crosbow is like relauching in the waves

[spinner]

Fair comment...When i dropped mine in surf it was on it's back so re-launch was quick. Before 5th I had to watch as kite was upside down and dragged in surf. Mebe i was just lucky...

[alastairy2k]

How many kites have been torn in half?...

3, and that's just people I know - one was the first time out for a 16m 05 Rhino Heard of it happening to plenty of others too.

 

I've also seen several people with 5 lines having problems relaunching while others with 4 have been up and away no problem, mainly due to the 5th line getting wrapped round the kite.

[Sandslide1]

Davewhat, if you're ever around Benone, give me a shout and will demonstrate 5th line, have it rigged for a fuel and a diesel. I'm still learning, so end up dumping the kite in the water a lot.

 

It isn't a gimmick, and as for slicing kites or tangling round the kite, I haven't had that problem. The 5th line allows me to relaunch in seconds, far easier than a normal relaunch, and as quoted above if you dump the kite or pull the release, no spaghetti with your lines and no swimming. And if the wind drops to really light, it can be used to change the shape of the kite so it will still launch when there is practically no wind, allowing you to walk back to shore when everyone else is having to pack down or drag their kites.

 

Though some probs might be encountered in waves, it does allow better upwind performance and from a beginners perspective, it cuts down on the time wasted relaunching!!!

[davidwhat]

i've had a mixed response so i've just added a poll so is it worth it or not you tell me?

[paulie_amoose]

Personally I dont like it, I've got a 5th element bar and 4 line Airush bar. The only advantage I can see is you dont need to swim to relaunch. I find it pain to setup the extra line just to save me a little swimming. I know somebaody who had a 04 Wipi Amp on CLS, got it caught in the surf, it twisted over and ripped the kite...!!!

 

I'll stick to my 4 line setup at the mo....

[8015]

Would I be right in thinking the consesus is that they are great for learning and flatter water (still need to learn normal relaunch) but can become a problem when doing extreme stuff (unhooked moves?) and if you dump the kite in big surf?

 

Since I normally ride in about 1-2 foot waves (not much fetch here) and my jumping is limited to straightforward stuff like landing, would I be right in thinking a 5th line would be good for me? Not that I actually have a 5th lineable kite

 

JIM

[Lenny]

Here's my post from the Kiteboarder forum, hope you don't mind me lumping it in here.

 

Anyone out there riding Stike2s? I need a couple of answers, if you can help:

 

1. The Strike2s give you 3 options for the fifth line setup. With little experience kitsurfing it’s really difficult to feel the differences that the three setups afford. So my question here is, what is the ideal setup for a beginner (allowing for differing conditions)? I may not be able to tell the differences myself, but I’d like to know if there is an optimal choice – what I really don’t need at this point in the learning curve is to make my life any harder, if I can help it.

2. The fifth line works fine when I pull the primary release, the bar flies away, the kite depowers and I’m safe. The weird thing is that, contrary to the images in the Flexifoil literature, the kite hangs, on its back, about 20 foot in the air. Is there anything to be done, or am I stuck with my kite turning from a traction to a single line sled whenever I release? I can pull it in alright, but it’d be just dandy if the kite would just sink to the ground.

It has been said that there should be a toggle on the fifth line between the rider and the ring where the power lines split, limiting the travel of the bar when released and keeping the kite at such an angle that it can't sit in the air when released - the problem with this is that there's no instruction about where to place a toggle & I don't want to be the guy who puts it too far down the line and releases to get a fully powered up kite on a leash.

3. Not that I’m planning on doing this in the near future, but I’m led to believe by Flexifoil that for more powered up riding I should ditch the fifth line system and use a four line setup instead. Has anyone considered just adding a Q-point (extension) to the fifth line. This way you could keep the safety aspect that the fifth line affords, while slackening of the fifth line just enough to enjoy the powered up setting you’d normally get from four lines. Mmmmm?

 

Any thoughts?

[hankster]

from what i've heard they aint worth the hassle,as ali b put it just an extra line to get tangled up.then i don't need one as i use arcs & a flysurfer.

[Howard Marks]

They are worth putting on for the wind range alone never mind the relaunch. I really do get the most out of my Strike 2's with it on...jumps are more vertical without loosing too much ground down wind and I can really fly my kites in at least an extra 5-10mph. I do however feel that it takes away a little off the bottom end and makes the kite less grunty unless ur flying well powered.

 

I don't live in a place with big waves so Im not arsed about the kite getting ripped in half...and plus i have another bar witha four line set up on so I can choose 5th line or normal.

[muppetdude1]

some good points some uncertain points............

 

for light wind use on large kites definately go for fifth line for ease of relaunch

 

theres alot of people who cant relaunch standard 4 line method cos they dont hardly venture into deep water!

 

 

majority use fifth line in tenerife very rare difficulties in surf and relaunch and fifth line tangle ' far more common is peoiple who dont have the skill to relaunch a 4 line kite in deep water ' think how many of you sail in deep water or confine yourself to lagoons and shallows?

 

....a 3 feet wave will happily trash a kite in the impact zone ' especially the omshore mushy crap we get in uk conditions

 

ali never goes into deep water hence he stands up when he falls off (all the time) and walks towards his kite to relaunch if he hasnt saved it on the leash

 

once unhooking the needs of a suicide leash become more known and beneficial so i rekon the fifth line is excellent for all but a few

 

i stand to be corrected as always buy those who know more than hunble old regulars down the beach

[lazydog]

Just thought I'd mention a specific experience of the 5th line on a Strike2 13m.

 

I do a lot of landboarding on the beach and while flying sand tends to find its way into the hole in the bar where the 5 line feeds through. Because the end attachment of the 5th line rides up and down with the bar there is a lot of wear on the green outer sheathing of the 5th line at that point. Anyway I was out in the water and the sheathing wore through ...what I didn't expect was for the sheathing to spring up the 5th line past the bar where it bunched up and formed a 'stop' about 12" past the bar. Letting go of the bar would have been useless since the bar was unable to travel up the 5th line anymore.