The knots on the bridle system on the north kites are impossibly small and today my pigtail slipped off and in the process i almost broke my finger as the bar jammed against the stopper in a millisecond. I subsequently heard others have this problem too. Looks like i will need to create my own or tie proper knots in all of them. I am coming to the conclusion that North kites are not up to it. Any suggestions for a new kite?
Old mates LF Havoc...?
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Beware-purchasing-second-hand-kites/
Had a mate help me rig up a demo Vegas, line pinged off 3m up, not the most fun I've had. Bought north that season and always double checked the lines, never had another issue.
If the knots get compressed and get too small just tie another. No that hard, just check you gear.
Yep I agree with NickT, you simply have to make sure your lines are well attached. I've done the same mistake twice, but never again since I started making clean double checked attachments...
6 seasons of north /3 teaching on north and never had thiis happen .think it might of had a little figure 8 in the end of larks head loop{rolling loop against its natural curve .when making the larks head ,go with its natural curve /make it small when starting it{ like a love heart}.put the knot end in about 2inches .pull larks head closed tight and slide down to the knot end firm ..
had this happen once too, just didnt tighten enough. learnt from my mistake and hasnt happened since.
I had it happen on an 07 rebel. Line came loose when boosting off a wave, kite went ito death loop and slingshot me 30/40m through the air. Landed heavy and broke a couple of ribs. I was a few hundred meters off the beach and was lucky I had a mate to drag me in with his vapour.
consequaently he named himself "vapour" man cause he thought he was some sort of super hero!! Now he caals himself "Lithium man" cause he has changed model..I am gratefull for his help though as I was having trouble getting any where.
After that incident I used to tie an extra knot on the knot side cause I was so worried about it happening again. I have gotten lazy lately and havnt done it to my 2011 rebels, Just make sure you pull the larks head really tight. It isnt the best in my opinion, needs to be a bit chunkier knot. Thought north would have sorted it by now
all comes down to checking your gear and making sure you rig it up right. give it a pull and check that the slip knot is tight. i have a 2012 north rebel and love this kite and trust it 100% in 25+ knots.
Forget North Kites mate. These are extremely good and durable... And they self launch easy too..
www.fluidkiteboarding.com/
due all i can suggest is check and double check when attaching line, out of 5 kites 2 are north vegas's never had a problem which was not caused by myself ,so important not to short cut set up .....
Tezza
Fixed. Just made a proper knot at the end of all the lines. Now the pigtails can never slip off. Perhaps North will address this issue in the future.
I demoed a Rebel a few weeks back and really liked it.
However, I wasn't very convinced by the meagre knots and on launch one front line was either left off in my haste or slipped off. Was very glad to have the 5th line to bail to.
Can't be sure it wasn't my error but for the life of me I can't understand why anyone would design a crucial point of connection so badly.
Could have been either. Takes a while to remember there is one more line to put on lol.
most brands have a small design issue, North is no different contrary to belief they are the best and cannot release a defective product blah blah blah.
I noticed my F-One Bandit has the same tiny knots.
I just replaced the pig-tails with Airush ones, much better !
Hmm looks like an 09 Rhino which has been well loved to me. Kites have come a long way since then! In saying that sounds like an operator error to me. Connect your lines, make sure they are tight, then check again quickly before launching. I had a similar issue years ago on my 09 Rhino but havent had one since.
Yep - had a 2011 Cat 10m for a while. Was good kite but not my cuppa.
On 1st set-up with the Cat I was alarmed at how meagre the connection points were. No dramas in the end (no pun intended) tho. 
The Ozone connections are massive compared to the North lugs (only a tiny fraction bigger than normal section of connection line. The issue is compounded by the North lines (from bar) having really robust thick sheathing. This makes them pretty stiff and likely to leave 'wriggle room' when connecting.
As I have said before - Rebel was a great kite and best I have tried for some time but the bad knot design is a real head scratcher.
I wouldn't let it put me off buying the kite, but I would be replacing the connection points before using for sure.
Love flying my 2012 Rebel but when I rigged it for the first time, that was the first thing I noticed to the point that I thought there must be some mistake with knots the size of gnats testicles. Was going to go back to the shop! Immediately made me ever so cautious with larks head. Interesting to hear that they are 'standard'.
While we're at it.....Double action high flow pump being pushed through a gnats *rsehole. You can feel the resistance big time. Last session, quite a few weeks back, wind perfect, jumped out of airconditioned car started pumping furiously and promptly did my back in. Seriously, haven't been able to kite since and just coming good after a month just as Autum is upon us! When are North going to change to a high flow elephants *rsehole like other enlightened brands?
There's an elephants *rsehole for a dump valve but it's in a silly position at the wingtip. Can't dump the air while safely holding the kite at centre of leading edge in smiley face position. And makes it harder to pack.
Still, love flying my Rebel Gnat.
And then there are those graphics!!
Still, love flying my GRG (Gaudy Rebel Gnat)
Select to expand quoteadrenal said...
Love flying my 2012 Rebel but when I rigged it for the first time, that was the first thing I noticed to the point that I thought there must be some mistake with knots the size of gnats testicles. Was going to go back to the shop! Immediately made me ever so cautious with larks head. Interesting to hear that they are 'standard'.
While we're at it.....Double action high flow pump being pushed through a gnats *rsehole. You can feel the resistance big time. Last session, quite a few weeks back, wind perfect, jumped out of airconditioned car started pumping furiously and promptly did my back in. Seriously, haven't been able to kite since and just coming good after a month just as Autum is upon us! When are North going to change to a high flow elephants *rsehole like other enlightened brands?
There's an elephants *rsehole for a dump valve but it's in a silly position at the wingtip. Can't dump the air while safely holding the kite at centre of leading edge in smiley face position. And makes it harder to pack.
Still, love flying my Rebel Gnat.
And then there are those graphics!!
Still, love flying my GRG (Gaudy Rebel Gnat)
Again agreed! Pumped up the Ozone kites for the demo with the big ass valve and sooo easy. My 11m takes at least 100 pumps - I count to reduce the pain.
The dump valve is so you can roll it up from one side to the other, but so what! Yehs you have to inch along the leading edge to get to it. Just weird.
Hey when I dumped the air on the ozone it came out real fast man - is that bad for the kite??
Hey Eppo, because you are the worlds leading expert on rebels, can you get your people to contact North's people and have them change the colours on next years kites?? I agree with adrenal they are crap graphics. I do love flying my rebel tho!
