It is optimistic to expect that you can get some breaths before going under. The normal sequence is "Oh. **** I'm under water and I really, really want to breathe!"
It's important to know that the urge to breathe is a reflex brought on my the presence of CO2 in your lungs. It does not really relate to your need for oxygen. If you understand that then you can push through the urge and hold your breath indefinitely. Unfortunately, as Zarb has pointed out, if you do that you will pass out and die. The good news is it will take about about 3 minutes for that to happen.
One thing is absolutely certain, if you try to breathe under water then you will die sooner rather than later.
One of the heaviest hold-downs ever --
www.surfline.com/surflinetv/greatest-wipeouts/neil-matthies-three-wave-hold-down_25014
That was worth watching! Thanks for posting that. Seeing his board tombstone for so long is pretty hairy. Looks like a pretty tough nugget to me! Always nice to live to tell the tale!
Good read- as I have experienced this before and was lucky enough to walk away alive!
... terrible thing to happen, my condolences 
.
What we need is a "fuseable" link so if the pressure exceeds a certain amount, the chicken loop "breaks away", sort of automaticlly releasing the kite.
Don't ask me to implement it, design it, no idea but if you can take the human reactions out of the equation, it may just be useful in this situration. Like electrics things have different loads so you'd need different "fuses" but if it can be invented some how, into the chicken loop, wouldn't it make things better.
Any ideas of how to do it???
Anyway, just an idea,
Robbie 
Thanks Jason & Gorgo
A decent hook knife sounds like a good option, prob won't fit in the pocket on my harness so will have to work out how to clip it on without it hurting me when I stack it from on high...
Guns for show, knives for a pro 
Select to expand quotePuetz said..
....
What we need is a "fuseable" link so if the pressure exceeds a certain amount, the chicken loop "breaks away", sort of automaticlly releasing the kite.
...
The easiest method is builder's twine. It's used in hang gliding and paragliding as a weak link when tow launching. You put as many wraps to make the strength you want and away you go.
Problem is, if you set it for the shock load that happens when you throw the bar away, it will be too strong for the static load when you are being towed along under water. People already moan about losing their kites because the leash has snapped. Imagine the outcry if the manufacturers claimed it was a safety feature for that to happen. 
When I was watching that I noticed I was holding my breath
I have just spent the last hour reading this thread and being a noob have had to visualise all of reasons you would have a kite go into a death spiral. I hope it never happens to me but I am sure as i progress and want to push the boundaries a little more the chances of something like this happening could increase.
I have read a lot about the various safety features that manufacturers could look at and I think innovation in any sport for safety reasons is a worthwhile investment.
I have looked at the Cabrinha 2013 Quicklink IDS Control bar and I am struggling to see how in the event of a kite looping you can not get out of a bind by working through the various release systems. I am also struggling to understand weather it would actually reduce the risk of looping. It seems by design it certainly should.
Am I missing something?
Cabs have excellent depower by design - which is a good thing and may keep u out of the **** in many other ways that low depower kites will not, but deathloops, while not super frequent, can, and do happen in additional ways due to the nature of the design of these kites (pullies bridles bar design leader line design leash design) - I reckon this thread is simply good education. Not keen on the way cabs flag out on 2 lines tho, especially for super high wind riding....
Select to expand quotekitebt said..
I have just spent the last hour reading this thread and being a noob have had to visualise all of reasons you would have a kite go into a death spiral. I hope it never happens to me but I am sure as i progress and want to push the boundaries a little more the chances of something like this happening could increase.
I have read a lot about the various safety features that manufacturers could look at and I think innovation in any sport for safety reasons is a worthwhile investment.
I have looked at the Cabrinha 2013 Quicklink IDS Control bar and I am struggling to see how in the event of a kite looping you can not get out of a bind by working through the various release systems. I am also struggling to understand weather it would actually reduce the risk of looping. It seems by design it certainly should.
Am I missing something?
The most likely ways are
1) You roll your kite through its lines (by crashing with slack lines) and a bridle wraps around a wing tip (only really happens on kites with long bridles (which you need if you're "flagging" to two front lines),
2) You get the leader of a rear line wrapped around your bar/chickenloop, again more likely if you have slack lines at some point, deliberately or by accident.
I guess my point is I have seen a lot of discussion on this thread about quick release harnesses and cutting lines and different kinds of bars. If you had a quick release chicken loop which the Cab 2013 control system has which ejects the chicken loop from the harness would that not be an efficient enough safety design to get you out of trouble in the event of a kite going into a series of death loops? Remove the chicken loop from the harness completely.
Kitebt not familiar with the cab bar setup how does it release the chicken loop I mean I assume you mean it real leases the chicken loop still intact.
The 2013 CAB IDS has a second QR at the bottom the chicken loop which completely releases the kite from the chicken loop. They call it QR2.
From what I have heard everyone mention this feature could be very useful in the event of a kite going in a death spin.
Video attached in the link. It is a little long but QR2 is covered about half way through the clip.
Well I be damned, surely that would most definitely solve the problem here...except
Does the first QR - push away release have to be activitated before you can use that secondary one..I would say so.
Now under load through a death spiral the thing is people have not been able to at times actually activate the push away release.
But for most death loops they could and yet the kite still spiralled out of control...and yes this surely would solve the problem. Would save you having to reach around and find your secondary safety release to release yourself from waveslaves death leash!
Any disagree or can fix up an of my assumptions that are incorrect.
Like the look of this system
I drew the same conclusions eppo. Surely it would not be to difficult in terms of design to have a release that did bypass QR1 for such emergencies. At this stage you still need QR1 to release in order for QR2 to release. However, I would assert you could design QR2 to work independently.
Problem i with a sacraficial release is that there are instances of high load when you definitely don't want an your kite to release.
I don't understand why they don't release everything straight away...If my kite starts to loop or I have dropped it in the surf and I can't get it up before a wave hits it I ditch the lot immediately,quick release,total release and leash...although now when surf has a bit of size I don't use a leash...I have been dragged under water a couple of times and not much fun ....
HOW ABOUT COMMON SENSE... NOT COMMON TOO YOU BUT COMMON TOO SOMEONE'S
SAFETY AND WELLBEING! LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER!!!!!
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED.... 
Select to expand quotemichel said..
I don't understand why they don't release everything straight away...
knocked out
dislocated shoulder
safety on the back pulling them backwards
safety fails
lines wrapping around arms,
dissorientated
winded
upsidedown
blinded
inexperienced
sucked in water, focused on trying to breath
deer stuck in the headlights. simply froze and forgot training.
there whole range of reasons why people don't employ the safety.
One this is certain. It a real emergency situation things are nearly always not as simple as calmly reaching down and releasing.
Select to expand quotemichel said..
although now when surf has a bit of size I don't use a leash...I have been dragged under water a couple of times and not much fun ....
some times it can be safer to have a safety in big waves.
by ditching the lot you then have to make your own way back to the beach which could be difficult in massive conditions. It your leashed you can choose to sacrifice the kite and let it drag you in as it gets pulled in by the waves.
Select to expand quotePlummet said..michel said..
I don't understand why they don't release everything straight away...
knocked out
dislocated shoulder
safety on the back pulling them backwards
safety fails
lines wrapping around arms,
dissorientated
winded
upsidedown
blinded
inexperienced
sucked in water, focused on trying to breath
deer stuck in the headlights. simply froze and forgot training.
there whole range of reasons why people don't employ the safety.
One this is certain. It a real emergency situation things are nearly always not as simple as calmly reaching down and releasing.
I know everything happens so fast, Yep all those things can happen for sure if you hesitate....and yes a couple of times I have used leash to drag me in but I release it and hold in hands as you can control how you are dragged and if you have to you can just let go .
Select to expand quoteeppo said...
Does the first QR - push away release have to be activitated before you can use that secondary one..I would say so.
Now under load through a death spiral the thing is people have not been able to at times actually activate the push away release.
Any disagree or can fix up an of my assumptions that are
The way I see it the cab QR1 mechanisim will activate, the kite won't likely flag as lines are twisted but the activation of the mechanism allows the activation of the QR2 which completely releases the kite.
So although not tested personally, I'm confident the cab system will work.
brand dependant, choose a harness with a release mechanism like the mystic click bar
Select to expand quotemichel said.. I know everything happens so fast, Yep all those things can happen for sure if you hesitate....
Then you have never been in a real emergency situation. You assume you will always have time to react. quite simply you don't.
Every situation is different ,I think also that people don't practice using their safety,they know it's there and think yep if I have to deploy it i will,but if they havn't experienced what actually happens to the kite etc when released they might hesitate, not feeling confident doing so ...it shoud be like skydiving if you have to cut- away it's an automatic reaction and 1-2-3 the canopy is released you don't have to think twice about it.
cauncy i have a mystic click bar harness. i could not see myself being able to release that under load in an emergency situation. The mechanism is just to stiff. Do you have a different experience of it?
My point of highlighting the Cab system was not to promote Cab as the answer but to point out that I think the Cab control bar has some interesting safety features already built into it of emergency's such as this. IMHO if the industry was to standardise on a control bar and chicken loop system that provided this type of safety release mechanism (not saying it is the answer) then you could greatly reduce the number of incidents. It would be better than say a solution that involved a quick release harness.
Select to expand quoteBrisbud said..
HOW ABOUT COMMON SENSE... NOT COMMON TOO YOU BUT COMMON TOO SOMEONE'S
SAFETY AND WELLBEING! LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER!!!!!
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED....
no need to shout, I hear ya
