I recently had the strut bladder on my 5.5m strike v3 explode while pumping it up at the beach. (Way before reaching recommended pressure, probably exploded at about 7psi). Wing is a year old so had some wear.
The tear happened to be pretty close to the access zipper so it was easy to pull out the bladder and repair it with tear aid. Did not have to detach the valve, attach pilot lines etc. The tear was a long straight line. Probably 8 inches long. I patched with one long strip of tear aid and reinforced the ends with a cross patch on each side. I pumped it up in my living room after and it held air, but I haven't actually ridden it yet. I'm a bit skeptical that such a large repair will hold during riding. Anyone have experience with this? Is a large tear aid repair only good in a pinch while traveling or should I expect to wing to hold up as normal? I've had some long swims back to the beach in the past and it's not something I'm particularly looking forward to doing again
To be clear, only the bladder exploded. No repairs were needed for the dacron wing fabric
If done well, my guess is a large Tear-Aid repair will do fine. I have had two foil puncture blow outs in the leading edge of two different wings that Did require professional repair. Both times they offered blader repair or replacement. The first time I went with bladder replacement since it was a relative new wing. The second wing which was a bit older, I just said repair the bladder. Both are doing well so far. Repairs were done by Fixmykite.com in Portland, TX USA by Jeff Howard. Lots of good video DIY help on the website.
Not to hijack the thread, but when are we going to see higher technology in bladders? Coming from windsurfing, I find this to be the most frustrating aspect of the sport.
I always patch on both inside and outside of bladder with tear aid for the big holes. Also have had good results from using clothes iron to heat weld the bladder together. Also works great! Can wrap on a dowel to keep flat and aligned. Thanks kitesurfers!
First session down with the repaired wing. 15-20 knots so pretty powered up on the 5.5m. Repair held up so far. Let's see how it goes. Patching on both sides is a good tip. Wish I had done that
As already stated if done correctly a tear aid repair should last indefinitely.
I repair kites and wings here in WA and also try to offer options of repair or replacement. Where it's possible repair is cheaper but some customers prefer new.
In my opinion the limitations of tear aid are determined by the width of the blowout - tear aid is better as one large piece with no overlaps as air can escape where multiple layers of tear aid meet.
Getting it laid flat is essential as any creases from the hole to the edge will cause a leak and if there is overstretched material around the rip this should be cut away and a backing put inside to prevent the tear aid sticking to the other side of the bladder.
Tear aid is available in 3" and 6" wide rolls so bear that in mind when ordering.
Also note that tear aid adheres better to some brands bladders than others. Fone is fine but I have found duotone bladders have some issues and require a bead of glue (stormsure or pu glue) to overlap the tear aid onto bladder to double secure the patch.
Hope this helps and clears up a few worries you may have
Ryan
The Sail Doctor
Wing and kite repairs
Tear-Aid Type A is an amazing product. I've done some monster repairs that are extremely sloppy and unprofessional but I just applied more and have had great results. It is extremely reliable.
