Major Safety concern on F-ONE Bandit Kites

[irvinside]

Hi All,

I was very surprised to read this on a French Kiteboarder Community FB page this morning,
but basically a few testimonies of experienced kiteboarders using our french brand of kites that had major safety issues. https://www.facebook.com/groups/doctorphilly/?fref=nf

The moderator of this 12,500 Kiteboarders community, who is also a certified instructor,
re-shared this private informative video he made himself in 2016 (after he lost then a kiteboarder friend drown in sea due to this). With French texts I am sorry, but you will get it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01f3Mv7ZCPs

Basically it is a demonstration that when the safety is released on the kites shown (Bandit), there is still enough power to maintain the kite powered (70%?), and as this kite is prone to get a bridle around the wingtip, dangerous kiteloops can then occur.

With all its consequences under high wind when the safety leash gets inaccessible in the back of the rider...

video 00:14 safety is released but the kite still fly as if it was on a suicide leash (it is not)
video 00:55 the bar has been reconfigured so that the safety is attached to a single front line (and not dual front-lines as by default on these kites/bar)
video 01:17 video of a french kiteboarder from NY (Jerome Loman I assume) using the same kite causing a death kiteloop in a session he had (Jerome full videos including this one are available on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8tAS4dCwzY)

Don' want to start bashing on any brand (I love F-One kites and boards), but I think education is key in that case until the complete safety gets improved. So here is the
Video about the workaround to reconfigure the F-One bar so that the safety is attached
to a single front-line, instead of the dual front-lines as shipped:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87Enhmw ... e=youtu.be

A good reminder that despite our kites getting better and safer YoY, we always have to stay alert and cautious on safety limits.

I would love to hear that this problem is well known, and already being fixed by F-ONE

Cheers,
Greg

[sflinux]

I believe it is a control bar design flaw, regardless of brand. I'm surprised to hear that F-ONE is still using that flawed design.
http://kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=82&t=2376771

Despite our kites getting better and safer YoY

Do you have data to support this, as I have not seen a statistic that shows less injuries or deaths from kitesurfing YOY? In my experience the kiteboarding is similar to the automotive industry in that it takes about 5 years for new design features to replace old ones.

"A new car built by my company leaves somewhere traveling at 60 mph. The rear differential locks up. The car crashes and burns with everyone trapped inside. Now, should we initiate a recall? Take the number of vehicles in the field, A, multiply by the probable rate of failure, B, multiply by the average out-of-court settlement, C. A times B times C equals X. If X is less than the cost of a recall, we don't do one."

[PvB]

I've been flying F-One for about six years. A couple years after I first started flying them, I brought this issue up to the shop that sold them to me. I had pulled the chicken loop several times by that point, and each time the kite seemed to stay waaay too powered up.

Well there happened to be an F-One rep at the shop that day. He thought I was being a noob (which I kinda was at that point) and took me out to show me that there wasnt really an issue. I launched the kite, walked out into the water, and then with him standing next to me, pulled the chicken loop. Kite crashed into the water as expected, but then proceeded to pull both of us into the beach, the rep cursing the whole way.

He then launched the kite himself to repeat the experience with the same result. The issue was that the kite would not flip onto its back/top (the side that doesnt face you). It would just stay rigid, leading edge down, catching a lot of wind. It was just like what is shown in that first video, except my kite was already in the water and just kept pulling.

I lived with it for awhile and even had a fun spin on a deathloop. I tried another manufacturers dual line depower bar for a bit and it had the same issue. Finally I switched to a single line depower naish bar a few years ago and havent had a single problem.

So I think the real issue is that the kite doesnt depower with a dual line depower bar. Best to go with a single line. Although it can cause pinwheeling... but I havent had any issue.

[irvinside]

Despite our kites getting better and safer YoY

Do you have data to support this, as I have not seen a statistic that shows less injuries or deaths from kitesurfing YOY? In my experience the kiteboarding is similar to the automotive industry in that it takes about 5 years for new design features to replace old ones.

Hi sflinux,
I have no stats except these from 2016 I am afraid
https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kit ... ies?page=1
would love to see more detailed stats over time that would be very interesting indeed!
Just based on my humble experience with older kites from 2008 and new models 2017,
F-One moving from the old chicken loop (the one with the safety on a Scratch) to
Quick Release Chicken Loop Retrofit in 2014, or Kites like the old North Rebel (<2012) which
power was way more on/off than on the brand new models,... Every brand make his own improvements, even small, and at his own pace. But I understand everyone will have a different experience and thus nuanced opinion.

Cheers,
Greg

[irvinside]

Excellent news for F-One kite Owners : A new One Line Flag Out safety system

The new Bandit Bar for 2018 codename: Lynx
allows the Security Line (aka F-One Life Line) to be connected to a single Front line !

http://www.f-onekites.com/Products/Acce ... t/LINX-BAR

Cheers,
Greg