Selecting Line Weight

[Phil in Ottawa]

How do you determine what line weight to buy? I tried searching but did not really find an answer.

My Skydog Freebird came with 65' 100lb Dyneema lines. I'd like to purchase a slightly longer line set (85' or maybe 100'). So, do I buy the same weight? Or do I go lighter because the lines are longer? Or do I go stronger? Is it based on line length or size of kite or wind strength? Combination of all those?

Thanks for your help.

[Skyclad01]

A lot of of what determines which line length and weight to get are the kite you're flying and the wind conditions you will be flying in. This video (Even though its geared for Revolution Quad kites), will give you a good explanation about line weights and lengths. Keep in mind though, this is for 4 line kites and not 2 line. The average dual line weight is 100# - 110# and not 90#, but the video will still give you a very clear explanation regardless. And other replies you get here will be better defined for your dual line flying.

[RobB]

I would stick with the same line strength. You will need more wind to lift longer lines. I think the 65' lines should be perfectly suited to your kite, if you get too far away from the kite, it becomes more difficult to see what it's doing. That's really only a concern if you're going to fly tricks.

I fly on 50' (light wind) to 85' lines with my kites. I have longer lines, but never use them. With a full sized kite, I fly 90# in all but heavy winds, and 150# in heavy winds. Your kite is a little smaller than full-sized, I wouldn't think it would need more than 90# (or 100# (pretty much the same thing)).

Anything lighter than 90# is likely to break, I swore off 50# lines for all flying except for a true zero wind day.

[BrianS]

You will need more wind to lift longer lines. I think the 65' lines should be perfectly suited to your kite, if you get too far away from the kite, it becomes more difficult to see what it's doing.

In another recent thread we were suggesting that Phil might want to try out some longer lines to give himself a bit more reaction time, since he's still in the early days of getting the feel for a dual line kite. With a little more flying time under his belt, the 65' line set will have all of the advantages Rob mentioned. In the meantime, I still think it might be valuable to work with longer lines. From the description in the other thread, it sounds like there's more than enough wind for an 85' set.

[Hadge]

Generally speaking I usually have 3 different lengths/strengths of line I regularly use.

20m (65') @ 50lb for light winds

25m ( 80') @ around 90-110 lb for general purpose flying

30m ( 100') @ 150lb for strong winds.

I do have others longer/shorter/stronger lines for specialist kites but for most kites in most winds those 3 linesets will cover you. Spend a little more on good quality Dyneema lines as the ones that come with kites are often cheap and the lines will bind after a few twists, a good quality set will let you put many more twists in the line without binding.

[Phil in Ottawa]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Searching for reviews on various brands of lines, I've read about Shanti and Laser Pro Gold. Both seem to get good ratings and seem pretty interchangeable to me.

But I've seen some places that sell a coated line set called Skybond "Polymer-Bonded Competition Line" from Shanti.

I can get the Laser Pro Gold 90#, 100ft for $40. The Skybond is 100#, 85ft for $44. Both come on a winder. The LPG comes with straps, I'm not sure the Skybond does. If anyone knows if straps are included, let me know. How hard is it to remove/install handles from one set to another?

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks again.

[Skyclad01]

The Laser Pro Gold line is very good. Im not familiar with Skybond though. When you buy kite line as a pre-made set, it normally comes wound on a standard card winder. As for the straps though, not always.

As far as changing the straps, its really quite simple as this image shows (Just ignore step one as your lines are pre-made, they will already have the knots)

[makatakam]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Searching for reviews on various brands of lines, I've read about Shanti and Laser Pro Gold. Both seem to get good ratings and seem pretty interchangeable to me.

But I've seen some places that sell a coated line set called Skybond "Polymer-Bonded Competition Line" from Shanti.

I can get the Laser Pro Gold 90#, 100ft for $40. The Skybond is 100#, 85ft for $44. Both come on a winder. The LPG comes with straps, I'm not sure the Skybond does. If anyone knows if straps are included, let me know. How hard is it to remove/install handles from one set to another?

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks again.

Both brands are very good. I use both on my quad-line kites and duals. They are a little bit different in some respects, but are compatible with each other. For dual-line kites it's pretty much a question of whether you prefer 90 or 100 pound. If the LPG comes with straps, I would lean towards that.

Happy flying!

[Wayne Dowler]

Flown both on my Revs and the strength 90# vs 100# is a non factor, the diameter is almost the same! More and more Rev pilots seem to be moving to Skybond. Just be aware that as the lines wear and age, they will fade a bit in color and the coating will break down. Otherwise a good alternative to LPG or Shanti "speed" line!

[hyzakite]

I have my lines, I fly with my kites. And I also think some companies sell products that can make you fly better than others. Talk with those companies. Don't talk with the companies that don't talk about their kite line. Talk to Shanti. Talk to ? about LPG.

[hyzakite]

Once again, what are Phil's choice in lines? Why?

[Phil in Ottawa]

I have my lines, I fly with my kites. And I also think some companies sell products that can make you fly better than others. Talk with those companies. Don't talk with the companies that don't talk about their kite line. Talk to Shanti. Talk to ? about LPG.

Hi hyzakite,

Thanks for the reply.

I'm trying to understand your post correctly Are you saying Shanti is a better company to deal with because they not only make a good product, but they are also a known company you can actually contact and communicate with?

I did a bit of searching and found that Shanti is a company with a website and they appear easy to contact. On the other hand, I found a lot of websites that talk about and/or sell LPG but I was unable to find out who actually makes it. Maybe I'm not searching properly. Does anyone know who the LPG manufacturer is?

But in the end I'm not sure how much of a difference that would make to me. All I'm really interested in is buying a good product. Both Shanti and LPG seem to get good reviews and many people use the lines and recommend them. As a newcomer to the sport, I'm certain either would suit me just fine. I don't know that being able to communicate with the manufacturer would add anything to my enjoyment of the kite. But who knows? It might come in handy someday. So it may be a plus.

In the end, I think I'll go with what is the easiest for me to find and purchase in Canada in the weight and length I'm looking for. So far I've found:

- LPG 90lb, 100ft, with straps for $40 from www.kiteguys.ca

- Shanti Speed, 90lb, 75ft, no straps for $40 from www.canadiankitecompany.com

- Shanti Skybond, 100lb, 85ft, no straps for $44 from www.canadiankitecompany.com

Right now I'm leaning towards the Skybond. It's a little stronger than the other two and I figure that can't be a bad thing. I also think it's a good length for me. I'm currently using 65ft and I find those a bit short. Going to 75ft doesn't seem like that big an increase but in my mind 100ft is a pretty big jump up. So 85ft seems about right.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on my reasoning. I'd also be interested in finding out people's experience with either of the kite shops I mentioned if you have dealt with them.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

[RobB]

I like the Laser Pro for dual line flying, it is less stretchy than the Skybond. I fly Revs on Skybond because the stretch doesn't matter as much. I do have Skybond sets for dual lines, but don't use them as much as my LPG sets. I've never flown on Shanti Speed line, so can't comment on those.

[Phil in Ottawa]

Thanks Rob. Good information.

In your opinion, would going from 65ft to 100ft be a hard transition for a beginner?

[SparkieRob]

If you have the room, and the wind. It will allow a bit more "room" for things to happen. It will feel different but you won't take long for it to feel natural.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[RobB]

Thanks Rob. Good information.

In your opinion, would going from 65ft to 100ft be a hard transition for a beginner?

Providing that your kite can lift the longer lines (you'll need more wind than with the 65's) I think you will find it nice to have a larger wind window. The kite will seem to move slower, and give you plenty of time to react. The main drawback to longer lines is that the kite's reaction to your inputs will be slower. Your kite will also seem smaller. For me, I like to be able to see the kite, and the further away it is makes it more difficult to see which way it's pointing. That only really applies to flying tricks, though.

I fly on lines 85' or shorter, mostly because my flying space is limited, and over the years, that's what I've gotten used to. It feels very strange to me to fly on long lines when I actually do get the chance.

[Phil in Ottawa]

Thanks again for the responses.

I think I'll go with my original thought and get the 100lb, 85ft Skybond set.

[Wayne Dowler]

I've seen absolutely no difference in strength between any of the 3 mentioned products - flown them all!! Skybond is plenty adequate, and so are any of the others. Yes I fly Revs mostly now, but I've flown all of those lines with no issues. Get any of them in the length you feel right with and you'll be more than happy!

[John Barresi]

Difference: Shanti is still kite flier owned and operated (by Daniel Prentice), LaserPro (LPG) was sold to Shimano a few years ago and they are now a large scale commercial line producer (for fishing and anything else)... Kiting likely makes up ALL of Shanti's customer base, whereas kiting is a very small percentage of Shimano's total sales.