kite line selection

[HedgerowPete]

I have only ever bought shop kites that come supplied with that small thin kite line, most of my kites are under a metre square of canvas so that's not much of an issue. I have just progressed to buying larger kites and these come without a line spool and I have bought my own, rated at 45kg (90lb in old english) which when i do a pull test is easily double the kites pull in a decent wind. But at my first ever kite display last weekend I saw a lot of the people had much much thicker line and so i think a greater rating to it. ok some of them changed kites several times from small to large but still nothing that would justify the choose of such a thick cord.

 

why is that? and what sort of rating do you normally use?

 

I was thinking of staying with my 45kg (90lb) for the small stuff and going 150kg (300lb) as my newer mainline. I did try to gain the pull on the kites i have and cant get much past 80kg (160lb ish) so sticking to the double the rating for safety.

 

I did see some of the really large inflatables require 500kg  or more, but i am no where near that skill level yet

 

 

[Edmond Dragut]

the pull of the kite dictate the line strength. may be a small kite with a high pull and a large one with small pull. Manufacturer usually give the recommendation for line strength and for security purposes is good to up that. some of the sled out there are required up to 1500 Lbs  (680  kg) so....check and follow the manufacturer recommendations . kite pull and line strength are also connected with the anchor you need for different kites so...do not forgot to use the proper one to do not have bad surprises.   Better safe then sorry 

[Kansas Flier]

8 hours ago, HedgerowPete said:

ok some of them changed kites several times from small to large but still nothing that would justify the choose of such a thick cord.

why is that? and what sort of rating do you normally use?

Probably done for safety reasons or just didn't want to change out lines when changing kites because the other kite(s) wouldn't have an issue lifting the line. If that was the case, changing lines could be wasting flying time, i.e. reeling in perfectly workable flying line to replace it with perfectly workable flying line doesn't make a lot of sense, if you want to maximize your flying time. 

Wind conditions can dictate what sort of line you use, flying with or around other people can, and should, be a factor. Larger diameter lines, will probably have more stretch than smaller diameter lines rated the same line strength. When you are flying larger kites, you want that line stretch to help deal with gusts or choppy wind conditions. 80 LB Kevlar line is much smaller in diameter than, say, 80 LB woven hemp line. The Kevlar line won't stretch as much as the hemp. I wouldn't fly a kite on hemp line. I would not use Kevlar as a kite line when flying around other people, as it has a tendency to be proficient at cutting through other kite line materials. Single line kite line can cut through multi-line kite lines fairly quickly. 

Going for overkill in line strength is safest, but I make sure that my kite line is the weakest link in my anchoring system. Make sure you use an anchor appropriate for the ground conditions, wind conditions, and the pull of the kite. 

Generally speaking I use 50 LB line for small kites, 3-4 foot diamonds and deltas. 80 LB on deltas smaller than 6 foot. 150 LB on 6-9 foot  deltas and power sled 14's. 250 LB on 9-14 foot deltas and power sled 24's and 500 LB on deltas bigger than 14 foot and power sled 36's.

 

[Edmond Dragut]

IMO bad choice Kansas Flier. Kevlar lines should not be used at all if is another kite in air and under any circumstances for laundry. at most of the festivals people using Kevlar lines are reported and are some actions against them.i hope Kevlar line is broad in discussion just for comparative purpose.  best choices is braided line no mater how big or small is the strength and never use twisted lines (if you want to be a serious kilter) . the strongest kite point should be the anchor follow up by the line and like on fishing kite is the weakest. if the line break try to imagine what happen to the people caught in drag of a louse kite at just 10 mph, not to nice to see and trust me your insurance will not be happy  

HedgerowPete about what "large kites" you ask ? delta, power sled, box ,winged box ?

[Breezin]

Edmond you are absolutely right but read it again . 

[Edmond Dragut]

"The Kevlar line won't stretch as much as the hemp. I wouldn't fly a kite on hemp line. I would not use Kevlar as a kite line when flying around other people, as it has a tendency to be proficient at cutting through other kite line materials"

i read and...is just a statement about "I" not a definitively NO. is also about cutting other lines nothing about people witch i think are just a little bit more important then a kite but hey i make mistakes to 

[HedgerowPete]

as a novice i only have shop broug, Delta and sled's and a couple of bow wings all less that four foot on each side say 10 square feet.

 

I have brought my first parafoil as my lifter kite, thats 6 foot by 5 foot, that came with its own 150# line but I have now a 300# line on it, on a spring scale it pulls to 50kg / 100lb so i increased the line to it thinking the line laundry adds to the equasion too.

The laundry i have started with is 5x3 foot flags, four flags so far and i have brought a six foot inflatable yellow duck, all pretty low level stuff, i am going to post a question on  kite lines and laundry rigging after i have gone through the back catalogue of posts to see if its not already been posted.

 

as for line material choice I have Dyneema as its a soft and stretchy line, which i was told is best for single lines, prestretched and kevlar i was told to avoid only because of the fact it has zero stretch ( and its expensive)

[Edmond Dragut]

on  6 by 5 foot at 6-7 mph you have enough pull for all your flags. by testing you will find out witch laundry is working and in what wind will have the best effect.

[Wayne Dowler]

Braided dacron is more than sufficient for single line use. Dyneema is overkill, better in dual line or quads. I didn't know they still made kevlar line. Never use around others.

Always use a higher rated strength line if in any doubt.

[makatakam]

Many of the SLK (single line kite) guys I know will double the strength of the recommended line for the kite. The line will make contact with the ground, things that are on the ground, trees (arrrgh), line hardware and other things that will cause wear. The line will be damaged by contact with these things and each time will have its strength reduced. Each ding and dent in the line weakens it, and it may end up with spots that are 1/2 of the original strength. Sometimes there may be slight inconsistencies in manufacture which will also create weak spots. Lines should be checked frequently and repaired or discarded depending on the type of damage. Safety first, and it doesn't hurt to protect your investment unless you've got thousands of dollars to throw away.

[stilllearning]

Silly question.

What’s the difference in just regular nylon kite line to Dacron. I’m confused by the pound of line needed. Maybe I’m looking at it wrong.  For instance, when fishing, maybe use 10 pound test for anything under 10 pounds.  I flew a cheap kite today on a very cheap 8 pound mono fishing line which I know isn’t ideal, but it did fine. Why would I need 40, 80, or even 300 lb kite line? Does the lb represent how much weight/pull it will withstand as it does in fishing line? I’m confused. Surely there are no kites out there that will pull 80 pounds or even 500 pounds of force. I have to be overlooking something.
 

Please help educate me. 

[Edmond Dragut]

Yes, your analogy is good. On kiting the anchor is YOU, line must to stronger than the fish (read KITE) pull. Small kites no need more than 50-100 lbs line but at bigger dimensions bigger line.

you will be surprise to find that they are lifter kites with require 1200-2000 Lbs line. A 7 fits delta kite witch is identical shape and construction like a 12 inch one need 200-300 LBS on front of 50 so...bigger pull stronger line