I recently purchased a used 2009 OR Rise 8m. Loved the kite the first day I used it. Second day on the water with 8m loved it again until I dropped the kite into the water the first time. Leading edge busted. I am totally baffled as the kite just dropped after I tried a turn from backside to toeside, nothing dramatic. After closer inspection I noticed that it busted on both sides where the front lines attach. Looking at the smaller tear, I see that the small pig tail might have worn the LE material. Then looking at the big rip, same spot. I am in my first season of kiting but I hardly drop my kites. Progress was fast and I never crashed a kite on the beach.  So I wonder if the whole bust happened because these points were weakened.  When I get it fixed, should I have some kind of padding put at this place? Is it known that this is a weak spot? Is the small pig tail in the detail picture standard or was this a mod from the previous owner? Looks like the knot could have put the damage to the material by rubbing over and over…

Thank you for your input.

Yes, something like this, not as severe,  has been seen & reported before ->  http://oceanrodeo.com/forums/viewthread/2087/

Yes, looks like my problem but mine escalated. Of course the kite is now out of warranty and I am not the original owner ether.
But yea, I think this explains my busted LE. Excessive wear to the LE at the attachment points eventually leading up to the disaster. Kind of unfortunate design these small pig tails with the knot rubbing on the material. Would a slightly longer pig tail where the knot would be located beyond the LE not have prevented the whole thing? Yes, the line would still rub but not the knot. Just my two cents. Very bummed that I did not notice the worn signs before it escalated.

Unfortunately this was an issues that affected some early model 2009 kites but which was quickly addressed at the time. It is indeed unfortunate though that you missed seeing these wear points before the blow out as they are very easily repaired.

Even as things are now I do not think the repair would be costly as the damage is contained to one panel. If you are in North America I encourage you to contact Airtime in Hood River or Kiteboarding.com in Texas for a quote on repair.

John Z - OR

johnz - 22 November 2010 01:15 PM

Unfortunately this was an issues that affected some early model 2009 kites but which was quickly addressed at the time. It is indeed unfortunate though that you missed seeing these wear points before the blow out as they are very easily repaired.

Even as things are now I do not think the repair would be costly as the damage is contained to one panel. If you are in North America I encourage you to contact Airtime in Hood River or Kiteboarding.com in Texas for a quote on repair.

John Z - OR

Or Sailrepair.dk if you are in Denmark. They are amazing.

Kirk

I am in MA and a local repair guy quoted me ~$180 including bladder repair. I will open up the seams to that there is a bit less work for him. I don’t consider this cheap but I think with the labor involved it is probably fair. Right? If not, I might need to get other quotes but local is good as there will be no shipping.

From my exp that is a decent quote.

I generally iclude a few nice imported beers and feel a little better paying that to a local than shipping it away at more cost for generally a more costly repair.

Never had one of the local repairs give out on me and I’ve had a few. 

Support your local if you can.

B

Thank you guys for the input. Let’s hope I have better luck… costly season so far.

Hey, is this possible that I inflated the LE too hard so the rips happened when I crashed it? I did not see any holes or rips when I got the kite. I am now a bit unsure how hard I should pump. I usually pump until I get a nice ping, then a few more pumps and I feel if the wing tip gives me solid resistance when I try to bend it. Is this too hard? Don’t have a pump with pressure gauge.

I heard that the newer OR rise don’t need to be pumped that hard anymore and it is safer to go a little less so crashes won’t bust the LE so fast. Is this what you would say too?

My experience is with a 12m ‘08 Rise. I find it needs to be “ping” tight to get the wingtip struts nice and stiff. Summer before last I crashed my Rise straight down on the water sheeted in too far & blew out about a 12” rip in the LE - sewed up,  patched the bladder and still lots of life in it. Now if I’m not in a rush, I’ll inflate ping tight with the centre strut not open, lock off my outer struts, open the centre strut and top off to very near-ping ( pung ?? )  - for firm struts w/o maxing out the LE.

My Rise had a bit of wear on the LE under the pigtails, I patched it with some sticky-back sail cloth ( aka insignia cloth ) and keep and eye on it. I suggest you do the same after your kite is sewn up.

I always pump my kites to be ping tight too. Obviously over time the LE material will get softer with time and UV exposure but I would still suggest that you can pump your kites up hard. The holes you found were a result of the pigtail abrasion and not likely due to over pumping the LE.

Good luck, I agree with Brent - that’s a fair quote.

JZ

Thank you for the quick responses. I busted an older 2006 Waroo 9m earlier this season. Its LE exploded on me while turning over the kite on the beach after a session. Was my second session on the water with this kite. Something is going on with me and used kites. Bought OR as I heard good things about the quality. Oh well…. guess not much better than the Best. They all seem to bust on me on the second session. So that is why I was looking for as much input as possible. Don’t want to keep busting kites!  My local repair guy thinks I am cursed and should get a rooster and behead it and spill the blood all over me and the kites. Of course that’s what I will do, nothing goes over learning from the experienced guys out there.

We take enormous pride in our construction and build quality of all of our products but materials will break down over time.

Our commitment to high quality construction techniques and materials does allow us to focus our efforts on the best possible customer care howerver. We go out of our way to ensure that a customer who buys a product new and who has issues with it within the warranty period have their concerns quickly and professionally dealt with, without requiring they go through numerous frustrating hoops.

Good to know. I’ll consider my next generation kites new. For now I had to go used to fit the budget. Again thank you for all the feedback. I’ll get it repaired and hope for it to last a few more years.

Don’t forget to reinforce the other side.