Kitesoul Magazine #2 English Edition

118TECHLinesLINESLINES ARE THE HEART OF YOUR KITE, BUT HOW MUCH DO YOUKNOW ABOUT THEM? WHAT ABOUT LINE EXTENSIONS? ANDTHE PIGTAIL? DO YOU KNOW HOW TO TRIM YOUR LINES?WHAT LINE LENGTH DO YOU USE? HOW CAN YOU IMPROVEYOUR SESSION JUST BY TRIMMING YOUR LINES? DO YOUWANNA TRY OUR COOL TEST?Text and Photo: Renato CasatiLines, often improperlycalled “ropes”, are madeof highly resistant material(dyneema, spectra,etc.) With the highestimpact strength: in jargonwe talk about tensilestrength exceeding250kg each. The diameteris in the order of 1.3To 1.7Mm; the larger thediameter, the greater itswind resistance will be.Rigidity, intrinsic in thematerial’s characteristics,is essential forimproving the rotatingspeed of the kite. Morerigid lines get in tensionas soon as you activatethe command bar of thekite, making it more responsive.Often, peoplebuy new kites hoping toincrease their speed duringsurfing: it would beeasier to buy stiffer linesand/or reduce their length.The length, is the firstthing you should considerwhen kiting. At themoment we are accustomedto using lines20-25m long; but did youknow that lou wainman,the “father” of modernkiting, 15 years ago pulledhis best tricks (modernriders still struggleclosing some of histricks!), With a 7m twoline kite? Seb cattelan,on the other hand, heldthe hang time world recordfor 5 years and wonseveral races using 40-50m line.Changing the length ofthe lines basically meansaltering the size of yourwind window. Short lines= a smaller wind windowand long lines = a largerwind window.A larger wind windowmeans having morepower as the kite willpass through a largerpower zone during divingbut it will do soslower. This is becausethe kite has to fly througha larger area beforereaching the zenith. Youwill also experience gre-